Urban Wood by Masuma Rahim

Urban Wood by Masuma Rahim Contemporary woodturning and woodcrafts, handmade in London.

There is almost nothing* nicer than freshly oiled burr wood. This will be left to dry for a couple of days before being ...
04/03/2026

There is almost nothing* nicer than freshly oiled burr wood. This will be left to dry for a couple of days before being remounted for hollowing.

*chips are a strong contender

There hasn’t been much time for leisure turning recently; commissions and teaching have taken up most of January and Feb...
04/03/2026

There hasn’t been much time for leisure turning recently; commissions and teaching have taken up most of January and February. But a gap in the diary means I can turn my attention to some elm burr which has been drying for the past 18 months or so.

Very pleased to have been awarded first prize in the Members Competition (Bert Marsh Plate) at Wizardry in Wood, hosted ...
31/10/2025

Very pleased to have been awarded first prize in the Members Competition (Bert Marsh Plate) at Wizardry in Wood, hosted by .company.of.london. This prize was awarded for a piece of Kentish oak burr turned last year, and I was delighted to have won. And, just for good measure, here I am, in my Indiana Jones-esque rain hat, taking it home by tube.

An evening at Wizardry in Wood, hosted by .company.of.london
30/10/2025

An evening at Wizardry in Wood, hosted by .company.of.london

A lamp in African Blackwood, one of my favourite woods. I picked this log up a few years ago and have been thinking abou...
11/10/2025

A lamp in African Blackwood, one of my favourite woods. I picked this log up a few years ago and have been thinking about what to do with on and off ever since. It clearly had two holes but it wasn’t possible to predict how deep they were. In the end, there were more than two holes and they went pretty deep! Blackwood is both hard and dense, so it’s likely to have been nibbled at by something with fearsome teeth, but I was able to incorporate them into the final piece, and, pleasingly, I was also able to preserver some of the lighter-coloured sapwood for contrast.

My first time turning sequoia. An American wood, very light, but a lovely shade of pinky-orange.
07/10/2025

My first time turning sequoia. An American wood, very light, but a lovely shade of pinky-orange.

I’ve spent the past five years using this little benchtop drill, and although it’s done me well it lacks both capacity a...
29/09/2025

I’ve spent the past five years using this little benchtop drill, and although it’s done me well it lacks both capacity and oomph (that’s the technical term, right?) for my purposes. So I was delighted to take delivery of this significantly larger machine this morning. I won’t bore you with all the ways in which it’s more powerful and versatile; but suffice it to say there will be plenty of boring occurring 🤪

It’s been quiet in the workshop recently - summer involved some time away, and a couple of susbtantial domestic renovati...
15/09/2025

It’s been quiet in the workshop recently - summer involved some time away, and a couple of susbtantial domestic renovation projects have meant little time at the lathe recently. But as autumn approaches, lessons are picking up again. I had a day with Hope on Saturday, and despite never having used a lathe, she took to it beautifully. If you’d like to try your hand, bookings can be made via the link in my bio, or by DM.

Making shavings from large pieces of wood is great, but it has two disadvantages: it wastes a lot of the timber and it m...
21/06/2025

Making shavings from large pieces of wood is great, but it has two disadvantages: it wastes a lot of the timber and it means a lot of sweeping. I recently bought the Oneway Tools coring system, which allows you to make several bowls from one. This was my test piece: an 11” piece of holly with some potential but lots of flaws. I’ve managed to get two decent-sized bowls out of it, and something that can probably be used for an ornamental piece. And there’s hardly any sweeping to be done.

I’ve been meaning to make an off-centre bowl for ages and I finally got around to it recently. There’s a pleasingly cres...
23/05/2025

I’ve been meaning to make an off-centre bowl for ages and I finally got around to it recently. There’s a pleasingly crescent-like aspect to it, and I even managed to avoid catching my fingers as it spun in an ellipsis (I confess it did yell when I turned the lathe on and saw it whizzing around like a rugby ball). This is made from sapele and finished in hard wax oil.

Green oak, scorched, embellished and waxed; 8x4 inches
26/04/2025

Green oak, scorched, embellished and waxed; 8x4 inches

Zoe came along to the studio today for a lesson and made a garden dibber and a wide-rinmed bowl in oak.
05/04/2025

Zoe came along to the studio today for a lesson and made a garden dibber and a wide-rinmed bowl in oak.

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