Best and easiest obtainable practice wood for a beginner this time of year?

[Rick Cicciarelli]

I finally did it. I ordered my first lathe. Should have it in a couple of weeks (I'll add photos then). I know one can get wood from just about anywhere, but in the middle of winter I was wondering what is the best type and easiest obtainable practice wood for the beginning turner. I'll start with spindle work. Is it just easiest to get some chunks of dried hardwood from Lowes or something like that? Or should I be looking somewhere else? What type of wood would be best for the beginner as well......???
Thanks :D

[Dick Wilson]

Rick, Go to Home Deport or other big box store near you and get 2x4's for spindle practice. Happy turning

[Jim Burr]

Hey Rick...I'm finding firewood lots a great source for stuff. See what you have around. Also the local dump, tree services and the like are good sources

[Baxter Smith]

This is the best time of year to trim trees. Do you have any candidates? Straight sections of small hardwood limbs would be fine for practicing spindle techniques and it would turn pretty easily.

[Ken Garlock]

Rick, Go to Home Deport or other big box store near you and get 2x4's for spindle practice. Happy turning

I totally agree. Several years ago I took a beginners class at the local Woodcraft store. The instructor had us pracitce roughing and beads the first class. AND he had us turn the beads with the SKEW. Our blanks were as Dick recommends, borg 2X4s cut into 1 1/2 X1 1/2.

Good luck with your new adventure.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Just about any home improvement store has a cut-off box where you can pick up wood really cheap. I used to get cedar 4x4s that were anywhere from a foot to 4' long and they make great candle holders!

Looking forward to seeing photos of your new lathe!

[John Keeton]

Rick, if you have a cabinet shop around that actually builds "from scratch" cabinets, they usually machine their own lumber from rough cut, kiln dried stock. I get a lot of cutoffs from one locally - cherry, maple, etc.

[David E Keller]

I'd go with green wood for practice just to keep the dust down... Plus, green wood is easier on you and your tools. Tree trimmings are a great place to start, and anybody that sells firewood in your area will likely have some stuff that's not seasoned.

[Rick Cicciarelli]

Softwood 2x4s are good practice material? I would have thought that some type of hardwood would be the better way for a beginner to start. I have plenty of scrap softwood that I could probably use then.......

[John Keeton]

Rick, I would prefer hardwood over soft wood for practice. The idea of green limb wood is a good one, too. Just realize that all of the above have a different "feel" to them, and the tools react differently to them. The soft wood will not tolerate a dull tool.

[Dennis Ford]

+1 on green wood for practice.

[Jack Mincey]

For my students about any FREE WOOD will do the job. Construction sites, Green wood and one of the old building supplies that took back culled wood from building sites used to give it to the school. I wish they had survived the construction demise in our area. The big box store left in town doesn't even give the school a discount.
Happy Turning,
Jack

[Scott Hubl]

The big box stores wood WARPS enough, I just grab 2x2's instead of cutting a 2x4 in half on the tablesaw.

You can almost watch a 2x4 warp once cut in half. Most of it is pretty wet.

Nab some pieces of split firewood from anyone who has a log pile. (Ask first of course)

Grab broken chairs in the trash on garbage nite, you can re turn them, and just practice cuts it already has.

Use it all for practice. Like has been said dry, wet , hard , soft will turn differently so play with anything you can find cheap or free.

Sharp tools are a MUST for any wood. Get the woodcraft 8" slow speed grinder (on sale of course) and the oneway wolverine setup and you'll be good to go on the sharpening. Watch the vids on using it on Oneways website.

[Prashun Patel]

Turning limbs is really great fun - once you get them into round. I'd debark any limb and bandsaw off any humps to get it close.
I actually think the shaping cuts are easier to start learning on than the roughing cuts (for me).

Maybe you can compromise and get some green DFir 2x2 studs to turn.

[Dan Forman]

Alan Lacer in his skew videos specifically recommends softwoods for spindle practice because the catches aren't as severe. They tear out more, but if you can cut that smooth, you can cut anything smooth. Ir you already have some, have at it! Wear a respirator when working with dry wood, especially with cedar. I wear one now most of the time when I'm turning.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Rick - any wood is good to practice on but one of the advantages of using a softwood like pine is that it is very easy to get tearout! When you practice your cuts and can get consistent clean cuts without tearing out the softwood - you will have no problems turning anything else! Besides - it is very cheap - it not free and is just being used to learn on!

Also recommend getting with your local turning club and having some of the folks there with turning experience show you the correct ways to use the different tools. Will save a lot of time and frustration!

[Thomas Canfield]

Another thing about turning "soft" wood 2x4 is that it will let you know when your tool is sharp. A lot of the soft woods will tear easily when the tools starts to dull or you use the wrong presentation. Sharp tools also help keep the dust down since you are cutting and not scraping or tearing.

[Barry Elder]

Join a woodturning club. As a rule, the most generous people there are!

[Doug Thompson]

Wood grows on trees so think free... firewood piles, along side of the road, yard waste, city dumps... etc.

[Roger Wilson]

+1 on construction lumber as cheap practice stock. You can buy 2x6 and 2x8 and do platters and shallow bowls as well. Softwood will also give you practice with your 80 grit gouge. :)

One step up from construction fir is poplar. Check around and you should be able to find a lumber yard that sells 2x4 etc. poplar. It's a nice stable wood frequently used for moldings, baseboards etc.

Home Depot also sells 1x hardwood. It's expensive but readily available.

Check the yellow pages for sawmills in your area. You should be able to get hardwoods there.

And don't forget firewood. You can easily get small box blanks, pen blanks, bottle stopper blanks, screwdriver handles, letter opener blanks etc. out of the typical ash, oak etc. firewood that should be available now. Just be careful with cracks and splits though.

Good luck.

[Chip Sutherland]

firewood from your pile....firewood from the neighbor's pile....or FOG (Found On Ground) wood. Just make sure you knock off any loose bark and wear a facemask. Have a big time.