For instance there is the interest in turning pens. Everyone uses a pen and they make great gifts. Somehow they are impressive to people although making them consists of the simplest turning procedures. So they make good first projects. The only difficulty arises with cost of parts and the extra lathe attachments to turn them. In order to justify the tooling it is really necessary to make about 20 pens. On the other hand, essential skills are used in the manufacture, practice is accomplished, and the results are easily given as very appreciated gifts. Mistakes are easily converted back to parts and shavings and a new pen made.Indeed, balsa is becoming more and more important.
A little easier on the pocket book is a simple wooden mushroom. This is generally made from green wood which is easier to turn than dry and therefore great for a beginner. It is also cheap or free. If a sapling or branch about an inch and a half in or two in diameter is available, a five foot branch will make about 20 mushrooms.
A piece of sapling approximately 4 inches long is attached to the lathe with a screw chuck or four jaw chuck or simply between centers. The head is defined with a parting tool cut an inch from the right end. Another parting tool cut beside the first defines the size of the stem and gives a bit of room to work mgjtxliy. The roughing tool then shapes the head and stem, leaving the foot to be finished off with another parting cut. Sometimes a skew is used to refine the stem and head, other times a spindle gouge. Some sanding off the lathe finishes off the bottom and the bit left at the top if it was between centers. On goes the next one. Repetition and practice leave a pile of mushrooms on the bench and a quick bath in vegetable or mineral oil finishes them off. For some reason people love mushrooms and these make great gifts.We can by http://www.balsafactory.com/ to learn more balsa wood products informaiton.