Now, Minnesota native Joel is living in the Faroe Islands and hoping to introduce others to their beauty and his instruction through woodturning retreats.

Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, the 18-island country, where the natives speak Faroese (as well as Danish and English for many of them), is accessible by flights out of Iceland, Edinburgh or Copenhagen.

Upon moving there in 2011 (“it started with a girl,” Joel said), Joel brought along 12 tons of sustainably acquired wood from the Upper Midwest of North America. Among the 30 species represented are hard maples, oak, cherry, ash, walnut, hackberry, Russian olive, elm, box elder and cottonwood.

He has also stocked his shop with high quality manufactured lathes and turning tools, as well as custom handmade tools he’s fashioned himself. He encourages students to bring their own turning tools to work for learning specific cutting techniques.

Joel’s shop is on the outer island of Fugloy (the Bird Island). Travel there involves two subsea tunnels and a ferry. Part of the turning retreat would take place on that island, and part in the Faroe Islands capital, Tórshavn. The Faroese, Joel said, are a “hospitable people. I wanted to share my love of the islands with people who hadn’t been there before.”

That’s why the retreat, in addition to the turning instruction, will also include some sightseeing among the country’s dramatic geography, including current-filled island fjords, volcanic sea cliffs and mountains. Plus, a focus on the islands’ food. The Faroe Islands’ location at 62 degrees north latitude, in the heart of the Gulf Stream, means that the harbor water never freezes and is very clean. Seafood, including oysters, halibut, salmon, cod and lobster, plays a significant role in the local cuisine, as does dried and cured sheep meat. “The flavors are very strong and potent,” Joel said.

As for the turning instruction, it will really depend on the student. Joel envisions this retreat as one-on-one time with an individual student, who might learn to turn Nordic style, minimalist candlesticks or elegant hollowed vases. Other potential topics include bowl blank planning from a log; drying strategies; rough turning; turning techniques for all vessel forms; aspects of sustainable turning (materials, finishes and techniques); turning tool design, construction and sharpening, form consideration; finishing choices, strategies and techniques.

“I’m a wood artist,” Joel said, “and my specialty is hollowing” for more ornamental pieces; he often adds inclusions and imperfections in the wood to his pieces. He would love, he said, to find advanced turners who would like to explore form and aesthetics, “people who want to think about lines and balance.”

Still, he said, the retreat is open to turners from beginner level to advanced. “It’s for a woodturner looking for a unique experience,” Joel said. “I hope to create a novel experience for the perfect turner.”  (Joel can be reached via the contact form on his website or by emailing him.)

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– Joseph Kasinec
Macomb, Michigan

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– John Crawford
West Fork, Arkansas

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Its improved navigation and functionality is designed to provide the best user-friendly experience, allowing customers to access detailed technical specifications about each Axiom machine, plus numerous product images. Then, in just a few clicks, the site enables you to build a small-format CNC system that’s designed specifically to meet your needs.

Axiom’s new online homepage is axiomprecision.com.

“We are excited to launch a fresh new look online,” says Todd Damon, president of Axiom Tool Group. “We’ve worked hard to develop a friendly and informative site that clearly outlines the mechanical and engineering advantages of the Axiom family of CNC routers.”

Axiom offers CNC solutions in a wide range of sizes for both hobbyists and industrial users. The “Hobby Series” accepts a Bosch Colt Router and has a cast-iron table. Pricing starts at $1,999. Axiom’s “Basic Series,” which start at $3,999, come with a 3-1/2-in. router mount and an interlocking aluminum table. The “Pro Series” offers a 3hp electro spindle, aluminum table and integrated liquid cooling. Prices start at $5,499 for this machine category. Working areas for all three tiers of Axiom machines range from 24- x 24-in. up to 24- x 48-in., depending on configuration.

You can outfit your new Axiom CNC system with a variety of accessories offered on the new website, too. Sold separately, those include VCarve software options, steel stands and toolboxes, dust shoes, hold down clamps or kits and Amana CNC bit sets.

The company also is introducing a new product video, Damon says. “It’s an exciting presentation which shows our Axiom CNC machines in action, and it demonstrates the quality of the components which we utilize to build every Axiom machine.

Explore the new site, and learn more about Axiom Tool Group, by clicking here.

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Rob Johnstone: The answer is yes and no. You can color wood filler if you use the correct product. Wood fillers can have different solvents in them, and the product you use to change the color must be compatible with that solvent. There is a product called, cleverly, Universal Tint, made by a company called Mixol®, that can actually color almost anything. You can also use some aniline dye in both water-based fillers and those with other solvents. I would not use paint- or oil-based stains to color the wood filler, but they might work if the solvents are compatible. There are just better products out there for this task.

Tim Inman: Yes, of course you can color wood with paint in the filler. As always, test the mix for suitability for your purposes! But, paint is paint – a mix of color pigments and sometimes dyes plus bonding agents and film-forming materials. While it will work, it is probably not the best first choice. There is a product family called Universal Tinting Pigments or sometimes Colorants (UTP or UTC in the trades), which are very finely ground pigments in a vehicle carrier which will mix with both water-based and oil-based materials. This would be my first choice for pigment sources. Another good choice in small quantities is tube colors. Acrylic or oil-based tubes of color are available at just about every hobby and art supply store in the world. These are a reliable and high quality source of excellent pigments.

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– Tom Clement
College Park, GA

See the Slideshow Below:

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