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Podcast #7: Bowl Turning - From Log to Bowl in Under an Hour

Brian Simmons, the Woodsmith Store’s most famous assistant manager, has a national reputation as a woodturing educator. A member of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), Brian came to the Woodsmith Store in a roundabout way. Originally from Georgia, Brian and his family moved to Iowa after his wife took a job here in Des Moines.

Brian worked for Paxton’s Hardwoods before they closed the store. He’d heard about the seminars at the old Woodsmith Store and stopped in one day to offer his services to teach woodturning if the store ever decided to have a turning seminar. Store manager, Dave Larson, offered Brian a job on the spot and the rest is history.

In this week’s Woodsmith seminar: Bowl Turning — From Log to Bowl in Under an Hour, Brian takes a short section of poplar log and turns out a beautiful bowl, all while offering some really great insight in how to turn green wood.

 
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Posted on Friday, December 22nd, 2006 at 2:51 pm. Filed under Podcast.
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18 Responses to “Podcast #7: Bowl Turning - From Log to Bowl in Under an Hour”

Buddy Hankins said,

I’m a beginner trying to learn to turn bowls. This was my first podcast to watch (enjoyed it tremendously!) I’ll watch others as they’re available. Thanks, Buddy

(posted on January 15th, 2007 at 10:36 am)

Joel Hess said,

Buddy,
Thanks for your positive comments. Turning bowls is one of those mysterious operations that once you learn how it’s done, really isn’t that mysterious! We’re going to experiment with camera angles during the next turning seminar, so that more of the operation is actually visible on the podcast.

-Joel

(posted on January 15th, 2007 at 10:57 am)

Buddy Hankins said,

Joel, did you get my questions about Brian’s chuck he used on podcast#7? Thanks, Buddy

(posted on January 19th, 2007 at 9:19 am)

Joel Hess said,

Buddy,
Sorry, I’m out of town until the 29th, but I will try to find out. I believe he does mention during the seminar what chuck he is using. I’ll check with him and let you know asap. -Joel

(posted on January 19th, 2007 at 11:17 am)

Buddy Hankins said,

I’d like to attend a wood turning seminar, show, etc.. I’m 30 minutes from LR and 2 hours from Mtn. View (both in AR.) Do you have any suggestions or info? Thanks, Buddy

(posted on March 9th, 2007 at 9:36 am)

Joel Hess said,

Buddy,

So where are you located exactly? I see where both Tulsa and OK City have Woodcraft stores and both offer turning classes. I also have addresses for two woodworking clubs in Arkansas. I’d suggest giving them a call to find out what they have to offer. Luckily, one of the clubs is in Little Rock.

Woodworkers Association of Arkansas
4 Petress Court
Little Rock,AR 72211

Woodworkers Association of Arkansas
16 Chicot Drive
Maumelle,AR 72113

Also, if you don’t mind driving a ways, there is a great woodworking school in Waco, TX. It’s called Center for Essential Education School of Woodworking. I know that they have a great turning class. (It was going on while I was there for a hand tools fundamentals course!)

Good luck in your search. -Joel

(posted on March 9th, 2007 at 9:56 am)

Clark O'Neill said,

Brian, very good video with clear explanations on the blackboard. You are going in the right direction on improving the camera angle…shooting over your shoulder would give us your view of what’s happening. I have been woodworking for many years but just now picked up a lathe and it is truly mysterious. Much to learn and your video was very helpful. Think about a podcast on sharpening turning tools…another mystery for me.

(posted on March 12th, 2007 at 7:11 pm)

Reg said,

I have been looking at the pod cast on bowl turning, I have seen it 3 times, its great.
Can you do one on spindle turning?
UK beginner
Reg

(posted on April 12th, 2007 at 7:17 am)

Aaron Schmits said,

Thanks for making this accessible to the public. I’m going down to my shop in the backyard right now to take a stab at this with some cherry we harvested. Best Wishes from Cincinnati, Ohio.

(posted on December 27th, 2007 at 7:00 pm)

John Lamacraft. said,

A good presentation after the initial sawing of the blank. It is safer to cut the blank using a “vee” fixture, not freehandedly. No safety glasses used until the turning starts, and frequently removing waste without stopping the lathe. Too many “um’s” & “er’s” in the verbage, think about what is to be said, and say it. An audience respects that very much, it also helps a presenter to establish his/her creibility.
Regards, John.

(posted on January 17th, 2008 at 10:05 am)

Bill Giffin said,

One of the best videos or podcasts I have seen. Clear and comprehensive, answered questions I had and made me a little more confident for my next project. Keep up the good work and I look forward to the next podcast. Thanks Again, Bill

(posted on February 1st, 2008 at 4:25 pm)

Peter Hyde said,

Sorry but I think this video is not only full of bad distorted information but also really shows dangerous use of a bandsaw. If someone follows this “instructional video” and got injured as a result I’m thinking a big lawsuit would be in the making.

(posted on January 7th, 2009 at 2:20 pm)

Brian Simmons said,

First of all, I would like to apologize to everyone who has watched this podcast, for demonstrating an inherently unsafe method for band sawing a log. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have used this method. I know better and I typically use a crosscut sled with a fence for this operation. However the fixture I normally use is designed for my band saw at home and doesn’t fit the one available at the Woodsmith Store seminar room. At the time, I worked full-time at the Woodsmith Store and simply ran out of time. Rather than make a new jig, I chose to perform this operation free-hand. I am only human though and regret this error in judgment.

As was pointed out, the proper method for crosscutting a log on a band saw would be to use a “V” block or a sled with a fence to cradle the log and prevent it from rolling into the blade. As with all woodworking techniques, I encourage everyone to think about what they are doing before they do it. If you ever feel uncomfortable stop immediately and seek a safer method.

Brian Simmons

(posted on January 12th, 2009 at 7:14 pm)

Joel Hess said,

Everyone,

This comment was originally made to the comments page of another blog post. Since it refers to this seminar podcast, and coincides with an earlier comment here, I’ve decided to re-post it along with Brian Simmons reply.

Joel Hess

John K. Jordan said:

Editor,

I must comment on a serious safety issue. Early in podcast #7 on turning a bowl, Brian Simmons teaches a horribly dangerous band saw technique when he crosscuts a round log section. Cutting unsupported wood with a band saw is a disaster waiting to happen and can result in a bent blade, damaged band saw, and severed fingers.

Several members of the Wood Central woodworking/turning forum viewed this video and all agreed with the hazard. We think it is not only unprofessional but irresponsible to teach this technique to beginners. One person noted that the editor repeatedly says Brian is an expert, the info presented is “the best woodworking information on the web”, and it is “the kind of information found in Woodsmith.”

Some think you are setting yourself up for a lawsuit. At minimum, your credibility is damaged by supporting an obviously “self-taught amateur”, in the words of another reader. The rest of the video also has bad information - I quit watching when he erroneously demonstrated “shear scraping”.

Feel free to follow or respond to the thread on Wood Central:
http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/turning3.pl?frames;read=198347#198347

Many of the best wood turners in the country read and post there.

The sharpening video was better, although still loaded with puzzling information and frankly, off-base sharpening practices. I did not watch the one on pen turning. If you plan future turning instructional videos, I suggest you seek some peer review.

JKJ

Brian Simmons reply:

John -

Thank you for pointing out that the method I demonstrated in this podcast for band sawing the log was unsafe. I agree and in hindsight should not have used this method. I typically use a crosscut sled with a fence for this operation. However the fixture I use in my home shop would not fit the band saw available at the Woodsmith Store seminar room. It’s no excuse, but time was a factor when preparing for the seminar, and rather than make a new jig I chose to perform this operation free-hand. Like everyone, I’m only human, but I made an error in judgment and I regret it.

There is one problem I have with your comments though. No one should assume they have an understanding or knowledge of my turning experience or education. For what it’s worth, I’ve studied with numerous internationally-renowned turners and I’ve taught at many local, regional, and national events, as well as symposiums and schools for many years. I’m currently a consultant for WOOD Magazine. I don’t claim to be perfect or an expert, and appreciate it if you didn’t expect me to be. The fact of the matter is, the “expert” label mentioned in the post was not mine, but instead should be attributed to the editors of this blog.

Brian Simmons

(posted on January 13th, 2009 at 3:13 pm)

Joel Hess said,

Brian, John and Peter,

As the editor of WoodworkingOnline, I’m the one responsible for calling Brian an expert and I stand by it. His seminars on turning were among some of the best-received and most popular in the last five years of seminars presented at the Woodsmith Store. I regret he’s no longer able to give them, as his absence has left a definite void in our schedule. Brian’s acknowledgment of the errors in his methods for crosscutting a log was given in good faith and I hope you accept them as such.

I’d like to note that the procedure in question was re-shot after some problems arose during the original taping of the “live” seminar. These seminars are normally held in front of 75 to 100 people and believe me it’s not an easy task. There’s rarely enough time for the kind of preparation needed to stand in front of this many people for an hour and try to teach in a clear and concise manner. That said, we take your comments seriously and we strive to give good information at all times during the seminars and appreciate when our errors are pointed out, since that hopefully allows us to do a better job next time. I think all-in-all, we’ve done a good job, Brian especially.

Brian has said it best in a reply to a comment made in another post: “As with all woodworking techniques, I encourage everyone to think about what they are doing before they do it. If you ever feel uncomfortable, stop immediately and seek a safer method.”

I couldn’t agree with him more.

Joel Hess
Associate Editor
WoodworkingOnline.com

(posted on January 13th, 2009 at 3:16 pm)

Eugene Malone said,

Have just come on this Demo. by Brian, it seems to have been made some time ago. I have seen many Demos. by Brian on DVD,and have got great inspiration from them I am a Hobby turner and at 70yrs.would not find fault with what he does. Everyone has a car do we all drive the same way and if not why not? If you find something wrong with his presentation dont do it.All our children have had great educations and been thought the good things only .why are the prisons full .
Let the lad get on with his job which is to try and teach you to turn a piece of wood into something beautiful,not cut off your hand or something which will happen if you dont use your natural instincts. I have never seen Brian in real live demo. mode but if he gets over here to Ireland I will be first in the line Now all those that have watched Brians Demo. and had an accident and all thoes did’nt meet in an elevator somewhere and discuss your stupidity. REgards Eugene Malone

(posted on March 5th, 2009 at 3:59 am)

Guillermo said,

I went through the presentation, focused on how to create a bowl, NOT on how to cut a log safely! If the portion showing how a band saw can be used to create a “blank” from a log is removed from the presentation, all the fuzz will be eliminated. Let each person use what ever method or equipment they have to create a blank “safely.” This presentation is NOT about that!
Great presentation!!! Thank you.

(posted on May 1st, 2009 at 2:12 am)

Hakob Gevorgian said,

Excellent presentation! Thank you so so much for tips and tricks!

(posted on June 21st, 2009 at 1:14 am)

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