How Hand-Turned Wooden Bowls Are Made

Vermont Woodworking, The Andrew Pearce Way

With a commitment to the environment, a passion for functional design and an acumen for innovation, Andrew has created a signature approach to the traditional craft of woodworking.

Andrew Pearce TurningTree to Bowl

Sourcing sustainable materials is key to creating designs with character and beauty. Our cherry and black walnut trees come from only responsible loggers, located in the Northeast (NY, PA, and VT). A supply of high quality logs come in each month to our work shop in Hartland, Vermont. More on Sustainability 

Innovation Meets Tradition

Using Andrew’s innovative update on the classic “rough-out” lathe machine, woodworkers are able to cut several bowls from a single block of wood, in a nesting pattern. This means our woodworkers waste as little of the precious material as possible. Our workshop is also home to 7 drying kilns, where bowls and flat boards are carefully dried for a month or more, depending on the size of the wood. 

What Makes it Hand-Turned?

Once dry, a master wood-turner takes each rough-cut "bowl blank" and mounts it onto one of our finishing lathes. Using various gauges he forms the inside of each bowl with a precise approach to curve and consistency. The wood's unique characteristics are allowed to come through, where no two are identical. The craftsperson then fine-tunes the exterior by sanding the surface for a perfectly smooth finished product. 

See Us in Action

Stop by and see for yourself through our window. Open daily, our Hartland, Vermont workshop is located at 59 Woodstock Road (US Route 4), call 802-735-1884 x1 for more information. Please note, tours of the workshop are not allowed due to health and safety concerns, for both our guest and staff.