I have a really wide appreciation for woodworking of all types. And one of the wonderful benefits of my job is that I have gotten to dabble in many techniques and niches of the craft. Marquetry, carving, scroll sawing, fine furniture, rustic furniture, cabinetmaking, stringed instrument making -- I have attempted them all. But a curious thing happened to me about five years ago: I started to do woodturning for fun. In most of my other woodworking sojourns, I have worked hard to achieve mastery. As much as it surprises friends and family, I am something of a perfectionist in this one aspect of my life.

Not so with woodturning. I go to the lathe to have fun and make a nice bowl, or whatever. Not that I don't try my best, but I have decided that this will be my release from the rigorous demands of expert woodworking, not an additional bullet point on my resume. The result of all this is that I find myself at the lathe more and more. See some examples of my non-expert woodturning projects on the Woodworker's Journal Blog.

Whether you're already familiar with woodturning fun, or (so far) an admirer of others' works, you'll find plenty on the topic in this issue of the eZine: it's our first themed issue, dedicated to the theme of -- you guessed it -- woodturning. I hope you enjoy it!

Rob Johnstone, Woodworker's Journal