Hi! I’m Kent, a husband, dad, papa, graphic designer, photographer, artist, traveler, birder, dark chocolate lover and I’m addicted to turning wood bowls! Learn more about me, see the online courses I made for you, and join our group on Facebook. Ready for your wood bowl adventure? Click here to Get Started
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How This Course Works
This course is designed to help you sharpen the tools needed to turn wooden bowls, with particular attention given to the bowl gouge. We will be focusing on tool sharpening and won’t be covering all the facets of wood bowl turning here. Other courses located here as well as the content on TurnAWoodBowl.com, dive deeper into all the aspects of turning wood bowls.
This course is designed to progress from start to finish, but you can also jump around to whatever section is essential to you. When you have completed a part, click the “Mark Complete” button to mark your progress.
I recommend you review all the content in the “Intro,” “Equipment,” and “Safety” sections (follow all the usage and safety guidelines provided by any product manufacturer first and foremost) of the wood bowl tool sharpening course. In these sections, we will cover topics that are important for all aspects of sharpening.
You can come back to any material in any section at any time. Occasionally, when it becomes necessary, new content will be added to this course. So come back often and check-in to see what’s new. Marking off the sections you have completed will help you see if any new material has been added.
If you have a question or comment, leave a comment at the bottom of the appropriate lesson or section. Your input is essential to help add even more depth to this class.
Please note this course is for the use of each individual member and is copyrighted by US law. Any distribution, copying, or sharing of this information is prohibited. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Content Added to this eCourse
- Beading Tool Sharpening add 05/2020
- Robert Sorby ProEdge Sharpening Lessons added 06/2020
- Bevel Angle Turning Demo Video (26 mins) 07/2020
- Safety disclosure added 07/2020
- Chisel kit tool info added to Oneway info 07/2020
- Micro-Bevel text update 07/2020
- Troubleshooting Quiz bug fixed 8/2020
- Robert Sorby Swept-back video updated 8/2020
- Oneway Micro Bevel video updated 8/2020
- Scraper burr edge illustration added 8/2020
- Wolverine Vari-Grind-2 added 5/2023
Thank you for sharing your talent in sharpening lathe tools. I was curious if you have a section for sharpening skews chisels?
My pleasure, Jim. I focus on all the tools for bowl turning and because the skew isn’t used traditionally in bowl turning I haven’t. But many of the techniques you will learn here can and do easily apply to the skew as well.
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Kent
Kent, I just finished the course and wanted to pop back up front here to say I am so glad to have found this sharpening course. It has really made clear so many of the questions I have had. Fairly new turner here, but now feel much better about sharpening. Thanks, awesome course
Thank you kindly, Richard. I’m so glad you found value in this course. All the best to you and Happy Turning! Kent
Hi Kent,
Here is another long message. So grab a coffee, sit back and listen to me blathering on about my history.
When I was a young lad, Grampa showed me his lathe. I was ecstatic about the possibilities and vowed to own one some day. Apparently I talked about it a lot so Dad picked up a small one at an auction. I was too young to use it but could watch. Until the lathe grabbed his chisel and threw it through the shop window. It was packed up and never touched until he gave it to my baby brother who promptly sold it, he is a machinist/ millwright. Metal is his go-to.
Skip ahead 60 years, during which my wife and I are semi-retiring from our hobby/business of woodcraft home decor accents. Room for a lathe was not in the budget or the shop, sadly. But last month I mentioned my childhood desire to my sister. She said that she had acquired one ten years ago through an uncle’s estate that just doesn’t fit in her furniture building shop. (Specifically because she has no interest in it.)
So I am now the proud owner of a Ryobi 12 x 37 lathe along with three full sets of tools, Craftsman, Marples and an unmarked set. The only thing I’m missing is an outboard faceplate. 3/4″ 16 tpi.
And after my second project, I discovered the tools get dull. So off to YouTube for advice. I found your videos amongst the scary amateur DIYs and the dry technical lectures. I just signed up for your tool sharpening course! Now off to school this afternoon.
Dan
Dan,
Thank you for writing and sharing! And thanks for making that cup of coffee enjoyable. I’m glad you’re here. Enjoy and Happy Turning!
Kent
Hello Kent. I recently subscribed to your Bowl Turning and Tool Sharpening videos and I am delighted with the course content and particularly your teaching method. Thank you.
Hi Kent, My name is Angus, from the UK and recently bought the lathe i have always wanted, a big self standing Lathe from Axminster Tools, also i have replaced my older cheaper tools with quite expensive gouges etc following advice from your videos on YouTube.
Now i am at the stage of needing to sharpen but am nervous about messing the tools up, hence why i have gone ahead and bought into your course.
Im sure you will get comments and questions from me but just wanted to say how impressed i am with your videos and information put across in the most helpful way.
So on with the courses….
Thanks for doing this Kent
Angus
Angus,
Thank you, kindly. I hope you will be put at ease once you realize how to properly sharpen your tools.
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Kent
Hi,
From the landing page of any online course, it would be great to have a Resume button allowing to continue to last viewed lesson.
As it is now, one must scroll down all the way in the left menu, then jump to following section to search where it was left to.
Good suggestion. I’ll see what the course software company says. Happy Turning!
Kent, is there an easy way to locate Comments I may leave? I have left a couple but I cannot remember what lesson they were under. Is there a notification available for when a comment receives a reply?
Thank you!
You should receive an email copy of the comment and any replies.
Kent: Great content and excellent teaching skills. Have taken this course and continue to review. I’m a member of a local woodturning club and learned a lot from them. This adds exponentially to that. I have been using a 1/2 “ Robert Sorbey fingernail grind bowl gouge and I modified a 3/8 “ gouge I ground to the Microbevel Grind coached by the club members before I saw your site. I use the Wolverine sharpening system and getting better results after your instruction. Was going to buy a standard grind gouge and modify it to the 55 degree swept back grind but decided to buy Hurricane gouge that is already set to that.
I noticed in some videos the platform has some lines scribed at 45 degrees across the corners and sometimes with blue painter’s tape across the upper corners. Have looked again at several lessons but so far have not seen an explanation for it. What’s the rationale?
DJ
DJ,
Thank you for writing and sharing!
The lines you are seeing are used when doing the 40/40 freehand grind. Check it out in that lesson.
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Kent
Duh on me. I wasn’t interested in the 40-40 grind but I shoulda at least looked at it for other pearls. Have done so. Thanks
Kent,
I’m still new to wood turning, and need to hone (pun intended) my sharpening skills. I have two questions before taking the course. First, I want to be sure that I can do a good job sharpening my skews, but I don’t see a lesson devoted to that tool. Will the scraper lesson help me with skew sharpening? Second, I own the Vevor jig, and believe it’s pretty similar to the Wolverine. Is that a fair assumption?
You are a really gifted teacher. Your descriptions are clear, the videography is expert and the sequencing masterful. Thanks for all the wonderful learning resources you make available to those of us who are new to this hobby.
Charlie Putnam
Charlie,
Thank you for writing and sharing! While I do not specially address the skew, it is very similar to the scrapers. I’m not familiar with the Vevor jig, but I cover many universal concepts and ideas that apply to all sharpening systems. All the best to you and Happy Turning! Kent
Thanks. I’ll sign up later today!
Thank you for the course on sharpening. I recently bought a used Nova 1624-II. I believe that I have a wobble in the machine. I seems that no matter how round or smooth I make a bowl, my tools still chatter and bounce. I start at a low rpm to rough out ( 300 to 500 rpm ) but still get a vibration even when I think the bowl is rounded and smooth and when I increase the rpm, the vibration smooths out ( which seems counter intuitive to me ) and I still feel my tools chatter. I am keeping my tools sharp. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks, Dean Smith
Make sure all the feet are stabilized with no gaps on the floor or bench. Try some weight, such as sand bags to support the base. If all these fails, contact Nova, you might have bad bearings. All the best to you and Happy Turning!
I’ve been playing with the idea of wood turning for years. Finally, I have bought a second hand Sears lathe and 3 ancient Shop Smith 10ER machines that I am reconditioning (a nice word for tearing them apart and putting them back together separately) so I now have a jig saw, table saw, standing drill press and an old black and decker band saw that runs with a hand drill. Thankfully each of those machines came with lathe tools so I have a bunch to practice sharpening and then using to begin my dream of becoming a successful wood turner, I realize it isn’t the fanciest set up, but hopefully it will get me going :). I love you YouTube videos and look forward to learning everything you can teach me about your craft. Thank You1!
Linda,
Thank you for writing and sharing! It sounds like you have quite the set up and you are on your way to turning.
Be sure to take your time and enjoy the whole process. Remember; persistent, patient practice will yield the bowls you imagine creating!
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Kent
Kent,
I have been turning for a few years now, but always struggled with sharpening. I loved this course and was finally able to see where my mistakes were! I highly recommend this course to any turner, new or seasoned! I learned exactly where my mistakes were being made and was able to correct all of them and make nice, clean, and sharp tools! This course is a great precursor to your bowl turning course! I’m glad that you have this as a lifetime access course because sometimes we get complacent and need to come back to the basics for a little reminder!
Thank you for such an informative and awesome course!
Allison
Allison,
Thank you for your kind words. I’m so glad this course has cleared up details for you. After all, having sharp tools is key and helps you focus on your turning which should take the front stage.
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Kent
I am enrolling for the turn a bowl full course and my shop does not have internet. How can I watch it on my laptop at the shop?
Thanks
Gary
Gary,
Have you tried tethering your smartphone’s wifi signal to your laptop? That is usually a very good solution.
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Hi Kent, long time subscriber but first time buying your lessons. I watch the lesson on the Robert Sorby Proedge sharpening system. I currently have a 6″ standard shop grinder running a 25mm and 40mm CBN but vibration is a constant issue. I’ve tried all the usual tricks to balance it including adding a speed controller but I still not happy with it. I’ve looked at moving up to an 8″ running CBN but love the jigs and simplicity of the Proedge. It has got some good reviews on u Tube but my only concern with it is possible chisel over heating. Do you use your Proedge often or is it just for specific grinds? Which do you prefer or is it not that simple? Thanks and love the channel!
Nga Mihi from Aotearoa – New Zealand
John McK
Hello John,
I would say the Sorby System has not overheated for me. I use the Oneway more probably because that is what I learned on. Also, the Oneway is a bit easier for making the long swept-back wings on my bowl gouge. That being said the Sorby ProEdge is a great system and does a fantastic job sharpening as well.
All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Hi, Kent. Here we are at day 1. After having watched Many of your videos I am ready to get my feet wet. Many I found you.lad days of happy turning ahead. Glad I found you.
Welcome, Kenneth! You can do it! All the best to you and Happy Turning!
Hi Ken,
It would be great if I can do a search across all of the lesson’s text for a specific word/phrase I may be wanting to look back. The only way to do that now is start
clicking on every lesson and search on each webpage of the lesson.
Thanks,
Oscar
Oscar,
Thank you for writing and sharing!
Currently, the lessons are organized and labeled to make them easy to reference. I will look into search engine option for within the course.
Thanks.
Does this course expire at some point or do we own it indefinitely for an extended period of time so that we can return for updates and re-educate ourselves?
Lifetime access for you. Enjoy and come back whenever you’d like. This may change in the future, but for now, that’s how it works. Enjoy
I would like to use this course while I travel.
can I use it on my ipad, or do I need to buy two courses?
Yes, you can use this course on any device you have internet access. Simply return to the course main page and log in and the lessons will be open and available for you.
By the way, an iPad or other similar device is a good way to bring these lessons out to your shop also.
Enjoy and Happy Turning!