About the Contest

The Winter 2005 AAW Forum woodturning contest results are in. Congratulations to Chris Kuehn the contest winner. This was the 4th turning contest held on the AAW forums. The theme of the contest was layered bowls...inline with a feature story from the Winter 2005 AW Journal layered bowl article by Jim McPhail. The overall winners of the contest were:

1st) Chris Kuehn
2nd) Frank Kobilsek
3rd) Craig Magera


The AAW would like to thank Jim McPhail for judging this contest. Jim also gratiously sent one of his layered bowls to the winner Chris Kuehn.

There were 8 entries in the contest. The Winter 2005 contest details and the rules are listed here The entries and overall results are listed here

If you want to enter the next contest, watch for the contest announcement in the AAW forums

About Chris in his own words

My first experience with a wood lathe was at the age of 5 when my father turned a set of wheels for a wooden dump truck. I was constructing the truck from wood scraps I found in his shop. Twenty years later I got back into the woodworking hobby and built different furniture pieces. In 2002 I bought a mini lathe and started turning pens, bottle stoppers and chisel handles. After attending an AAW Chapter event with the Chesapeake Woodturners, my understanding of woodturning changed dramatically. I saw people making bowls, hollow forms, tops, birdhouse ornaments, and more. I watched local turner, Brad Bradford, demonstrate each step in making an amazing birdhouse. I went home and over the next few weeks made a dozen for gifts. At this point, I was bitten by the turning bug bad!

In the fall of 2004, I really started pursuing turning with passion. This was spurred on by my father’s progression into the hobby as well as a need for a new outlet from my busy career. I started pushing my mini lathe to its limits and knew it was time to upgrade. I was lucky to find several websites with great people willing to help. I also contacted another local turner that wanted to establish a “local” turning club. We started a new AAW Chapter one year ago called the Baltimore Area Turners www.baltimoreareaturners.org. Through the club I was able to test drive a Powermatic 3520, the lathe I decided I couldn’t live without.

"Spider" layered bowl by Chris Kuehn
1 3/8"H x 4 7/8"W
Lacewood, B. walnut (two layers), Bloodwood, and bookmatched Wenge
click here for bigger picture

("About Chris" continued)
I served the first year as Vice President and this year I was elected President. It has been amazing to see all the members skills improve with the sharing that comes along with the club. We are very lucky to have several members that are published authors and produce gallery quality pieces. The club has helped my skills grow and I have developed a great group of friends. I am looking forward to our road trip to Louisville in June for my first symposium.

In July 2005, I set a goal to have one of my turnings published in a national magazine. I read the layered bowl article in the Winter AAW Journal, tried the technique and really enjoyed it. Then, I learned of the contest and decided to enter. Wining this contest has made my goal a reality.

I designed my entry bowl to be viewed from the top; it is made from Wenge, Black Walnut, Bloodwood, and Lacewood. I selected these woods and arranged them in this pattern to gradually transition the color from the black of the outer rim to the pink of the lace wood. The Wenge was re-sawn from a piece of ¾” thick material that when book matched, gave a nice swirling pattern to draw the eye into the center of the bowl. Each successive layer frames the previous with the most interesting lace wood pattern at the center as the focal point. After the bowl was completed my wife, Kristin named the bowl “Spider” for this pattern in the bottom layer. Making the layered bowls was equally as fun as thinking of the different patterns and groupings of layers that would please the eye. It was something new that challenged my mind in a way that turning plain wood into the most appealing shapes has not invoked. The technique allows the turner to bring interest into a piece in a way that you cannot do with homogenous wood.