25 Aug 2020 – Online Demo by Richard Findley

Last night, was the Club’s 3rd online interactive demo, this time with a last minute replacement, Richard Findley who very kindly swapped with Stewart Furini who was taken poorly.  Stewart will hopefully be able to do his demo at the end of September.

Richard’s demo was actually his first online live demo, but the way he controlled his cameras and presented perfectly his demo, you would have never had guessed. It was obvious from the beginning that he is skilled at presenting to an audience and entertained us for a full 3 hours. Many of us know Richard from his projects for the woodturning magazine.

We were showed around his workshop and how he has set up for online demonstrations. Richard then showed a sample of the lidded box, with pewter insert, that he intended to demonstrate. Throughout the evening he took us through the complete process and even managed to cast the pewter insert in front of us (well not exactly), however, the atmosphere was almost as if we were in his workshop. The safety aspects in dealing with melting pewter and all the things that surround the process were made clear before he moved on.

The box was made from walnut, as you can see from the pictures below. We were shown how to mount the work and the best ways to present tools safely and for the best results from each cut. Richard had a camera set up to show sharpening of his tools and especially the skew chisel, which lots of us find challenging. There were lots tips throughout the evening from jam chucks to sharpening and how to get the right balance when making your box lid fit; to pop or not to pop, that is the question. Whether a new or old turner, he made sure there was something for everyone.

We were really pleased to have 47 participants attending the demo, which is also a record for the Club during these difficult times.  This included some guests and a recent new member joining us from up North, in the Shetlands.  So it doesn’t matter where you are, as along as you can get a good internet connection, you can still join in. The word is getting out there and we are attracting new people wanting to become members, plus gradually getting back some of our members who are finally taking the plunge into the wonderful world of Zoom.  It has been said that watching these online demos, you are probably getting a better view of the action than normal, plus its in the comfort of your own home.

There are still a few of you who are reading this….. yes you! that have not given Zoom a go yet.  We would love to encourage, persuade or twist your arm to come along.  Don’t worry if it all seems too high tech and you don’t understand it, we can help you, just contact us.

A big thank you to Richard and all the members who attended making this yet another big success for the Club and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Pictures shown of the finished item are kindly provided by Richard.

Next meeting is the Workshop Activity Night on the Tue 8 Sept 2020.  We have arranged for Terry Smart from Chestnut Products to join us for some of the evening and he will be doing a Q & A session, so start thinking of your Chestnut Products questions now.  Terry is giving up his free time to do this for the Club, so please support us and actually have loads of questions ready for him.

If you don’t want to ask your question(s) yourself, no problem, you can either, send in the question(s) via the contact form selecting General Enquiry in advance of the meeting and we will ask it for you on the night, not mentioning your name if that’s what you want, or use the chat facility on the night to send a private message to me, Martin Pigott or Alan Buckle, or simply enable your micro phone and ask it yourself.  You are amongst friends, so don’t be shy.

The Club Shop and Martin Pidgen’s wood sales will be again open at the Village Hall, 10am to midday on the 5th and 19th Sept 2020.  Don’t forget your money, mask and social distancing.

Then don’t miss our next fantastic online demo by Stewart Furini on the 29th September 2020 (hopefully).

I have said this before, but it’s still important to get your feedback.  Just to prove to me that you are still actually reading this post, it would be great before you go, if you can leave a comment below.  Please leave some feedback on the demo if you watched it.  Remember, its your Club, so also tell us who and what you want to see on the Demos and Workshop Activity Nights, any ideas on what we can do and anything we need to improve on.  Thanks for reading…..now please comment below.