Mark Gardner, from the mountains of Western North Carolina, will be showing us how he uses green wood and makes his 'Shrink Boxes'. Note that he will follow the demonstration with an all-day demo and also an all-day hand-on workshop.
I was born and grew up in Cincinnati, OH. Woodworking was my father’s hobby and I was introduced to it through him and I feel lucky to have started learning woodworking as a teenager. Dad had a lathe and I fooled around on it from time to time but it wasn’t until I attended a two week woodturning class at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in 1996 that I was “hooked” on the turning process. I moved to Saluda, NC in 2000 and have been able to focus on my woodworking since opening my own studio there. In addition to making my work, I teach and demonstrate woodturning around the country for woodturning clubs and craft schools.
Shrink boxes are turned on a lathe from green wood. The box is essentially a tube with a groove turned inside one end. A dry piece of wood is then carved to fit the shape of the inside of the box and placed in the groove. When the box dries it shrinks and locks the bottom in place.