Intermediate Class

[Cliff Walsh]

My woodturning club offers a Beginners Course for new members as an incentive for recruitment. Now it has been suggested that we should build on that by offering an Intermediate Course. The question is- what would a Course like that offer? What would be a reasonable content? I have been asked to compile one, so I need help! Any ideas? Cliff Walsh🙄

 

[hockenbery]

The intermediate course at MD Hall
Has four instructors each teaching two 3 hour sessions.

Each of the instructors usually has project oriented classes

Each course varies by who is teaching and what they are good at.

Typically
Natural edge bowls
Hollow ball Christmas ornaments
Advanced spindles goblet
Boxes
Turning square platters...


Have fun

 

[Cliff Walsh]

Thanks very much for those suggestions. It will give me a good starting point, and maybe others may make suggestions too.

 

[James Plessner]

Check out the whole "Let's go for a spin" series on AAW's main site. I believe it's exactly what you're looking for.

My woodturning club offers a Beginners Course for new members as an incentive for recruitment. Now it has been suggested that we should build on that by offering an Intermediate Course. The question is- what would a Course like that offer? What would be a reasonable content? I have been asked to compile one, so I need help! Any ideas? Cliff Walsh🙄

 

[robo hippy]

Well, a beginners course would be basics from 'this is a lathe'. The intermediate class would be a review of basics, including sharpening, tool technique, and tool presentation. Mostly they have some experience, and need to 'refine' the basic skills they have started to develop. Most will have some questions now that they have some experience. This is where all the little tips that you tried to teach at the beginning level can be explained again, and the experience that they have had will help them understand better. I started my learning with a Richard Raffen book. After reading the book through a couple of times, I would go out and play. Then come back in and read again. Then some points made in the book became more clear because of the 'experiences'.

robo hippy

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Lets go for a spoin

I have not read through this as yet but looks like a through program. This http://www.woodturner.org/?page=LetsGoForASpinMember&hhSearchTerms=%22lets+and+spin%22 may be what you want .
If the link does not work go to AAW home page and search for "Let's Go For A Spin". Sounds like a verth through program.

 

[Mike Peace]

I think you have to focus on the target audience to decide what the content should be. The content for an "intermediate" class for students who completed a "basic" class would depend on what the content of the basic class was and if the students actually mastered the lessons that were taught. Maybe terminology and labels are not that important, but the term "intermediate" level turner to me would be someone who can turn a wide variety of work safely and independently using standard tools and turning techniques. It is not typically someone who had a one day course on the basics a month ago. But then I know of no universally accepted definition of what an intermediate turner is.

I agree with Reed that it should include a review of all of the basics and depending on how many sessions, go on to include a variety of projects as Al suggested. To me, the goal would be to get the turners to the point of being able to safely turn independently so they can develop turning skills that only come from good practice.

 

[Cliff Walsh]

Thanks very much,James, Robo, Gerald and Mike for your help. I now have enough to write something sensible. The motivation came from a turner who did well in a recent competition and now wants to do better.

 

[hockenbery]

I should add a couple of times we held the first class as a review session,
Sharpening, basic tool use.

It is very important to remember students will not have learned everything taught in the basic course.
Anyone who teaches knows they may not have learned what they seemed to have learned last hour.

An intermediate course needs to review the basics needed for whatever is being done in that session.

 

[Dean Center]

Excellent question, and familiar to me as I work through being an intermediate. The above posters have made good points: reviewing the basics, identifying what the individual student needs, and using somewhat more challenging projects to teach the skills. In addition to picking up basics he or she may have missed, it seems to me that the intermediate turner primarily needs to get better at things. Having experience, they can now sharpen lightly enough to be able to see the bevel and edge well and learn how to fairly consistently get a really nice result. They can scrape and cut but beginners tend to final shape with sandpaper, so it's time to get feedback on edge presentation or tips on gripping style and body positioning, and learn to produce a bowl with a surface that doesn't require a 60 grit gouge or a bead with an equal radius on both sides. They no longer make dog bowls, but a master turner can remind them to watch the horizon instead of the tool tip, and recognize the shape they're forming, as well as what goes into a pleasing one. More simply stated, making refinements in the basic skills to get consistent, quality results in simple to moderately difficult projects.

 

[Mark Wollschlager]

My take is this:
Beginning classes are an introduction to the lathe, tools , Safety, and concepts ( sharpening, bevel, etc )
More than one session
Spindle turning between centers. Starting with a dead drive and progressing to a prong drive.
Introduction to face plate.
Tools: spindle roughing gouge, spindle gouge, and parting tool.
Skills: Emphasis on the basic cuts, cutting with the grain direction.
There are plenty of quick projects that give the student a feeling of accomplishment.
I think that a 3 legged stool as a 'final project' is good as it may emphasize repetition of basic cuts on the legs and an introduction to the different grain presentation of face plate turning on the seat.

1st level Intermediate classes or perhaps advanced basic:
Introducing new tools, more Safety, more concepts ( sharpening, tool presentation, measuring, etc )
Spindle turning between centers with the new tools, progressing to chuck held ( not between center ) turning
Tools: scrapers, skew, chucks (jam, 4 jaw ), drill chuck
Skills: Start with the new tools between centers ( dead or prong drive ). New cuts with the skew. Chucking methods.
Weed pots, Plate, platter turning, progress to box making.
Hollowing, measuring and fit, chucking, and design flow between separate parts.

Intermediate:
Introducing more new tools, more Safety, more Sharpening ( no longer a concept ), more concepts ( tool presentation, form, curve, etc )
Bowl turning from green wood, bowl from dry wood, larger boxes.
Tools: spindle roughing gouge, spindle gouge, bowl gouge, thickness measurements, chucks ( screw or 4 jaw )
Skills: Cutting the bowl blank, grain orientation, cuts on the outside and inside of the bowl, reverse turning ( between centers, jam chuck, etc ).
Using the different cutting edges of different bowl gouge grinds for better finish cuts.
Depending on the number of classes a green bowl can be rough turned and then to completion a couple of weeks later with some 'magic' tricks ( dishwashing detergent, alcohol soaking). The dry wood bowl can be completed in a class period of that instant gratification.

Advance Intermediate:
Introducing more tools, Safety, sharpening, and skill building
Beginning hollowing, advanced spindle, ( finials )Deeper hollowing ( vase shapes ) , goblets
Tools: small hollowing tools, spindle gouge, bowl gouge, '1/4" skew'
Skills: blank preparation, hollowing through a small opening, turning thin spindles, hollowing form with steep sides ( vase )
Turning hollow ornaments with finial, long thin spindles, goblets, vase forms.