Grant Wilkinson
09-19-2010, 7:39 PM
I just returned from a great two-day one-on-one instruction session with Bill Grumbine. Many on this board know Bill, either personally or by reputation, so nothing that I say here will be a surprise to you. It’s all been said before. However, I believe that it bears repeating.
I had done the same kind of session with Bill three years ago. Then, my turning experience when I arrived at Bill’s Kutztown home consisted entirely of pens. By the time I had gone through about 18 hours of instruction, I had turned four bowls – 2 finished and oiled; two turned rough, ready to finish a few months after my return home.
This time, even though 3 years had gone by, I still only had a couple dozen bowls under my belt. (And boy, do they itch there.) I arrived at Bill’s shop at 9am this past Friday. We renewed acquaintances, and Bill looked over the samples of my work that I had brought. He was kind. Then he looked over the wood that I had brought with me, and we agreed on what I wanted to do with it. Since one of my objectives was a winged bowl, and I didn’t really have a good blank for it, Bill supplied a fine piece of cherry and we started on that.
I won’t bore you with all the gory details, but in the two days, I completed the winged bowl, a tall vase and a small hollow form. All of these were a first for me, and all were way beyond my previous comfort level. Of course, that was the idea.
Bill says on his website that, if you’ve watched his videos, you’ve seen how he teaches. There is a lot of truth to that. However, what you can’t get out of his videos (or anyone’s for that matter) is the first rate, stop the lathe and allow me to show you, experience that Bill provides in his shop. He is not only a great turner, but (and more importantly to me) he is a first rate teacher. He can see what you are doing wrong, and show you how to fix it. He can show you several ways to achieve your objective and let you pick which one you prefer. (While he is doing this, he is cracking terrible jokes and making punishing puns to keep things light.) He makes it clear throughout the two days that he is showing you his way of doing things – not the only way, maybe not even the best way, but his way.
Reading this, you can easily see that I’m a fan. I like Bill’s style of teaching and his down to earth, no airs approach to things.
I would be remiss if I didn’t make a quick mention of the hospitality that Bill and his wife, Lisa, extended while I was there. Lisa put on a fine lunch spread on each of the two days, and kept the coffee coming during the day. Can’t be beat.
I strongly recommend, with no reservation, that anyone looking for a fun, but challenging couple of days of turning instruction, look Bill up. He’s not difficult to find. (In fact, you’d have a tough time hiding him.)
I had done the same kind of session with Bill three years ago. Then, my turning experience when I arrived at Bill’s Kutztown home consisted entirely of pens. By the time I had gone through about 18 hours of instruction, I had turned four bowls – 2 finished and oiled; two turned rough, ready to finish a few months after my return home.
This time, even though 3 years had gone by, I still only had a couple dozen bowls under my belt. (And boy, do they itch there.) I arrived at Bill’s shop at 9am this past Friday. We renewed acquaintances, and Bill looked over the samples of my work that I had brought. He was kind. Then he looked over the wood that I had brought with me, and we agreed on what I wanted to do with it. Since one of my objectives was a winged bowl, and I didn’t really have a good blank for it, Bill supplied a fine piece of cherry and we started on that.
I won’t bore you with all the gory details, but in the two days, I completed the winged bowl, a tall vase and a small hollow form. All of these were a first for me, and all were way beyond my previous comfort level. Of course, that was the idea.
Bill says on his website that, if you’ve watched his videos, you’ve seen how he teaches. There is a lot of truth to that. However, what you can’t get out of his videos (or anyone’s for that matter) is the first rate, stop the lathe and allow me to show you, experience that Bill provides in his shop. He is not only a great turner, but (and more importantly to me) he is a first rate teacher. He can see what you are doing wrong, and show you how to fix it. He can show you several ways to achieve your objective and let you pick which one you prefer. (While he is doing this, he is cracking terrible jokes and making punishing puns to keep things light.) He makes it clear throughout the two days that he is showing you his way of doing things – not the only way, maybe not even the best way, but his way.
Reading this, you can easily see that I’m a fan. I like Bill’s style of teaching and his down to earth, no airs approach to things.
I would be remiss if I didn’t make a quick mention of the hospitality that Bill and his wife, Lisa, extended while I was there. Lisa put on a fine lunch spread on each of the two days, and kept the coffee coming during the day. Can’t be beat.
I strongly recommend, with no reservation, that anyone looking for a fun, but challenging couple of days of turning instruction, look Bill up. He’s not difficult to find. (In fact, you’d have a tough time hiding him.)