Wood for woodturning
Woodturning means shaving and symmetricalizing or separating the bark. Carpentry is completely different from woodturning. The carpenter makes different volumes by connecting different woods, but the carpenter makes the desired volume or object by cutting a piece of wood. Some consider woodturning to be a branch of carpentry, but this exquisite art is not a branch of carpentry and has separate branches. Woodturning is so enjoyable that some prefer it to carpentry and only woodturning.
In order to learn woodturning professionally, in addition to having a good and sharp woodturning wheel, you have to spend a lot of time learning and practicing it. Using the right wood for woodworking projects not only affects the quality of the work, but also increases the enjoyment of woodturning.
Sparrow tongue: The art of woodturning in the United States is mostly used to make baseball bats. Sparrow Tree is a broadleaf tree that you may know as Van or its name. This wood covers the color spectrum from cream to light brown. Sparrow wood has a high durability and is resistant to impact, so it is used to make baseball bats. This wood is also used to make hammers and other tools such as pickaxes.
Beech wood: Among the types of hardwood, beech wood has less weight and is lighter. The color of this wood is light and its texture design is not well recognizable. Although some people consider the mentioned cases as a kind of objection, others consider it as a strong point and use these features to create a beautiful and luxurious appearance. For example, the bright color of beech is suitable for creating color contrast and creating similar effects to expensive hardwood. Beech wood is used in the preparation of cooking utensils such as spoons, bowls and wooden cups.
Ebony wood: There are different opinions about the use of ebony wood due to the preservation of natural and environmental resources. The ebony wood comes in a variety of colors, ranging in color from dark brown to black. The ebony tree has a slow growth rate and often takes 100 years to mature and can be used for woodworking. In some cases, such as locust infestation, many ebony seedlings are damaged and therefore scarce. Although this wood is expensive, the black color of ebony wood in woodturning works an admirable beauty.
American walnut wood: No wood is as hard as American walnut wood, and since it is highly impact resistant, it is used in carpentry and woodturning, which requires high-strength wood. This solid wood is not scratched, but it can be easily cut with sharp tools.
For woodturning with walnut wood, you must sand it in the direction of the wood texture. If you keep the sandpaper in a fixed place and turn the wood using the woodturning machine, you will not achieve the desired result and only the wood surface will be scratched.
Amber wood: The amber tree is a hardwood native to Texas and southwestern America. This tree generally grows in hot and dry climates. Some believe that amber is a type of weed, not wood, but others believe that the difference in appearance of this wood is due to its unique characteristics, and in working with this wood, its differences and shortcomings should be considered. This wood can be easily shaped and cut, but it is not the same size and shape. For this reason, this wood is used for smaller woodturning projects such as automatic making, bottle caps and salt and pepper.
Purple Balsan Wood: The natural color of Balsan wood is naturally purple, but its color largely depends on the climate of the area where the tree is grown. There are different opinions about purple balsam wood such as ebony wood. In the past decades, the most important species of purple blossom trees were planted in the rainforests of Brazil, of which only a few remain today. Other species of Balsan wood belong to India and the Far East, which are relatively difficult to access and expensive. Purple balsam wood is often used in exquisite woodturning works.
Plane wood: The texture of sycamore wood is well defined and intertwined in such a way that it is impossible to split it. This wood is very similar to beech wood. The radial cut of this wood is very famous due to its unique texture between scratches and it is used for woodturning and creating beautiful wooden works. Plane wood is used to create color contrast in carpentry projects. Plane wood, like beech wood, is suitable for making cooking utensils such as wooden spoons.
