Make with intention
Woodworking & DIY
Shop habits, small decisions and approachable ways to build a useful turning practice.
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Field notes from the lathe
Wood, tools and the quiet decisions behind a turned object.
Vermont Woodturning Journal is a practical, place-aware guide to species, technique, equipment, safety and the makers who keep the grain moving.
07 broad sections08 species records01 working reference desk
Choose your door
Start where the question lives.
Seven useful shelves make the niche legible to readers, partners and search engines. The technical detail stays in the stories.
A few readers work the other end of the timeline and plant what they hope to turn in thirty years. That is a different trade, with its own catalogues and its own shipping windows, and Specialty Nurseries is where those questions get answered properly. Grafted fruitwood and named maple cultivars almost never reach a garden centre bench.
Read the edge
Tools & Equipment
Lathe geometry, gouges, chucks, sharpening and the equipment that earns its place.
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Objects with a life
Home & Decor
Bowls, vessels and turned details that make the grain part of the room.
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Start with the blank
Materials & Supplies
Species, moisture, grain, blanks, abrasives and finishes for informed choices.
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Good habits first
Safety & Training
Clear safety checks, dust control and a learning path that keeps curiosity intact.
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From blank to object
Projects & Guides
Ordered workflows for bowls, spindle work, hollow forms and small gifts.
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Place matters
News & Makers
Vermont and New England studios, vocabulary and material culture in the turning world.
Explore the sectionThe latest cut
Follow the RSS feedFresh field notes
Choosing a First Wood Lathe Without Guesswork
A practical way to compare swing, distance, speed control and the work you actually want to make.
A Calm Practice Routine for New Woodturners
Short, repeatable sessions build better tool control than chasing a finished object every time.
How a Turned Bowl Becomes a Useful Object
Form, scale and finish all matter when a bowl is meant to live on a table instead of a shelf.
Woodturning Gouge Geometry, Explained Simply
Grind, bevel and presentation are a system. Change one and the feel of the cut changes with it.
A Sharpening Workflow You Can Repeat
The best sharpening system is the one that produces a known edge without turning every session into a setup project.
Lathe Features That Matter in Daily Work
Capacity, control and comfort make more difference than a crowded specification sheet.
Food-Safe Bowl Finishes: A Careful Starting Point
Finish advice becomes clearer when use, cure and future care are considered together.
Choosing a Turned Centerpiece for a Table
Scale, silhouette and the visual weight of grain help a handmade object belong in a room.
The publication
Know the desk behind the work.
About the journal, meet the editor, and review the commercial boundary.
Bench references
Bench notes to revisit.
These guides and records stay here because they are revisited, kept current and useful whenever a new blank or tool raises the same durable question.
The Vermont Wood Species Desk
A steady reference for comparing grain, hardness, drying, checking and finish decisions before a blank reaches the lathe.
Woodturning Gouge Geometry, Explained Simply
Grind, bevel and presentation form one working system, so a clear explanation helps each cut become easier to read.
Drying Bowl Blanks Without Losing the Story
Moisture movement changes the design problem, and a patient plan helps a promising blank become a stable object.
A Lathe Safety Checklist Before the First Cut
A short pause around the machine protects attention, hands and the work itself before the first rotation begins.
A Small Bowl Workflow from Blank to Finish
An ordered sequence keeps material, tool control, proportions and care notes connected from the first mounting to the final surface.
A German technical continuation
When the material question travels.
For a German-language extension on wood, surfaces and the long life of crafted objects, continue with this related technical reference.
Holz & Werkstatt covers wood species, workshop tools, surfaces and restoration in German, adding a furniture-making perspective to the same material questions.