A few weeks ago I did some carpentry work for a guy in Denver who was friendly and personable. As a thank you in addition to his payment, he gave me a few blocks of exotic woods he had lying around. I

I turn many different species of wood on my lathe but spalted maple is one of my favorites to work with. The word "spalted" describes wood that has been marked by fungal decay. In the case of

The first step in making the Nugtray above is a trip down to Austin Hardwoods in Denver, Colorado. They have the best selection in this area of exotic and hard-to-find woods. Today I was looking for something

I've been turning "nugtrays" in my wood shop for a few years now. I love to design them and chisel a block on the lathe into a finely contoured bowl of exotic wood... but beyond that, their