Hi - seriously thinking about buying a wood lathe for my workshop (diy stuff) and have always fancied making medieval-style wooden mugs/goblets (amongst other things...)
Two quick questions :-
1)What sort of wood is best for liquids (beer ) for human consumption ?
2)Should it be readily available from my local timber yard,or is there a specialist supplier ? (live in darlington)

Thanks in advance for any advice

p.s. - any wood turning advice,or sources of information also welcome  

i forgot to add, if you need any other turnery advise, just holler!!!! 8)

As Wolf says Woodturning is about the best mag on the subject.

Most woods will suit but a tighter grain like beech, or maple is common for items in contact with food.

You don't have to spend lots on a lathe, I have got a Nu-tool variable speed which is also sold as draper & perform. A decent dovetail chuck (axminster) and some good quality tools will do, don't buy the cheap sets, the steel is very poor.

Here's some of my turning. Shout if you need more advice.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v156/jasonballamy/Wood%20turning/

Jason

Do not purchase a clark lathe, as at the moment they are constantly having problems with the grub screws, that hold the drive pulley in place, and so your drive keeps slipping, WHICH is a definate NO NO !! on turning
for a good quality lathe at a decent price try this link.. http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=21707&recno=16       it has ALL you would ever need and look at the price at the mo!!!!! spring sale on!!!  they have DEVON and KENT branches to order from!!!
the other good thing about that lathe in particular, is that the head and tail fittings are both 2MT (morse taper-incase you wonder!) which is the size that is most common on tail and head stock fittings...

in terms of a good chuck, then yes an axminster chuck is a good investment, but try to obtain a chuck which has a removable "threaded insert" for attatching to the lathe, because should you find you love turning, and end up progressing to a bigger/better/more bells and whistles lathe, then rather than buy a new chuck each time, then all you do is buy the threaded insert to suit your machine!! a lot cheaper than keep buying chucks....
as J-B states, the tighter grain is better, BUT WATCH out that the timber being used is not poisonous to human's , if used a s a food/drink container, as there are a few, even after being coated with a "food stuffs" polish/sealer!!!!!
and here J-B, how ? did you turn those lovely SQUARE boxes, "offset" chuck was it!!!!! LOL LOL

sorry ol' bean could not resist that one!!! good stuff though!!!

and P-T try not to think along those lines of "not worthy", as try and try again, and well who know's you could find you have a real knack for turnery, and end up producing better, more detailed stuff than us!!!!
must dash, got to go back to work!!
regards guys! 8) 8)

The 'Clarke' 37" is identical to the Ferm 37" sold at screwfix.
Only difference is the paint colour and the guarantee.
A number of different 'own brand lathes' are the same model.

Taken the plunge and bought a lathe - went to local timber supplier this morning,who let me have various hardwood leftovers for a fiver   (including oak and mahogany)
Tried it out today - started off with about 12" of 2.5 x 2.5" oak,ended up with a candlestick holder   (that my son is going to sand and polish to give as a mothers day present...and he wants to have a go as well,so I've roughed out some more oak so he can try it out)
Next thing will be an ashtray to try turning on the faceplate instead of spindle.

And then just practice some more - I assume someone has already cornered the market for woodshavings ? (don't know of any kipper smokeries in Durham   )

Thanks for all the advice

I did sand it on the lathe,but he's NOT getting a present for no money AND no effort  

15 next month - all in favour of anything to get him out of the house (even if it's only the shed   )
His social life currently revolves around msn messenger - last half-term holidays,we went to see his older sister for the day;the only time he left the house all week

And when i was at school,we did woodwork and metalwork - these seem to no longer exist now  
"Technology" is the modern equivalent,where you can do textiles,plastics or food   ???

MSN Messenger PT?
When you have used proper chat programs where you can chat in text or voice with many friends in rooms which are controlled by the room creator you soon give up thse old hat one to one text chats.
I've used Paltalk for 5½ years which has gone up from 66,000 when I started to over 30 million now.
A new voice chat inSpeak has just been started by former Paltalk employees which has more features with everything free during these early days but will start charging for video once it goes public.
I have made friends and talk with them in rooms with a number of others, all round the world from USA, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries just for the cost of my internet connection.

To return to turning.
My dad was apprenticed to Napier Engines who were in competition with Rolls Royce as the formost aircraft engines in the world.
During his apprenticeship  he was given a piece of steel and a drawing with many excentrics to turn.
When he finished he took it to the forman who had it checked over then threw it away and told him to try again.
He was certain it was made to the drawing to aircraft tollerances.
When he finished making it again he had it checked and the foreman put it on the floor by the door to use as a doorstop.
His comment was "Now you know how to use a 4 jaw chuck"
These days kids use colleges to learn but you cant beat the old fashioned method of learning by watching a real tradesman then actuallly doing the work right.