Now in its second season, “Woodturning Workshop” has become a national success story for a small public television station headquartered outside Tulsa, Okla.

Rogers State University Public TV, in Claremore, Okla., began preparing this series of programs about woodturning in late 2005. The National Educational Telecommunications Association distributed it to other stations in the Public Broadcasting System even before it aired on RSU. Now, the half-hour series has been shown in nearly 90 markets across the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. 

Tim Yoder, the producer/host, began turning a dozen years ago. He’s an Emmy-nominated TV photographer, but this is his first assignment in front of the camera. He engages his viewers through his expert knowledge of turning and his offbeat sense of humor (who else would begin an episode by juggling? Badly.) 

In this excerpt, Yoder shows how to create a graceful, miniature vessel from a tropical ivory palm nut attached to a piece of ebony. He uses ordinary turning tools, a scraper improvised from dental tools, and conventional turning techniques. The lessons he provides apply equally well to larger turnings.

For a list of episodes from season 1 and 2 of the series or to buy individual episodes on DVD, click here.