Information for a beginner

[BldrsWife]

You may want to look into taking a course. Local community colleges or even high schools often offer woodworking courses at night. Watching a video or looking in a book is a lot different from actually doing it yourself with expert help available.

 

[Sidekick]

These are all excellent suggestions for learning about turning wood. You've given me some ideas about possible gifts for me to buy for our own home workshop library. The public library does have some wonderful older books, too, which are sometimes available on eBay or Amazon.

 

[GordonP]

Woodturning is a wonderful art but it can be very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing. I highly recommend taking a course so that you can learn the basics from an expert. Books are ok, and they can be even more helpful after you get the basics down. Personally, I just cannot learn from a book as well as I learn from a live person.

 

[Calvin]

I would also check out some videos online to be able to watch people in action. You'll see good techniques, mediocre ones and even some dangerous ones. It's much better to learn by watching than it is to learn by trial-and-error when it comes to woodturning.

 

[StephanieDeVoe]

I had the opportunity to take a week-long (almost) class in woodturning at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown NC a couple of years ago. VERY expensive, but a great experience. I wasn't able to do much with what I learned for almost a year, while I acquired equipment and tools and got a workshop set up. I was amazed at how most of it had stuck with me. But if it hasn't, I have wonderful notes to refer to. I do get more out of learning and doing at the same time. Videos are good, but I miss a lot of things and have to watch them over and over. Sometimes I'll pick up things from books, but it's hard to know how to choose the best ones for what you need as an individual.

 

[Rob]

Stephanie, that sounds like a marvelous thing to do. I wonder if that's something I'd like to do on vacation one summer. I've not heard of it, but there are so many craftsmen up in the mountainous areas of North Carolina. It might just be a great place to spend a vacation, too.

 

[WingDing]

I had the opportunity to take a week-long (almost) class in woodturning at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown NC a couple of years ago. VERY expensive, but a great experience. I wasn't able to do much with what I learned for almost a year, while I acquired equipment and tools and got a workshop set up. I was amazed at how most of it had stuck with me. But if it hasn't, I have wonderful notes to refer to. I do get more out of learning and doing at the same time. Videos are good, but I miss a lot of things and have to watch them over and over. Sometimes I'll pick up things from books, but it's hard to know how to choose the best ones for what you need as an individual.

Stephanie, I'm the same way, learning and doing at the same time. Youtube is nice, same with DVDs. However, the fact that they're edited makes the process seem much simpler than it really is.

I've really been interested in getting into the turning world. I've heard it gets VERY addictive, and hours feel like minutes when you're in front of a lathe.