Ellsworth School of Woodturning

Hi, I'm an intermediate woodturner and while I have heard of the famous woodturners like Ellsworth, Ron Kent, Alan Lacer, etc The m/o of most woodturners and artist is that David Ellsworth is the unequaled master woodturner. I learned he was also an excellent teacher as demonstrated by his books and DVD's, but only recently discovered he has his own woodturning workshops at his home in PA. I'm wondering if anyone out there has taken one of these weekend sessions with David and what your results were? I'm seriously considering taking one with him in the fall, but the workshop, hotel, drive from NH, etc cost can add up in a hurry. So I'm wondering if it's worth the investment to learn from the best? If anyone has taken one of his classes, please get in touch with me and let me know how it worked out. Thanks!!

Reply to
newoodcraft
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I haven't, and not to gain-say the benefits of a class with the Master, but there are lots of good teachers, and some might be closer, and some might match your schedule better examples

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Reply to
Ralph

"The best" is a vary subjective judgement. There are lots of good turners around who are also good teachers. Is there a turners club in your area? Ours offers mentors for those who ask, and teaching demonstrations at almost every meeting. Most Woodcraft stores offer classes, some by nationally known turners. Is there one near you?

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

I attended a three day class at David Ellsworth's school about 6 years ago. I had turned a lot of bowls by the time I attended his school but I was having trouble doing some of the cuts with a fingernail ground bowl gouge. I also wanted to learn some of the basics of turning hollow forms. Therefore, when I went to learn from him I had some very specific goals in mind that I wanted to accomplish. Mr. Ellsworth helped me achieve all of them. I also got a lot of other solid instruction, some of which I thought I would never use. But as the years have passed I find myself employing many of the techniques that he taught in his class. He is a good instructor. The experience also helped me to better understand some of the finer points of instruction that I now see on other turner's videos. For me taking his class was well worth the time and money spent.

Ted J

Reply to
Ted

One more thing - Mr. Ellsworth's house and part of his workshop are like a woodturning museum. He has his own woodturnings, as well as those of some others turners, on display. It is all hands on. Picking up some of those pieces and inspecting them is kind of inspiring.

Reply to
Ted

I have heard excellent things about his workshops from some who have attended. I have been turning for 11 years, and just got done with a 3 day workshop with Allen and Stewart Batty. My head is still spinning from all I learned. You can learn a lot from a club, but working with some one who is a professional can be a real eye opener.

robo hippy

Reply to
robo hippy

I took David's course earlier this year and thought it was well worth the time and cost.

I am an intermediate bowl turner who had previously been self-taught through trial and errer and watching videos. I wanted to improve my tool technique and gain design ideas. The course met those objectives, and I think my bowls now look better (to me, anyway) and take less time to complete.

Before I took the course, I read through David's new book twice. This is essentially how he teaches the course, so it was a very positive reinforcement to read the material, and then do the practical application.

I would like to get into hollow form turning at some time in the future, and I plan to retake his course using that as my focus.

Hope this helps- good luck with your turning.

Reply to
Marc Goldberg

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