About woodturning/ wood turning

Woodturning is using a lathe to spin or rotate a piece of wood to allow it to be rounded by gouges.
This technique is certainly not new and the lathe is considered an ancient tool, dating as far back as to ancient Egypt 1300 BC. The lathe is known as the mother of machine tools, as many tools stem from the lathe.

The lathes of old were powered by horses, water wheels and steam engines. Nowadays most have electric motors.

The wood rotates about the axis, so it is possible to change the axis and have "bent" results, but that is a lesson for another day.
Hand tools are used to carve the wood as it rotates at speed towards the woodturner. These tools are called gouges and skews. The artisan holds them and moves with the wood to follow the curvature and shapes created, sculpting all the time. 

Woodturning requires concentration, but as I sculpt the wood, I find this process therapeutic and can enter a zen like state. But keep on concentrating otherwise you run the risk of a catch (when the unsupported part of a gouge makes contact with the wood and things can go wrong very quickly!). Woodturning can be dangerous, so care must be taken at all times. It involves skill and fine woodworking.

It is addictive and satisfying to create pieces from odd shapes of wood.