Wood Selection

While I was deciding on which lathe to buy I was also considering what types of wood I might use for my projects. Needless to say there is a vast number of choices and a correspondingly great variation in prices. I remember seeing some very nice looking turned pieces made from what I call "glued-up stock" which is several slices of different wood types glued together to make a large piece. When this piece is turned there are usually some very interesting patterns resulting from the colors and textures of the differnt wood types.

Of course cutting and gluing different wood types requires space and equipment not available to me, so I opted for a manufactured product that achieves the same results. What I found was the Teragren company who makes some very interesting kitchen countertops comprised of glued-up strips of bamboo. Click here to see Teragren's bamboo countertop web page.

I thought the Parquet Butcher Block style would be the most interesting when it was turned, so I found a dealer near me who could get the basic countertop and cut it into 12" squares. The countertop material is available in either 30" x 96" x 1.5" or 36" x 72" x 1.5" pieces, and you have to buy a whole piece. I wanted the latter size because it would yield eighteen 12" square pieces, but the store was only able to get the former size. So I ended up with sixteen 12" squares and three 6" wide pieces which I will cut up into smaller ones.

Below are photos of one of the squares before and after I used a handhelp saber saw to cut out a rough circle..