Richard Raffan turns a pagoda box for the 23rd 4-Ways Project Richard Raffan 2026-09-20 | Richard Raffan turns a pagoda box for the 23rd 4-Ways Project
Richard Raffan turns a set of four plates. Richard Raffan 2024-10-13 | You see one plate turned in real time with the other three speeded up unless something of interest occurs, which it does several times. You see the rhythm of production turning.
Richard Raffan turns a Huon box with a suction-fit lid. Richard Raffan 2024-10-10 | You see this 65mm diameter endgrain box with a suction fit lid made in real time. It should have taken about 25 minutes, but there were a few sanding problems inside the lid — and then I over-cut the base flange when refining the lid fit, making the lid loose. Consequently, you see how I recover from that not uncommon situation to obtain the suction fit. You’ll also see how easy it is to pull out endgrain at centre.
Richard Raffan turns a camphor laurel tray in real time start to finish. Richard Raffan 2024-10-06 | This video replaces an incomplete version posted a few days ago. Now you see all the turning, sanding, and finishing. The blank comes loose as I throw it on a screw chuck, illustrating why you should never stand in line with the blank as you start a lathe. Then you see how I deal with a few areas of picked out grain, and achieve the flat surface that a tray demands.
Richard Raffan on turning sets — the 20th. 4-Ways project Richard Raffan 2024-10-01 | You see how I go about making matching ash plates 175x21mm with a 110mm foot. A seam of silica runs through the ash, blunting the tools. The edges require frequent honing. This video was a rushed shoot leading to some carelessness on my part — so if/when you find yourself in similar situations (plural!!), you might remember how I recovered. 4-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on YouTube at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.Tomislav — youtu.be/4nDlZ1c-sTw?si=dt6DSZhqOS2CE-ys Sam — youtu.be/0Ke7pHvUIcgMike — youtu.be/1zr9JEP7hh4
Richard Raffan converts a highly figured tiger-myrtle board to woodturning blanks Richard Raffan 2024-09-27 | You see how I work around splits as I cut defect-free turning blanks from a highly figured and well-seasoned board of Tasmanian tiger myrtle.
Richard Raffan designs and turns a crossgrain box. Richard Raffan 2024-09-22 | You see the whole process, from concept to cutting the blanks from a single block of Tasmanian blackwood through to the finished box. You see how I develop and refine shapes, and then in the last five minutes of the video see how the following morning I decided to reshape the lid, risking the whole project. There are good views of using a spindle gouge to shear scrape and using a roughed bowl as a chuck to refine the base. As I rough out the lid you see the gouge suddenly lose its edge as it hits the remains of a mud wasp’s nest.
Richard Raffan turns a grasstree hut box Richard Raffan 2024-09-19 | The blanks for this xanthorrhoea (aka grasstree) endgrain box were saved from an earlier project youtu.be/5DSYm2QVeQU, where you see the lid cut from inside the bowl.
Richard Raffan turns a xanthorrhoea root into an endgrain bowl and two blanks. Richard Raffan 2024-09-16 | From a xanthorrhoea root I get an endgrain bowl and two blanks for another project. Xanthorrhoea, more commonly known as grasstree, is related to lilies rather than trees. You see the coring tool in Simple Coring youtube.com/watch?v=P2XQ8TSYNMw
Richard Raffan copies a finial. Richard Raffan 2024-09-10 | Some great shots of the skew chisel, spindle gouge, and calipers shaping and sizing a blank mounted on a home-made mini screw chuck designed for just this sort of job.
Richard Raffan turning very hard, very dry, casuarina Richard Raffan 2024-09-05 | This bit of casuarina is full of silica that takes the edge off tools in seconds. There's a close-up of the specks of silica as you get to see how I cope with such tough timber.
Richard Raffans wood pile Richard Raffan 2024-09-04 | This is for the many viewers who asked to see my stock of turning blanks and timber.
Richard Raffan turns a garlic container for the 19th. 4-Ways project Richard Raffan 2024-09-01 | Just when I thought the container was finished, I realized I'd forgotten an essential element of the design — you see that sorted out in the last five minutes. Before that you see solutions to common chucking problems and on several occasions can listen to the difference between a sharp and less-than-sharp tool. Here are links to the other 4-Ways videos:Tomislav — youtu.be/gZ5hN_H9tLQ?si=iDJ1bPKumt0MtrYcSam — youtu.be/8g2eGmCteMI Mike — youtu.be/Uh551H3w_184-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on YouTube at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.
Richard Raffan has problems turning eucalypt burl — a box becomes a plate. Richard Raffan 2024-08-29 | I set out to turn a box, but the eucalypt burl wouldn’t allow what I had in mind so the box base became a plate. The blank which was to have been the lid will feature in its own video.
Richard Raffan turning very dry Tasmanian eucalypt burl Richard Raffan 2024-08-25 | Eucalypt burl is usually easy to turn, so the major challenge here is getting the bowl to feel right and well balanced. You see this bowl completed using a jam chuck so I can remove the foot/tenon and round the base.
Richard Raffan turns some tricky camphor laurel. Richard Raffan 2024-08-20 | There's useful information on sanding as I deal with patches of difficult-to-smooth raised grain. A small defect leads to a redesigned rim, and I talk about my oil and beeswax finishing.
Richard Raffan turns some tough birdseye Huon pine Richard Raffan 2024-08-16 | You get good low-angle close-up shots of the tools cutting a very well-seasoned blank of twisted birdseye grain. The blank needed resizing to get rid of a major defect, then proved harder than expected.
Richard Raffan turns Kauri Pine and shows a new undercutting tool. Richard Raffan 2024-08-12 | As I turn this useful 150x30mm dish you see a new tool I made to undercut a decorative and functional rim. And you get some useful tips on sanding and rechucking using the undercut rim.
Richard Raffan turning quilted tiger myrtle Richard Raffan 2024-08-08 | You see this highly figured plate turned, sanded, and finished in real time. Tiger myrtle is spalted Tasmanian myrtle. Size 200x25mm (8"x1")
Richard Raffan turns an ash bowl using only scrapers. Richard Raffan 2024-08-05 | How to turn a bowl using only scrapers. You see how to use scrapers effectively on hard dry dusty wood. (Note that this is not my recommended way of turning a bowl: gouges enable you to turn far more effeciently.) The bowl is 200x75mm (8"x3"), the wall thickness about 3mm (⅛").
Richard Raffan turns a race car for the 18th 4-Ways project Richard Raffan 2024-08-01 | You see all the turning in this fun multi-axis project, the 18th in the 4-Ways Series that had to involve a wheel or wheels. My apologies for the poor sound over the final 15 minutes — the clip-on mic connection failed. Here are links to the three other videos: Tomislav — youtu.be/6bQwIYuskuQ?si=26IPCOJiK8jDpEoiSam — youtu.be/5D6raNG3rrkMike — youtu.be/XNs3azF-eN44-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on YouTube at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.
Richard Raffan turning twig pots — a simple woodturning project Richard Raffan 2024-07-28 | In this video you see one simple way to turn a twig pot. Several times after moving the camera, I forgot to switch it on, so ended up turning three pots. You see bits of each and all three completed at the end of the video. The wood a Tasmanian eucalypt burl. The pots are about 75mm / 3” diameter.
Richard Raffan turns and chars a hardwood dish Richard Raffan 2024-07-25 | This is the second of two near identical blanks turned into similar bowls with different rims and surface treatments. This got charred using a gas torch, and brushed. Here's a link to the first bowl: youtube.com/watch?v=vguvnSEhokE&t=134s
Richard Raffan discovers figure in a rough board of unidentified hardwood. Richard Raffan 2024-07-22 | This unidentified hardwood produced a few challenges as well as some fine fiddleback grain. There's useful information on internal shear-scraping and shear-scraping to shape the rim. I talk about the pros anda cons of power-sanding as opposed to hand sanding.
Richard Raffan on why a tool can suddenly lose its edge Richard Raffan 2024-07-18 | If your chisel or gouge suddenly loses its edge as you're slicing wood cleanly, that's usually because you've hit something hard in the wood. Here's how to spot silica that often does the damage.
Richard Raffan makes a depth drill — useful when turning bowls and boxes. Richard Raffan 2024-07-15 | You see me re-purpose an old tool handle as I make a depth drill. A depth drill is used to set the depth to which you want to hollow when turning a bowl, box, or vase.
Richard Raffan turns an ash dish using a ¾ continental gouge Richard Raffan 2024-07-10 | This dish is turned using a ¾-in continental gouge and scrapers. Now used mostly for roughing spindles, these shallow gouges were used by bowl turners before the advent of modern deep-fluted gouges and remain the preferred facework gouge in many parts of the world.
Richard Raffan turns an ash dish in real time. Richard Raffan 2024-07-05 | In this video you see all the turning including some quick and easy decoration on the base, sanding and finishing, chucking, and how I deal with a couple of careless catches.
Richard Raffan turns a disc vase for the 17th. 4-Ways project Richard Raffan 2024-07-01 | A disc vase is an interesting project that presents many design opportunities and technical challenges. This is the 17th. 4-Ways projects, so be sure to take a look at the three other approaches to designing and making a disc vase.Tomislav — youtu.be/KTBDZotzZv0?si=B3bvXt8CwNGhbjt7Sam — youtu.be/Smaz6TEpueM Mike — youtu.be/4XwWCUTTM8c4-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on YouTube at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.
Richard Raffan turns knotty and split Himalayan cedar into a bowl. Richard Raffan 2024-06-29 | You see how I turn a knotty resinous blank and deal with major splits. You see everything except the blank going on the chuck — I forgot to move the camera. You see all the sanding and finishing to show how short a time this can take.
Richard Raffan turns a nut bowl from the scrap-end of a turning blank. Richard Raffan 2024-06-26 | You see the scrap-end of an endgrain blank turned into a small bowl ideal for nuts, or rings, or paperclips, or keys, or small change, or other small stuff. I hate to waste decent material.
Richard Raffan turns two scraps of box elder burl into one lidded bowl Richard Raffan 2024-06-22 | Two scraps of box elder burl could have become two small bowls, but I decide one box to be a better way to go. My apologies for my head blocking the camera occasionally. Blame the cameraman — me.
Richard Raffan turns a dish using ¾” continental gouge and scrapers. Richard Raffan 2024-06-19 | I turn this dish using a ¾-in continental gouge, a traditional tool that these days is usually kept only for roughing spindles but, as you'll see, it can also be used for facework. You see all the turning and sanding as I turn this plate.
Richard Raffan turning a tea box with a suction-fit lid Richard Raffan 2024-06-15 | Turning a large endgrain box with a suction-fit lid presents a few challenges. Here you see how I deal with them. The wood is West Australian forest sheoak.
Richard Raffan turning a chunky tripod dish Richard Raffan 2024-06-11 | Chunky bowls need not be clunky — the challenge is to get them feeling so good and well-balanced that when you pick them up you don't want to put them down. This one has three barely discernible feet. You see all the turning, but not all the sanding.
Richard Raffan turns an endgrain cup Richard Raffan 2024-06-07 | Here you see how I turn an endgrain cup from very dry elm.
Richard Raffan and his sanding stick for where fingers cannot reach. Richard Raffan 2024-06-06 | This short extract from a longer video shows my very useful sanding stick.
Richard Raffan turns his favourite item for the 16th 4-Ways project. Richard Raffan 2024-06-01 | This 4-Ways project is to turn my favourite item. I enjoy the challenge of turning simple bowls because simple — getting the proportions and curves just right, is never as easy as it might appear. On top of that, here I had problems hollowing the very hard gidgee, so you see how I clean up patches of torn grain on the inside of the bowl, and then deal with a few typical minor problems as I complete the foot. Here are links to the other 4-Ways videos:Tomislav — youtu.be/Xp6yrPT2kPA?si=GiFzsDf-3MwwE9yaSam — youtu.be/zHZQnGBpKNEMike — youtu.be/6zUwqRzRQ6c 4-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on YouTube at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.
Richard Raffan transforms a scraper found in a garage sale into a boring tool for deep hollowing. Richard Raffan 2024-05-28 | Here you see the scraper I found in a garage sale with a not-very-useful end and split handle, transformed into a very useful heavy scraper for deep hollowing. You see the handle turned using just a skew chisel.
Richard Raffan turns two Himalayan cedar bowls. One survived. Richard Raffan 2024-05-24 | In this video things did not go as planned, so you see two bowls — or most of two bowls. Whilst trying to avoid the camera I turned through the side of the one bowl so made another. You see three-quarters of bowl one with commentary; then I just get on with the second bowl at something like normal speed until I'm back to where I was when I went through the first bowl.
Richard Raffan shows how to shorten or turn away endgrain without splintering the internal grain. Richard Raffan 2024-05-21 | Turning endgrain boxes, bowls, or tubes, you might need to shorten or remove the flange on a box, the end of a tube, or the rim of an endgrain bowl. This video shows how without splintering the grain on the inner wall.
Richard Raffan turns a square dish Richard Raffan 2024-05-17 | This 8-in /200mm square plate is the largest I can turn on my small lathe. It's Tasmanian eucalypt burl. As always, you see all the turning with most sanding speed up. At the end you see a 39-year-old bowl of the same material to indicates how this plate should darken with age and use.
Richard Raffan repurposes an old spindle gouge. Richard Raffan 2024-05-13 | Elderly spindle gouges with little or no flute remaining can have another life. Here you see a ½" spindle gouge become a small spearpoint scraper that's good for turning small grooves and shear scraping.
Richard Raffan turns a pot stand from firewood. Richard Raffan 2024-05-09 | After a box I was re-turning exploded I turned the bowl into a lid and threw the base in my firewood sack. It was suggested I might have made something from the broken base and that what you see in this video. The lid-to-bowl video is youtu.be/1P1qqZi4Kwg
Richard Raffan turns a yew box lid into a bowl. Richard Raffan 2024-05-08 | When re-turning a yew box ended explosively youtu.be/4aEG1Y8zalk, I was left with a lid. Here you see that lid become a useful little bowl.
Richard Raffan: An Unhappy Re-turn — a wooodturning disaster movie. Richard Raffan 2024-05-08 | Re-shaping a 50 year-old box produces several archetypal chucking and design situations that need solving. It all goes well until I decide to turn the lid flange rather than sand it. That leads to more re-chucking issues and finally a woody explosion. You see all the turning in real time, whilst the sanding is mostly at X4 or X8 speed. You can see the lid become a useful little bowl in youtu.be/1P1qqZi4Kwg
Richard Raffan on turned box design. Richard Raffan 2024-05-05 | The lid and base of a turned box will always warp to some degree. Here I show how box turners including myself have come to terms with minimising the visual impact of warping lids and bases.
Richard Raffan turns a 9-sided plate for the 15th 4-Ways project Richard Raffan 2024-05-01 | This 15th 4-Ways project is a plate with a facetted rim with any number of sides. You see all the turning in real time. 4-WAYS comprises Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Richard Raffan, and Tomislav Tomašić who suggested that having a few turners publish their approach to one project on YouTube at the same time should be interesting. 4-WAYS publish after noon on the first of each month, US time, which is evening in Europe. For Australasians it’ll be the 2nd. morning of each month. Each video has links to the others.Tomislav — youtu.be/9kBgfkq-qr0?si=hxSFcjMB3PvUNwO8Sam — youtu.be/Rv0PiSwbonEMike — youtu.be/XYmNnSyZIr4
Richard Raffan turns an 8x3 bowl from very dry hard elm Richard Raffan 2024-04-28 | You see this hard and dusty elm turned in real time, and how I deal with difficult endgrain.
Richard Raffan turns a jewel box from splintery she oak. Richard Raffan 2024-04-23 | This splintery forest she oak drew some blood at 4:20 then, much later, one-third of the knob split away. Lots of design stuff in this video. I was unaware the camera changed focus slightly at 3:24, so there’s 27 minutes of soft focus. But you can still see and hear what’s happening.
Richard Raffan overcoming twisted cross-grain on a cylinder. Richard Raffan 2024-04-18 | You see how I overcome some very twisted grain on a 75mm diameter cross-grain cylinder. I chose this blank certain it’d be difficult to cut cleanly — and got a lot more problems with the wood than anticipated. Those led to other stuff and a load of useful tips, all of which makes for an interesting video. I failed to capture the initial hollowing cuts but you can see those in my Pencil Pot video youtube.com/watch?v=Q6pq2_cQAuE&t=25s
