Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is about woodturning that you love so much? Well, the answer is simple: it’s good for your brain! Studies have shown that creative hobbies such as woodturning can help ease anxiety, alleviate depression and improve memory. Working with your hands on a lathe is a nice break from screens or sedentary tasks, but many other factors contribute to that contented feeling during and after your time in the shop. It’s pretty amazing what a simple pen blank, pen kit and chisel can do for your mental health.
Learning to turn wooden pens
Learning new things and problem-solving have been proven to improve mental health and general brain function. Woodturning provides opportunities for both. Turning handmade pens or other lathe projects requires you to use your whole brain: visualize a result, sketch out your idea, choose the right tools, and then engage your hand-eye coordination to complete your creation. Your problem-solving skills are required for many seemingly small things, like measuring, working with new materials and yes, fixing mistakes! And the longer you keep it up, the more new or challenging projects you’ll try. All of these things are like exercise for your brain.
That feeling when you finish a lathe project
There’s no feeling quite like a job well done. Creating and building something from scratch brings unmatched satisfaction. This simple sense of accomplishment can turn your entire day, or even week, around. Many pen kits can be turned and completed in one day so you can look at your finished product with pride. Accomplishments like this add up to big benefits for your confidence and overall happiness.
Discovering your creativity in woodturning
Taking a rough piece of wood and transforming it into a beautiful and useful keepsake is a form of artistic expression. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “creative type”, once you get the hang of turning, you’ll soon discover that you actually do have creative abilities. You’ll get ideas for future projects, discover materials that you’d like to experiment with and dream up a vision of how you want your pen, bowl or other project to look when complete. With each tool, pen kit and exotic wood or resin blank you encounter, there’s a new idea waiting to be tried!
How turning on a lathe reduces stress
Mindfulness is a practice that reduces stress by keeping your attention on the here and now, instead of worrying about things outside your control. It’s a mental and physical experience brought on by being focused physically and mentally on the present moment, and woodturning ticks all the boxes to bring it on. You must concentrate to avoid mistakes or injury, your hands are busy holding the chisel or sanding, you can smell the fragrant wood shavings and hear the rhythmic sounds of the lathe. These things combine to bring all your attention to the task at hand as you watch your wooden pen take form. While your mind and body are fully dedicated to turning, you automatically bring yourself into a state of mindfulness. It’s a lot like giving your mind a break from the stressors of everyday life.
Woodworking improves concentration
With today’s superfast technology, sometimes it seems like concentration is a lost art. Turning is a welcome break from the hectic world we live in and can increase your attention span. When using a lathe, concentration is imperative so you don’t make time-consuming mistakes or worse, get injured. The process of developing concentration is like building muscle and takes time and repetition. However, pen turning is so enjoyable that you’ll develop concentration skills without even trying. It also teaches patience. You need to measure accurately, meticulously turn your pen blank flush with your bushings and sand your pen barrels one grit at a time. None of these things can be rushed.
Find pen blanks, kits and turning tools in Canada
William Wood-Write is happy to work with guilds and school programs to get as many people turned onto turning as possible! Knowing that your hobby has health benefits is all the more reason to dive right in. William Wood-Write can help you get started and spark your creativity with our inventory of pen blanks, woodturning materials and all the pen making tools you need. Find us on Facebook and Instagram for some inspiration!
