Woodworking can be considered fine art, and its being a fine art is more noticeable when you are working on a woodworking lathe. With woodturning, you can produce various products like chess pieces, wooden shoulders, hookah bodies, furniture bases, sofa bases, chair bases, and wicker furniture. You can even try woodturning projects that you can sell, like dishes and bowls.
As a beginner in woodturning, you might be at a loss about which projects to indulge in. Of course, if you’ve recently just bought your lathe machine, you might be too excited to indulge in more complicated tasks. Yet, it will be best to get the hang of its use to ensure that you will know the rudiments of its usage.
Popular Woodturning Projects for Gifts
As you become more proficient in using the lathe, you can begin to consider doing popular projects for gifts. Below are the most popular woodturning projects for gifts that you can also monetize:
Bangles
If you have a young daughter, you might as well make her some bangles. Making bangles will let you hone your lathing skills while ensuring that you produce something valuable and beautiful. It will help you gain the balance needed to create more ambitious projects. It will also allow you to practice woodturning basic techniques and movements.
Of course, the first attempts will never be according to what you intend to do, but you need to undergo the learning curve. Once you’ve mastered the basic movements, you can produce fantastic bangles that your daughter will surely love. You can also use these bangles as tokens and gifts.
Wooden Vase
Making a wooden vase is an excellent idea if you want a DIY gift. You can start with a design and work on that design. Then, you can begin choosing the wood you would use for the vase. Your limitation, however, when making a wooden vase using the lathe is your creativity.
You need to shape the outside of the wooden vase, then start working on the inside. Of course, you need to make a hole at the center of the block at the onset. You can eyeball this center hole. Then, drill a hole using a bit with the same diameter as the shank.
During the initial cuts, you just slip the edge onto the corner of the wood until you get the shape you would like to achieve. Then, work on the bottom of the vase. The finished wooden vase will surely be one of the best projects you can make and give as a gift.
Round Wooden Boxes
Once you’ve learned how to wood turn plates, bowls, and vases, the next thing you might aim to make is a round wooden box. A round wooden box is not an actual box in the strictest sense of the word. But woodturners call it box, so you might as well not contest it.
Making a round wooden box is similar to how you would make a bowl. The only difference is the need to carve out a lip either on the outside or inside to fit the lid.
Bottle Stopper
Another excellent project you can engage in using the wood lathe is a bottle stopper. A bottle stopper is a wonderful gift likewise because it comes in handy when sealing wine or bottle.
You can make a bottle stopper of unique design depending on your level of creativity. It is easy to make, and when making it, you can quickly get the hang of the wood lathe.
Wooden Pens
Wooden pens are popular gifts and excellent woodturning projects. You can use a wooden pen turning kit to accomplish this project. You can also use a smaller lathe for this project. You will enjoy doing this project, and the result can be very satisfying.
Of course, working on smaller projects like this might be more challenging if you’re a beginner. But as you get the hang of the rudiments of woodturning, you can focus your attention on making these tiny wooden pens and give them away as gifts.
Wooden Christmas Tree
You can also make a small Christmas tree using your woodworking lathe. Use your creative mind to create an excellent design for this little project. This project is perfect as a gift during the Holiday season. Such a project can let you likewise harness and hone your woodturning skills. Besides, you can also monetize this project if you can do it well.
Wooden Rings
If you have already tried making bangles and succeeded in doing so, you can also try making wooden rings. The techniques in making wooden rings are almost the same as those of the bangles. Nevertheless, the process can be more intricate and complex because you will be working on smaller raw materials.
You can’t just choose any wood to make wooden rings. You need to choose hardwood for this project. Working on hardwood, of course, is more challenging, and as a beginner, you might find it hard to fashion out hardwood into small rings. Yet, making a ring out of hardwood is not impossible for beginners.
Conclusion
There is nothing so satisfying as taking a seemingly shapeless woodblock and transforming it into something beautiful. That’s the kind of satisfaction you get out of the woodturning. Aside from that satisfaction, you will also get many benefits from woodturning. It can improve your health, prolong your life, and even provide you with a source of income. Besides, it can improve your mental sharpness.
If you haven’t tried woodturning, I guess it is high time to try your hand at it. You can do various popular woodturning projects like those mentioned above. You can also monetize these projects, giving you an additional source of income.