Johannes Michelsen

"Love my HannesTool gouge, it has become my go to tool"

I thought I would drop you a line and tell you how much I enjoyed your woodhat turning workshop. As I told you, I learned so many "little" things that will improve my turning abilities tremendously. Thank you so much for that.

However, the real payoff, if you will, is that I came away with new eyes. My future has opened up with the new eyes of creation. Seeing the things you produced inspired me. By this I mean, while my skills are not good enough yet (but they will improve)to produce the works of art that you do, I now know it is possible. Wood is no longer a static concept because I now see it as a somewhat fluid media......really cool.

Thank you again for all you shared with me during this past weekend. I look forward to learning more in the future. Your course is excellent and anyone wanting to improve their turning skills will find it a great value. I came away with the most beautiful piece of wood art I have made and I will treasure it always.

I have been thoroughly enjoying my new HannesTool Gouge by Johannes Michelsen, this is one sweet tool. The handle fits perfectly in your hand, and is superbly balanced. If you've ever held a very fine writing instrument in your hand -- like a Mont Blanc or Pelikan pen -- or one of Angelo's pens ;) -- you'll know what I'm talking about.

Hi JoHannes,
Just found out about your line of turning tools and I would like to order the 1/2" diameter one with handle to try out. Please send me a quotation which includes shipping. I've retired from the tool business almost three years ago but I still have an interest in the new developments.

Regards,

Johannes, I like the 'cone bone'; it looks like a formidable woodturning weapon! When it's out of the prototype stage and you are in production, put my name on the list. To quote Will Smith in 'Independence Day', "I've GOT to get me one of these! Just like your gouges, I can see plenty of other uses for that tool in my woodturning.

As a new turner, with less than a year's experience on old and inadequate equipment, and no instruction except what I could figure out from a couple of books, and from ruining a bunch of perfectly good wood, I realized two things. First I really wanted to see if I could get good at woodturning; and second in order to do that I needed a fresh start with a good teacher.

I started a search for an instructor and was fortunate to find Hannes just over the mountain from where I live. I drove over and took him a half dozen of the things I had made. My concern was that I didn't know enough to get benefit from his class in hat making. Or worse that I didn't know enough to keep up.

Hannes looked at my work, and asked me a couple of questions. His summary comment was, "You're a good candidate for the class because you don't have too many bad habits yet, and the ones you do have can still be corrected."

In the class I signed up for there were two other students, each of whom in turned out had 20 years of turning experience. I had every reason to feel intimidated, but Hannes put us all at ease and kept us so busy there was no time to worry. He's a fine instructor, and his passion for the process, the wood, the tools and the end result are infectious. All three of us were fully challenged, at our own levels, and were supported as we needed it to meet the challenge.

It's a fast-paced, energized, hands-on environment. Wet wood demands "all reasonable haste," and the pressure to stay ahead of the wood as it got thinner and began to change was exhilarating. It was my first attempt to turn a big piece of wet wood and I found the speed of the material and the pace of the work really fun. I gained confidence quickly but knew if I needed bailing out (as I did a couple of times) help was nearby. The studio is well laid out, very well equipped and a pleasure to be in. As a teacher, Hannes is available and absolutely generous with his skills and knowledge, but he doesn't over coach. He meets the students where they are and applies a light corrective touch when he sees the need. He clearly takes deep pleasure from sharing what he knows. There were no "hold-backs" in the subject matter. We were given all we needed to know to make a real cowboy hat from wood, including the design of the necessary jigs and fixtures. At the end of the three days, the only thing we couldn't take home with us was the years of experience, the hard-earned skills and the artistic talent that Hannes has. Those we have to supply ourselves.

My classmates and I agreed at the end of three long, exciting, knowledge-packed days it was the most fun we'd had standing up with our clothes on in a very long time.


Heath Boyer
Windham, Vermont