A PEEK INTO SOME PRO - Kurt Hertzog Home

A PEEK INTO SOMEPROSHOPSCurious Cholo isn’t shy about visiting Tom Wirsing in his Colorado workshop.How a woodturner sets uphis or her workshop (content and layout) is anextremely personal undertakingthat varies based on several factors.Differences can be noted betweenhobbyist and professional shopsand, within both settings, between“one-off” and production setups.What the turner turns, or specializes in, also is key. Many woodturners simply let their workshopevolve on a meandering journey astheir needs, funds, and space allow.Others meticulously plan everysquare foot, including equipmentplacement, prior to doing anythingother than planning.In addition to factors unique toyour own needs, such as availablespace, budget, and your own woodturning goals, some considerationsare common to every shop. Forexample, the placement and availability of appropriate electricity impactsanyone setting up shop. Electricalservice and shop wiring (including220-volt outlets or in special casesthree-phase power) may require modification and/or dictate placementof equipment. Assuming you can getyour equipment in and placed, whatabout getting your raw materials in,stored as needed, and your debris out?For the penturner, this wouldn’t bean issue, but for a production bowlturner, it certainly would be. If yourraw materials are delivered as greenlogs and arrive via truck, you’ll needto have a large enough chainsawworking area and sufficient storage forprepped and in-process blanks.To illustrate how experiencedturners with different needs have30Kurt Hertzogset up and use their shops, I visitedfour well-known woodturners:Cindy Drozda, Keith Gotschall,Trent Bosch, and Tom Wirsing. Eachhas different specialties and therefore different needs, in additionto the elements common to mostturning shops, such as strategicallyplaced sharpening stations, easyaccess to a bandsaw, convenienttool storage, and good lighting.While at their shops, I took noteof their particular needs and howthey fulfilled those needs withinany constraints they might havehad. Along with discussions andphotos, which follow in this article,I recorded video of them explainingtheir shop setups. See the video linksidebar at the end of this article fora virtual tour of the customizedworkspaces of these turners.American Woodturner February 2019

F E AT U R E1Cindy Drozda’s larger stock resides in a separate building from herworkshop. As needed, wood can be brought into the shop for acclimating.Cindy DrozdaMany woodturners are familiarwith Cindy Drozda and recognizeher distinctive work immediatelywhen seeing the long delicate finialson her ornaments, lidded boxes,and hollow forms. Cindy can turnalmost anything on the lathe but isalso a talented cabinetmaker. Hercurrent shop is in a stand-alonebuilding, where she practices bothcrafts. Being an industrial building,it has large at-grade doors perfect forloading and unloading equipment,materials, or finished product. Thevery high ceilings give an airy feelingand allow for overhead wiring, dustcollection routing, and air-filtersystem mounting.With her bulk turning stockstorage in a separate building (Photo1), her workshop is divided intothree separate areas. Her main shopis laid out with the turning area inone open bay and the woodworkingshop taking the lion’s share of floorspace. Through an access door, youcan find the finishing and photography room—a separate, clean areawithout the concern of contaminating dust or debris. Through anotherdoor, beyond the finishing room, isCindy’s computer room. Selling herwork and tools and maintaining herwoodturner.org2This lathe is used for spindle work and is self-contained with compressedair, vacuum hood, task lighting, chucks, tools, and measuring equipment.website and social media presencetake quite a bit of computer time, soit was important to Cindy to have adedicated space for this activity.As Cindy reconfigured the buildingfor her needs, she paid considerableatt r turning material.Not only does the overhead storagekeep things out of the way, but also itswarmer air helps dry in-process piecesnot in his drying cabinet outside.Configured with overhead wiringand electrical drops at key pointsof use, there are no cords clutteringthe floor. Whether woodturning orwoodworking, Keith has configuredhis shop for maximum efficiency andflexibility. But even as well as his shopis set up for various needs, Keith concedes that it is a work in progress andalways subject to change.When not inuse, a longbed Nicholslathe capableof large worksuch as longarchitecturalspindles servesas a sturdystand for minilathes thatKeith uses forteaching.American Woodturner February 2019

F E AT U R ETrent BoschProfessional woodturner andinstructor Trent Bosch conductsthree distinct operations thatrequire dedicated workshop space.On his property and well removedfrom his home are separate buildings that serve his needs forwoodturning art, teaching, andhis woodturning tools and equipment business. We’ll cover onlyhis teaching and woodturning artspaces here.With the work buildings apartfrom Trent’s house, there is a separation of home and business that iswelcome by those working wherethey live. Trent’s art studio buildinghas been repurposed from its original farming use. A big woodlot sitsbehind it, where logs and big roundscan be prepped with a chainsaw foruse by Trent or his students. Thereis a big sliding door at this end ofthe building that opens to a largebandsaw used to further prep material as it enters the shop.The classroom area of this buildinghouses an array of lathes for studentuse (Photo 8). Windows shower theroom with natural light. Trent alsohas installed plenty of overhead andtask lighting.On the wall adjacent to each ofthe student lathes is a rack containing a full set of tools, includingaccessory items like calipers andchucks. The wall racks provide easyaccess for students, encouragingthem to keep tools off the lathebed when not in use; plus theyallow for a quick visual check forcompleteness of the turning sets atthe beginning and end of classes.The entire modernization of thisbuilding was planned for teaching. Electrical power drops fromoverhead, so the floors are clearof outlets and cords. Dust collection hoses are also dropped fromthe ceiling. The sharpening stationwoodturner.org8Trent Bosch’s shop, set up for teaching, features multiple workstations in a line with all utilitiesdropped from overhead.109Because Trent’s personal work often requires largeblanks, his overhead lift system is capable of handlingpieces up to two tons.is conveniently located and wellequipped with jigs and fixtures.With task lighting attached to eachlathe and generous anti-fatiguematting, the entire teaching area isset up for convenience, safety, and agood learning experience.Adjacent to the teaching area isTrent’s large lathe (Photo 9). It is anextremely long-bed, heavy-dutylathe capable of nearly any type ofturning. He has an overhead chainlift on a rail to be able to load thelathe with heavy blanks.In a separate teaching area, studentshave access to adjustable workholdingstands used when carving, piercing,or otherwise embellishing work after ithas been turned.For those learning the more artisticaspects of woodturning, Trent hasa carving, piercing, woodburning,airbrushing, and sandblasting area.Equipped with adjustable stands tomount the work, Trent and his studentscan perform nearly any operationwith air and/or electric tools (Photo10). Trent has also brought in plenty ofdust extraction that can be strategicallyplaced for working in this area. Theentire building has been tailored to itspurpose and works well for both teaching and for creating artistic works.33

Tom WirsingTom Wirsing is well known for hislarge, stunning platters. Living inColorado, he can’t count on locallyavailable woods for his turning.No chainsaw preparation or pickuptruck drop-offs here. Virtually allof his platter woods are speciallyselected by him and shipped fromvarious dealers. Tom uses a largebandsaw for cutting platter roundsprior to mounting the work on thelathe (Photo 11).11Tom Wirsing at the bandsaw, an almostindispensable piece of equipment in anywoodturning shop.12Adjusted for proper height, Tom’s lathe islocated against one wall, with all of the needsfor turning right at hand.13Tom is very particular about his grinders andgrinding wheels, and his sharpening station islocated right behind him when he’s at the lathe.Tom’s shop is in a stand-alone structure, separate from his house, so heisn’t concerned about noise or dustinterfering with the living space ofhis home. He is an avid cabinetmakeras well as a woodturner, so his shop isequipped for both of these endeavors.With both of these crafts demandingfloor space, Tom has only a few piecesof equipment that aren’t on mobilebases. This allows him to configure theshop in a dynamic way.For loading and unloading equipment, raw materials, and finishedwork—particularly large cabinets,drawers, and tables—Tom’s workshophas an at-grade garage door. Thisdoor can be left open in the warmermonths to allow for ventilation andadditional light. Even with plentyof overhead and task lighting positioned at specific locations, the addition of natural light and fresh air isan added benefit.The layout of the shop, storage,support materials, lighting, anddust extraction were all planned formaximum utility and effectiveness.Of special interest to woodturners isthe adjustable hood for dust and chipextraction fitted right to his lathe(Photo 12). The hood can be positionedand locked in place to remove dust anddebris as it is generated. While it doesn’ttotally eliminate the need for personaldust protection (like a dust mask or ventilated helmet), it certainly makes for amuch cleaner and safer environment.Another good practice for all turnersis adjustable task lighting. Tom hasa high-intensity, positionable lightsource attached to the lathe that isprotected from accidental breakageby design. For efficiency, Tom hashis lathe near one wall that containstool storage, a table to his right thatcan be used for incidental needs, andhis sharpening station immediatelybehind him. When he begins turning,everything he needs is at hand.34Tom employs very particularmethods for sharpening his tools.He has made special grinder standsfor his two grinders with specialwheels set for his typical needs (Photo13). Making mainly platters, he usesbowl gouges and scrapers. His grinders are set not only for his desiredgrind angles, but also for the types ofmetals within his turning tools. Hehas tool steels and special shapes thathe favors. He is able to simply turnaround and touch up any of the toolshe uses quickly, easily, and accurately.Even as well as Tom’s workshopappears to be working for him, he saysthat it is a continuing work in progress.Kurt Hertzog is a past president of theAAW, past chairman of the RochesterWoodworkers Society, and a council memberof the Pen Makers Guild. He has writtenabout woodturning and woodworkingextensively for various publications. Formore, visit kurthertzog.com.You read the article—now see the video!Kurt Hertzog visitedthe workshops ofthe four turnersnoted in this article.The accompanyingonline video gives you a peek into theirworkshops, with each turner providinga guided tour complete with shop setuptips and ideas. To see the video, visittiny.cc/proshops or scan the QR codewith your mobile device.American Woodturner February 2019

Cindy Drozda Many woodturners are familiar with Cindy Drozda and recognize her distinctive work immediately when seeing the long delicate finials on her ornaments, lidded boxes, and hollow forms. Cindy can turn almost anything on the lathe but is also a talented cabinetmaker. Her current sh