I ran into Phil Holtan at the Norsk Høstfest in Minot, ND in 2019. Phil, a retired pastor from MN, was also a wood turner and had a booth showcasing and selling his handiwork. I struck up a conversation with him and his wife and, as it turned out he also offered wood turning courses. On top of that he had recently moved from Perham MN to the Twin Cities area so was not that far away from where I lived. Having recently retired and having acquired a used Rikon Lathe that I really didn’t know how to use yet, it seemed that a course from Phil was destined to be.
I took a 1 and 1/2 day course from him later that year and learned how to use the lathe, gouges, sharpening tools, safety equipment etc. properly. On the afternoon of the 2nd day with his guidance, I turned this live-edge black ash bowl, and impressed even myself. I took it down to about 1/8″ thick and even Phil commented, “You’re getting it pretty thin there.”
