Glad to hear Brian Havens is okay. I heard the same thing, that he had died in a crash. I wish he would do more videos. I think his are the best instructional videos for new turners. I love the way he breaks it down by tool type, presentation, and potential pitfalls. I never could grasp grain orientation as a new turner until his demos with the straws.
Now that I have more experience I enjoy Raffen (less useful for beginners imho), Tamislav, Richard Finley, Andrew McCarn, Ronald Kannes, and craftsupplies (I really like the way Mike Nish teaches, - very clear and simple, but not too basic. Though Kirk Deheer is phenomenal - he used to lead most of our club demos that are held at CraftSupplies but recently stepped back due to time constraints, which is unfortunate). I enjoy area50juan though I think he’s somewhat newer to turning and I often feel like we mirror each other in limitations and mistakes, but overall I like his approach as a developing turner and his projects are interesting.
I try to avoid turners who extensively demo free products they receive….it seems a bit disingenuous - when first starting I spent >$200 on carbide tools that a British YouTuber demoed and made them sound like they were a must have. After about 2 uses I realized I didn’t have an undying love for sanding and that traditional tools were the way to go for me. I’ve never used the carbides since (and have never seen the YouTuber use them again on his channel, which I no longer follow).
Fun thread - I’ll have to go check out a few mentioned that I’m unfamiliar with.
Thx, Tom