I am from the beautiful Pacific Northwest and am a member of the SW Washington Woodturners, the Cascade Woodturners Association, the American Association of Woodturners (AAW).   I am a professional woodturner providing custom woodturnings, commissions, classes and I author articles for several woodturning publications.

I began turning as a hobby and over time the number of classes, demonstrations, articles, and projects increased.   The satisfaction I receive from turning, teaching, and writing also increased, so I consider it a win-win.   Expert woodturning is simply the basic skills mastered.   I encourage anyone interested in the art of woodturning to read the books, shop manuals and teaching guides written by and for manual arts instructors from the early 1900’s.   The focus of these was how to teach students woodturning as a trade and livelihood.  Interestingly, each course begins with spindles, starting with a humble cylinder.

Download one of these vintage books yourself, starting with A Course in Wood Turning, By Archie S Milton and Otto K. Wohlers from 1919. More links to vintage books can be found below.

• 2018 and 2024 AAW Symposiums in Portland, OR
• • Windsor style child’s stool
  • Three Piece Bon Bon Dish
  • Spindle exercises and projects
  • Milking stool

As a supporter of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), I have written several Beginner Project articles for the magazine.  You can easily find one of my projects or articles by searching on the AAW website under Resources, Information Articles – Explore Article and video search for Rick Rich.

A few of the beginner projects:  Potato Masher, Ball & Cup Toy, Evaluating Pen kits, Firewood Table Lamp, Pen & Pencil Holder, Pizza Cutter, Shaving Stand.

Here are links to some good, and old, books on woodturning.

A Course in Wood Turning
A course in wood turning | Library of Congress (loc.gov)

Elementary Turning
Elementary Turning : Frank Henry Selden : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Wood Turning
Wood Turning : George A. Ross : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Art and Education in Wood-Turning
Art and education in wood-turning; : Klenke, William Walter, 1888- [from old catalog] : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Wood-Turning
…Wood-turning. | Library of Congress (loc.gov)