Paul Heely
12-06-2011, 7:56 AM
I just got back from Ellsworth's Woodturning School and have to say what a great time I had. Got to spend three days with David and four other guys. Thought you folks might enjoy a quick synopsis of the weekend, along with the required pictures.
The night before we all met to get to know each other a little bit and chit chat. I think this was really a nice idea. Gave us a chance to be social without cutting into our turning time.
Friday we morning started with a quick tour of the studio and the plans for the rest of the day. David did a quick demo on turning a bowl and talked briefly about sharpening.
214931 214932 214934
We then went on to turning our own bowls. One of my goals for the weekend was better tool control so I could do thinner walls and reduce sanding time. As you can see I did figure out what the limit was to how think a wall I could get. The upside was that the inside surface was the best I have ever gotten. It's amazing how fast you can progress when someone knowledgeable is there to coach you.
214933
Saturday I started out working on natural edge bowls. These in particular give me fits when cutting the inside wings. Again I was able to significantly improve the quality of my finish right off the gouge. I also explored the limits to how thin I could go. Had a catch on one and cracked the wall, so it was done. On this one I somehow turned the inside a little too deep and did not have enough wall thickness to blend the deep bottom in. So, the outside got turned to match the inside. Kind of a funky looking piece.
214935
Sunday we started with a quick discussion on vacuum chucking.
214936
Then it was back to turning. My other goal for the weekend was to learn to hollow pieces with hand held tools. I'll still use my Jamieson rig for really big pieces, but wanted to be able to do medium size pieces free hand if I wanted. I've done a bunch of smaller pieces with Ellsworth style tools and moving up to medium pieces was a little intimidating at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. It was a natural edge piece that I was really liking the shape of. Even got the whole thing hollowed and David approved. Then I did a dumb thing taking the foot off. Had a catch and blew it up into 3 pieces. The only upside was I got a really good look at my wall thickness.
214937214938
That was it. The other two good parts of the weekend were that I did not have to clean up anything and somebody else cut my wood for me.
Overall I thought the weekend was well worth the cost. David and his wife feed you three times a day and all the food was delicious. If you are ever looking to take a class with somebody, I would suggest you consider David as one of your choices.
The night before we all met to get to know each other a little bit and chit chat. I think this was really a nice idea. Gave us a chance to be social without cutting into our turning time.
Friday we morning started with a quick tour of the studio and the plans for the rest of the day. David did a quick demo on turning a bowl and talked briefly about sharpening.
214931 214932 214934
We then went on to turning our own bowls. One of my goals for the weekend was better tool control so I could do thinner walls and reduce sanding time. As you can see I did figure out what the limit was to how think a wall I could get. The upside was that the inside surface was the best I have ever gotten. It's amazing how fast you can progress when someone knowledgeable is there to coach you.
214933
Saturday I started out working on natural edge bowls. These in particular give me fits when cutting the inside wings. Again I was able to significantly improve the quality of my finish right off the gouge. I also explored the limits to how thin I could go. Had a catch on one and cracked the wall, so it was done. On this one I somehow turned the inside a little too deep and did not have enough wall thickness to blend the deep bottom in. So, the outside got turned to match the inside. Kind of a funky looking piece.
214935
Sunday we started with a quick discussion on vacuum chucking.
214936
Then it was back to turning. My other goal for the weekend was to learn to hollow pieces with hand held tools. I'll still use my Jamieson rig for really big pieces, but wanted to be able to do medium size pieces free hand if I wanted. I've done a bunch of smaller pieces with Ellsworth style tools and moving up to medium pieces was a little intimidating at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. It was a natural edge piece that I was really liking the shape of. Even got the whole thing hollowed and David approved. Then I did a dumb thing taking the foot off. Had a catch and blew it up into 3 pieces. The only upside was I got a really good look at my wall thickness.
214937214938
That was it. The other two good parts of the weekend were that I did not have to clean up anything and somebody else cut my wood for me.
Overall I thought the weekend was well worth the cost. David and his wife feed you three times a day and all the food was delicious. If you are ever looking to take a class with somebody, I would suggest you consider David as one of your choices.