A Tale from the Road: Vernon Leibrant
FVWG Visit to master turner Vernon Leibrant – Saturday 25 January 2020
– a collaborative story prepared by Michael Hamilton-Clark, Al Timms, Murray Sluys and Brian Hick. Photos by Michael Hamilton-Clark.
Vernon Leibrant has his workshop in Everson, Wa, 12km south of the Sumas border crossing. He turns large bowls – he has done some up around 3ft diameter and many in the 18in to 2ft range. He produces up to 250 bowls per year which he sells at his workshop, as part of an Art Crawl and also at up to a dozen juried craft shows throughout the US during a 3-month summer road trip with his wife down to Colorado and across to the East Coast. Murray Sluys contacted him and a visit was arranged for Saturday, 25 January 2020. A maximum of 15 can be accommodated in the workshop and there were 15 members who signed up and attended with some carpooling arranged. The visit ran from 10am to noon.
Vernon turned an 18-inch bowl from a fresh-cut rectangular slab with bark still attached, which he removed partially with an ax and then by turning. The bowl was attached directly by lag bolts to a permanently fixed face plate on his lathe. Having shaped what was to be the outside, the piece was removed, and reversed so the inside could be worked on. Sanding was done wet. The piece was then removed, reversed and then held in place with a donut so the base could be finished.
The overall operation was completed in just over an hour (normally he would turn a bowl in 20 minutes or so) and, in answer to questions, Vernon advised the electric motor was 2 HP 3-phase 240 V and the turning speed was around 1400rpm. The motor, face plate and axle, are mounted on a 1,200 lb block of concrete.
The main cutting tools are formed from planer blade segments clamped into iron rods. All of Vernon’s bowls are turned green and allowed to dry for a couple of months. He advised that he has minimal checking. He sources all his wood from local connections and arborists in the area.
There was time to look at the stock of finished bowls and discuss finishes and the group left at just on noon.
Overall it was an impressive display from a master turner.
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Here is a video made by Murray Sluys from a 2011 FVWG visit to Vern Leibrant’s shop: