‘Tis the season for making New Years Resolutions, setting goals, thinking ahead, and planning for the future. While many people might set goals to eat better, work out more, or pay more attention to their mental well-being, those of us in the woodturning world might consider some woodturning resolutions for the new year.
Your overarching woodturning goal this year should be a simple one: become a better woodturner!
Within that mindset, though, there are many kinds of goals you could set that would help you become a better woodturner; you could try mastering a new technique, experimenting with different woods, or completing a certain number of projects. Alternatively, you could set goals that allow you to invest more in your craft or send your expertise outward by becoming a woodturning mentor or crafting something for charity.
Whatever you decide, know that you will grow as a woodturner in 2025! Continue reading for some specific challenges you might take on this year.
If you are new to the world of woodturning, you may not be sure where to begin with your new woodturning resolutions! First and foremost, see our Woodturning Guide for Beginners for some ideas of how to get started woodturning.
Then, set yourself some specific goals for this year. Consider what you want to accomplish. Do you want to experiment with different kinds of wood? Master a certain technique? Maybe you just want to get comfortable with your lathe and other tools! There is no right or wrong woodturning goal. Just make sure not to bite off more than you can chew; it can be discouraging to set a goal too high and find yourself unable to reach it.
One way to grow as a beginning woodturner is to set yourself a goal to make something new. Here are some beginning projects that you could make this year.
Challenge: see how many items you can check off this list in 2025!
As we mentioned in a previous blog post, bowls are one of the first places for beginning woodturners to start. Bowls can be made quite simply, or they can be made with more complex details and forms. If you are just starting out, set yourself a goal to make one bowl or a set of bowls that are simple, but beautiful and useful. For these woodturning resolutions, start by making shallower bowls and, as you get the hang of the techniques needed to turn bowls, add more complexity to your work by making deeper bowls with more detail. We recommend making small bowls to begin with and using greener wood, as it will (likely) not crack as much as dryer wood.
A good quality bowl should have a roughly uniform thickness for the walls of the bowl and be even across the top, unless you are working with a more asymmetrical shape. Now is the time to play around with different bowl gouges or roughing gouges (see our post on Tools and Equipment needed for woodturning) and finding what techniques work best for the kinds of wood you are using.
Plates are another project you might attempt this year if you are new to woodturning. Plates are made with the same techniques as bowls are, as the wood blanks are mounted in similar ways to the lathe and the same tools can be used to create both the shallow bowl and the flatter plate.
However, plates can be a bit trickier than bowls, as the flatter surface of a platter or plate is less forgiving of mistakes or asymmetrical designs than the curved surface of a bowl. Don’t let this scare you, though! Once you’ve mastered the art of the bowl, you’re ready to create a plate, platter, or set of dishware that you or your loved ones can use all year.
Once you’ve begun experimenting with the creation of bowls and plates, it’s time to move to items that are crafted using the spindle-turning technique. As you might guess, spindle turning is a bit different than turning bowls because you are turning wood between two centers, creating a cylindrical final product.
Some interesting projects you might attempt this year include things like candlestick holders, rolling pins, and pens. Candlestick holders are a great place to start spindle turning because, like bowls, you can make them as simple or complex as you desire. Candle holders can also be made in a variety of shapes, so any imperfections in the wood or in your techniques as you learn can be incorporated into the final product.
Pens, handles, and rolling pins require a bit more finesse and planning, as most people want them to be symmetrical and evenly shaped. Try these when you want to push yourself! You can also experiment with different finishes for these products. Challenge yourself to make at least one new spindle-turned item or set of items this year and watch your skills improve!
If you are a woodturner who has gone beyond the beginning stages of your craft, you might be wondering what kinds of goals and woodturning resolutions are best for you to set this year to help you improve your woodturning abilities. It is likely, at this stage, that you have made most of the things we mentioned above. Now is the time to consider what new skills or tools might pose interesting challenges to you throughout the coming year.
Challenge: Choose a new tool or technique to master this year!
Most woodturners get started by using the same few tools: roughing gouges, spindle gouges, bowl or faceplate gouges, and parting tools. These are extremely useful and versatile tools, so you can make many objects without going beyond these basics. However, exploring more advanced tools might just be the challenge you need to push your woodturning to new heights this year.
Hollowing tools, or swan-neck tools, allow woodturners to move beyond the basic bowls and plates we mentioned above and venture into hollow forms. This can allow an intermediate woodturner to create boxes, vases, baby rattles, goblets, ornaments…the list goes on!
Scrapers are another kind of tool that you might invest in if you are looking to improve your woodturning abilities. Scrapers can be used for various projects, as they come in many shapes and sizes. Advanced scrapers have a notch or groove in their heads, allowing the woodturner to create specific shapes in their wood.
For instance, a dovetail scraper might allow a woodturner to cut the dovetail on the base of a piece. A captive ring scraper has a c-shaped notch in the head, which helps a woodturner make perfectly round rings on the lip of a vase or on the edge of a baby rattle. A bead forming tool has a u-shaped groove in the head, making it easy for a woodturner to create a series of beads on a table leg or spindle.
Investing in these kinds of tools allows you to not only master the tool but the techniques needed to use it in order to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind items for you or your loved ones. You might try making many different things, or you could perfect your technique on one item so that you are ready to give handmade ornaments or lidded boxes to each family member next Christmas. Or, if you are looking to sell your items, practicing with these new tools and techniques might give you the edge you’ve been looking for, making 2025 your year for woodturning!
Another interesting way to improve your woodturning this year might be to combine your woodturning with other woodworking or complementary pursuits, such as woodturning with resin or adding carving or pyrography to your woodturning repertoire.
We’ve done a blog post on woodturning with resin, so check it out for further information about that process. Carving is another way to add beauty and uniqueness to your woodturning, for which you might also need to invest in some detailers. These tools can help you add texture or even images to your wood-turned items.
Pyrography is the hottest (old) new technique to add interest to handcrafted wooden pieces. Pyrography is the art of woodburning or using a hot implement to draw or imprint designs into the wood. While pyrography has been around for hundreds of years, more and more people are using this method to turn their wood pieces into blank canvasses that can hold entire artworks. If you’ve never tried woodburning before, you’ll want to invest in a woodburning pen and practice simple designs to see what it can do. Once you’ve got the hang of it, there is no limit to what you can create!
A final goal you might set for yourself this year as an intermediate woodturner is turning a on larger scale. Perhaps you’ve worked on smaller items until this point, creating bowls, spoons, pens, handles, bracelets…you name it.
But now it’s time to go big! You might need to invest in a new lathe to turn larger items, but what better excuse to invest in some new equipment, right? Then, start by making items you are familiar with on a larger scale: larger bowls, platters, vases, etc. Once you are comfortable with the larger wood blanks and the techniques needed to turn them, branch out into some new items. You could create furniture pieces like table legs, tabletops, drums, even large wooden spheres, or other shapes that can be used (by you or others) for sculpting.
If you are an advanced woodturner, you might feel like you’ve mastered the art of creating every product imaginable; you are the go-to gift-maker in your family and all your wooden dishes, pens, and jewelry are self-made. Maybe you’ve been turning for years, and you’ve experimented with all the new tools and techniques we’ve mentioned, and some more besides.
To the advanced woodturner, we say: now is the time for you to turn outward! Set a goal for yourself to move beyond your own woodshop this year and impact your community with your woodturning resolutions.
Challenge: Set a goal to donate at least one piece to charity this year, or to find one way to invest in another woodturner.
One way you can send your skills and attention outward is to create something for charity. Most woodturners begin by creating things for themselves or their own family members, which is only natural. Others set up shop after a while, crafting pieces to be sold or distributed for profit, which is great! But nothing compares to sharing one’s gifts in a way that benefits others through giving.
You can certainly donate money to woodworking or woodturning associations, but did you know that organizations like the AAW (American Association of Woodturners) accept donations of personally owned, turned art as well?
You might also look into charities who raise funds by hosting sales or auctions; there are many, many charities that host or set up booths at sales and auctions that would be delighted to have handmade wooden pieces donated for them to sell. And in this case, you could choose to support a charity that is important to you while continuing to invest in your own passion for woodturning.
Lastly, you might ask around your community. Are there nursing homes or assisted living facilities that would like some nicely turned wood bowls or platters, either for everyday use or for decoration? Perhaps there are places who help people in need (churches, food pantries, home healthcare operations) who know of individuals who would be thrilled to receive a beautiful and unique wood turned item, especially if they may never have a chance to purchase one of their own. There really is no limit once you begin looking for ways to invest your craft in your community!
One other way to invest your craft in your community is to become a woodturning mentor or teacher. If you’ve been woodturning for years, you probably have knowledge that others are hungry for. The first step, usually, if you haven’t done so already, is to become a member of a local woodturning organization. You can see one of our previous blog posts for a discussion of different classes and associations that are out there, but a simple internet search for “local chapter of woodturning club” should get you where you need to be.
Once you have joined a local club, you can contact the leadership to see how one becomes a teacher or mentor. Some organizations might offer paid contracts for classes, while others might ask you to volunteer your time.
The other way to become a mentor is to start organically. Maybe you know someone who is interested in woodturning but hasn’t started yet, or maybe someone has asked about your craft at a booth or event where your pieces were displayed. Offering to teach or mentor others does not have to be done in a formal way; you could invite this person (maybe even a family member!) to your woodshop and help them get started on their own woodturning journey.
Lastly, in this digital age, you could also consider making videos of yourself to post to social media, similar to our YouTube channel. More and more people turn to the internet to find information and demonstrations about all kinds of things, including woodturning. Videos don’t have to be complicated; just make sure to have abundant lighting and to talk loudly enough to be heard over any ambient noise. Alternatively, you could create the video and then make a voice-over recording to ensure that your instructions can be heard.
Know that whether you choose to invest in others formally or informally, you will be bettering yourself and the next generation of woodturners!
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