Turn & Grain

10/13/2026

09/23/2026

Took today off to run some errands and start a project I’ve been thinking about for the past few weeks. It is for my wife and she knows something is coming but doesn’t know what it is.

I can already hear the “not much of a surprise if she knows something is coming” and let me honest: there is no earthly way I could hide it. We usually run man coverage with our girls so if I’m in the shed that means she is solo with two lovely, high energy, bug emotion kiddos. I don’t usually turn at night because of the noise so it is weekends or days off for me. Add to that my complete lack of skill in lying/deception and I had to give a little to not have to stress about hiding it.

This turned into a little more self disclosure than I expected but I’m good with it.

More to come but these other projects won’t be secrets, which is a relief.

09/06/2026

This little dude jumped off the lathe and flew into my backyard. I learned that there are some challenges with colored pencils I did not expect to navigate: like the paint in the outside melting during the epoxy process and creating weak points.

I might try to finish it at some point but for now I’ll keep staring at it.

06/28/2026

I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you how I got into woodturning.

Let’s take a trip back to 2020, where the entire world seemed to shut down. We had an infant in Kid #1 and my woodworking at the time consisted of stacks of pallets and lots of heavy duty power equipment.

I wanted to find something that I could stop at a moments notice so if there was an emergency or just a tag-in for a tired parent I was ready to help. And I started watching YouTube. were on repeat with the theme of trying new things and seeing what happens.

I found this woodturner who was local to me but only had an email as a point of contact. I weighed out how odd it would be to cold reach out and did it anyways. Basically my email said “I know no one is doing turning classes right now but I’m ready to learn. I’ve got an infant so my time/funds are limited but I’ll come clean your shop in exchange for turning lessons.”

The response: “See you Saturday.”

And that’s it. I swept the floor, dusted machines, emptied trash and just listened and watched as people came through and Nick gave out endless amounts of insight and advice. Slowly less cleaning and more asking my own questions, bringing pieces of wood in for inspection, tips on how to not get hurt.

I would bring Kid #1 and introduce everyone. More time goes by, Kid #2 arrives and she is just as comfortable in Nick’s as I am. Part of our weekly running around has been to stop by to see if and are in the shop.

I’ve watched people come in asking for boat repair ideas, fixing podiums, talking about replica Spanish ships with , Nick making a crib for his grandchild, and even making wedding plans.

This place is special to me so to pack it up piece by piece was rough. The next chapter, the next set of people around the workbench sharing ideas, the next guy that wants to learn how to use a lathe, will all be in a place that wouldn’t have been possible without this.

I’m excited to see what’s next for their shop, and for mine, while I try to remember that change isn’t always an ending but a shift in the path.

06/20/2026

This is one of the funkiest pieces I have been given.

This asymmetrical mini burl came off a tree (along with some branches) at a friend’s house and they held it for a little while. It is just big enough to catch my interest and just weird enough to make me nervous.

The request was for “whatever you think is cool” which I’m thankful for. I’ve been trying to be a little more mindful with what I’m making so now I can take a step back and think about this one.

Basic principles still apply: do it safely, let the material guide the design, and don’t take yourself too seriously.

05/29/2026

Ready to go! Final teacher gift of the year and I’m pretty happy with it. I don’t think this is enough to thank teachers for all their work but it’s the best I can do.

This one has some hiccups along the way, which I’ll make a post about to show not everything a home run all the time.

05/27/2026

Sometimes the idea in my head doesn’t work out and I toss the original plan out the window. Going with my gut feels better, anyways.

05/24/2026

Final teacher gift for the year! Every time I tell myself I’m done using unusual materials a project like this wraps up and I start thinking of different ways to integrate it. Colored pencils so far is top 3 so don’t be surprised when they show up later.

05/16/2026

First time I have used acrylic and I’ve got to be honest—so far I prefer wood.

I do like the finish, though, so I’m not entirely done with it but I’ll have to learn some more about the material.

05/10/2026

On top of candy, water bottles, etc. I thought it would be nice to add something more individualized.