Chainsaw Demonstration
Gary Tveit — September 12, 2026
Instructor: Gary Tveit and mentors
Date: September 12, 2026, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Gary Tveit's house, 1234 Reed Road, Churchville, NY
Class Size: 15 students plus mentors
Materials: All wood supplied free of charge
Fee: Free (combined RWS and FLWT event)
Spend half a day in the woodyard learning to safely use and maintain your chainsaw. Chainsaws are used to acquire free-on-ground (FOG) wood for woodturning blanks.
Session 1 focuses on the chainsaw itself — maintenance, cleaning, sharpening, starting, and stopping.
Session 2 covers safely using your chainsaw. We'll demonstrate:
- Cutting logs (bucking) into blank rounds
- Splitting blank rounds in two with a rip cut
- Removing excess wood to leave a blank ready for the lathe
- Blanks that won't be turned within a day will be sealed with Anchorseal.
Session 3: Subgroups get hands-on experience under the watchful eyes of mentors. There will be plenty of logs on hand, including hard and soft maple, black cherry, ash, English walnut, and maybe red oak — much of the hard maple is spalted. In addition to logs, there are plenty of split blanks that made it through the log splitter and were too good to burn; you're welcome to search the pile for blanks you want. Everyone leaves with blanks ready for the lathe.
Time and interest permitting, we can also demonstrate the lumber mill making bowl blanks.
What you’ll need
- Eye protection — face shield in addition to eyeglasses
- Hearing protection
- Gloves
- No open-toed shoes
- Safety chaps (there should be plenty to share if you don't have your own)
- Chainsaw, if you have one — cordless electric is fine, and saws can be shared
- Chainsaw file and sharpening jig, if you have one
- Any wood chunk you're not sure how to process — bring it along for suggestions and help turning it into a blank
Who Should Attend
This workshop has something for everyone, from experienced chainsaw users to those who haven't yet decided to purchase a chainsaw. It's a valuable learning experience even if you just intend to cut firewood or brush. Everyone leaves with useful chainsaw knowledge, and many will have lathe-ready blanks.