About “Turned On Wood”
Specialising in Australian hand crafted woodwork with the emphasis on wood turning, “Turned On Wood” has been operating for about twelve years professionally and about 5 years before that as a hobby
As an Australian Woodturner I try to utilise as many of our native timbers as possible. Some of the more obscure species, although hard to obtain as well as hard to dry successfully are often some of the prettiest.
Timbers in this category include Dead Finish, Mulga, Gidgee, Borree, Hairy Oak, Red Bahina, Budgeroo, red mallee burl, Brown Mallee Burl, Red Morrel Burl, Jarrah Burl, Rib Fruited mallee Burl, Huon Pine Burl, to name a few.
Australian Native Timbers are without doubt up there with the best timbers in the world for both wood turning and furniture making. With a wide range of colours and textures there is a species suitable for almost any project.
With so many of them containing fantastic fiddleback, spalting, and a very high figure throughout, they are hard to beat on the world stage.
As a Woodturner who uses a heck of a lot of timbers from Tasmania, some people say I should call myself the “Tasmanian Timber Turner”, however I also use whatever I can get from elsewhere around the country.
Never the less Tassie does have some seriously stunning timbers.
Such as the rare and highly protected Huon Pine as well as Blackwood, Native olive, Myrtle, Leatherwood, Native TeaTree, Celery top Pine, King Billy Pine, Cheese Wood, Scrub Horizontal, Blackheart Sassafras and even some Native Sheoaks.
Being an Australian Woodturner gives me a vast range of timbers to work with. From the deep burgundy reds of the River Redgum, dark chocolate browns and warm tans of Blackwood, purples, pinks and black streaks on a background of honey browns in Leatherwood, blackstreaks on a background of creamy grays in Sassafras to the yellowy Creams of Huon Pine. Then we get into the inland arid area timbers such as the very dark brown mulga, gidgee, dead finish lancewood, borree, red bahina and many more to numerous to mention.
Australian hand crafted woodwork, especially high Quality Woodturnings are a unique way of preserving and sharing a great piece of Australiana.
As a Tasmanian Timber Specialist when it comes to Turned work, all of my creations are one-off pieces in some of australia’s most unique timbers.
About Me
I live in Beaconsfield, Victoria, Australia, and although I grew up in a small town surrounded by timber mills, it was not until secondary collage in the late 70s that I first developed an interest in woodturning. It was a part of the schools woodworking elective curriculum. Having made a couple of bowls and pedestals it stopped there for many years as I went on to complete a Fitting and Machining apprenticeship, and work in the metal industry for many years.
Some 15 or so years later, now married and buying a house, but most importantly, now having the space to build a shed, I purchased my first lathe and began to re-discover my interest in woodturning.
Self-taught and currently on my fourth lathe (and second, larger shed), I am now turning pretty much full time.
My work is sold in a number of Australian galleries as well as being in private collections in Canada, America, Germany, the UK and and a number of Asian countries.
I mainly work with Australian native hardwood timbers, some of my favorites being the desert species such as Mulga, Gidge, Dead Finish, Budgeroo and the like. River Red Gum is also up there with my preferred timber types. Any burl timbers are very highly sought after as well. I also like working with some of the locally grown imported species such as Camphor Laurel.
I am constantly experimenting with new ideas to further my craft in the form of different shapes and techniques, and working with new types of timber species.
Most of the timber I purchase comes from small timber mills that specialize in reclaimed old timbers and salvaged timber that would otherwise go to waste or woodchip mills. I travel regularly to Tasmania to obtain high quality lumber such as the rare Huon Pine, a timber now on the protected species list, and only available from salvaged logs in rivers and dams, as well as Blackwood, Myrtle, Blackheart Sassafras, Musk Burl and my all-time favorite, Purple Heart Leatherwood.
Being able to preserve some of our great Australian heritage timbers in an aesthetically pleasing form is a hugely rewarding occupation and passion, and one I hope to be able to continue for many years to come.
