From Log to Lathe

I have written many woodturning stories and they usually begin with mounting the blank on a lathe to begin the turning. However, an important, but often forgotten part of the story of turning is how the blank was created and how that affects the final product. Many turners buy their blanks already cut and that means the decisions about what they can make have already largely been made by a stranger, and that person may have only a vague idea of how to turn wood, or what features of the wood are important.

Recently I obtained a number of freshly cut logs and I was planning how to cut each of them to get the best results. The decisions I