The Michael Box Woodturning Page

Michael Box was born in Stroud, England, in 1922. On leaving school he was apprenticed to the engineering trade and spent some 30 years in the aircraft industry. He worked in various tool rooms and jig and tool design offices where he acquired a fairly comprehensive knowledge of metal working in all its forms.

In 1969 he became disenchanted with the "rat race" in England and moved his family to Ireland buying an old house in County Cork. He worked for various engineering firms involved with the design and manufacture of jigs and tools. If there was a rat race here Michael Box discovered the rats were friendly and had an outstanding sense of humour.

He always liked working with wood in the normal DIY situations but upon retirement from engineering he started taking a serious interest in woodturning. At first he tried to treat wood like metal but he soon learned the difference and has in recent years become quite an accomplished turner.

Michael gets a lot of pleasure from experimenting with new ideas. His routing set-up is a good example of this and some of the pieces he produces in conjunction with the lathe are very unusual and in fact quite unique.

Michael is also an accomplished twist turner and has made some fine pieces using traditional methods.

He says the new microplane rasps obtainable from Craft Supplies make twist turning a much easier task and he thinks more people shoud have a go.

Here are some samples of the type of work Michael does.

Australian timber.