When I was a kid I was always building and creating things whether it was with Legos or Erector Sets or anything like that. My dad would get me all kinds of crafty gifts like woodburning tools or tin stamping kits. The best was the Dremel Rotary Tool I got. Ever since then I was hooked. I started making moni swords out of sticks I found and it only grew from there.
When I was in high school I took wood shop and got to make all kinds of things. I made a wooden tool box, a stepstool with a handle, and a shadow box for a Japanese samurai sword. From then on I always wanted a lathe so I could try my hand at turning. A friend let me know that they had an old Shopsmith for sale and I jumped on that deal. Finally, I had not only a lathe but it had the bandsaw attachment as well as all of the other features a Shopsmith offers. I did a few little projects with scrap wood to try and figure it all out.
I always like to make people gifts for Christmas. To me it makes it more unique and special, so I decided to get everything I needed to start turning pens and got hooked pretty quickly. I'm always looking forward to the weekend so I can get into my shop and turn pens. They started as gifts until my wife said I should start an Instagram and Etsy account. There is some amazing work out there! Plus, it's fun to share my work with others.
The woodworking/woodturning community has really opened my eyes to a whole new world. It's truly a blessing to be able to do what I do and enjoy every minute of it. One day I'm sure I will upgrade to better equipment and tools but it goes to show that you dont have to have the best equipment to make quailty work. Patience, determination and passion will always win over who's got the best tools or equipment. I love what I do and I love the world it opened and the people I have met doing this. This will never be my full time job but it's nice that it can be a self-sufficient hobby.

Randy can be reached directly via email at woodduckdesigns17@gmail.com . You can view more of his work by visiting his Instagram @wood_duck_designs .

Woodturning Submissions

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Woodturning Gallery Archives

Want to see more woodturning projects? Check out our most recent Woodturning Project Columns from The Highland Woodturner.

Bob Heckathorn's turned yarn bowls
Paul Santone's segmented wood projects
Mark Heatwole's natural wood projects
Dan Navarra's spalted maple bowls
Gene Adcock's woodturning projects
Dan Navarra's spalted maple bowls
Ron Bishop's exotic wood projects
Richard Meganck's captive ring wine goblet