Easy wood for a beginner to turn?

[Nige7]

From a beginners point of view is there such a thing as an 'easy' wood to turn?  I have been practicing on some pieces of old Ash log. Once I got over the problem of the outside being a bit soft/rotten it seems reasonable stuff though I am having trouble with the end grain but I expected that from what I have read so far.

Nigel

[Bryan Milham]

I'm not sure you could say that there is an easy wood to turn. Each wood has it's own characteristics. There is a 'Best' wood to turn, the free stuff. Let your mates know about your hobby and they will suddenly start presenting you with lumps of the stuff. Shrub and branch trimmings, the I've had this in the shed/garage for years stuff etc.

I'd also suggest that you use fairly green or seasoned timber, not old or well aged - Ash, Oak and some other woods undergo a chemical reaction as they age and become extremely hard and difficult to turn.

You say you are having problems with end grain - can I suggest you work on spindle turning to start with. Get a good grounding in the tools, their use and how they work before having a go at bowls or hollow-forms.

Please post your work and we will give honest reviews and thoughts.

Also ask anything, we all started as beginners, most of us never had the opportunity of this sort of forum to ask the questions we needed answers to.

And welcome to the forum.

[Philip Green]

My club pro would say the best timber to use is tree wood.

Basically, whatever timber you use you will solve the end grain problem by sharp tools and good technique. You can gain the latter by practice and that practice is best gained during & following training.

I started almost a year ago and joined two local clubs. One has turning classes every week and I started out doing spindle work for the first four or five months to learn basic techniques. For all of that and much of what I did at home I used softwood as it is plentiful and cheap.

You have two clubs close to where you live. Ouside of personal relationships, the thing that turners like doing if they are not turning is talking about turning so belonging to a club is a great way to gain information about timber, tools, sharpening and the thousand and one other things you might like to know about turning.

[Andy Coates]

Ash is good, sycamore and beech a little better as the close even grain helps whilst you hone your skills. As has already been mentioned, try and get wood as green as you can get it. The sap will help the cutting edge stay cool and lubricate the cuts. You will have problems turning anything that will last...it will probably split and crack as it dries until you get used to turning thin walls...but the experience will save you ruining an expensive dried blank later on.

As for your gouge snarling the lathe bed problem...it's a fact of having a low swing lathe sadly. Reducing the tool handle would result in loss of control and potential danger from bad catches. Swing the head as suggested, or learn to cut with the tool passing just over the bed bars. You aren't alone in having this problem and most of us have been there at some point. You'll get there.

happy and safe turning

[Nige7]

Thank you everybody. Loads of good advice which I shall take on board

Nigel