David Ellsworth

[Steve Mellott]

Tomorrow, I'm headed to Arrowmont for a week long class with David Ellsworth. I was even lucky enough to win the tuition through the AAW raffle. Can't wait.

[James Conrad]

Have fun and share some pics of the adventure!

[Thom Sturgill]

Our club had him for a day long demo and a shop day for 5-6 members. I was lucky enough to be one.

ENJOY!!!

[charlie knighton]

if anyone could be called father of modern woodturning it would be David.......I attended Thom's club day long demo by David....enjoy your time

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congratulations! Enjoy!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow! Sounds like quite the class! Have fun and take some photos to share if you get the chance!

[Steve Mellott]

I'm back from Arowmont! I didn't take any pictures, but it was a great time. When I first got there, all the Powermatics were taken, so I got "stuck" with a Robust American Beauty for the week. What a nice lathe, especially when you want to "remove" the tail stock. We had 14 people in the class, but David and his assistant Keith spent plenty of time with each of us. The studios were open until 1:00 am each night, but I never lasted past 10:00. I had a chance to use David's personal gouge and hollowing tools, as well as those made by a number of other manufacturers. This helped me to determine which seemed to be the best ones for me. David talked a lot about the need to "explore" the wood before finalizing your plans, which was a new concept for me. We talked about repositioning the wood on the lathe, the different cuts, different sharpening approaches, finishes, and a ton of other subjects. I've now had the chance to go to both Arrowmont and John C. Campbell. Both are great opportunities!

[Bill Bulloch]

I knew you would have a good time there. Hopefully you can incorporate some of this newly gained insight into one of your demos and pass it on to your club buddies. You know we are wide open for learning.

[John Grace]

One comment that really resonated with me and I think more turners should take heed of is the need to really examine the wood before turning. When I first started turning I would get a new blank and was so anxious to start I didn't realize that I had, to turn a phrase, 'turned' myself into a corner or even short-changed the final product by not noticing a grain feature before too far along to change. Point being...take the time to really review the blank before putting a tool to it, 'see' the potential for the final product before tooling or even mounting. And sometimes...what appears to be the most obvious method of or orientation for mounting may not produce the best looking results.