Keith Gotschall         

    The school has been running since September 2007. Some changes for the better have taken place as the the needs of a smaller class are different from the larger classes I usually teach.  A class size of 3-4 people ensures close individual instruction.

     My goal is to provide safe, fun, in-depth instruction on the techniques of wood turning. Though we will make projects in class, I think it is more important that you take understanding and proper technique home with you to your own workshop. There you can explore on your own the wonderful world of wood turning!

Salida is a wonderful town to visit, with a lot of varied festivals, shows, music etc. going on through the summer especially. There are many good restaurants, and I can vouch for many of them personally! Since class time is precious, I provide lunch here so we can relax and enjoy some time to chat and look at some of my woodturning collection for inspiration.   Judging from the feedback sheets, lunch has been a great success. Thank you Catherine for the wonderful food and plentiful snacks through the class days. Let us know if you have any allergies or dislikes so we can accomodate. 

                                     Contact info
 

Available dates 2021:

No Classes are scheduled at the moment. 

 Classes often help me fill in my work calendar, and frankly, I am jambed up with work.  

If you have certain dates in mind it is always a good idea to check with me. Often all I need is someone interested with a set date in mind to precipitate a class.

Classes

    There has been lots of interest right here in the upper Arkansas River valley, so at this point most people are coming from the immediate area. I expect this to change, so check with me on availability and to get information on lodging etc. if necessary.  Instruction will be given on my   Vicmarc VL300 long bed,  Vicmark VL200 or one of several 1221 Jet midi lathes. All very solid professional machines. The projects and exercises we will focus on can all be done on any of the machines, and getting to try a variety of lathes is a bonus. I will also provide the tools needed and all the material that we will go through in class. Of course if you want to bring your own tools that is encouraged.

    The price for three days it is $500. We will be turning from 9am to 5pm, which can make for a long day! Of course there will be ample breaks and time for questions, making sure your trouble spots are covered. A $50 deposit will hold your place, call or email to get any more information.  Of course, if your in the area and just want to stop in and see the shop, that is usually fine too! Call first to make sure I am around.

3 days of turning!

 The classes have been very successful with 3 days of instruction. These can be long weekends, or midweek.  Call if you have special time off, we can try to squeeze you in to off scheduled times. Or if you would really like a full week, I can make that happen too.

A typical weekend might run like this-

First day, we get together and talk about what your needs might be, what problems you have had with your turning. We will also go over safety and how things will work during class, then we get busy turning!

    The general rhythm of class is that I will do a demonstration and then the class will make the same thing, with my help as needed. The first demo is on spindle turning, use of roughing gouge, skew, and spindle gouge. Then the students get to make some chips! This is a fun part of class and we go through some wood! Emphasis will be on correct technique and getting the most out of the tools.     Then we will make a couple projects that will use the new skills you have developed.  Some possible projects will be bottle stoppers, ice cream scoops, carving mallet, tool handles, etc.

    Next day we will start in on some bowl turning techniques. Emphasis will be on turning "correctly", Which to me means getting a smooth finish that needs little sanding. We will turn a bowl all the way through, start to finish. Often making another bowl right away really helps to cement the ideas and techniques that I am sharing. 

   The third days is more of the same, hitting the projects that we missed or ran out of time for. It is often the day we do lidded boxes, and more specialty items. Other possible projects would be a platter, and a bowl with fitted lid. Each day will also go over all sorts of other information such as sharpening, wood selection, finishing, cutting from the log, etc.

    This is an outline that will be roughly followed, and changed as necessary to meet the needs of the students.