Welcome
Special branch turning
Beautiful bowls & gorgeous gifts
Beautiful bowls & gorgeous gifts
Beautifully crafted pieces for the home. From bowls to light pulls and vases to giant acorns, every product is expertly turned to provide unique finishing touches for your home. We use traditional designs with a modern twist to showcase the best of British hardwoods, with occasional pieces using sustainable exotic timber. We let the wood do the talking!
Following a career in industrial science, Glynn's childhood hobby finally had time to flourish and become a family business. Woodturning has been a passion for him for 40 years. Working from home, the daily grind now involves chisels and the commute to work has definitely improved! With his wife Hilary taking care of sales and marketing, it's lovely to finally share products which have been perfected over the years and to market new ideas.
We currently sell online to UK customers via Etsy and Ebay as SpecialBranchTurning and offer free shipping on all UK orders. You can get hands-on with our products at the wood-tastic Dansel Gallery near Weymouth and the wonderful Barrica Wines in the Park, Astley Hall in Chorley (see links under Shop tab).
And you can visit us at artisan markets and craft fairs - check out our Events tab above. We try to keep our products affordable!
From turning bespoke lamp bases, display plinths, bobbins and finials to custom-sized cord pulls, we will do our best to meet your requirements. All we need is a photo or sketch, measurements and/or conversation to get the ball rolling (or lathe turning). As a very small enterprise we usually undertake small commissions only as we have a limited supply of timber.
Once we know exactly what you require, we will agree a price with you (based on wood required & time) before turning. We shall then send you a photo of item for approval before requesting payment. Turnaround of orders normally only takes a few days!
We love engaging with people, so please get in touch via our Contact Us tab or by emailing us at specialbranchturning@gmail.com
Please contact us if you cannot find an answer to your question.
If you contact us at the time of placing your order, we are happy to discuss your preferred method/date of delivery and do our very best to ensure you receive your order swiftly.
As accurate as we can get them using digital caliper, tape measure, rule & scales! We also try to provide some size comparison in our photographs where relevant. If you need more details of any product, please get in touch and we shall be happy to help.
Yes! Send us an email or use our contact form and tell us eg. preferred beard colour, hat shape, wood(s), and if you want a particular name & any characteristics assigning to your Gonk (a bespoke Fact File will then be provided alongside your purchase). No extra charge!
Yes. Every photograph matches the product described (except light pulls and display plinths, currently listed in multiples with representative photographs). We always try to ensure the images are as accurate as possible, however there may be some slight differences in colour/shade.
Not necessarily! Unless stated otherwise, most of our products are advertised individually and marked as sold accordingly. We often have very similar items in stock though, and can usually make more to order, so please get in touch if there is something you are interested in which is no longer listed (we can never say identical as no two pieces of wood are ever the same!).
Yes. The majority of wood we use is FSC-certified. Some of the timber we use is re-purposed (eg. old table legs, turned again) and lots of the branch wood we use is taken from trees in our own/friends' gardens! Occasionally we do use (generally small) pieces of exotic timber: we always try to use the most sustainable variety, and check CITES listing and particularly the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
We love meeting people, whether you're interested in buying or you just appreciate the craft involved....come to say hello!
Next show: Standish Christmas Market - Saturday 30th November
Click below for more info.
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Check out our events tab for details of our next event.
Here's a little time-lapse glimpse at the process, with special appearance by Woodturner Glynn's hands.
These are our original Gonks, but they are steadily reproducing! Each one has its own identity and comes with its own unique printed fact-file (did you know Geoff once met Barack Obama? Or that Gilbert loves clubbing in Ibiza?)