I was browsing Pinterest one day and saw a small bowl that had been truned from the pages of a book. It was really cool! It appealed to me as a wood turner and reader and artist. I decided that I should try it.

It was a fun process and I learned a lot!

First I had to find a big book. I went to the local thrift store and found the biggest bood they had (The New Handbook of Texas). I bought it for $1 and took it home. It was big, but to use it for my purpose I had to cut it in half and bind everytihng together so it could be turned on the lathe like a piece of timber.

With the book cut in half I soaked it in stabilising resing in the vaccuum chamber to ensure all of the air between the pages was replaced with resin. Next I clamped it up and baked it in the oven for a few hours to cure the resin.

From this point I was able to treat it almost like regular wood. With the book turned into a solid block I was able to cut it into the right size pieces. One large block for the shaving soap bowl, a smaller chunk for the brush, and two smaller pieces for the razor handle and brush stand.

It was a bit different from wood in its natural form though. It was very dense and wanted to chip apart when using standard turning tools. I did a lot of sharpening my tools! I used some less traditional methods to shape the blanks. I resorted to using a grinder with rough carbide discs while the pieces were spinning on the lathe and drilled out the bowl on the drill press. With some trial and error I manages to get everything to the desired shapes.

Once everything was worked to the final shape the sanding and finishing process was the same as for real wood. I think the results were worth the extra effort. The shaving set is finished off with a silver tip badger hair brush, the best quality, and a heavy chrome stand and razor handle hardware.

In the end I am very happy with the results. One day I may make another one...do you have a favorite book that you are tired of reading? I have an idea for it!