Turned Canisters

Hone Your Skills Making Functional Storage

-  Dillon Baker

PROJECT #2102

Skill Level: Advanced

Time: 1 day Cost: $50

It’s rare that I afford myself the opportunity to spend time and experiment at the lathe. Much of this could be attributed to the fact that turning (to me) has always had the perception of being a purely hobbyist pursuit that was too arcane and esoteric to be practical. And as a neophyte to the craft, it’s often easy to view fine woodworking and turning as two separate things, but in fact can be classified as either synonymous or as an extension of one another. Personally, I prefer to view them as complementary—a correlational and mutually advantageous discipline.

It’s this sense of interconnectedness combined with a willingness to improve, that continually drive my need to pick up a gouge and dispel my initial impressions of turning. Over time, I have found that committing to small projects (such as the ones featured in this article) become a reminder of the gratifying quality that turning possesses. Another redeeming aspect of turning is the ability to yield successful results without having a great deal of experience. Minimal tools and equipment are required, rendering this an accessible and enjoyable exercise for novice woodworkers and experts alike—so let’s get started.

Scrap Bin Diving

One of the things to relish about this project is that it allows you to finally utilize those pieces of wood you refused to discard ‘insert number of years ago here’. Of course, there is always the option of going out and purchasing something exotic or figured (since it’s on a more economical scale), however, there is something inherently gratifying about using up old scraps of sentimentality.