Woodturners love to joke about making shavings—as if the objective of turning wood is to slice off thin slivers of wood rather than to create beautiful objects. The shavings are the means to the end… not the end. But having just tried woodturning for myself, I understand the appeal—a well-executed cut can send wood shavings flying!
This is my classmate Elliot Papp demonstrating the point. Seeing the shavings fly is very gratifying! 
Ornaments, Ornaments, Ornaments!, a class taught by Steve Pritchard at the John C Campbell Folk School, was my introduction to woodturning. Our objective was to learn the basics of woodturning (safely and without incident) and to turn small wooden pieces such as these beautiful Christmas ornaments created by Steve.
Along the way, we veered into several other fun and interesting projects such as this miniature birdhouse and ornament stand turned by Steve, …
… this charming snowman turned by Charles Levan who assisted Steve with the class and…
… this adorable little mouse, which believe or not, I turned!
The textbook definition of woodturning is “the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation”.
We used Powermatic® 3520C wood lathes in our class. As with all crafts, woodturning has its own terminology. I’ve labelled a few of the key parts on this photo of my workstation.
“The headstock is the drive end of the lathe, and the tailstock supports the workpiece at the other end. The banjo, which holds the toolrest, slides along the ways and locks into position. The position of the toolrest can be adjusted up and down or rotated at any angle to the workpiece.” explains the American Association of Woodturners on their website.
Honestly, the wood lathe is rather intimidating… especially the first time you press the on switch and the wood starts spinning. Yikes, it’s going upwards of 1000 revolutions per minute (rpm)! You want to know your wood is securely locked in place before pressing that switch. Fortunately, our instructors were there to guide us every step of the way.
Here’s a closer look at one of the first pieces of wood I centered on the lathe.
We quickly learned the importance of good tool control. We used the woodturners’ ABC mnemonic to remind ourselves to “Anchor. Bevel. Cut.” every time we brought a gouge to the wood. Gouges, by the way, are the woodturner’s most basic, and necessary, tools. Although a wide variety of gouges is available, I used only a few including the roughing gouge, spindle gouge and parting tool shown below.
“The roughing gouge is used to turn your rough wood down to round” explains Robin Dalziel on his Turning For Profit blog. “The profile and shape on the gouge are suited to taking wood off of a spindle. This is usually the first tool you use on a project. It is long and heavy so that you can handle the torque generated by taking bites out of the wood”.
Here’s a closer look at a roughing gouge shown beside the piece of wood I was rounding at the time.
We started by making basic shapes including beads and coves. Then moved on to simple projects such as this small, 4-inch Christmas tree.
Here’s my finished Christmas tree.
Throughout the week, we progressed to more complex techniques such as hollowing out forms. Ornament globes, like the one Steve is making below, are typically hollowed out to reduce their weight so they will hang more pleasingly on a Christmas tree. Here’s Steve demonstrating the technique.
As we gained confidence, we were able to start experimenting with our own ideas. I tried a few different pieces including a simple snowman in a big top hat.
Inspired by a little online research, I decided to try turning a small, wooden bird. My plan was to turn two simple teardrop shapes and attach them with a dowel. I made a paper template for guidance.
Here’s my first little bird made from a piece of maple.
Before I knew it, I turned two more little birds in a darker poplar wood. Then Steve suggested I add a larger bird which led to the idea of having the little birds follow along behind a mother. Here’s how the duck family, titled All My Ducks in a Row, turned out (pun intended)!
More Info
The Ornaments, Ornaments, Ornaments! class taught by Steve Pritchard and assisted by Charles Levan, was a weeklong session held at John C Campbell Folk School.
“Steve started woodturning in 2000 and was immediately addicted. He turned wood on evenings and weekends until his retirement in 2007, when it became part of his daily routine.” He elaborates on his website, Steve Pritchard Woodturning, “Over the years I have done my share of production turning for craft shows around the southeastern US. Eventually, I tired of production turning and began to make cremation urns. As of 2020, 90+% of what I make are pet or human urns. The rest being artistic pieces for shows and exhibits.”
Steve regularly instructs at the Folk School where he generously shares his extensive knowledge and experience with his students. Anyone who is fortunate enough to have participated in one of his classes knows how his warm personality, consultative teaching style and positive energy contribute to an outstanding classroom experience. It’s no small feat to keep 10 eager students, ranging from complete novices (like myself) to confident turners, actively turning a wide variety of projects. But Steve, with Charlie’s able assistance, managed it beautifully.
Many thanks to Steve, Charlie and my fellow students for a great woodturning experience! Also special thanks to Elliot Papp for assisting with the flying shavings photos–your modeling contract is in the mail!
Shown below is the Willard Baxter Woodturning Studio where our class was held at the John C Campbell Folk School.
The John C Campbell Folk School, as described in the class catalog, “fosters a non-competitive learning environment where adults of all ages, skills and backgrounds learn from one another”. See the John C Campbell Folk School website for more info.
I’m currently participating in a 6-week Work Study Program at the John C Campbell Folk School. This is my third visit to the Folk School where I’ve had the opportunity to take a variety of classes from leathercrafting to basketry to broom making to pottery to woodcarving. I’ve shared these experiences here on the blog—they are all listed on the FanningSparks’ About > Folk School category index.
The following resources were consulted for this blog post:
. Powermatic® wood lathes website
. American Association of Woodturners website
. Turning For Profit blog by Robin Dalziel.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Consider learning a new craft from an experienced person who is passionate about the craft.
2. Set realistic expectations when learning something new.
3. Celebrate small accomplishments.
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