Welcome!
This is my new blog. It's about me, woodturning, and me woodturning. I've started the blog so I can detail my adventures as I develop my skills at woodturning. Woodturning is a form of woodworking in which one creates objects - out of wood, naturally - using a lathe. I've always been fascinated with lathes and woodturning (though until a few weeks ago, I had never heard the term "woodturning"), but I never had the chance to spend any time in a woodshop. So...here we go!
I've already done some preliminary things to get started, but let me first start by saying that I'm a complete amateur. Seriously, an amateur. A novice, greenhorn, fledgling, beginner, rookie, noobie...the list goes on. The only experience I have woodworking includes building a painting easel and a workbench, but I'll discuss those later. I've had zero experience woodturning, unless you count watching videos on youtube.
Here's what I've done so far:
Visited a woodworking store. Woodcraft to be exact. It's a woodworkers dream! I love it. I've had a 100% satisfying experience browsing the aisles of lathe accessories and woodturning related products. I've actually visited the same Woodcraft three times in the last two weeks and spoke, at length, with a different employee each time. They were so patient and helpful it was really a pleasurable experience. I also bought a book from Woodcraft; Woodturning: A Foundation Course (New Edition, Paperback) by Keith Rowley. It's a great introduction.
By now, I was super excited to start my new hobby, but where do I begin? I'm not sure what normal people would do, perhaps take a class or try to get some time with someone who knows what he/she is doing, but I'm no normal person. So I did what's normal for me. I jumped into my wild idea, head first. Most would say I made a rash decision, but I'm happy with my choices.
The next thing I did was buy a lathe. Last week, I purchased (from amazon) a PSI CLPRO Turncrafter PRO Midi 4 Amp 10-inch Swing 1/2 horsepower benchtop woodworking lathe. That's right. I bought a lathe. No experience, never touched a lathe before. Yet here I am, a proud owner of a lathe. I recieved it the next day. Now, I know what you're thinking. Overnight shipping? But John, for an 80 pound package, that would add well over $100 of shipping charges to the $188 lathe. Do not fret my loyal readers, with Amazon Prime overnight shipping of any item is a mere $3.99. In fact, you get free two-day shipping, but I splurged the extra $4 for overnight delivery. I also bought the $60 starter woodturning tools from PSI.
The next day, I arrived home from work to find my packages sitting elegantly on my front stoop, beckening me for an evening of woodturning adventures. Well, more accurately, I was ready for an evening of setting up the tool and reading instructions and preparing to play. I had no delusions of popping open the box to start turning right away, but I was excited none-the-less.
Uh oh! What will I set my lathe on? Next stop, The Home Depot! I found some instructions for a basic workbench, wrote out my material list, and headed to the store. After a while browsing the many aisles of lumber, I made my selections and split for home. It took me the rest of the night to build my workbench, but now I have a $20 work surface that I crafted with love...and my hands - and tools.
That's the way the cookie crumbles. I now have a workspace (my garage), a workbench, and my lathe all set up. Time to start turning!
John
