Hi, I’m Geoff. I have been wood working all my life, but fell in love with wood turning in recent years. The colour and weight of the wood, the grain and patina, the finish. All these things interest and excite me. When I first pick up a raw lump of timber, I envisage what I want to fashion from it, and how it will look when finished. Every item is unique because every piece of wood is a challenge. You can never plan for the unexpected knot, or stain. All you can do is exploit it. Most blemishes end up being a focal point.
Equal to the enjoyment I derive from turning the blank into an interesting shape, is the pleasure I get from using a new and beautiful finish. The finish should enhance the original wood. It can be a glossy and highly burnished finish, produced using french polish, beeswax, or polyurethane varnish. Sometimes a satin finish is obtained using oils, or a mat surface is achieved using cellulose sealer. All the things I make still retain the look of wood, in the end. If you spray the surface with a solid colour it might as well be made of plastic. That said, I do sometimes use colour as part of the overall product, if only to produce a contrast, and detract from the usual ‘brown and round ‘ theme.
I love making pens and pencils, and have made dozens, some with ‘silver’ some ‘gold’ fitments. I also enjoy making them entirely from scratch. See my pen and inkpots, or my quill pens, my magnetic ones, or my key-ring pens, or some lovely coloured pens.
For me wood turning is a hobby ‘turned’ (sorry) into a business. I like to make a variety of products so take a look at my ‘non pen’ stuff. If you have any ideas for interesting products that others would like to buy, please get in touch here. I also welcome constructive comments.
I will try and keep this site up to date so call by from time to time and see what is new.
Best Regards
Geoff