An introduction to scientific woodturning. Students will get a grounding in tools, lathes, sharpening, and set-up, and then will transition into turning basic forms (spindle and bowl). Particular relevance will be placed upon grain orientation, wood moisture content, wood anatomy, wood chemistry, wood species and extractive effects, and how all of these attributed affect both form and function. Class instruction will be entirely studio based.

An in-depth look at how character in wood (figure, spalting, knots, etc.) affects machinability and output in both functional and aesthetic turning. Students will work with a wide range of spalted wood types and figure across numerous species while working on advanced turning forms. Particular emphasis will be placed upon how figure affects grain orientation, how spalting affects density and stability, and how the challenges with character wood can be overcome without specialty tools. Class instruction will be entirely studio based.

For the final term of a student's last year in the Renewable Materials Industrial Design program, this course brings together the basic collaborative design elements and technical background of each student in the creation of collaborative design projects with the intention of giving students real-world, problem-based design experience.