Wood Calendar
10/27-11/1/24 Arrowmont “Beyond the Basic Bowl”
9/14/24 BAWA demo, subject TBD
4/27/24 Empty Bowls benefit demo with Jerry Kermode
11/4/23 WIT Presents with Kalia Kliban and Marilyn Campbell
Year round: Bowl-turning classes at Chimera Arts in Sebastopol
There’s a bewildering array of information and equipment available, and it can be hard to know what’s worthwhile and what isn’t. The list below is far from exhaustive, but includes some online sites that I trust for good content and reliable products.
Organizations
Tool and equipment suppliers
- Craft Supplies USA Good all-around supplier of woodturning tools, and their prices are generally pretty reasonable.
- Highland Woodworking These are the folks I get my bandsaw blades from, and their store in Atlanta, GA is awesome.
- The Woodturning Store Like Craft Supplies, they’ve got a wide range of turning tools and gear.
- Sharpening Supplies The name says it all.
Craft schools and turning events
- Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (Gatlinburg TN)
- John C. Campbell Folk School (Brasstown NC)
- Dale Nish School of Woodturning (run by Craft Supplies USA in Provo UT)
- AAW Woodturning Symposium (location varies)
Individual turners and woodworkers
The online or video content from these folks is reliably good:
- Cindy Drozda, woodturner and toolmaker
- Robin Wood, pole lathe woodturner (blog and website)
- Glenn Lucas, woodturner and toolmaker
- David Fisher, woodcarver (website and blog)
- Trent Bosch, woodturner and toolmaker
- Jarrod Dahl, pole-lathe turner
Specific tool and technique videos and articles I recommend
- Cindy Drozda on sharpening the 40/40 gouge
- Allan Batty on the skew chisel
- Allan Batty on hand thread chasing
- Part 1 of an article about Japanese lathes and turning by Jarrod Dahl (I’m still waiting for Part 2)
- Kent Weakley on grain orientation in bowl blanks
- Eric Meier on preventing color change in exotic woods
Videos about wood craft that I enjoy watching
- Korean video on making oryoki bowl sets for Buddhist monks
- Barn the Spoon carves a medieval eating spoon There are 3 of these “Silent Carving” videos and they’re all excellent.
- David Fisher carves a black cherry bowl from start to finish If you’re interested in bowl carving, please visit his blog and gallery. In my opinion he’s at the pinnacle of this craft.