What cheap stock to use for learning to turn?

[Tom Jones III]

We got our first lathe yesterday and started working through the exercises in the book Fundamentals of Wood Turning. I need to find some cheap stock for learning simple spindle turning. I have some cedar and oak scraps that I can use, but I will run out quickly. Should I just get a 4x4 of pine or something similar?

[Doug Jones]

wood is easy to find for lathe work. Just look along the roadside as your driving. Ask some people from your local turning clubs, ask a treetopping service or a tree removal service. Take a walk through a nearby woods for some downed limbs. For practicing turns, wood is easy to find. This is of course if your in the area that allows it.

[George Troy Hurlburt]

Popular makes a good wood to learn with. I would use hardwoods. Cedar and Oak is not the best to practice on. Try to use the hardwood that you will be making projects from. Make large and small eggs they will help you learn control. Beads and coves are nice if you want to do spindle turnings. When I started turning 25 years ago I did projects for my practice. Do ten of the same thing. Don't forget sharp tools are a must. GT

[Bill Stevener]

Practice with all types of wood, dry and green. There one discovers and experiences the feelings and characteristics of many species.

Bill.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>:)

[Scott Loven]

Find a friend with a firewood pile , wood along the road or street, someone who sells firewood, etc.
Scott

[John Miliunas]

Tom, alternatively to using pieces "big enough" for spindles, you can use up your smaller scraps by gluing them up to make something large enough. For spindle practice, that's especially easy and some of the stuff can actually turn out real interesting, to boot! Keep practicing and, most of all, enjoy!:) :cool:

[Ron Ainge]

when I first started I had the same problem that you have, I did a lot of flat work then so I started to glue cut offs together and practiced on them. Then I took a load of garbage to the dump and met a tree surgen there that was getting rid of some trees that he had removed form someones property. I struck up a conversation with him and he gave me some of the wood to take home and told me that if I needed more to call him and he would let me know what he had and I could take all I wanted. Well I now have more than I will be able to turn in several years. He has given me pin oad, silver maple, boxwood, elm, cherry and walnut to name a few. I would look in your telephone book for tree removal services and then call them and see if they would let you get some wood from them. I hope you have a good chain saw because the sections of wood they have will have to be cut up to put on your lathe. Good Luck and keep the shaving flying.

[Jim Becker]

For spindle turning, you want dry wood, at least at first. You can use cut-offs from flat work and even dry branches that have been laying around. If you only have 3/4" dry flat stock handy, laminate it with glue and turn it once the glue has cured. (About 24 hours or so)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Tom another place I find lots of wood is from a tree trimming service. I just got enough wood for about 14 bowl blanks and I can't tell you how many pen blanks.

[Steven Wilson]

For spindle turning dried poplar is a good choice to practice on. Softwoods linke pine can be a bear to turn and will really test your sharpening skills. The skills you develop turning poplar will directly translate to turning cherry, walnut, and other hardwoods. If you're interested in turning bowls then firewood, road finds, and other green wood is great to practice with.

[Mike Ramsey]

If all you can get for practice is Pine & Cedar by all means use it! It's
a harder learning curve but it will help to develop your turning skills.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Just be careful if you soft woods like pine. When I first got the lathe I made up some small parts bowls out of pine... I still use them, but a couple of them exploded! :)