Wood Turning

 Walnut, cherry, maple and mahogany. Finished with General Finishes Wood Bowl Finish. This student was giving this project to his mom! 

Little Hickory bowl, embellished by worm trails, a bit of texturing, and acrylic paints, most notably General Finishes Emerald Milk Paint.
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Isn’t wood amazing and unique? This bowl came from the section of the log right next to the previous little Hickory bowl I posted. But the wood was totally different! It was full of worm holes, whereas the other bowl was fairly solid.
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Instead of trashing this wormy wood, I saw an opportunity to highlight the natural...

Spalted Sugarberry, gesso, India ink, milk paint, copper, and carved and ebonized cherry stand. — This egg was primarily a texture experiment. I applied gesso to the top half, and dabbed it with a pint brush as it dried. Then I ebonized via India ink, and afterward painted on several thin coats of generalfinishes “Twilight” milk paint. The bottom half of the egg showcases the amazing spalting of the Sugarberry wood. I left the upper half of the egg unfinished, and the bottom of the egg got a...

Dancing Juniper Mountain juniper i cut from the datil mountains ,this piece is super rich in color and the turquoise really pops, this is a big piece at 10.5" in diameter and 13.5" tall ,finish is general finish arm-r-seal oil and urethane top coat gloss, then buffed with the three stage beal buff ,skipped the carnuba wax and used renaissance wax.

This whimsical piece was one 2x2x24 inch piece of rosewood - and I wanted to try something different with it!

I used my bandsaw to texture the portion that wasn’t turned. The turned portion received 3 coats of EnduroVar, with a light 600 grit sanding between coats. The third coat was sanded to 12000 grit with MicroMesh before a carnauba wax buff. The contrast is pretty striking. About 9” tall overall, the turned stem is 5”, and the goblet is 4”. Those numbers are reversed for the...

Finish is everything. If the finish is not good it can ruin the whole project. Many times it takes as long to finish a project as it does to turn it.

I generally sand as much as I can while the project is on the lathe and then hand sand the finishing touches.

Inlayng TURQUOISE and COPPER in the natural cracks and voids is the last thing I do before putting the final sanding touches on.

For my finish I use General Finishes SEAL-A-CELL clear and ARM-R-SEAL gloss topcoat...

This is a simple segmented bowl that endevors to use the natural colors of the various woods to make an attractive package.  The woods used are Purple Heart, Cherry, Olivewood, Mahogany, Padauk and Walnut.  The bowl is 5" high and 9" in diameter at the top and is approximately 3/8" thick.  The bowl was made in 2017 and contains 136 pieces. 

• General Finishes Seal-a-Cell Clear and Gel Topcoat wipe on Urethane Satin

10 inch Spalted Ash bowl finished with GF Wood Bowl Finish

This bowl is made 100% from recycled skateboards, and is finished with General Finishes High Performance Top Coat (gloss)!

Finish is everything. If the finish is not good it can ruin the whole project. Many times it takes as long to finish a project as it does to turn it.

I generally sand as much as I can while the project is on the lathe and then hand sand the finishing touches.

Inlayng TURQUOISE and COPPER in the natural cracks and voids is the last thing I do before putting the final sanding touches on.

For my finish I use General Finishes ARM-R-SEAL clear and SEAL-A-CELL gloss topcoat...

This Black Walnut vessel was turned by my 12 yr old daughter. She so enjoys wood turning especially the sanding process. I have given her my first lathe a Jet 1642 as she is turning all on her own now doesn't need much help from dear old dad. I think she has amazing potential. I have made most of her tools myself they fit better to her hands. 

This is a Mulberry bowl with a hand carved rim, had a lot of fun finishing this bowl. It is finished with sanding sealer and GF salad bowl finish. 

The piece consists of ambrosia maple body with african blackwood and yellowheart rings on the foot and lip. These were added to gine the piece additional hight. It is finished with waterbased Wood Turners Finish.

A wonderful 150-year-old deep-South Magnolia tree was blown to the ground in a heavy storm.  It laid on the ground for quite some time and had begun to show the signs of decay when parts of it were recovered to be saved and reborn in another form.  The early stages of decay and rot are evidenced by the beautiful streaks of black color through the wood.  The form was shaped with very thin walls, which results in a delightful tactile experience when the viewer picks up the piece from the table...

This extra long rosewood pen, set with a beautiful small piece of malachite, truly makes a statement. The grain is amazing and simply pops under the many layers of varnish that has been polished to a fine gloss with General Finishes Waterbased Turners' Finish.  I first apply two coats of varnish and allow the grain to rise before sanding that down with the coarsest grit of MicroMesh. I then apply up to 10 coats of varnish until I'm happy with the coating. I then meticulously sand through all...

Flame box elder form 6" diameter X 3-1/2" tall. Finished with GF Wood Turners Finish

This piece consists of curly maple with an african blackwood trim ring and ebony lip. It was dyed with a mixture of red and yellow dye. It was finished with General Finishes Wood Turners Finish.It measures 8-1/4" diameter X 3" tall.

The flashy figure in the piece of black walnut really pops with the high gloss of General Finishes Waterbased Turners' Finish. I first apply two coats of varnish and allow the grain to rise before sanding that down with the coarsest grit of MicroMesh. I then apply up to 10 coats of varnish until I'm happy with the coating. I then meticulously sand through all grits of MicroMesh to flatten and remove any specks, working up to a fine gloss. I apply one last coat of varnish before polishing...

This is a Maple Burl vessel with carved feet. People that have seen this piece have said they see a face on the one side of the vessel. 

"I filled the rather large voids with a mixture of epoxy and French Roast coffee grounds. The whole project was sanded to 600 grit before applying 3 coats of EnduroVar, while still on the lathe. I lightly sanded with 600 grit paper after each coat, and ended by using the 3 step Beall buffing system (tripoli, white diamond, and carnauba wax)."

This is a Ambrosia Maple bowl and is probably one of my favorite woods to work with. I love the coloring In this bowl. 

"This piece was made with over 3,000 pieces of wood that includes cherry, maple, peruvian walnut, yellowheart, spectra ply and black veneer. It measures 12-1/2" diameter X 6-1/4" tall. The finish consists of several coats of sanding sealer and ten coats of General Finishes Wood Turners Finish sanded and buffed to a high gloss."

Ebony and amethyst are a such a natural match, and this curly figure is so well complemented by the rough, natural beauty of the crystal. The warm tones of the wood are brought up so perfectly by General Finishes Waterbased Turners' Finish. I first apply two coats of varnish and allow the grain to rise before sanding that down with the coarsest grit of MicroMesh. I then apply up to 10 coats of varnish until I'm happy with the coating. I then meticulously sand through all grits of MicroMesh...

“Earth On Fire” is a piece of Buckeye Burl wood was recovered from a trash pile.  It had been ravaged by the effects of weather, rot, worms and insects and was simply thrown away.  In its natural healthy state, Buckeye Burl is a beautiful colorful wood of dark and light grays and yellows.  The wood was turned into a sphere and the natural colors were enhanced with dyes of black, red, orange and yellow.  The finish is General Finishes Wood Turners Finish and the overall size is 5" x 5".

Mark Dolan completed this 625-piece bowl with General Finishes Wood Turner's Finish (WTF)! Made with Purpleheart, Redheart & Maple. See more of Mark's work by following his Twitter channel @markspens!

"I used Wood Turner's Finish on a stabilized spalted pecan wood shaver handle. The finish was applied to a wad of soft paper towl wrapped with an old nylon. About 20 then coats were applied. I carefully buffed it using a soft wheel with plastic polishing compound applied." - Douglas Thacker

"This is a piece of Spalted Flamed Box Elder Burl that I turned over the Spring of 2016. This is a very rare piece of local Colorado wood. I call it my Mostly Natural Edge Bowl because while i was creating this piece i pushed it off axis to cut only part of the rim cut flat.

The bowl I made was made from Box Elder Burl which can be soft in spots so I used GF's clear sanding sealer first to harden up the grain, I then did my final pass with the gouge to clean up the surface of any...

"This maple bowl is sitting on the log it was cut from. Pretty cool seeing the before and after in the same photo. Maple bowl, 8 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep. Finished with General Finishes - Salad Bowl Finish." - Scott's Mini Workshop

This piece was entered into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This was one of my most complex segmented designs, made from 4 species of wood - Jarrah, Wenge, Castello Boxwood and Purpleheart.   Most of the shell is made from Jarrah, with the other woods used for the stripes.   The meandering stripe in the middle of the shell is Purpleheart.

The shell was also fitted with thin Birch ply re-inforcement rings at the edges.

The shell was finished with General Finishes acrylic Sanding Sealer, followed by several coats of Polyacrylic gloss...

"Natural edge ash bowl, approximately 10" by 5" tall. Sealed in Arm R Seal." - Robert Love

Robert entered this charming piece into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"Platter turned and carved then painted with Antique White Milk Paint and sanded." - Bill Crockrell

This piece was entered into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This is a natural edge bowl turned from red elm burl. Although natural edge bowls can be hard on the knuckles to turn I enjoy turning this type of bowl. This bowl is 17 inches across and 4 inches deep." - Chris Worley

This piece was entered into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"Another wood I love working with, box elder always turns out so beautiful. This hollow form is 9 inches tall and 8 inches across. The lid was turned out of maple and painted black with high gloss paint." - Chris Worley

This piece was entered into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This nested set of four bowls was cored using the Oneway coring system. They were carved from one large chunk of maple burl wood." - Rosato Woodturning

This set was entered into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This is my first segmented piece that I turned 2 yrs ago. It is 13 inches tall and 6 inches across it also had a twist top lid. Took a lot of trial and error on cutting the segments to get it to the finished piece that is shown. Many many coats of salad bowl finish and lots of sanding but I am very proud of this piece." - Chris Worley

Chris entered this piece into the Wood Turning category of the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This is the first bowl I dyed. It is maple burl dyed with blue food coloring. The markings and patterns on this bowl are amazing and all done by mother nature. This bowl is 11 inches across the top and 5 inches deep." - Chris Worley

This piece was entered into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest in the Wood Turning category

"This is one of my favorite woods to work with. Love the coloring in ambrosia maple. This bowl is 14 inches across the top and 6 inches deep." - Chris Worley

Chris entered this piece into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This is a bowl turned by my 11yr old daughter Shelby with a little help from me. It is a Maple bowl with mahogany stain on the outside and carvings around he outside.The lines around the bowl were carved using old guitar string.She really enjoys woodworking but loves when it's time to sand the piece the best." - Chris Worley

Chris entered this breath-taking piece into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This is a Magnoila hollow form it is 12 inches tall 8 inches wide. The spirals are hand carved and sanded. I found this piece of wood on the side of the road but I knew I could make a beautiful piece out of it. It got its name "Hornets Nest from our neighbor that's what he thought it looked like." - Chris Worley

Chris entered this piece into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"This piece is a Maple burl that I found near my home. After playing around with colors it was dyed with red food coloring sealed deft sanding sealer finished with several coats of GF Salad bowl finish. The finial is turned out of maple and was painted black. This piece was 12 inches tall and 5 inches across." - Chris Worley

Chris entered this awesome piece into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"Segmented walnut bowl with maple diamonds. It measures 11 inches wide and 10 inches high. There are approximately 300 pieces in this bowl. The finish is General Finishes's Woodturners Finish." Greg Just

Greg entered this piece into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"The striking contrast between the white pearl and dark ebony make for a dramatic piece. 

Once turned and sanded, I apply 2 coats of General Finish Wood Turners' Finish while on the lathe, and then knock down any raised grain. I then continue to build up the finish, using up to 10 coats, and polishing up to 12000 grit between coats." - Amanda of MercurePens.ca

This piece was entered into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest

"The pearl adds a bit of whimy to this Indian Rosewood pen. The intricate finial allows this pen to be used as a beautiful hair stick as well. 

Once turned and sanded, I apply 2 coats of General Finish Wood Turners' Finish while on the lathe, and then knock down any raised grain. I then continue to build up the finish, using up to 10 coats, and polishing up to 12000 grit between coats." - Amanda of MercurePens.ca

"This Baron-style fountan pen is turned from a beautiful piece of Honduran rosewood. The gold accents and the finish really help bring out the striking grain. The little freshwater pearl adds both elegance and whimsy. Once turned and sanded, I apply 2 coats of General Finish Wood Turners' Finish while on the lathe, and then knock down any raised grain. I then continue to build up the finish, using up to 10 coats, and polishing up to 12000 grit between coats." Amanda Blacoe at MercurePens.ca...

"I call this a "True" inside-out turning because it was made from a single Chechen pen blank. I marked the outside corners of the blank and then ripped it into four pieces on my bandsaw. I took the marked corners, turned them facing in and glued it all together. after turning and sanding, I applied 13 coats of Wood Turners finish, burnishing with wood chips between coats. The blank is then broken apart and glued back together with the marked corners in their original spots (I did number them...

"Ash bowl turned and carved then painted with Antique White Milk Paint tinted with Emerald and sanded." - Bill Cockrell

This piece was entered into the 2016 GF Design Challenge Contest