At HolzTraum everything is handmade from A-Z and everything from (my) one source.

cutting verneer
It seems to me that hardly any other “ring turner” cuts its own veneer. For me, cutting the veneer strips from foundling wood is an exciting thing. It feels like digging for gold. When I’m cutting layer by layer and there’s a small knothole or a pink discoloration where the tree was injured, I’m in my element. It also differs from wood species to wood species in which angle the most beautiful grain comes to light. And what comes to light in such a piece of wood, I usually only know when I “carve” it. Exciting. This veneer, which I cut myself, enables me to process very finely detailed wood structures in my rings, which are rather undesirable in the large veneer sawmills because the focus there is on uniform, plain veneer sheets.

There are two workshops
In the basement I have a large workshop with a table saw, planer, drill press, cutting machine and a solid workbench, in which the pieces of wood I find are processed into veneer. The big workshop always stays in the basement.

And then there’s the delicate little workshop where the rings are made.
Lots of light, good music, a cup of tea and a good little lathe are enough to keep creativity flowing.
The small workshop fits in two banana boxes. Most of the time it’s set up in a corner of the living room, but sometimes when I’m on the road I just take the small workshop with me to another place.

Of course, the most interesting pieces of wood can be found on the way and then it requires a lot of patience that the large workshop is not there and I cannot dig for new veneer strips right away.
But I almost always have a handsaw with me, a piece of wood could come along. On my wish list is a piece of oak barrel and a vine that is not too crooked.