Hank Bardenhagen is a native of New York City. He received a B.A. in Economics from Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, IN. Since the early 1970's he, his wife, and three children have made Racine, WI their home. He worked for 25 years in Wisconsin as a manufacturers representative for machining tools and gaging equipment.

In 1982 Hank took up woodworking as a hobby. In 1992 he opened WoodCuts Ltd., a retail store supplying carvers, turners, and woodworkers with tools, wood, and classes. In an effort to expand WoodCuts offerings, in the fall of 1993 Hank traveled to Parkman, Ohio to study woodturning under Ernie Conover. In the following year he began teaching basic woodturning at WoodCuts. He has taken and continues to pursue advanced studies under various professional wood turners, notably Mike Mahoney and Dick Sing.

Due to health problems he experienced, WoodCuts was closed in January 2000 and later that year Hank retired from his manufacturers rep business. He continues teaching various woodturning levels and techniques at Woodcraft in Milwaukee,
The Clearing in Door County, and offers private turning lessons in his workshop located adjacent to his home in Racine.
Hank's turnings are sold in galleries such as the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art store, the Artist's Gallery in Racine,
the Merrill Springs Art Sale in Madison and the Domicile Art Show in Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

Hank is a member of the Wisconsin Woodturners, the Milwaukee Area Woodturners, the Chicago Woodturners, and the
American Association of Woodturners. Additionally, he enjoys presenting a program on The Woods of the Bible. Part of this presentation includes carved and turned wooden samples of the woods mentioned in the Bible.

Hank prefers to use woods native to Wisconsin, and especially from the "urban forest"-those trees taken down in the city due to age, disease or damage. Most of his turnings are functional rather than decorative, with finishes appropriate for use.