Noted teacher and TV host David Marks will be teaching at the William Ng Woodworks School of Fine Woodworking (714-993-4215 or http://www.wnwoodworks.com) in southern California in August. Please contact the school to arrange attendance. From the 22-26 is a five-day hands-on class in Decorative Bowls and Platter Turning for beginning to intermediate turners. David will guide students through the process of selecting stock, mounting it onto the lathe using faceplates and sharpening techniques for a variety of tools. David will emphasize safe techniques for turning. The class will use bowl turning gouges and scrapers to produce a large assortment of bowls and small platters. As David takes the class through the design process, students will learn techniques such as carving and laminating, to enhance the work and make it unique.

Turned Wood Vessel
Black Walnut, Ebony,
Silver Leaf with Chemical Patina.
10.5" H. x 5" D
©2000 DJ Marks

Custom 1 Micron Dust Bags
According to the folks at American Fabric Filter Company (which is a division of Sifter Parts & Service, Inc.), bigger really is better - at least where dust collector bags are concerned. The Florida company makes customized felt filter bags based on your individual system's CFM rating, dust types and usage. Their AFF bags can capture dust particles down to 1 micron.

To ask question about improving the performance of your existing dust collector, or to get a free design/price quote, visit them online at americanfabricfilter.com, or call 800-367-3591 in the U.S.

Freud America, Inc., a leader in the production of high quality woodworking carbide for over 50 years, tells us that they have "revolutionized carbide production yet again by introducing TiCoª Hi-Density Carbide, a new specially formulated Titanium Cobalt Carbide designed to maximize performance on all of their bits and blades". According to the company, the new carbide is much smaller and more densely packed than other carbides on the market today, enabling the carbide teeth on Freud's blades, bits and cutters to last up to four times longer than standard products. Since the grains are much smaller, there is not as dramatic a loss to the cutting edge, so wear occurs much more slowly. Large grain carbides cannot be sharpened to such tight tolerances and as a result leave a rougher finish. Plus, the cutting edge wears much more quickly due to larger pieces of material eroding away with use.
"The smaller grains in the new TiCoª carbide equal a much more dense tooth design which allows for a sharper, longer-lasting cutting edge than is available today," explains Russell Kohl, President and CEO of Freud America, Inc.

For more info, contact Freud through their Web site.

New President at Woodcraft
Jeff Forbes, the vice president of Technology at Woodcraft Supply Corp., has been appointed president of the company following the retirement of Bryan Katchur. Mr. Katchur held the reins for the past thirteen years and hands over a company that is the industry's leading retailer of woodworking supplies, materials and tools. Woodcraft operates a catalog division, an online store and more than 75 retail stores nationwide.
Mr. Forbes (at right) lives in West Virginia with his wife and two sons. A Wisconsin native, he earned his MBA at UW in Madison. He also holds a teaching certificate, which bodes well for Woodcraft's online education program, woodcraftuniversity.com.

For more info, or to order a copy of the company's catalog, visit Woodcraft online.