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My name is Ken Rude, owner of Branches to Bowls Ltd living in Calgary, AB. I have been working with wood on and off since I made 7 birdhouses when about 9-10 years old. About 10 years ago, I started woodturning with an old lathe I found on Kijiji, to see if I enjoyed working on a lathe like I thought I remembered from High School shop class.
After a couple years of chasing the vibrating lathe around the shop, it was time to upgrade. After looking at the available options I decided on looking for a used Vicmarc lathe, finally after about 6 months I found the only used one, a VL300, in the world 10 minutes from home. It was in my shop within 24 hours. I spent many, many satisfied hours working on my Vicmarc VL300.
We ship across Canada from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and the Territories. Utilizing different shipping carriers from Canada Post, Purolator, and a couple different LTL freight companies, we look for the best bang for your buck on shipping your new lathes, accessories and tools.
Vicmarc Machinery
I approached Vicmarc Machinery about representing Vicmarc Machinery in Canada, and after some months of conversation have become the Canadian Distributor for the Vicmarc Machinery, in the spring of 2016. Representing Vicmarc is an easy fit for me, after many years of working with wood it has always been important for me to purchase the best tool for the job. Vicmarc provides this tool for my company Branches to Bowls.
ClearVue Cyclones
I have personally been using a Clear Vue Cyclone for over 6 years. I have been very impressed with the way it collects virtually all of the fine dust. My drum is filled with dust finer than Talcum powder and packs like icing sugar. I constantly get asked “Where is your dust?” by woodturners. Due to the high quality and effectiveness of the Clear Vue Cyclone system I now include it to the line of quality products I offer.
Carter & Son Toolworks, Premium Woodturning Tools
In November of 2016 I also became the Canadian Dealer for Carter and Son Toolworks from Seattle. Manufacturers of Premium Wood turning tools, they have earned a loyal customer base across Canada, and the USA as well as through Dealers in Germany, Japan, Denmark and Norway and the U.K. This is because of their 40+ years of experience as toolmakers, and their attention to detail and using a premium M42 steel and their own proprietary 5 step heating process.