Three years ago, Ringgold resident and woodturner Wayne Loveless noticed a cherry burl growth on a tree near his home on Cherokee Valley Road. The tree later fell as tornadoes ripped through the area last April, and Loveless was able to create something beautiful out of the devastation.
Woodturner Wayne Loveless uses this lathe to craft wooden gifts available at Signal Mountain’s Cutting Corners Framing & Gifts.“I can take a tree that would otherwise be rubbish and turn it into a neat piece,” he said, describing what attracts him to the hobby.
Loveless started teaching woodturning two years ago when Rodney Millen, owner of Woodcraft of Chattanooga, located in East Brainerd, started The School at Narrow Bridges inside the shop.
“As much as I enjoy turning, my love is in teaching,” said Loveless. “When I see a student get the technique and see the look in their eyes, to me it’s worth selling half a dozen bowls.”
A furniture and cabinet maker for a quarter-century, Loveless started woodturning six years ago and became hooked. Woodturning is a form of woodworking in which a stationary tool, such as a lathe, is used to cut and shape a piece of wood.