John Beaver Workshop

Vaughn McMillan

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
36,054
Location
ABQ NM
Went to an all-day turning workshop today given by John Beaver, who's a member of my turning club, the Glendale Woodturner's Guild. He showed us the tricks for making his signature 'wave' bowls like these:

http://web.me.com/johnbeaver/JB_Homepage/Wave_Bowls.html#grid

John's a real nice guy, and his is an interesting story. He's only been turning seriously for about 2 1/2 years. He'd had an old hand-me-down lathe in the back corner of his shop for years, using it only a few times to make nose cones for RC airplanes. Then he got an idea for a bowl with a wave in it, and figured out some cool techniques and jigs for getting the results he was looking for. After he'd done a few to prove the concept was worth pursuing, he took some lessons to actually learn 'real' turning techniques. He said he was hesitant at first to show others his work, but once he posted a few pics on the web, people quickly started to notice. In fairly short order, he caught the attention of folks like Malcolm Tibbets, David Ellsworth and Betty Scarpino, and soon after that he was asked by Ray Leier to add some of his bowls to the 'Small Treasures' exhibit at the Del Mano Gallery. (To those who are unfamiliar with the Del Mano Gallery, it's probably the premier wood art gallery in the nation, if not the world.) He's also started getting invitations to participate in other national-level shows around the country. Definitely a fast-rising star who found a unique signature style pretty quickly out of the gates.

I'll be experimenting in the future with some of the techniques he showed today. Like I told him, the challenging part will be taking his ideas and expanding on them. ;)

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • John Beaver Workshop 1 - 800.jpg
    John Beaver Workshop 1 - 800.jpg
    70.6 KB · Views: 162
Sounds like a interesting idea to consider espcially if you have bowl thats lacks in character - and would be interesting to add some color dyes along with the wave.................OK so now you have me wondering......how does he do it or what kind of jig and saw is he using?? can you explain it .....thanks
 
Dan, it's kind of hard to explain the whole process, but he makes the wave by cutting an arc in a bowl blank or in the bowl after it's been rough turned. The jig holds the bowl safely while cutting a precise arc on the bandsaw. The contrasting wood (and highlighting veneer) is bent and glued in the gap created with the bandsaw cut. A number of the pieces you see on his site have been dyed or bleached.

Jim, I wish that was my shop. :rolleyes: It was at another club member's shop...all 1100 sf of it. He's got nice tools to go with it, too, including a Sawstop. (But my lathe is better. He has a Laguna 18/47. It's OK, but it's no Powermatic.) ;)
 
I think I had seen his bowls on WOW before. Nice stuff.

I should join one of these clubs. I can see that you can learn a lot in a short amount of time. They have a club in Torrance which meets at El Camino College once a month.
 
Very interesting work, and he's getting nice prices for it too!
Nice that he put some discipline behind the talent to take it to that level.
One more approach to add to your toolbox. Thx for upping the info.
Michael
 
Top