Son and I joined a local turning club and they require a 4 hour safety/turning course for members...especially members like us that have never worked on a lathe...it was a great time and here is a pic of our first project...the piece on the left we think is Ash and it was as hard as concrete...the left one we think was Elm...that's what was written on the blanks but if you know for sure would love some identification as I don't think I want to turn any of the left one ever again...the instructor sharpened the tools 3 or 4 times just to get what I got...it was tough going...