I Went To School...

[Paul Heely]

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.
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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.
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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.
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Sunday we started with a quick discussion on vacuum chucking.
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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.
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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.

[John Keeton]

Paul, looks like you had a great time! And, if you would grow a beard, there might be a striking resemblance.

[David E Keller]

Sounds like a heck of a good time! I'm betting you learned more with the few mishaps than you would have without them... Looking forward to seeing your next project!

[Paul Heely]

John,
My beard is getting enough white in it that the beard may look the same, but he has me beat in the hair department.

David,
I definitely went to push my skills. If figured going in that if I wasn't blowing stuff up then I wasn't pushing hard enough. My wife did comment though that I could have stayed home and blown stuff up for free.

[Tim Rinehart]

Paul, sounds like a super class and experience. I bet you enjoyed it thoroughly from sounds of it.
I was talking to a guy this past weekend considering taking a class with David, and he wasn't sure what agenda was and whether it would be worthwhile.
I said to him..."it's Ellsworth...how could any of it not be useful!".
I'd say that's all I need to know. Glad to hear you had a great time, I guess Christmas came early for you!

[Scott Hackler]

That's cool. I am sure your learned a lot from the father of modern woodturning. David is such a nice fella. I breifly introduced myself to him in St Paul and he could be more approachable and nice to talk to.

[Paul Heely]

Tim,
There was no real set agenda. David asked all of us to start with a normal bowl and then from there we decided what to work on next. One guy worked on open bowls all weekend.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Paul looks like a great time was had. Anytime you get a chance to learn from a master is good. I met David at the Richmond Symposium and he is just a delight to talk to.

[charlie knighton]

thanks for sharing, looking forward to seeing some new work Paul

[Dan Forman]

Sounds like you had a productive and fun time. I agree that someone standing beside you who know the ropes can really make a difference in your turning.

Dan

[Baxter Smith]

Sounds like a fun and informative time. I am sure you learned a lot.

[Kirk Miller]

The only downside to attending a school like that is that aftewards I would have to fight off the urge to purchase a Robust lathe.....lol

[Bob Rotche]

Looks like you had an awesome weekend, Paul! I recently had the opportunity to spend a day with Richard Raffan and I agree, there is nothing like spending a day with one of the masters of the craft.

[Paul Heely]

The only downside to attending a school like that is that aftewards I would have to fight off the urge to purchase a Robust lathe.....lol

I was able to turn on three different Robust lathes, a Liberty, a 2HP American Beauty and a 3HP American Beauty. They were all set at different heights, so it was interesting to find out what height worked best for me. There was a Sweet 16 also, but I never spent any time on it. I thought I'd want a new lathe too, but I'm happy with my PM3520 for now. Thought I do have to say the ABs are incredibly stable.

[Paul Heely]

Looks like you had an awesome weekend, Paul! I recently had the opportunity to spend a day with Richard Raffan and I agree, there is nothing like spending a day with one of the masters of the craft.

I got to spend a day with Richard a few years ago and he was great. I still can't get over just how fast he turns. I now have to figure out who to spend time with next. Decisions, decisions....