Maker to Maker: Leonardo Ascione, sharing a passion

Leonardo Ascione in his workshop

Leonardo Ascione lives in Rimini, Italy and works as an accountant but around five years ago fell in love with woodturning.  He now finds ways to challenge himself as he seeks to create work that often employs complex multi-axis turning techniques. We asked him to fill us in on his background and woodworking life.

How did you get into woodworking?
I worked mainly as an accountant and needed an outlet and to work with my hands, wood has always fascinated me, watching videos on YouTube I fell in love with turning.

Why do you call yourself Bigaxe Turning?
My last name is Ascione translates in English to ‘big axe’. During school it was always my nickname since I was a kid and I used it.

Who are your woodworking heroes/gods/gurus?
Being passionate about artistic work, I grew up technically with the works of Hans Weissflog and Cindy Drozda, as well as often experimenting with sandblasting wood inspired by the work of Pascal Oudet.

What do you mainly make?
Since experimentation and the creation of unique objects are a great love for me, I am trying over time to create unique and always different pieces, with a view to experimenting with new techniques, always creating pieces in 1 to 1 editions. I really like multi-axis and double-sided engravings. I would like to point out that my main objective is to work only by turning, moving the piece multiple times thus obtaining particular shapes only with a gouge, without the aid of cutters and other tools.

What is your desert island hand tool and machine? And why?
In my workshop we find two Drechselmeister lathes, a Midi 1 and a Stratos XL, the weight of one is necessary for multi-axis machining and the versatility of the other for live demonstrations. As for gouges, I have practically all the various brands, but my favourites remain the Crown M42. I find their quality/price unbeatable. Naturally the workshop is complete with every other tool, Laguna bandsaw and more.

Your most often-made mistake?
Haste. In my work where everything has to be calculated, where a detailed plan of what has to be done is very important, working in a rush is the biggest mistake you can make. Very often when you have little time, it is much better to stop, think and only then calmly work.

Your biggest woodworking disaster!!?
To make special pieces, very often you break pieces to push yourself to the limit, and to make special pieces I very often use exotic woods, so every time a piece doesn't come out the way I would like it to, I kick myself for having wasted good material.

The thing I would most like to change about my own woodworking is…
Since time is my biggest limitation today, I feel more and more the need to have time available to realise everything I have in mind. I don’t lack imagination, but time does.

What is the best thing you have ever made?
Even if it is not the most beautiful in absolute terms, I made a piece entirely in amaranth with a very deep meaning for me (shown above). I made a piece, in the shape of a drop of water that bounces on a body of water, this drop hit by a ray of sunshine, creates a ray of sunshine. I went to make a piece of very shiny amaranth that recalls the waves of water, then we find a sphere worked many times multi-axis, with an electrical system inside that if touched lights up with many colours generating a reflection on its base. The meaning of the piece is that we ourselves influence like a ray of sunshine, our life generating our rainbow.

What do you love most about woodworking?
Passion, the smell of wood, the possibility of materially realising what I have in my mind. Creating pieces that have never been seen. But above all sharing my passion with other people, expanding artistic turning as much as possible and making known a wonderful world.

Q: My best tip to other makers is…
For all those who want to enter the world of turning, I advise not to stop at the basics, you must be hungry to learn, want to experiment and always create new things. The limit in turning is only our imagination, live a world of art and not a world of production. It will be love.

Photos: Leonardo Ascione
Learn more about Leonardo Ascione @bigaxe_tornitura
See Leonardo's 2025 entry here.

Maker of the Year, presented by Carbatec, is a competition for all makers, amateur, professional and student, and showcases the wonderful things they make from wood. In 2025 we present a series of interviews with some of the makers who have already entered their work.

Maker of the Year, presented by Carbatec is open for entry to makers all over the world. In addition to awards totalling A$19,500 in value, The Jan Pennell Award will be made to an entry that displays outstanding woodturning. This entry will be selected from the Top 100 shortlisted entries across all Maker of the Year categories including Furniture, Arts & Objects and Student. Local and international makers are eligible to win this award. This prize is awarded in memory of Jan Pennell. Prize: A$1,500.

In addition, the A$1000 Recycled & Rescued Award will be made to an entry that displays outstanding use of recycled and reused materials. This entry will also be selected from the Top 100 shortlisted entries across all categories. Local and international makers are eligible to win this award.

Enter Maker of the Year, presented by Carbatec

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