Drinking and eating from wooden cups and bowls is quite commonplace in Asia, Scandinavia, and other places with forested lands. In contrast to the West, where bowls are mostly turned with side grain orientation, in Asia they are traditionally end grain-turned and finished with urushi lacquer. End grain allows the maker to turn very thin vessels that are still strong. In this course we will explore end grain turning on an electric lathe. Jarrod Dahl will teach turning techniques informed by his experiences as an end grain cup turner and his research of historic cups in Europe as well as end grain turning techniques he learned in Japan. Students will use modern lathe turning tools and lesser known hook tools. Basic roughing, hollowing, and fine finish turning with both dry and green wood will be covered. Students will also discuss tool design, using woodenware, drying greenwood, and wood finishes such as hardening oils, urushi lacquer, and ceramic finishes. Students will then learn how to apply Hassui Ceramic to their cups. This course requires the ability to stand at the lathe. 

Required Tools

• All tools will be provided by the instructor and the school.

Optional Tools

• Roughing gouges
• Spindle gouge
• Hooks for end grain turning
• Safety Gear