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Ideas for turning wood

Wood turning has become popular as part of the woodworking fad in most of the world. At one time it was understood that wood turning was one of the necessities of life in the community. Most reasonably sized towns would have a turner just like they would have a blacksmith. As a result, as many Turners as Smiths can be found in some phone books today.

Mass production along with cheap bowls and cups from materials such as plastic and metal spelled the end of the need for the craft of woodturning, although the beauty of wood and the pressing need to create art and craft have prevented woodturning skills develop. disappearing completely. In fact, today there seems to be a renaissance in the world of wood turning. However, now there is the question for many turners where to get ideas for turning wood.

The easiest place to start for wood turning ideas is to walk around the house and say “what could I do?” or perhaps “what would I have done three hundred years ago?” Obviously we wouldn’t be converting pots for the wood stove, but what about food preparation?

In the old days, every kitchen had a large wooden bowl, the bread bowl for mixing bread dough. These days we are more likely to see it as a salad bowl. Of course, that leads to all manner of serving bowls, each distinctive in grain and color. For a very decorative touch, wooden trenchers can be made and used. In medieval times, slabs of bread were used as plates and food was served on them. Later the bread was eaten, which absorbed the sauce or sauce. Wealthier people had the bread served on a wooden slab, often turned and decorated, and the food was placed on the bread itself. Bread soaked in sauce was sometimes given to the poor as alms. Today, a trencher can be made square or round with a wide rim to show the grain and an inset center to hold a plate.

Cups are of course a variation on a bowl. Tight-grained woods like maple or cherry retain liquids very well. Proper finishing with fine wet sanding will prevent the grain from lifting and no further interior finishing is really needed, nor was it used in medieval times when many of the poor carried their own wooden jug with them.

Spatulas, spatulas, and serving and stirring spoons are often found in kitchens. With the immediate use of Teflon-coated cookware today, wooden mixing utensils and potato mashers are made to order.

Chandeliers are an obvious go-to for the wood turner, but so are table lamps, both simple and elegant. Today, wood turning suppliers make all sorts of kits with lamp parts available at very nominal cost.

Speaking of kits, it’s easy for the turner to find parts for pens, pencils, letter openers, pillboxes, and a myriad of other small items that require more parts than a piece of wood.

Basically, if it’s round or could be round, it can be done on the lathe. Ideas surround us if we take the time to look. In addition to which, there is the double bonus given. Not only is there the pleasure of anticipating the turn, there is also the joy of reveling in everything around us. Useful, or simply decorative, making it out of wood makes it more special, at least for some of us.

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