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Dave Landers

I have been a hobbyist woodturner for over three decades. My passion lies in crafting both functional and aesthetically pleasing pieces, with each visit to the workshop dedicated to not only creating but also advancing my skills.

Wood is more than just a material to me; it’s a canvas of nature’s artistry. Working in harmony with Mother Nature, I endeavor to enhance the inherent beauty of wood. Sometimes, my creations even involve collaboration with natural elements like insects or fungi, resulting in layered and captivating works of art.

A significant portion of my creations start with rescued wood, salvaged from trees removed from yards to prevent them from ending up in landfills.

I have the privilege of being able to turn wood in my shop and studio in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado.


My signature piece is something I call simply “Sliced Hollow Forms”. These are hollow vessels that I’ve sliced apart and reassembled with Pewa (butterfly patches).

Pewa (pronounced peh-vah, and means fish tail) is the Hawaiian term for butterfly patches. I use this term because I learned the process of patching cracks from a couple of wood turners from Hawaii.


I do demonstrations and classes for woodturning clubs and symposiums, and also offer Interactive Remote Demonstration (IRD) via Zoom.

Amid the challenges of lockdowns in 2020, drawing upon my background as a software engineer, I seized the opportunity to adapt. Utilizing makeshift equipment, I conducted my first Interactive Remote Demo, and have subsequently delivered numerous sessions to clubs around the world..

Teaching and demonstrating are not just acts of sharing knowledge—they’re avenues for personal growth. Teaching is a reciprocal process, where I learn as much as I impart. Through contributions to the woodturning community, I find fulfillment in giving back to a community that has enriched my own journey.

Making Shavings

For 21 years, I turned on a lathe I built myself. A wooden wood lathe. That’s me, in 1989, building it.

Gallery

These are examples of some of my work. It is not a “product catalog”, and sometimes not very up to date. Many of these pieces are sold or unavailable. If there’s something that interests you, contact me at dave@dlwoodturning.com and we can see if the piece is available or if I have something similar that you’d like.

Hollow Form

Maple burl hollow form with big voids. African blackwood finial. About 6″ tall, 3-1/4″ diameter.

Small Box

About 3” tall. Magnetic lid.Maple burl with some worm holes filled with colored epoxy.

Fairly Useless Platter

Or maybe it’s a shallow bowl. Either way, it won’t hold soup. Cherry burl with large bark inclusions wenge pewa) and some bug tracks. Quite a mess. This was the outer core from around the bowl I posted earlier. About 12″ diameter, 2-1/4″ tall.

Cherry Burl Bowl

About 8″ diameter, 2.75″ high. Round bottom (no foot, just a little dimple so it sits upright).Simple walnut oil finish.A few pewa (maple) to stabilize a crack, and some epoxy fill in the cracks just to make the bowl more usable, since the cracks went all the way through.

Maple Burl Box

About 4″ tall, 3″ diameter. The interior is about 2″ diameter. Lid is parted off in an arc, and the top attached with 2 pairs of small magnets. The magnets are oriented so the lid only goes on the “right” way. Lacquer finish.

Maple Hollow Form

About 9″ diameter and 4.75″ high. Lacquer finish. I am not sure, but I think the whiter bit is where the tree grew over/around a limb.

Wood Turning by Dave Landers