The symposium ran for three days, each of which was packed to the gills with demonstrations and seminars taught by well-regarded turners from all over showing off their techniques and secrets. You could learn basics or a difficult turning technique; gain insights into some of the inlay and finishing tricks on display; or simply find out “how did they do that?”

Included was a trade show, a room filled with all the things turners like to buy, from wood and non-wood blanks to the latest improvement in tools and fixtures. For me, that included looking closely at some aftermarket tool-rests made with hardened steel rods on top. They never dent or wear, and were available in sizes and configurations not usually offered by lathe manufacturers. For instance, I was able to find an impressive nine-inch-long rest to fit a standard mini-lathe banjo to replace the small cast-iron one that came with my lathe.

Naturally, there were plenty of other tools and gizmos, from simple but well-made turning tools to a clever fixture that turns perfect spheres. In the sharpening and grinding arena, diamond wheels were front and center at a number of booths, but every option was there. Sorby, known for turning tools, showed off their “wobble chuck,” a diagonally split screw chuck that changes the angle of the stock as you rotate it. It’s a quick and easy tool for offset turning.

I was particularly taken with a simple upgrade to a common replaceable tip carbide cutting tool. Designed with help from AZ Carbide and sold through Carter (yes, the folks who make those lovely band saw guides), it boasted a few subtle but important improvements. One was that there is a rounded bullnose just behind the carbide insert that acts like the bevel on a normal steel tool. If you like to “ride the bevel” when you turn, as I do, it’s a real plus. A shaft made from a round rod instead of flat tool steel holds the cutter, enabling you to cut at low shear angles as well as head on. Even the handle, fashioned after an axe handle, was just enough different to matter.

Sharing the room with tools and wood were two pet projects of the organization: Youth Turning, and Beads of Courage. The Youth Turning area was set up with long rows of JET mini-lathes where young people could turn under the guidance of AAW volunteers. As they told me, it’s a great way to get youngsters interested in this fine art.

Beads of Courage is an organization to help children with cancer, burns, blood diseases, and chonic illnesses. Because they spend so much time in and out of hospitals, and in and out of various procedures, transfers, and so on, each bead becomes a “reward” and memory for something they’ve been strong enough to endure. I work with children affected by cancer every year and am well aware of how much emotional and personal support they need beyond their medical care. Members of the AAW turned vessels, mostly lidded, as bead holders, or to sell to support the cause.

Next door was the exhibit room, which included hundreds of turnings of every imaginable stripe. There was a modest-sized juried section, but most of the pieces were part of the “Instant Gallery.” Any turner coming to the convention can have their piece(s) displayed in the instant gallery on one of many long tables filling the room. Not surprisingly, turnings ran the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime. Some of the pieces shown are from the Instant Gallery.

The images shared here are just of a few of the pieces that caught my eye. For me, they were a healthy combination of wonderment over how it was done and admiration for what was often clearly endless hours of precision work and pure artistry.

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The worktop comes with metal expandable miter slot hardware that locks it securely to the router table without the need for other clamps. While it’s predrilled for mounting to Rockler and Bench Dog router tables, holes can be drilled for mounting the miter slot hardware to other router tables that have standard 3/4- x 3/8-in. miter slots.

When it’s not in use, the worktop can be hung on two included brackets that can be mounted to the underside of the router table, to a router stand or cabinet or to the wall. Slots on the worktop are spaced to match the slots on Rockler router table fences, so you can store your router table fence on the same brackets when the worktop is being used.

Rockler’s Router Table Worktop (item 52765) is priced at $69.99 and can be purchased at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware stores nationwide, the Rockler catalog or rockler.com.

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The Easy Wood Tools Mid-size Easy Micro Detailer (item 7700) sells for $119.99.

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Chris Marshall: By “natural,” I’m not sure if you mean that you don’t want to change the spruce’s natural color by staining it or that you don’t want a film-forming finish on top — you want the natural wood grain to basically still look unfinished by a topcoat. So, I’ll split the difference here and suggest that you use a wipe-on oil/varnish blend like Danish Oil. Watco® Danish Oil comes in a “Natural” color option, which will provide very little tint to the wood color. It wipes on easily, dries pretty quickly and will offer some protection from moisture without making the wood surfaces look coated with finish. Also, the oil it contains is a “drying” oil, as opposed to, say, mineral oil that will never dry. So, put your mind at ease: fully cured Danish Oil will not leave an oily residue that will soak into the books. But, make sure to give it a couple of days of drying time, especially if you apply it when it’s humid or cool, before loading up those shelves.

Tim Inman: This is an almost entirely aesthetic question. What looks right for your use? Bookshelves enjoy probably the gentlest of lives, and the finishes have minimal protective chores to do. If you truly want the “natural” look, why not just wax the wood?

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– Greg Little
Prairieville, LA

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“’Would I rather…?’ Depends upon the project I have and the time constraints. Attaching drawer corners, for example. If it’s just functional and needed in a limited time period, I might elect to glue or pin nail or both. If it’s a gift box for someone special, then I’ll probably join corners in a more attractive fashion: box joint, dovetail or some variation of miter. This rule of thumb tends to apply across the board for many of my projects — the key variables being the amount of time available to complete the project and the appearance quality desired in the final product.” – Ron Suchara

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Wood bowls are generally faceplate turned, meaning the grain of the tree runs across the bowl as it is turned. The base of the bowl is usually the outside of the tree and the top of the bowl is the inside of the tree. Sometimes it is better to spindle turn bowls, meaning the grain runs up and down in the bowl. This type of bowl is called a hollow form. Ernie uses a mini lathe to demonstrate this woodturning technique . The basic process is to first turn the outside shape and then secure the form in a faceplate block to hollow out the inside and refine the outside shape.

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