Thread: Advice for beginner

Hi Ron and welcome. I am a beginner also. Started early last year but due to some ill health have not turned a lot of items other than Pens which don't take a great deal of effort. Great that you have found someone to teach you. Always practice safety first. Eye, Ear, Breathing protection is of most importance. Joining a Woodturners Club is the best thing one can do as usually as in my case the other members are Extremely experienced Men & Women and give you the very best advice. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You will be given many different answers as everyone has different style. I was given an old lathe to learn on and once I get to a better level of experience will invest in a better lathe. Once you start guarantee that you will be hooked. There will be wood pieces everywhere............Hope you have a big shed...............All the best

There is waverley woodworkers opposite jordanville station. Its near malvern rd and huntindale rd cnr. Thats not to far from you. Waverley Woodworkers Inc. (WWC) will show you where. They have all the equipment you want to use and there are people to teach you as well. Have fun, look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Thanks for the advice bhedgesdipalo, is turning pens difficult? I've seen a couple of tutorials on youtube and it looks like allot of fun. I love the idea of making a pen!

Thanks Fly, will definitely head down there and look into joining.

Turning pens is quite easy once you have turned your first one. I shyed away from turning pens for a long time thinking it was going to be difficult. Once I turned the first I wondered why I had put it off. Be warned, turning pens is addictive.
As far as wood supplies go, once people know you are a turner, you will be offered wood from all directions. If you join a club, you will have even more offers.
Just re-read your post and now realise that maybe you were referring to furniture timber. That I will leave to the locals to point you in the right direction.
Working with wood is a great hobby.

You have chosen a great hobby with heaps of potential for making many different things. Turning can be great fun and very rewarding in as much as the great satisfaction you feel when you have created something unique. Many many facets to woodworking and all of them are fascinating. As mentioned pen turning is addictive but then again, all woodworking is. enjoy your new found addiction.