Wood Turning

Black Walnut disk with pagan sun symbol

I turned two of these for Christmas – one for each of my children. They are black walnut, and about 12 inches in diameter. In the center of them is a raised pagan sun symbol of Latvian origin. I made the symbols out of 1/8 inch Baltic ply, with the design cut on a jigsaw. Following the cutting and sanding, I used a mini router bit in my Dremel to radius the corners. The last step was to apply gilding to the disks, and epoxy them to the walnut disks. They came out as a great way to celebrate our Latvian family history.

Submitted by: Phil Lapin

Brooch for Woman’s Coat

I wanted to make about a dozen small presents for older women friends I have in Latvia – so they had to be rather compact and light weight for shipping. The concept I came up with was a brooch that is turned out of black walnut, and having a recess in the center. I went to Michael’s craft store, and in the jewelry findings aisle there were several metallic disks that worked well with the walnut. I used several designs, one of which is shown here. After finishing the walnut, I epoxied the jewelry pieces into the center, and epoxied a pin closure onto the back of each.

Submitted by: Phil Lapin

Lidded jars with symbolic design components

As Christmas presents, I designed 6 lidded jars for close friends who are of Latvian heritage. I wanted to have some symbolism and meaning for the designs, so this is what I came up with. First, the walnut itself is from a tree that I cut down in 1972, and which was planted around 1910 by homesteaders in Northern California. Each jar is slightly different in contours, but they all measured about 4 inches in both directions on the bodies. On top of the lids, the finials are made of purpleheart and maple – and there are 4 sides to the finials, with alternating colors. I made the finials in a shape that is representative of the steeples you see all around the Old City of Riga, Latvia. Additionally, the Latvian flag is purple and white – represented by the wood in the finials. I used a friction finish to complete them. They were my first hollow form turnings! Thanks.

Submitted by: Phil Lapin

Lidded Bowl

When I recently visited my daughter I saw that she was displaying a practice bowl that I gave her. The bowl was made from poplar & was nothing special. I figured if she is going to display my work I should give her something nicer. So I made her this lidded bowl. It’s made from walnut with turquoise inlace. The finial is a maple burl.

Submitted by: Jim Burton

Mahogany Beer Stein

Created from a single board, 30 degree bevels cut for 5 seperate rings and a solid base. This was my first segmented turning, Ive been turning for about 3 months after getting an old shopsmith and first set of turning chisels for Christmas. I am 19 years old from Ontario Canada.

I glued the rings on in sections since I have no dedicated hollowing tools, and I finished the tankard in a beeswax oil blend, though I think a salad bowl finish would have worked better.

Submitted by: Mackenzie Hill

Covered California Pepper Wood Pot

I’m a woodturner in San Diego, CA and I found some California Pepper Wood logs offered on Craigslist. I have been following you and using you and various other YouTubers as inspiration. I turned this lidded pot that is about 4 1/2 inches tall. The wood had an incredible pattern and I really like the way it turned out. I used the same wood for the lid and applied a little walnut stain to darken it. I think that no matter what side of the pot that you view it offers something completely different to look at. Always enjoy your videos and keep the inspiration coming.

Thom Lindgren in San Diego, CA

Submitted by: Thomas Lindgren