Workshop Activity Night – 8 Jun 2021

The sun was shining and the temperature was high, but 29 members were content to sit in front of their computers for an evening of all things woodturning.

Following some introductory remarks it was off to the breakout rooms to see what delights Alan, Chris and Zak had in store for us this month. The first noticeable thing was that unlike last month, Zak did not need his hat to stop heat loss through the top of his head and Chris had lost his padded jacket declaring that he was in his “summer gear”, i.e. shorts. The less said about that the better. Alan just carried on as normal.

Zak had been given a piece of pink hawthorn from which he had made a lidded box and with the remaining piece sought to replicate the box but would use carbide tools to do some of the hollowing so as to show those unfamiliar with that type of tool how they worked. Zak also showed us some patterns he had for cutting out various shapes including a shamrock, a star and an owl. He had already started to turn the owl by creating the eyes and the nose. Hopefully at some point we may see the finished piece. He then mounted the hawthorn between centres and using a bowl gouge turned the wood down to a cylinder, formed a chucking point on each end and parted off the lid section using a saw for the final separation. The lid was mounted in the chuck and Zak started the hollowing out with a gouge before changing to a square carbide tool, which helps when forming a 900 angle between the side wall and the bottom. The inside of the lid complete, the box section was mounted in the chuck. The hollowing was started by using a Forstner bit to drill the wood out being careful not to go too far into the wood with the point of the bit. The hollowing was completed by again using the carbide tools. Having ensured the lid was a good fit for the box Zak made a fine V cut at the join which looks decorative and helps to disguise the join. The lid was remounted and some decoration, in the form of three rings, was cut into the inside of the lid. It was then reversed, held in the chuck in expansion mode and the outside was shaped, sanded and polished. Job done!

Chris started by showing us a vase with a very narrow neck which would make hollowing it out, in the conventional sense, very difficult. The solution is to hollow out through the bottom of the vase and plug the hole with another piece of wood. Chris hypothesised that a contrasting piece of wood for the plug/base could be very pleasing to the eye but in this case the whole thing would be done from the same piece of Sycamore.
Having formed a chucking point on both ends of the wood Chris mounted the piece in the chuck and removed a section from the base of the vase which would be later used to form the bung. He then part shaped the vase before using a drill to do the hollowing.

Using the section he had cut off Chris formed a tenon on it that would in fact act as the bung to seal the bottom. Once a snug fit had been achieved the two parts of the vase were glued together and left to dry, ideally overnight. In true Blue Peter style however Chris used a vase he had prepared earlier to demonstrate the forming of the neck end and the hollowing out of that section. Once completed we had a vase that appeared to be made from one piece of wood which, had it been, would have been impossible to hollow out.
Having finished with time to spare Chris then sought guidance from his audience about what to do next, the alternatives being the completion of a lid or the making of a box, both from Palm wood. Surprisingly, Chris accepted the decision of the viewers and proceeded to make a complete box from Palm wood. As that wood is quite different and distinctive we look forward to seeing pictures of the finished item as Chris did not apply any finish to the box as he wanted the wood to stabilise and relax overnight.

Although experiencing some technical difficulties (a seized tailstock that had to be returned to Record Power), Alan opted to turn a sycamore bowl but had to use a faceplate for mounting it onto the lathe and obviously had to be aware of the lack of tailstock support.
Undeterred he set to and shaped the outside of the bowl and created a recess in the bottom that would enable the blank to be held in the chuck for hollowing of the inside. Although the hollowing went well Alan did admit that towards the outside edge he had gone a little thin but nevertheless did achieve a good finish and shape on what was a very nice piece of Sycamore. Following some discussion Alan decide that he would use some Milliput as a filler and decoration to disguise the thinness and we await the photos of the finished item with anticipation.

The Show and Tell item once again yielded some excellent items of all shapes and sizes from nine different members as the photos demonstrate.

Once again we had an excellent evening, saw different techniques and, I am sure, gained knowledge. There was a good level of interaction between the members and with the turners. As always with our club there was also a great deal of humour. Long may it continue – that’s both the club and the humour!

Our next event is the third Digital Evening we have staged but the good news is that there will not be a digital version of Alan, Chris and Zak on show.

Coming up next Wednesday, 16 Jun at 7pm, we have our third Digital Night.  Attendance on these have not been as good as we had hoped, so if you can spare some time and fancy coming along for a chat and watch some of the videos that we and you have been recording, it would be great to see you.  Also please send us your feedback on these and any of the online meetings by either leaving your comments below this news post or if you prefer send us a message via the contact page.  If you don’t tell us your thoughts we can’t change things.

Hopefully, you will find time to tune in and it will inspire others to get into their workshops with their phones, camcorders etc and show us how they work.  You don’t need all the software you have heard us talking about, OBS, Touch Portal etc.  Sharing experiences has been a great help to many during the lockdown with lots more of you showing pieces you have created.  It’s also a free night, you just need to be a paid up member whether that is on the Annual/Quarterly payment scheme or the Pay As You Go option.  Please support this night, we are doing this for you, our Members.

Don’t forget we have another new international turner demonstrating for us online, Tod Raines, from the USA coming to your screens on the 22 June 2021, so see you all there.  PAYG Members need to be purchasing their ticket as soon as possible if you want to watch this demo.  Any problems with doing this contact us.

The Club Shop is going to be open for business this coming Saturday 12 June, 10am to midday.  If you have ordered anything recently from Mick, he should have it ready for collection, so bring your money and see you there.