Mike Graves

Many ancestors in my family tree were either wheel -wrights or carpenter/joiners, therefore my love for wood comes as no surprise. Woodturning was a natural extension of my woodworking activities but I found it more theraputic and creative. I purchased my lathe in 1986 whilst working shift work in an oil refinery, working shifts provided me with periods of free time to indulge myself in woodturning.

Throughout the 1990's I was performing a more senior role for the company on daywork, my woodturning activities were heavily curtailed until my retirement at the end of 2000.

My wife and I spent the first year of our retirement carrying out a "self build" home for ourselves, one advantage of this was the oppotunity to build myself a workshop to indulge myself in the craft.

I am a founder member of the club and dabble in all aspects of turning, I enjoy turning native green woods as well as exoctic timbers.


Finial pots. Ebony 14cm x 5cm. Ropala lacewood 16cm x 5.5cm. Hawthorn 17cm x 6cm	Hawthorn finial pot 17cm x 6cm

Gavil & stand made from ebony with a holly block insert. 20cm x 9cm	Toy cannon made from beech, mahogany & ebony. carriage 13cm x 6cm, barrel 15cm long.

Pocket Watch stand. made from jarrah, formally deck planking salvaged from Shanklin pier after it was destroyed by a Hurricane in 1987. 20cm x 13cm	Fruit Bowl made from Apple with oil finish. 28cm x 13cm.