Turning Pro

Craftsman brings out the beauty of wood

The following is a conversation with Benjamin Kandel, a young man interested the art of woodturning. He recently returned from the 25th International American Association of Woodturner’s Symposium, the most attended woodturning event in the world.

What is woodturning?

Turning is a very old art. Basically, it’s putting a piece of wood onto a tool called a lathe that spins the wood from 450 up to 3,000 RPMs. I use sharp hand tools to shape the wood as it spins. Typical turned pieces would be pens, bowls, spindles, round boxes, or even wooden balls.

How did you get started?

I was visiting my grandparents in a small town in North Dakota when a friend of theirs, Jerry Jaeger, came over. He started talking about woodturning. I was curious and he actually went back to his house and put his mini-lathe onto the back of his four-wheeler, then drove back over to show me. He hooked the lathe up with an extension cord and gave me my first lesson. We were standing outside in the North Dakota sunshine, letting the chips fly.

What do you like about turning?

I like finding pieces of wood, like in a firewood pile or on the curb, and turning them into one-of-a-kind pieces that are usable. The variety of color in wood is amazing. People are surprised by the natural colors of wood. For example, boxelder is creamcolored with bright red streaks. Wood can have patterns of black, blue, and gray spidery veins called spalt lines. Trees can produce bumps that are called burls. When you turn a burl, the grain goes every which way, dotted and speckled. Every piece of wood has its own character and coloring. That’s what I love about wood.

Do you sell your work?

Yes. I sell many things including wooden pens, boxes, honey sticks, tops, small bowls and pens made out of deer antlers. One hunter brought me some racks from a hunt he’d been on with his father, uncle, and granddad. I made pens for each of them out of those racks. It was something they really treasured. I sell my work locally and online in my Etsy shop at www.TurningPro.Etsy.com are there other woodturners in the fM area?

What is etsy?

Etsy is an online community of artists selling their work. Each artist has his or her own online shop. They post pictures and list prices. Anyone can go to Etsy and look around. If you set up an Etsy account you can make purchases. It’s easy; just sign up. Etsy is a good place to find unique handcrafted items.

Minn-Dak Woodturners Association is the greater FM area’s chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. They are on the web at www.minndakwoodturners. com. We meet once a month with a demo, and a show & tell. It’s a fun club with about 75 members, both men and women. I’m one of the youngest guys.

How does it feel being the young guy?

It’s really nice, because these guys know a lot from experience and they are happy to teach. Anyone interested in turning would be very welcome! [AWM]

To see more of Kandel’s work visit www.turningprowood.wordpress.com