Bowl Turning

Ashley Harwood

Guest instructor Ashley Harwood will show you how to turn several bowls using the push cut style of turning.

  • 13 lessons
  • 336 min
  • $99.00

Here's what we'll cover:

  1. Introduction

    Ashley Harwood is a professional woodturner and instructor. She’s been turning since 2009 and works out of her shop in South Carolina. She apprenticed with Stuart Batty and specializes in the push-cut method of turning. The push-cut puts very little stress and strain on the body and allows Ashley to turn 8 hours a day […]

  2. Tools & Sharpening

    What tools to use and how to keep them sharp!

  3. Wet Bowl Part 1

    Bringing a blank into round and mounting with a chuck.

  4. Wet Bowl Part 2

    Hollowing the bowl and adding the finishing touches.

  5. Wet Bowl Part 3

    To finish the bowl, we need access once again to the bowl bottom. A jam chuck is turned to help hold the bowl with friction. The foot is shaped and the final outside shape of the bowl is established. The bowl can then be detached from the jam chuck and set aside to cure.

  6. Twice-Turned Bowl Part 1

    The wet blank is rough-turned and then sealed for the curing process.

  7. Twice-Turned Bowl Part 2

    The cured rough bowl blank is re-mounted on the lathe and the bowl is turned to its final shape.

  8. Live Edge Bowl

    A bowl with a bark on the edge requires special handling.

  9. Signing & Finishing

    Ashley shows how she signs her work and applies finish.

  10. The Seven Fundamentals

    Seven fundamental aspects to a successful turning experience.

  11. Student Perspective Part 1

    Andy Klein stops by to learn how to turn a bowl from start to finish.

  12. Student Perspective Part 2

    Having learned some initial skills, Andy take a blank to a bowl.

  13. Chainsawing

    Ashley demonstrates how to cut a bowl blank from a log including a feather bowl blank, similar to the kind pictured below.

This class focuses on establishing and refining the push cut style of bowl turning. The push cut style of bowl turning, when mastered, allows for one smooth pass from the bottom to the top of the bowl with no torn grain, a pleasing curve, and no stress or strain on the body. New turners can expect to create a solid foundation of knowledge and skill to being their practice and build on. Turners with experience can expect to refine their techniques in order to achieve a more repeatable perfect cut. The goal for all is to achieve the best cut from the gouge, whether on wet or dry wood – to spend more time turning and less time sanding. Tool sharpening, wood curing, bowl design, sanding techniques, and chainsawing logs for bowls will be covered. Students will learn how to turn thin walled wet wood bowls, natural edge bowls, and dry wood bowls from cured blanks.

Reviews:

Ashley Harwood has done a very good job of going through each step of how to turn a bowl. I have been turning for a number of years but I learned a great deal from her instructions. Most of the work I do is segmented woodturning but her techniques can apply to that as well. No matter how long you have been doing something I always feel you can always learn more and her videos brought my work to the next level.

Donnie
Guild Member

Well done. I felt is was very informative, heavy on detail, and very professionally executed. Thank you both for the hard work and time you put in!!!

Michael Martin
Guild Member

Excellent presentation.

Bill Adams
Guild Member
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About Your Instructor:

Ashley Harwood

Ashley lives in Charleston, SC, where she creates her work and teaches at her personal studio. She has demonstrated and taught woodturning in a number of professional venues throughout the US and abroad, visiting seven other countries and traveling as far as Australia. She has been featured in various publications including the American Association of Woodturning’s Journal, Woodturning magazine, Popular Woodworking magazine, and Charleston magazine. Her teaching focuses on fine spindle turning and the Push Cut method of bowl turning along with the 40/40 grind on a bowl gouge, with a strong emphasis on tool control. She received a BFA from Carnegie Mellon with a focus in sculpture and installation art, and her design aesthetic is heavily influenced by her background in glassblowing.