Getting started

Woodturning can be an expensive pastime. You will need a lathe, some tools, some means of sharpening them, personal protective equipment and of course some wood. There are lots of options in all of those categories, and it is certainly possible to spend a small fortune on kitting yourself out. However there is regular availability of previously owned equipment which makes woodturning more accessible, and you can add equipment as you go.

Joining a club means you can talk to people who have been through the process, can answer your questions and hopefully prevent some expensive mistakes.

If you wish to undertake some research Garden of England Woodturners provides these suggestions for information only. It is not responsible for the content of suppliers’ websites nor provides any endorsement for the products listed below.

Woodturning organisations

Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB)

American Association of Woodturners (AAW)

Register of Professional Turners (RPT)

Other woodturning clubs in Kent

Garden of England Woodturners is the most easterly of the three woodturning clubs in Kent. The other two are Orchard Woodturners who meet in Sittingbourne and Kent Woodturners who meet in Aylesford.

Woodturning suppliers: lathes, equipment, finishes and timber

Axminster Tools – online tools & supplies, store in Axminster Devon.

Beaufort Ink – pen-making kits and supplies

Charnwood – lathes and other machinery

Chestnut Products – finishes and consumables

Dalmann UK –African hardwoods and homegrown turning timbers, shop/warehouse near Reading, Berks

Emma Cook (The Tiny Turner) – paints, materials and accessories

Hope Woodturning – Lathes, turning tools and accessories. Showroom nr Colchester Essex.

Olivers Woodturning – local and online woodturning supplies shop

Prokraft –online woodturning accessories and project kits

Record Power – Lathes and other machinery and tools

Rutlands – online supplier of woodworking and woodturning machinery, tools and accessories

Taylors Mirfield – pen-making kits and supplies

Timber Vaults – local wood supplier (in Dunkirk!)

Turners Retreat – online supplier of lathes, turning tools and accessories

Woodturners Shed – wood supplier in Kingsnorth nr. Ashford

Yandles – online turning tools and supplies, shop in Martock, Somerset

Premium UK tool brands

Ashley Iles

Axminster Tools

Crown Hand Tools

Hamlet Tools

Henry Taylor Tools

Hope Woodturning

Robert Sorby

Books

“Fundamentals of Woodturning” by Keith Rowley

“Two in One – Woodturning” by Phil Irons

Anything by Richard Raffan or Mark Baker can be considered standard reference works.

Internet/YouTube

Not all turners on the internet explain the hazards thoroughly or demonstrate the safest techniques, so instructional videos should be viewed with caution. Just for starters, any of the following UK turners can be considered safe and competent: Richard Findley, Colwin Way, Jason Breach, Richard Raffan, Emma Cook.

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