Bowl Turning and Tool Forging for the Pole Lathe
For a thousand years, Europeans and American Colonists used simple foot-powered pole lathes to turn all sorts of wooden products, from bowls to chair legs. Pole lathe turning is a satisfying, portable, off-grid technique, but one of the big obstacles to getting into this craft is acquiring the necessary tools (which are unique to working on a reciprocating lathe).
In this five-day course, students will learn both turning and blacksmithing skills, forge their own hook tools, and then use those tools to turn one or more bowls.
The course is appropriate for both first-time and more experienced pole lathe turners. Topics will include forging techniques and tool hardening, “tip up” and “tip down” tool design, tool sharpening, wood selection, safe ax technique, various turning techniques, bowl design, and drying, painting, and oiling the finished bowls.
By the end of the course, students should have the necessary knowledge and experience to make tools and turn bowls on their own. While no previous experience in either craft is required, forging and bowl turning are physically challenging activities that require a certain amount of stamina and coordination.
Duration: 5 Days
Dates: September 8th - 12th 2025
Includes:
$100 in Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All participants must be 18+ years old.
For a thousand years, Europeans and American Colonists used simple foot-powered pole lathes to turn all sorts of wooden products, from bowls to chair legs. Pole lathe turning is a satisfying, portable, off-grid technique, but one of the big obstacles to getting into this craft is acquiring the necessary tools (which are unique to working on a reciprocating lathe).
In this five-day course, students will learn both turning and blacksmithing skills, forge their own hook tools, and then use those tools to turn one or more bowls.
The course is appropriate for both first-time and more experienced pole lathe turners. Topics will include forging techniques and tool hardening, “tip up” and “tip down” tool design, tool sharpening, wood selection, safe ax technique, various turning techniques, bowl design, and drying, painting, and oiling the finished bowls.
By the end of the course, students should have the necessary knowledge and experience to make tools and turn bowls on their own. While no previous experience in either craft is required, forging and bowl turning are physically challenging activities that require a certain amount of stamina and coordination.
Duration: 5 Days
Dates: September 8th - 12th 2025
Includes:
$100 in Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All participants must be 18+ years old.
For a thousand years, Europeans and American Colonists used simple foot-powered pole lathes to turn all sorts of wooden products, from bowls to chair legs. Pole lathe turning is a satisfying, portable, off-grid technique, but one of the big obstacles to getting into this craft is acquiring the necessary tools (which are unique to working on a reciprocating lathe).
In this five-day course, students will learn both turning and blacksmithing skills, forge their own hook tools, and then use those tools to turn one or more bowls.
The course is appropriate for both first-time and more experienced pole lathe turners. Topics will include forging techniques and tool hardening, “tip up” and “tip down” tool design, tool sharpening, wood selection, safe ax technique, various turning techniques, bowl design, and drying, painting, and oiling the finished bowls.
By the end of the course, students should have the necessary knowledge and experience to make tools and turn bowls on their own. While no previous experience in either craft is required, forging and bowl turning are physically challenging activities that require a certain amount of stamina and coordination.
Duration: 5 Days
Dates: September 8th - 12th 2025
Includes:
$100 in Materials
Limited to: 8 Students
More: Workshop Information
All participants must be 18+ years old.
Instructors
Beth Holmberg
Beth Holmberg (she/her) has taught blacksmithing for over twenty years, and has helped thousands of people learn to make useful and decorative objects efficiently with hammer and anvil. She is inspired by historical ironwork, whether the household tools found at archaeological sites, or decorative gates and grills on old buildings. She is a frequent demonstrator at historic museums in the US and abroad; perhaps her coolest gig was forging tools, nails, and other hardware for a Viking ship reconstruction in Denmark.
In her courses, Beth likes to teach solid fundamentals and good body mechanics, through interesting and useful projects. Often these projects are based on research into the historical craft of blacksmithing and the objects people used in their daily lives in various times and cultures. The goal is to provide students the ability to do as much as possible with simple tools.
Beth is a Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths instructor and mentor, and a certified journeyman and instructor for both the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America and the California Blacksmiths Association. She has taught for John C. Campbell Folk School, the California Blacksmith Association, New England Blacksmiths, Maine Craft Association at Haystack, and for Forjadores Argentinos in Buenos Aires, among others. Before she became a blacksmith, she was a high school science teacher, extraterrestrial petrologist, and trained park interpreter.
Eric Goodson
Eric Goodson (he/him) is a green woodworker and craft educator based out of Newbury, Massachusetts. He has been green woodworking and turning on a pole lathe for over a decade, studying under artisans like Robin Wood, Jarrod Dahl, and Jögge Sundqvist. Beyond carving bowls, he also carves spoons, spatulas, and spreaders, and even objects starting with other letters. A former high school teacher, he pays special attention to craft pedagogy and slöyd education in his teaching, finding that craft can help mend the mind/body split so common in Western society. Inspired by English and Scandinavian historical woodenware, he loves teaching students to craft useful sculpture that enriches our everyday lives.
Eric is an instructor at several craft schools across New England, including the North Bennett Street School, Sanborn Mills Farm, the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, and the Fuller Craft Museum. He is a fully-juried member of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.