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AAW TRADE SHOW 2011
By David Munkittrick
Photos by David Munkittrick
Posted July 13, 2011
The first thing you hear at an AAW (American Association of Woodturners) symposium, besides the sound of wood chips flying off a bowl gouge, are the different languages from around the world. I ran into people from Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Canada, Japan, Norway, Germany and France. A group of dedicated turners from around the world is bound to attract the attention of woodturning manufacturers from around the world as well. The AAW Symposium held in St.Paul, MN featured a Trade Show that was as complete a showing of woodturning vendors as I have ever seen. The booths ran from ultra sophisticated stages with multiple video cameras for demos to the Mom and Pop booths anxious for the world to see their great home cooked product.
Let's take a walk through the show and see what we find. Keep in mind that what I have here is only the tip of the iceberg. My goal is to give you a good feel for the variety of products and vendors at the show.
The high tech booth award goes to SB Woodturning. Their demo booth was second to none. Check out all the camera angles and monitors that provide every possible angle for the audience. No need to crane your neck or shift around for a better view. SB Woodturning sells a line of purposefully engineered tools designed by Stuart Batty. A product of the European apprenticeship system, Stuart is a third generation turner with a mission to bring a fresh approach to turning to the public.
S
B Woodturning tools include the Omni Grinder shown here with Mr. Batty himself at the wheel. Unlike any other grinder on the market it is designed to precisely shape and sharpen any tool with speed and less heat. Available soon in 1-1/2 and 2HP systems with single or dual belts, these machines are specifically designed for the woodturner who wants fast, accurate cuts with less heat generation.
Note the Universal Grinding Platform or tool rest he's using. These are available in many different sizes to fit standard 4"-10" grinders . The system is designed to pivot right at the face of the 
abrasive so there's no need to adjust the rest in and out with every angle change.
The SB Angle Gauge works on all grinders and automatically adjusts for wheel wear and size. Each semicircle cutout creates two contact points. Place the points on any size wheel then set the platform for the correct angle. The Angle Gauge also works great for setting angles on miter gauges, jointer fences, etc.
Check out more from SB Woodturning at
www.woodturning.org
Into pen turning? Here's a new product that will make you sit up and take notice. Klansman Woods uses a laser engraver to create marquetry inlays for pens. Shown here is a polar bear pen kit, there are many, many more.
Check them out at
www.kallenshaanwoods.com
The Butler Swing Away ™ is the direct result of one man's solution to hefting a heavy tailstock on and off the lathe bed. The Butler Tailstock Swing Away was developed for the Powermatic 3520 A & B lathe because of the owner's double knee replacement and bad back. The system allows you to swing the tailstock out of the way in seconds. In the works: a Swing Away for the Powermatic 4224.
See more at www.butlerturning.com 
Go deeper with a deep vessel boring system from Langer Craftworks. The floor mounted outboard tool rest is fully adjustable to accommodate uneven floors and lathe heights. The boring bars are 1-1/2" square by 6 feet long that allow safe boring depths up to 24". That's deep. An additional light kit illuminates the interior and makes it easy to gauge wall thickness as you bore.
Check it out at
The Elio Safe Drives from Langer Craftworks eliminate the need to create a flat on your log for faceplate mounting. The drives come in 2", 2.5" and 3.5" sizes. Three adjustable pins grip an uneven surface as the tailstock applies pressure to hold the stock between centers. Three countersunk holes allow you to use the drive as a face plate as well. With the two outer pins backed out, use the middle pin to locate the center and add three #12 screws to hold your blank.
Looking for some cool wood? The AAW Trade Show featured over half a dozen vendors whose sole business is selling wood blanks. I found these prized burls stacked like loaves of bread in a french bakery at one booth. 
This king size burl was for sale at Northwoods Figured Wood.
Some folks get a kick out of making their own jigs. If that's you, then meet Jeff Salter. He has a DVD that walks you through how to make and use his cable driven spiral cutting system using everyday hardware store items.
Steady as she goes. Stabilizing large stock has always been a challenge. World renowned hollow form turner Steve Skinner recognized this early on and developed his own system after several disappointing experiences with commercial products. Soon other turners wanted what Steve had. Steve joined forces with another turner, Jerry Sergeant to form Advanced Lathe Tools, LLC.
The Center Steadies feature UHMW plastic wheels that spin on heavy duty industrial bearings. The complete system includes boring bars, traps and laser assemblies. The system comes in different sizes to fit mini lathes as well as full sized lathes. Check out their line of tools and accessories at:
www.advancedlathetools.com
Of course, there were lots of lathe manufacturers at the show. Nova is a household name in the turning world. Known for their line of jaw chucks and lathes, Nova just introduced the new Comet ll midi-lathe. Besides a 12" swing it features a unique system called Versaturn Adaptable Technology. The system allows you to pop off the handwheel and attach six different power tool attachments; a grinding wheel, belt sander, wire brush, flexible shaft drive, sanding disk and even a wet stone. 
Nova also introduced another innovative product at the show. A convenient wireless wrist/magnetic remote control for quick speed adjustments plus start and stop is designed for their DVR line of lathes. A magnetic back plus a wrist strap allows the user to set the remote control exactly where its wanted, on your lathe or strapped to your wrist.
See all the Nova innovations at
Oneway lathes are renowned for their high quality and innovative design. Their newest product is seen for the first time at the AAW show. It's a drill driven bowl sanding system designed to quickly and safely eliminate tool marks on the inside of bowls. If you've ever tried sanding inside a large bowl by hand or even with a hand held drill you will understand the advantage of having the banjo-mounted pivot bearing. No paper catches or bouncing drills to wrestle with. The mount can rotate and pivot in any direction allowing you to 
safely surface the bowl interior in seconds.
See Oneway's complete line-up at
Woodturners come in a lot of different flavors: there are bowl turners, spindle turners, pen turners, segmented turners, etc. One category of turner doesn't use a traditional lathe; the ornamental turner. Through the combined efforts of David Lindow (clockmaker) and Steve White (tool and die maker) comes the Lindow White Rose Engine. An up-to-date version of an original Victorian era machine, the Lindow White Rose Engine can ornament the side of a cylinder as well as the top. Imagine the ornamented boxes you 
could turn out.
It's a bit of Rube Goldberg looking contraption, but it's an amazing thing to watch in action and I imagine, a lot of fun to use as well.
See more at
Hats off to the guy who started turning hats from wood. The art form is coming into its own. The shapes and refinement are really astounding. JoHannes Michelsen is the owner of Woodhat and claims to be the originator of the wooden hat. The company motto? "Wear Wood It Does You Good !
To order a hat or sign up for classes, see
www.woodhat.com
Just about every lathe manufacturer known to man was at the AAW Trade Show: Vicmarc, Vega, Nova, Powermatic/Jet, OneWay, Robust, Stubby, Titan to name a few. So, it's unusual when a new kid shows up on the block. Wivamac lathes have been around for 20 years, but available only in Europe.This is the first time they've been available in America. These Belgian made machines look to be a quality addition to the world of wood turning.
Find out more at
www.choice-woods.com
Get a handle on your cutting tools. Lots of turners like to make their own handles for personal expression as well as comfort. Hosaluk Tools marries up traditional wood handles with modern modular tool systems that allow the user to swap out cutters and adjust their protrusion.
They also offer a line of manufactured handles.
Go to www.hosaluktools.com for more info.
Thompson Lathe Tools is famous for using powder metal and cryogenics to produce the steel in their tools. Powder metallurgy is a process where each element is processed into a fine powder, mixed, pressed together then heated to produce a high grade alloy steel. Cryogenics is part of the tempering process used to create lots and lots of very fine carbides in the steel. The result is an industrial grade steel superior to the typical M2 HS steel used in many tools.
But the innovation does not end at the cutting end of the tool; it's carried all the way through to the tool handles as well. Each handle features a removable end cap that allows you to fill the handle core with steel shot. An adjustable plug lets you vary the amount of shot to suit your personal taste and need. The shot adds weight and dampens vibration for a solid feel in the cut. Add oil to the steel shot to enhance vibration absorption. Double set screws hold the cutting tool firmly in the handle.
See www.thompsonlathetools.com
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