Stuart Batty is a third generation woodturner. At the age of sixteen, Stuart was a full-time production woodturner and teacher in his father’s woodturning studio. At nineteen, he started working for Craft Supplies Ltd. in England, which at the time was the world’s largest supplier to woodturners. During the six years he worked for Craft Supplies, Stuart was the in-house woodturning teacher and demonstrator. He also set up Craft Supplies first sawmill and was in charge of their import business that sold over 300 different exotic woods around the world. Stuart also developed and tested woodturning tools for Robert Sorby, which was a Craft Supplies Ltd. sister company.

Over the past twenty-seven years, Stuart has taught over 3,000 amateur and professional woodturners. He has demonstrated and taught in 12 countries and for over 180 different American Association of Woodturning Chapters across the USA.

Stuart’s style of work is greatly influenced by his background as a spindle turner with precise cuts and sharp detail. He uses very simple tools and tool shapes to create his pieces. His work is “pure” lathe work, with no carving or surface texturing. Stuart’s artwork has been sold through prestigious galleries across Europe and the USA. He also has artwork displayed in the permanent White House collection.

Stuart believes we have only skimmed the surface of the potential of a wood lathe. With production woodturning as his background, Stuart’s foundation in woodturning helped him perfect the push cut style and other useful techniques, such as negative rake scraping. This style and its methods have allowed him to push the boundaries of wood as a medium.

Stuart Batty Tools was founded to bring substantial improvements to the design and engineering of woodturning tools. Stuart’s extensive knowledge and experience of every woodturning tool establish a foundation to revision and reengineer the industry.  Every product that can be used on the lathe has been critiqued and subsequently improved. A number of these improvements are patent pending and all of them are incorporated into the SBT product line. Without question these are the most advanced, precise, and best performing woodturning tools available.

Above photo taken at the David J. Marks studio.