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Home > The U.S. Flag At Half Staff
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Wood Turning - Hobby for the Environment
by Darrell Feltmate
We live in a society that is trying to fight back the notion that disposable is good. Many of our products are designed to be made of materials that are difficult to recycle but easy to dispose of in landfill sites. They are also make to wear out and need to be replaced. Consumerism has run rampant and many of our household objects have become impersonal works of plastic cheaply made and easily disposed of.
Enter the wood turner. Little has changed in the craft for a thousand years or more. Tools are made of better steel and lathes are now powered by electricity, but objects are usually made one by one by hand and eye. Each has a distinctive nature and a uniqueness that comes only from hand work without the artificial sameness of machine manufacture. In the old manner, bowls, spoons, candle holders and other ordinary objects are raised to the status of art as well as craft.
But what of the impact on the environment? What of all the wood that is used, not to mention wasted by the act of turning?
First of all, most wood turners are very conscious of the woods that are used. Exotics are used sparingly, partly because of cost but also in respect for the dwindling rain forests of the world. It is an easy thing these days to ensure that exotic wood is taken from a farmed and renewable resource. Plus, there is the beauty in even the most common of woods to considered. Beautiful wood, as the say, grows on trees.
Most wood turners like to use local wood and preferably "found" wood. That is wood that is usually destined for the land fill or the fire place. It is inexpensive, often beautiful, and plentiful. A wind storm can produce far more wood than a turner will use all year as he or she aids neighbors in storm clean up.
What of those piles of shavings that get generated so quickly? Depending on where one lives, these are destined for the recycling program for the composting center, a horse farm or race course where they are regarded as prime bedding material, garden mulch to slowly replenish the soil, or for the turner's own compost pile. Nothing is wasted and what would have been landfill is a thing of beauty and an asset for recycle.
About the Author
Darrell Feltmate is a juried woodturner whose web site, aroundthewoods.com, contains detailed information about woodturning for the novice or experienced turner as well as a collection of turnings for your viewing pleasure. You too can learn to turn wood, here is the place to start. Wondering what it looks like? Follow the page links for a free video. aroundthewoods.com
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