Resources and Links
Books and Videos You can buy these from the catalogs in the next section.
Phil Holtan, Turning Great Stuff and 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 is 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. I hate to buy books in which 75% of the book is starting over with the basics and not much new.
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 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,PO.Box 164Marinette,WI54143 tel. 1-800-BALSAUS- best price on Hot Stuff super glue, $5.75/ 2 oz. Or 10.95 for 2 packs of 2oz. Get accelerator and extra spouts too. http://www.balsausa.com/
Craft Supplies USA, 1287 E 1120 S., Provo UT 84601, (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 there in Utah. http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com
Grizzly Imports PO Box 2069 Bellingham,WA98227 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, PO 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 PO 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 in Oxboro Plaza (E off the 98th St. exit of I-94) 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 Equipment inBrooklyn,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 Woodturners667 Harriet Ave,Shoreview,MN55126 Tel 612-484-9094 FAX 612-484-1724 This is the journal of the national woodturners guild. They organize national and regional conferences, serve the 187 and rapidly increasing number of local clubs, and generally have been a major impetus in the growth of wood turning 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- $40
Fine Woodworking,Taunton Press,63 South Main Street, PO Box 5506, Newtown CT06470-9971 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 wood turning and lots of good ads too. http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/index.asp
Taunton Press also has lots of other good woodturning books and videos, including Raffan’s above.
Woodturning 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7, England Tel 0273 477374 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 fromEngland,Australia,New Zealand, Europe, theUS, and sometimes fromJapan. Great photography and British humor. http://www.thegmcgroup.com/pubsweb/wt/index.html
There are three clubs in our area: The MinnDak Woodturning Club is the Fargo Moorhead chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. Their website is www.minndakwoodturners.com/ A newer club is the Minnesota Lakes Turners based in the Detroit Lakes area. Contact Ron Eberle, 18269 Oak Dr, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501 218-849-3600 and eberle.ron@gmail.com. We meet monthly and often have special trips, toolmaking days or guest workshops too. The club has a good lending library of books and videos that can save you lots of money. We also have a great time together. For both, dues are $25 a year, with no charge for high school or college students who want to belong. You don’t need to be a national AAW member (see above) to be part of the club, but you’d find that it’s a good encouragement to your turning to belong to the national group too. The third group is inFergusFalls, which doesn’t have AAW membership but is doing good work. Contact Rud Wasson rud@prtel.com
If you intend to sell your turnings, an indispensable help is the Midwest Art Fairs Regional Directory PO Box 72Pepin,WI54759 Tel 800-871-0813 This costs about $15 a year and lists all of theMinnesota 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.
