Christmas Ornament Turning Class with Chris Stull

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Woodcraft of Parkersburg, West Virginia, hosted a Christmas ornament woodturning class.  The 7 student class began with safety instruction on the lathes and turning tools, followed by adding the mandrels and live centers to each Delta and Jet lathe. The various style wood blocks were pre-drilled for the 7mm diameter bushing sleeve and glued in place ahead of time with CA Adhesive, by our instructor, Chris Stull.

Woodturning class with students using lathes to shape wood ornaments in workshop.
Person using a cordless drill to bore a hole in a small wood block held in a bench vise
Two wooden blocks with drilled centers mounted on a lathe faceplate for turning Christmas ornaments

The 3/4″ cutter and pilot shaft assembly were used to clear out any excess glue and to square the wood blank ends by each of the attending students:

The students observed a practice run, as Chris showed us how to rough out the blanks with a 3/4″ roughing gouge.

Detail of a woodturning gouge with a wooden handle and polished steel blade for shaping wood on a lathe
Three men in workshop using wood lathes for woodturning, one shaping a piece on the lathe.

The students assembled the blanks to the mandrel, aligned and tightened up the live centers and the chips began to fly…

Hands using a gouge chisel on a wood blank mounted on a Delta lathe for woodturning ornaments.
Hands using a chisel to shape wood on a Jet wood lathe with wood shavings flying.
Close-up of hand shaping small wood blank on lathe with wood shavings flying during turning process

Once the rough cuts were completed, we proceeded using various scrapers to design individual ideas created by our students. (Speaking of Rough Cut, be sure to check out what Tommy Mac has been up to by checking out his WEBSITE from T-MAC Season 1 tips to How-To Skill Building, he’s got it all going on.) Now back to our ornament class…

Woodworker shaping a small wooden ornament on a lathe with a chisel in a workshop.
Wood lathe turning a multi-ringed wooden Christmas ornament blank with shavings on tool rest
Woodworker shaping a small Christmas ornament on a lathe in a workshop setting

The final shapes are complete and we are ready for some sanding, starting with 220 grit paper, working our way up to 600 grit, followed by polishing with HUT Crystal Coat liquid friction finish:

Hands shaping a small wooden ornament blank on a Jet wood lathe in a workshop setting
Woodworker shaping a small wooden ornament on a lathe using a spindle gouge chisel.
Hands sanding a small wooden ornament blank mounted on a lathe spindle in a workshop setting
Two people adjusting a small wooden block in a woodworking vise on a workbench with woodturning tools nearby

Chris made some assembly blocks for the different diameter styles of the ornaments to protect in the ornament assembly…

Some of the finished ornaments…

Three turned wooden Christmas ornaments with varied shapes and wood grain patterns on a light wood surface
Hands holding and examining a small turned wooden Christmas ornament near a metal vise on a workbench with sandpaper sheets
Group of five woodturning students holding small turned wooden Christmas ornaments in workshop room

A step-by-step process video with Chris Stull:

Check out all the classes offered at your local Woodcraft store as well as the ornament kits, various wood types and all the items that you will need to make your own ornaments for yourself or someone special this holiday season at your local Woodcraft store or on-line.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Woodcraft.

Auf wiedersehen…Frank

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