Re: Is woodturning considered woodworking?

Depends on who you ask - the guy with the buzz cut, or the guy with the ponytail. Doesn't matter whether the one you ask spins his wood or his blade, either.

Yes woodturning is considered woodworking. Woodturnings are not all bowls and hollow forms. Spindle work is often icorporated into other aspects of woodworking I.E. Tables, chairs, staircase banisters and many others.

Steven Raphael Ithaca MI

In my experience, yes on both counts.

There are plenty of folks who do nothing but turn, and plenty of woodworkers who don't turn wood. You can actually turn and not use wood, such as making a Corian pen, so turning doesn't have to be woodworking.

Anything that uses wood as a raw material is some form of woodworking.

I put turning in the same group as scroll sawing, carving, intarsia, etc... Different, but still crafts related to woodworking.

Barry

Yeah, woodworking can be fun!

hmm.. sort of question that will have many opinions..

To me, it's part of what I do in the "wood shop", so it's woodworking..(working with wood?)

you'll probably get a range of answers from "turning is an art and different from woodworking" to if you're framing a house, building cabinets, turning a bowl or carving a whistle, it's woodworking...

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Hello,

How about Pyromanie? is that part of woodworking too? (putting wood (or wood dust) in fire) :-)

cyrille

To answer you question, in my opinion, yes woodturning is considered woodworking. I prefer the old term of Woodsmithing. A woodsmith designs, builds furniture, makes wood utensils and many others things with wood, lumber and timber using the required tooling. Opposite to that we have the blacksmith that made everything from nails to wheels using iron, steel and other ferrous material using traditional tools. Today both the blacksmith and woodsmith are using modern tools and equipment. When needed they know how to use the traditional tools. Today the needs have changed and people enjoy to specialize in one area of woodworking at their conveniences.

It depends on who you ask. Woodturning is usually considered a higher, elegant, more artsy form of woodworking. Turning table legs is just woodworking. Turning a bowl or a hollow form, if done well enough, with enough attention to shape and design, may well be art. (My humble opinion only. Others may vary.)

Barry

Especially if you call it a "hollow form", eh? Most of the "art" is in the mind of the turner....

Yes.

or in the mind of the "woodworker".....

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Yep, couldn't you just scream as you see yet another Krenovian wall cabinet?

Turning table legs is woodworking. Turning a natural edge bowl or a burl to paper-thin wall thickness is woodworking taken to the highest level. If you are good enough, this type of woodturning may even be considered to be art. Just my humble opinion. (Believe me, the woodturning that I do is just plain woodworking!)

Barry

Welllll, that makes me think back to this place: