Full-Size Easy Finisher - Carbide Turning Tool

The American Woodshop with Scott Phillips begins it’s 18th season on PBS starting on Monday, August 29th, 2011. This year’s 13 episodes entitled “Weekenders,” focus on woodworking projects to augment the home. While discovering and using new tools to become a more proficient woodworker, you should be able to finish each of these projects in one weekend.

Woodcraft’s Inferno acrylic and Tru-Stone turned pens are hot off the lathe and are shown below with the Wall Street II Pen Kits. Pen kits and pen blanks are offered in hundreds of choices and styles. In addition to the acrylic pen blanks, we also offer pen blanks in domestic wood, exotic wood, metal, poly resin, inlay, coffee bean, circuit board, deer antler, and many other unique blank choices.

Hopefully you have seen our “How-To” on  Creating Custom Acrylic Pens blog and video by Ben Bice. Joining our exciting line of beautiful pen kit choices are these brand new additions brought in by our product development guru.

This project was my first experience in turning these Travel Mugs offered in a kit by Woodcraft.  This is a relatively new kit with a screw top lid.  In our online ad, it states, “Create a custom travel mug using your favorite wood or mixed media to produce a one-of-a-kind dramatic effect.  You can either turn the outer liner using a stave configuration or simply use solid wood blocks.  Although this kit is for an experienced turner, you will find that the hollowing techniques are easy to execute, and the results are nothing short of amazing.  

The American Association of Woodturners (AAW) held its 26th annual International  Symposium in California’s Silicon Valley this past June at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

With over 14,500 members, this international nonprofit organization is dedicated to the advancement of excellence in woodturning with the mission of providing education, inspiration, information, and organization to those interested in the art of traditional woodturning. This show provides the opportunity to learn new techniques, improve skills, and share the knowledge of woodturning.

At the Woodcraft Vendor Trade Show, we visited with the Easy Wood Tools Company, who is now onboard sub-sponsoring the Rough Cut-Woodworking with Tommy Mac PBS Show.

Woodcraft is celebrating a milestone – customers and employees have turned over 100,000 wood pens since the Turn for Troops National Turn-a-Thon began 10 years ago.  In addition, four Woodcraft stores set records this year for their 10-year pen turning efforts.

Did you ever start a hobby and loved it so much that you knew you would never quit doing it no matter what?  Well Michael Smith is such a guy and his hobby is, you guessed it…woodworking! Now Mike is not your average woodworker.  He is hooked on woodturning and turns by feeling.

The wood curls were flying at The Woodworking Show in Columbus, Ohio.  The Woodworking Shows have established a devoted following by providing woodworkers with an outlet for their passion through tools, education and a unique sense of community by hosting hands-on trade shows for woodworkers across the United States.

A military widow from California and her children are experiencing a much merrier Christmas this year, thanks to a Patriot Woodworker Gold Star Family project.

The Patriot Woodworker organization is asking the public to support a fundraiser that will make the Christmas holiday brighter for a severely wounded veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and his family. Woodcraft is one of three retailers sponsoring the project.

On this edition of Woodworking Adventures, I sat down with Carl & Robin Jacobson at our Woodcraft Vendor Trade Show. We shared some lathe time while talking about their woodworking life together at home and on the road in their mobile shop…. up next…. on Woodcraft’s Woodworking Adventures.