Links and Resource List for Woodturners

Books and Videos: you can buy these from the catalogs in the next section.

Phil Holtan, Turning Great Stuff, Turning Great Bowls

Richard Raffan, Turning Bowls, Taunton Press. This is fairly new and is a very fine step by step guide to turning bowls. He's a strong advocate for form as having more lasting value than flashy color or grain in wooden bowls. Each of the following books is about $25 in softcover.

Richard Raffan, Turning Wood, 1985 and recently updated Taunton Press, Newtown, CT. This is my all-time favorite turning book and there is a companion video. Raffan's writing is clear, the photos and drawing clear, and his books and video cover a lot of territory without duplicating.

Richard Raffan, Turned Bowl Design, Taunton Press, Newtown, CT. I think design is more difficult than technique for most of us and this book clearly and thoroughly covers an immense number of design options.

Richard Raffan, Turning Projects, Taunton Press, Newtown, CT. This is both a book and a video, available bundled or separately, which demonstrates a number of small projects, like a trivet, spatula, top, beads and bowls, 12 in all.

Catalogs and Suppliers of Materials

Balsa USA, P.O. Box 164 Marinette, WI 54143 tel. 1-800-BALSA. US-best price on Hott Stuff super glue, $5.75/2 oz. or $10.95 for 2 packs of 2 oz. Get accelerator and extra spouts too. http://www.balsausa.com

Craft Supplies USA, 1287 E 1120 S., Provo UT 84601, tel. (801) 373-0917. The most complete suppliers of turning supplies. They are very helpful and professional on the phone. they also do week-long classes with the best turners in Utah. http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com

Grizzly Imports, P.O. box 2069 Bellingham, WA 98227 tel. 1-800-541-5537. they have a big catalog, good selection and fair reputation for Taiwanese woodworking machines and supplies. I've had good luck with their dust collector, band saw, sander, etc. http://www.grizzlyimports.com

Packard Woodworks, P.O. Box 718, 101 Miller Rd. Tryon, NC 28782 tel. (704) 859-6762. Brad and Debbie are a young couple selling some great turning tools, especially the Oneway line from Canada. http://www.packardwoodworks.com

Woodcraft, 210 Wood County Industrial Park, P.O. Box 1686 Parkersburg, WV 26102-1686 tel. (800) 225-1153. They supply every kind of fine woodworking tool, with some turning tools. They have a store in south Minneapolis on 9125 Lyndale Ave S, (952) 884-3634 Lyndale Ave that has their tools in stock and occasionally sponsors workshops for turners. It's probably the closest place to actually handle some of these turning supplies. They carry a white grinding stone for $15 that is the least expensive I know of. http://www.woodcraft.com

Dealer's Industrial Experiment in Brooklyn, NY. has great deals on AC variable speed drives but you may need a little help to install them. http://www.dealerselectric.com

Magazines

American Woodturner by the American Association of Woodturners 667 Harriet Ave, Shoreview, MN 55126 tel. 612-484-9094 Fax 612-484-1724. This is the journal of the national woodturners guild and comes 6 times a year. They organize national and regional conferences, serve the 309 and rapidly increasing number of local clubs, and generally have been a major impetus in the growth of woodturning these past years. The journal used to be pretty simple, but it has become larger and more sophisticated and the price for membership and the magazine is still very reasonable-$48.

Fine Woodworking, Taunton Press, 63 South Main St., P.O. Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-9971 tel. 203-426-8171. this magazine, $35+ for 6 issues a year, is a beautiful and helpful magazine for all kinds of fine woodworking. there is always an article or two about woodturning and lots of good ads too. Taunton Press also has lots of other good woodturning books and videos. http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/index.asp

Woodturning 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7, England tel. 0273 477376 Fax 0273 478606. this is a fine British magazine by the Guild of Master Craftsman organization. Expensive at $50+/yr. but it is 12 issues/year and truly covers the world with stories and columns from England, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the U.S. and sometimes from Japan. Great photography and British humor. http://www.thegmcgroup.com/pubsweb/wt/index.html

My Web site and Videos

My Web site is http://www.philholtan.net. It contains photos of my work and an artist statement. I have also released two videos, 105 minutes each. The first is introduction and spindle turning called "Turning Great Stuff," with a final section where I demonstrate turning a Kransekake (Lover's ring tree). The second is on bowl turning, "Turning Great Bowls," and demonstrates turning a burl bowl and also a winged bowl out of a walnut branch. The videos cost $20 each or $25 for both.

Miscellaneous

The AAW National Symposium meets in a different part of the country every year. The 2010 Symposium will be held in Hartford, CT June 18-20 and the 2011 close to home at Riverview Ctr. In St. Paul, MN June 24-26. It's a great place to meet big names and just lots of nice people. There is a great spirit of community there and even the pros are willing to share everything they know. http://www.woodturner.org

I’m a member of the Minnesota Lakes chapter of AAW, which covers the area from Detroit Lakes to Park Rapids to Perham. It’s a smaller club but very active and lots of fun. I also belong to the MinnDak Woodturning Club is one of our local chapters of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). We meet monthly and often have special trips, tool making days or guest workshops too. The club offers a good lending library of books and videos, which can save you lots of money. We also have a great time together. Dues are $25 a year, with no charge for high school or college students who want to become members. You don't need to be a national AAW member to be part of the club, but you'll find that it's a good encouragement to your turning to also belong to the national group. http://minndakwoodturners.com

If you intend to sell your turnings, an indispensable help is the Midwest Art Fairs Regional Directory, P.O. Box 72 Pepin, WI 54759 tel. 800-871-0813. This costs about $22 a year for 2 printed issues or $30 for the web version continually updated and lists all of the Minnesota shows and many in neighboring states too. It's essential because the best shows demand a lot of lead time and advance planning of schedules.