Brian Simmons, the Woodsmith Store’s most famous assistant manager, has a national reputation as a woodturing educator. A member of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), Brian came to the Woodsmith Store in a roundabout way.  Originally from Georgia, Brian and his family moved to Iowa after his wife took a job here in Des Moines.
Brian worked for Paxton’s Hardwoods before they closed the store. He’d heard about the seminars at the old Woodsmith Store and stopped in one day to offer his services to teach woodturning if the store ever decided to have a turning seminar. Store manager, Dave Larson, offered Brian a job on the spot and the rest is history.
In this week’s Woodsmith seminar: Bowl Turning — From Log to Bowl in Under an Hour, Brian takes a short section of poplar log and turns out a beautiful bowl, all while offering some really great insight in how to turn green wood.

Podcast #7: Bowl Turning – From Log to Bowl in Under an Hour

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How do you mill a cove in a long workpiece without a shaper?
How about jointing a square edge without a jointer?
Both of these questions will be answered by Doug Hicks during this  seminar podcast. Doug will also show you how to add tapers using a jointer; rout  dovetails for dovetail keys on a router table; and even turn a spindle  with a router, portable hand drill and a special jig.
Get the seminar guide here: 5 Surprising Woodworking Techniques

Podcast #44: 5 Surprising Woodworking Techniques You Didn’t Know About

This seminar isn’t about what you need — it’s more about what you don’t want to be without when you get started on a finishing project. All of them are items that you’ll find yourself reaching for regularly. And having them all on hand at the start of a project is the secret to a top-notch finish.
Get the seminar guide here: 12 Must-Have Finishing Supplies

Podcast #43: 12 Must-Have Finishing Supplies

Watch demonstrations of three innovative joinery techniques: Miller Dowels, Beadlock Loose Tenon Joinery system, and Domino from Festool.
Get the seminar guide here: 3 New Innovations in Joinery

Podcast #42: 3 New Innovations in Joinery

It’s hard to underestimate the importance of the table saw in the modern home workshop. It’s great for ripping, crosscutting, cutting sheet goods down to size, and it handles dadoes, rabbets, and grooves with ease. But what if it hasn’t been set up correctly? Then it’s just a big anchor in the middle of an unused shop.
Vince Ancona takes us step-by-step through his routine for accurate set up and maintenance of a table saw. By the end of the seminar, you’ll have learned how to vastly improve the quality of the cuts you make with your table saw.
Get the seminar guide here: Table Saw Set Up & Maintenance

Podcast #41: Table Saw Set Up & Maintenance

I asked associate editor Randy Maxey why hand planes are an important part of a modern woodworking shop? Here is what he told me:
“I know a lot of people think I use hand planes just because I’m old-fashioned. The truth is, I love my machines. But if you want to do quality work in your wood shop, you need to learn to use hand planes. I use at least one of the three planes I’m demonstrating almost every time I’m in the shop. It has changed the way I do woodworking. I really agree with a line I read once in an old, old issue of Woodsmith magazine. It said, ‘…no machine can come close to the quality of work a hand plane will do.’”
Get the seminar guide here: Three Hand Planes Every Shop Should Have

Podcast #7: Bowl Turning – From Log to Bowl in Under an Hour

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