Turning a Christmas Gnome

These gnomes are bursting with charm and offer endless design options – turning one on your lathe is the perfect way to decorate for the holidays.

In this video, Mike teaches his method for turning a gnome. He covers blank selection, mounting ideas, tool techniques, design tips, and how to attach the beard.

Turning a Christmas Gnome

26 thoughts on “Turning a Christmas Gnome”

  1. Mike,
    Besides loving the project and outcome , I really enjoyed how well you explained the process. Even as an intermediate turner I learned a lot about basic techniques through your demonstration.
    I hope you will do more demos.
    Robert

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  2. Mike,
    I really like the concept of a 4-prong drive center inside the chuck.
    What is the brand of the drive center and its source?

    Thanks,

    Reply
  3. I am amazed that this high-quality instruction video showed up in my email at no cost. I watched it from start to finish and found it to be very instructional. I’ll be looking out for more from woodturningcatalog.com. Thanks.

    Reply
  4. I’ve watched many many woodturning vidoes and have seen a lot of good ones but this is the very best instruction video I’ve EVER seen.

    Thanks So Much.

    Reply
  5. It’s a really nifty project, Mike. I wondered if using smaller, pen-turning tools might make it easier to make the nose and the ball on top of the hat. The hat, nose & ball atop the hat requires really fine eye-hand control that some of us “older” turners lack, and the smaller, shorter pen-turning tools are a little bit easier for us to control.

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    • That’s a good point – in the video I tried to use tools most turners would have at home. The idea is to show a project that doesn’t require a purchase.

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    • These are from an outdoor store – it is sold in the fly fishing section. You can also get similar items at most hobby shops or even online. Usually it is called something like “faux fur”.

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  6. Thanks Mike.
    I’ve turned maybe a dozen gnomes (gonks) and really like your method and instructions. I’ll be implementing your techniques in my next ones. Attaching the beard is driving me nuts but you made it look SORT of easy.
    Really great video.

    Reply
  7. Would it be possible to make a video of making this gnome with Easy Wood Tools? I only own Easy Wood Tools and would like to make this project.

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    • We probably won’t do a video with those since the process would be the same, just the turning would be different. If you have a question about tool use or technique in regards to the video, please give us a call at 1-800-551-8876. We’d be happy to answer any specific questions you have!

      Reply

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