Getting Started in Woodturning: 18 Practical Projects & Expert Advice on Safety, Tools & Techniques

Woodturning is a fun, engaging, and tremendously rewarding hobby that will last a lifetime.

Whether you’re just getting started at the lathe or you’re a seasoned woodturner looking for nuggets of insight, you’ll find it all in the AAW's Official Guide, Getting Started in Woodturning, an essential reference of safety information, tool advice, woodturning techniques, and practical projects from the pages of American Woodturner, the journal from the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). Written by some of today's finest woodturners, including Richard Raffan, Jim Rodgers, Richard Kleinhenz, and Alan Lacer among them, Getting Started in Woodturning teaches shop-tested, best-practice fundamentals that make woodturning a safe, enjoyable, and enriching hobby that will last a lifetime. 

Divided into four sections - Getting Started, Tools, Techniques, and Projects, this treasure-trove of expert information will guide an aspiring woodturner to discover: 

• What to know when buying and aligning a lathe
• Safety practices for dust collection, face shields, and the shop
• Techniques for sharpening and using turning tools
• How to turn, avoid catches, and finish like a pro
• 18 useful projects to build your skills 

Getting Started in Woodturning is the only book a beginner needs to safely and confidently get started in the craft of woodturning.

John Kelsey is a journalist, editor, and a writer who specializes in woodworking and woodturning. The author of several woodworking books, he is a former editor-in-chief for Fine Woodworking magazine and the former editorial director for Fox Chapel Publishing, and is the author of several woodworking books. He is currently the editorial director of the American Association of Woodturners book program and responsible for bringing the thirty-years of shop-tested and expert information from American Journal, the definitive woodturning magazine -- by woodturners for woodturners -- for the world’s evergrowing woodturning community.

American Woodturner, the official journal of the American Association of Woodturners, is the leading publication on the art and craft of woodturning in the world. A wellspring of practical information, inspiration, and resources, American Woodturner is published six times each year and is one of the premier benefits of membership.