I am full time woodturner based in Ballinora, Waterfall, Co. Cork.

I make bowls, lamps, hollow forms and boxes from Irish grown woods, which I harvest and season myself. I also make buttons, cake stands and other wooden objects.

I make multi-purpose boards from kitchen worktop off-cuts. They can be used for chopping food or presenting and serving cheese, tapas, roast meats and pizza.

My wood is harvested from either dead or storm felled trees. I recycle old timbers and off-cuts which would otherwise be burnt or left to rot.

I use oak, ash, elm, sycamore, beech, apple, cherry, sweet chestnut, yew and other woods.

I season the wood myself.
Seasoning takes at least six months, and can take up to two years, depending on the type of wood, and the condition of the tree before it is harvested.

Typically a log will be air dried in the round for a few months before being cut into blanks and rough turned.
The rough turned blanks are then dried in a container, which has a dehumidifier installed to dry the air.
This process is slow but mean less loss of work due to cracking.
When the rough-turned blanks are dry they are finish turned and polished in the workshop.


I finish my lamps with a final polish of wax. They can be polished with furniture polish or wax.

I finish my bowls with an oil which is based on Tung nut oil. This gives a finish which is durable and hard wearing.

Prolonged use of salad oils and vinegar will remove this finish in time.

Bowls can be refinished if needed. An alternative treatment is to gentle rub on a good salad oil such as olive oil.

HOW TO LOOK AFTER A WOODEN BOWL

Wooden bowls can be washed in warm water (not immersed).
They will be damaged in hot water, and in the Dishwasher,
by the high water temperature and the cleaners used.