Turning a Gnome Christmas Orament

Nov 26, 2025

Our table-top Christmas Gnome project was a huge hit. It was a blast to make, and we loved seeing your versions! But we wanted to step up the elegance and create a more ornate, delicate hanging ornament version, something perfect for the Christmas tree.

This isn’t just about a festive project, it’s a deep dive into mastering one of the most versatile (and challenging!) tools in woodturning: the skew chisel. We’ll be covering technical detail work, focusing on control, and using the skew for nearly the entire turning process.

So, let’s get over to the lathe and turn a hanging gnome that’s sure to be an heirloom!

Materials & Initial Setup

Dry Hardwood (like Maple) is recommended.
We used a blank roughly 2-1/4" square by 7-1/2" long. You can scale this up or down, but a 2" square blank is a good minimum.
Tip: If you’re using a longer blank than necessary, the excess material can be used later for a jam chuck or for the nose of the gnome.

Before turning: Mark your center points and mount the blank between centers. Our first goal is to get about half the blank rounded, put a tenon on it, and then flip it for chuck mounting.

Roughing Out & The All-Important Tenon

While a spindle roughing gouge is faster, we’re maximizing our practice time with the skew chisel.

Peeling Cuts for Efficiency

To get your square blank to round quickly, use peeling cuts with your skew:

Keep the handle low, resting the tool on the tool rest.
Lift the handle to engage the cut, moving across the blank in 1/2” wide bites.
Safety Tip: As you finish the cut, always get the tool completely out of the way of the spinning blank before you reset your position. This prevents the cutting edge from catching the square corners and pulling off a huge splinter.

Turning the Tenon

Once rounded, we’ll turn a tenon to fit our chuck jaws (we used Vicmarc’s shark jaws for better clearance).

When cutting the face that registers against your chuck jaws, make sure it is slightly concave. This ensures the blank registers on the outermost part of the wood and the chuck jaws, maximizing support. A convex face only registers on a small central area, leading to poor grip and potential accidents.

Refining the Shape & Skew Practice

With the blank mounted securely in the chuck and supported by the tailstock (which we’ll keep engaged for most of the project), we can bump up the speed (around 1800 RPM).

The Skew Chisel as a Planing Tool

The skew excels at leaving a clean surface, but it requires light, controlled passes, especially in hard woods like maple.

Always engage the bevel first on the tool rest. Once the bevel is supported, then rotate the tool until the cutting edge starts cutting.
If you try to take too heavy of a cut on hardwood, the tool can bottom out on the end-grain fibers and stop cutting, leading to splintering. Lighter passes prevent tear out and leave a pristine surface.
For planing cuts, especially on larger diameters, try bringing the tool rest slightly above center.

Utilizing the V-Cut

As you move from roughing to shaping, the V-cut is essential for material removal and creating clean transition points:

Use the skew with the long point down (or toe down).
It leaves an extremely clean surface and is great for giving yourself clearance (like at the bottom of the gnome’s body) before rolling a half-round curve.
Like all skew cuts, V-cuts must be fairly light; trying to take too much material will cause the tool to bottom out.

Turning the Delicate Finial Hat

This is where the detail work begins. We switch to the half-inch skew—it’s much less cumbersome and perfect for fine, delicate cuts, beads, and coves.

The Hat’s Main Sweep (Gouge Assist)

While you can cut the steep cove of the hat with the long point of the skew, we often get a cleaner, more burnished surface using a spindle gouge:

Start with the flute completely closed (three o’clock position) to ensure bevel support and prevent skating. Once the bevel is engaged, slowly open the flute and swing the handle around to follow the curve of the hat, ending near the center point.

Creating Decorative Elements

Use the small skew to introduce beads and coves along the finial.

For a convex curve (like the underside of the hat or the body), use the long point down slicing cut. As you make the cut, rotate the handle to guide the bevel, which in turn dictates the shape of your curve.
On thin finials, use very little bevel pressure. The skew’s razor edge allows it to cut cleanly with minimal force, preventing the wood from flexing, chattering, or snapping.

The Top Sphere (A Moment of Caution)

Shaping the top sphere is tricky. We recommend establishing the width with V-cuts, then rolling the sphere over.

When rolling a sphere or finishing a V-cut, the skew ends up in a vertical position. A common mistake is trying to move the tool back to reset without first pulling it completely out of the way. If the cutting edge catches while vertical, it results in a huge, catastrophic skate. Always pull the tool straight back out before resetting for the next pass. (see the video for an example of this type of catch!)

Finishing Touches & Parting Off

Once the hat is shaped and the body is refined, we reduce the tailstock pressure.

Do not overtighten the tailstock! It only needs to be snug. If cranked down too tight, it stresses the wood, and once the support is removed, the piece will spring out of true (be off-center).
Sand the hat first. Then, drill a small, shallow hole for the eyelet screw.
We used low-speed turning and supported the Tombow Marker on the tool rest to apply green dye to the brim and decorative beads, creating a great contrast against the natural wood.
Parting it off requires a delicate, one-handed technique. Use small V-cuts with the skew to remove the waste section, and support the piece with your thumb and index finger against the tool rest as you cut the final fibers.

Assembly: Nose and Beard

With the body finished, seal it with your choice of lacquer or finish. While the body cures, turn the gnome’s nose out of the remaining waste material.

Use peel cuts to reduce the diameter, then the small skew to roll the nose into a perfect half-sphere. Ensure the back of the nose has a large enough flat surface for a strong glue bond.

Assembly

Glue the nose on first, aligning it with your chosen viewing side.
1. Glue the eyelet screw into the top, ensuring its orientation is correct for hanging.
2. Cut a piece of faux fur with a rounded bottom and a V-notch at the top.
3. Use a hot glue gun (or CA glue) to attach the beard, focusing on securing the V-notch around the nose and under the brim. Leave the bottom edge unglued so the beard hangs naturally.

You now have a beautifully turned, ornate Christmas Gnome Ornament! This project provides immense value for practicing your most technical woodturning skills while creating something truly special.