I have a lathe and table saw, chop saw etc. Mark B. work inspired me when I met him in High Point 4 or 5 years ago. I have the basics down but really want to learn some of the more advanced type work. Such things as the halo's, finish's, inlays etc. I also dont have a good source for thin 1\8th 1\4th inch woods and don't have a planer. Anyone have sugestions as to how I can learn more? Pen sites, knife making sites books magazines? Also any wood sources and what works best for stability?

Billy, where do you live? I'm sure that there is a wood working club around somewhere [www.woodturner.org] , they have a club locator some where in the site. Also you may want to look at the penturners site the library is full of info [www.penturners.org] and they are helpful if you have questions. I purchased a couple of books on segmented wood turning [www.amazon.com] and [www.amazon.com] , both will give you some great ideas for grips and they go through a lot of the segmented techniques. The best thing you can do is get some inexpensive wood and work on turning it into handles; I've ruined quite a bit of wood, but learned something every time I did. As for wood once you get some practice on inexpensive wood Reelseatblanks.com has some beautiful wood in both stabilized and un-stabilized varieties. I know that Craft Supply [www.woodturnerscatalog.com] has some great tools, books and wood as well. If you need help please let us know here and we will try to help you out. Thanks Mark

Billy: As always, great advice from my buddy Mark!! Send me an email at kfandb@yahoo.com and give me your address. I think I probably have a few sticks in the shop that would suit your needs for you to start playing with.

Regards, Steve Kincaid

Steve Kincaid