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My
father always told others that "Nick started
working with wood when he could see over the
top of the table saw." It wasn't until I was in high
school that I discovered the lathe. It allows much
more freedom and spontaneity in the process of
shaping wood than any other hand or power tool.
I have always had a great love for wood. Combine
its inherent beauty, texture, color, warmth and
workability and you have what I consider the
perfect material. Each piece of wood is unique
and different from the next. The variety is endless.
I find the art and craft of woodturning to be both
challenging and rewarding. It is very exciting to
take a tree trunk, burl or even a small block of wood,
attach it to the lathe and shape it into a beautiful
work of art. Woodturning is the most spontaneous
method of creating an object of wood. It is also
"The most fun you can have with a piece of wood!"
In creating my turned objects, I try to allow the
form to evolve around grain, color, and texture
of the wood and utilize all of the properties to fullest.
The finished object can be a one of a kind work
of art or one of thousands of my signature
wine stoppers. It is all truly a labor of love.
While
students are encouraged to bring
their own turning tools, the tools at
Nick's shop are available for student use.
In
the Basic Woodturning Class, students
will make honey dippers, baby rattles, turned
boxes, spinning tops, and wine bottle stoppers,
among other things.
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Nick
Cook owns and operates the only full service woodturning studio
in the metropolitan Atlanta area. In addition to
demonstrating and lecturing at universities, craft schools,
and woodworking shows throughout the US, Australia, and New
Zealand, Nick also teaches at his studio in Marietta, Georgia.
Individual
Instruction
Individuals
with existing skills may wish to focus on specific areas of
woodturning. We can customize the instruction to meet your
needs. Just let us know where your interest lies and we will
put special emphasis on developing those skills and techniques.
Basic
One-on-One
(Click
here
for Basic Woodturning Class Syllabus)
(Click
here
for a list of recommend tools)
Starting
with the basics, a day long, one-on-one workshop will include
something for everyone interested in the art of woodturning.
Nick will discuss and demonstrate a wide variety of turning
techniques from simple spindles to hollow vessels. He will
cover tool selection and sharpening along with the fundamentals
of woodturning.
The
first half of the day will cover a assortment of spindle projects
including: honey dippers, baby rattles, turned boxes, spinning
tops and wine stoppers. Nick will discuss chucking systems
and show how to use the skew, roughing gouge, spindle gouges
and scrapers for center work. He will explain how to utilize
jigs and fixtures to speed production.
The
afternoon will be devoted to bowl turning and hollow vessels.
You will learn how to sharpen deep fluted bowl gouges to get
the best results. Nick will start with a simple open bowl
and show how to use a variety of chucking techniques. He will
explain various ways to finish the bottoms of bowls.
Natural
edge bowls and turning green wood will follow. You will learn
how to avoid the problems that usually come with turning green
wood.
Last
on the agenda will be a discussion of hollow vessels and the
specialized tools for turning them. Nick will demonstrate
several of the special tools available and discuss the problems
associated with hollowing.
Group
Workshops
Group
workshops are also available. Class size is limited to three
students to insure personal attention. Students of all skill
levels can be accommodated.
The
Studio
The
1500 square foot studio has Delta, Powermatic and General
lathes available for your use. Grinders, sharpening jigs,
turning tools, chucks and finishing supplies are available
for student use. Wood is supplied.
Students
are encouraged to bring their own turning tools.
Fees
The
fee for individual one-on-one instruction is $250 per day
per person based on an eight hour day starting at 9:00
a.m.
and ending at 5:00 p.m. A two day workshop is $450. A half-day
class is $150.
Workshops
and seminars held at other locations for clubs and organizations
run $500 per day plus travel expenses, meals and accommodations.
Call or write for more information.
Instructional
DVDs
 Nick
has produced two new DVDs covering a wide range of turning
techniques.
Turning for Food: Nick demonstrates
how to create nine items that are useul in the kitchen:
honey dipper, spurtle, rolling pin, wine stopper, coffee
scoop,
salt urn, pepper mill, plate, and bowl. $29.95 plus shipping
and handling.
Turning for Fun and Profit: Nick
demonstrates how to create eight items that are fun to
make and easy to sell: garden
dibble, snowman ornament, baby rattle, spinning tops, tea
light, lidded box, goblet with captured ring, and bowl. $29.95
plus shipping and handling.
Note: To order, click
the Order Videos Now button and select the
number of videos you want to purchase. Then enter your
state, zip, and country and click the Calculate Shipping
button. That will take you to a secure check out
page where you can select your shipping option and
fill
out your shipping and billing information. Or just
call Nick to place your order!
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Artisan
Resource Center