Vermont Woodturners Guild to host Nick Rosato spindle turning workshop

A straight spindle, a clean bead and a controlled cut were the focus when the Vermont Woodturners Guild brought master woodturner Nick Rosato in for its June meeting. The session zeroed in on the parts turners actually run into on real projects, from finials and tool handles to table legs, chair legs, newel posts and balusters.

The workshop format mattered. Instead of a quick demo, the guild set it up as a three-hour hands-on session where attendees could see the work up close and try spindle turning themselves. Rosato was scheduled to cover work mounting, tools and the key techniques that make spindle work efficient, the sort of basics that decide whether a blank becomes a clean, repeatable form or a lesson in why the cut wandered.

That approach fits the way the guild operates in Jericho, Vermont, where meetings are usually held on the third Wednesday of the month at the Russ Fellows Woodturning Center. Members may arrive at 6 p.m. for a light meal and fellowship, the main meeting starts at 6:30 p.m., and sessions generally run to about 7:30 or 8:30. The center itself was founded in honor of founding member Russ Fellows, with support from his partner Bob Coates and other contributors, and the shop is described as having five lathes along with tools, equipment and supplies.

The guild also leans hard into accessibility. It describes itself as a local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners and says it offers workshops and camaraderie to promote the craft and lathe mastery, welcoming all comers. That makes a spindle session with Rosato more than a narrow technique class. It becomes an easy entry point into the local turning scene for anyone who wants more time at the lathe and fewer mistakes on the floor.

Rosato brings the right mix of shop credibility and teaching experience. He is identified as the owner of Vermont Peppermill and as a professional woodturner, and his teaching listings describe him as a hands-on instructor for woodturning beginners. Other business descriptions list him as a woodturner, craftsman, furniture maker, artist demonstrator and instructor, which is exactly the profile you want when the topic is a foundational skill. For turners chasing better control over symmetry, mounting and presentation, this was the kind of live workshop that shows why spindle turning still sits at the center of the craft.