Binh Pho resides in Maple Park, Illinois. He was born in Vietnam. After the Vietnam War ended Binh attended college, studying architecture. He attempted to escape Vietnam but was captured and spent one year in a communist re-education camp. Binh's fourth attempt to escape was successful and he and 38 companions floated to safety after 7 days in a small boat. He spent 8 months in a refugee camp and was then reunited with his family. He settled in the U.S. in 1979 and continued his education. After graduation he pursued a professional career. Binh has become one of the worlds most creative wood artists. Each of his pieces is unique and has soul.

Prior to the start of the demonstration Binh showed a video entitled Turning a Log into Art. This tape is available from Binh.

The morning session began with basic bowl turning techniques. The intent was to turn a very thin bowl of a light colored wood so that wall thickness could be determined by back lighting. In this case Binh used a half round sycamore log about 10 inches in diameter. The piece turned today was side turned to give it more strength. The pith was cut away in preparing the piece. The top of the piece was placed in the headstock and the bottom in the tailstock. The piece was positioned vertical to the lathe bed. Binh stressed that repeated practice after attending a demonstration is absolutely necessary. He started by cutting downhill, thus rounding and shaping simultaneously. Lathe speed should be initially quite slow for safety reasons and then sped up. Cutting progressed from the center outward. The tool rest should be as close as possible to the piece. As the piece was rounded the speed was increased. Cutting should be nearly effortless if the tool is sharp and the body is satisfactorily positioned. Binh kept his right hand on the tool handle firmly against his side. He continued to turn the outside shape from smaller to larger diameter (bottom to top). He then turned the tenon on the base to fit his stronghold chuck. This required a flat tenon surface (square). Binh did not completely finish the outside of the bowl before chucking because after chucking the piece may be out of round and require further refinement. When cutting, the upper profile of the piece should be observed and not where the cutting is taking place. The tailstock was not used to support the piece but it would have been utilized if the piece had been larger. It was obvious when the piece was placed in the chuck that it was somewhat out of round. It was then re-rounded so that wall thickness would be constant around the piece. The shape of the outside was finalized and finished. This was done from the bowl base to the top. Binh finished one section at a time. He then flattened the top of the piece on the edge to be sure that the edge was true both from the side and top. He then used a modified spindle gouge with an elongated edge to give the outer bowl surface a smoother finish. This produced a shear cut in preparation for shear scraping.

Binh then sharpened several of his tools. [He does not use a jig and does not hone.] He then further shear cut the surface of the outside of the bowl to better refine it. The surface was then shear scraped using a homemade tool with a round shaft. There was a three-sixteenth inch slot in the end to accept a section of a planer blade. This was flat for the outer surface or changed to a curved shape blade for interior surface scraping.

The interior of the bowl was begun. Binh cut from the outer to the center part of the bowl. This, again, provided an uphill cut. He began by riding the bevel and then turned the tool to initiate the cut. When turning a thin wall bowl Binh finishes the rim area first down about one inch into the piece. This leaves enough mass below the finished area to stabilize the piece. He then progressed further into the piece at about one inch increments each time completing the wall further toward the bottom. The tool rest was kept as close as possible to the work surface. The light was used to determine wall thickness. The curved scraper was then used to finalize wall thickness which was about one-sixteenth of an inch. This was done inch by inch into the bottom of the bowl. [It is of interest to note that the first one inch increment was out of round by the time the second one inch increment was completed. This was due to drying. On a more humorous note, Binh stated not to worry about going through the bottom of the bowl if you do you have a lampshade!

Binh did not make the interior bottom flat. He wanted a slightly concave shape. The bowl was then removed from the chuck in preparation for defining the bottom. A jam chuck was used and the tailstock placed back into the original hole. The bottom was then completed and parted off. A further note from Binh Dont call where you work a shop. Call it a studio then you can charge bigger prices. This completed the morning session. The afternoon session began with an extensive slide show of Binhs work. Many pierced, air brushed and textured pieces were shown an unbelievable collection each one telling a story. As John Hill said, We have seen the master.

Binh continued with a discussion of the air brush single or double action, gravity or side feed. He also discussed the transparent paint used in addition to the mixing and application techniques. The only real rule is to not spray too much paint in one area you cannot take it back. Because the paints are transparent spraying one color over another combines the effects of both. Binh also demonstrated wave formation using a clear shield that was segmentally cut away after each spray application. This was also done to portray a kimono print that was very impressive. The procedure was quite time consuming and exact.

Binh did not design, pierce or texture the thin wall bowl turned in the morning session because it needed to dry for about two weeks and also needed to be sanded.

Transferring a design from copy paper to the wood was then discussed. Xylene dissolves the toner on the paper to the wood. The xylene is placed on the wood the copy pressed face-down and pressed against the wood. This transfers the copy toner and the design to the wood. Piercing was then discussed. Compressed air at 45 PSI was used. A dental drill can be used using a carbide tip. At 45 PSI it develops 400,000 rpm. Layouts for piercing were discussed using the negative space technique and the single line technique. The design and type of piercing will portray the image you desire. First negative space was shown by burning (cutting) out open areas (negative space). The tool should be held perpendicular to the wood surface. The second type of piercing using only lines was also discussed and demonstrated. Texturing using ball or diamond tips was discussed and shown. End grain areas burn more readily than side grain areas.

The final discussion dealt with 3-D crystal lacquer. deposited in the negative spaces. This gave the appearance of a stain glass window, This completed a very intriguing and complicated demonstration. For more details please refer to the demo tape that will be available in the club library in May 2003.

--Bob Gunther

Binh's website

Binh's Resources