Arno Turns

Arno Turns Hand-turned wooden pieces, made one at a time on the lathe. Each piece is unique, functional, and crafted to last. I'm Arno van Dyk, and I love woodworking.

Handmade wood | One-of-a-kind
linktr.ee/arnoturns From making my own surfboard, to turning wood on a lathe, making things out of wood is something I enjoy immensely. I have four wonderful children, and live in George, South Africa with my beautiful wife Claire.

26/03/2026

Part 2 of my tiny bug-bitten-bowl...

This oak branch has sent me down a shot-hole borer rabbit-hole, I’m hoping to make a video about them soon.

They’re taking out hundreds and thousands of trees here in South Africa, and without the public's awareness and participation, they’re not being stopped any time soon...

24/03/2026

Part 1 of this little Oak bowl.

This little stump is from a tree that has a story, one it shares with thousands of trees currently dying in the Garden Route and broader South Africa.

But it’s a story for another day. For now, here’s a little bug-bitten, fungus infested bowl
To be continued…

20/03/2026

A satisfying cut (on a flying log…)

This yellowwood is extremely dry, but I’m hoping to do a few more of these vases soon.

What do you think of think this little live-edge bowl?
12/03/2026

What do you think of think this little live-edge bowl?

12/03/2026

Remember that flying log? I beat it! 😂

Yellowwood vase.

06/03/2026

This wood is illegal to use...

At least, it’s illegal to chop down one of these trees.
Luckily, I didn’t need to for this project!

One of my woodworking friends has a Yellow wood tree in his yard, and during a storm, it got split into two. A couple of branches fell off, so he saved a few stumps.

This is one of those stumps, the very same one that flew off my lathe and nearly ended my woodworking career!

I love the subtle, soft, wave-like grain pattern of this Yellowwood vase.

26/02/2026

It’s a log!

This is why they invented face-shields...

Woodturning is such a relaxing hobby! Not when you try and turn an unbalanced log, quickly in between 4 kids’ bed-times...

Don’t rush the process, you might just lose your face!

I came off unscathed, and I got the log balanced in the end, with the help of an axe. Lesson learned. Hopefully.

24/02/2026

Magic... hair-pin?

23/02/2026

Australian Blackwood Cheese-Serving board.

This was a pretty challenging commission, a round Cheese-Serving board. I accepted the job, knowing I’ve never really done a board before, let alone a round one.

Well, it nearly ended my career as a woodworker. I gave up at least 3 times, and screwed it up at least 4 times, and nearly told the customer I can’t do it.

It’s amazing what a piece of wood can bring out of you: self-doubt, frustration, despair, anger, self-pity...

But then, you just keep going. Literally just slog through it. Eventually, it turns out pretty good. Not perfect, as you might have imagined it when you started, but good enough.

The customer was happy, I regained my self-respect and confidence, and was able to deliver a pretty good product in the end.

This project taught me a lot, hopefully the next board I make will go a lot smoother.

20/02/2026

Oh boy, just look at that grain!

One of the benefits of hand-planing is this stunningly smooth finish. No sanding required.

I'm turning this into a cheese serving board for a lady, using the most unorthodox combination of tools. Hopefully it'll be done soon, and I can post the finished product.

I just keep falling in love with the grain of this Blackwood!

18/02/2026

My first attempt at a hair pin went very wonky, till I figured out this technique.

Your fingers heat up from the friction, but it’s manageable, and you get a nice and round shape.

Shavings and sawdust. There’s something very satisfying about hand planing a rough piece of wood. The way the blade shav...
17/02/2026

Shavings and sawdust.

There’s something very satisfying about hand planing a rough piece of wood. The way the blade shaves off each layer, revealing the detailed, smooth grain of the wood.

This Blackwood has incredible grain textures, with these rich, red-brown to dark-brown gradients

Feels like I’m working with chocolate!

Address

Geelhoutboom
George
6530

Telephone

+27691177451

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Arno Turns posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Arno Turns:

Shortcuts

Share

Category