Exploring End-Grain Turning: Cups and Canisters

This class will introduce students to end-grain turning as we make small cups, bowls, and canisters.  Unlike traditional bowl turning, where the grain runs across the lathe bed, end-grain turning aligns the grain parallel to the bed, much like spindle work. This shift opens up new textures, techniques, and possibilities.

In this hands-on class, you’ll learn to work confidently with both traditional bowl gouges and ring tools, gaining control and precision as you shape the wood. You’ll explore how reversing the lathe’s direction can help with hollowing such forms, the importance of considering grain support to achieve the finest surface, and discuss various food-safe finishes.

Each student will have their own lathe and plenty of time to practice. By the end of the workshop, you’ll have created several beautiful cups or bowls—and for those ready to take things a step further, there’s the option to craft a canister with a perfectly fitted friction lid.

Whether you’re expanding your turning skills or simply curious about a new approach, this class offers a rewarding mix of technique, creativity, and discovery.

Skills and Techniques:

• Various ways to mount the blank on the lathe, using spur drives and chucks
• How to use traditional bowl gouges on end grain, and ways that ring tools can help us tackle the inside of vessels
• How to safely turn in reverse, allowing turners to access the “far wall” of the piece
• The steps in producing a canister from a single piece of wood
• A discussion of various finishes to make your vessel food safe and ready for use

Materials Fee: $40 paid directly to the instructor. The fee covers all the cup and canister blanks that you can turn in a weekend.

Special Tools or Equipment to bring: none

Workshop and Cancellation Policies: Please be sure to read our 2026 policies before registering for a workshop https://www.sanbornmills.org/workshop-policies/