Demo Report March 2021- Steve & Rob Hackett

This month’s demonstration via Zoom was hosted by Rob and Steve Hackett in a role reversal from last month. With Rob being the turner and Steve the cameraman.

The evening’s demonstration is a Basket Weave Illusion on Hollow Forms and Boxes.

Sycamore is the chosen wood for the evening, and Rob emphasized the health and safety aspects of using the lathe prior to starting. The blank was turned around and a 50mm Tenon produced on the end.

Rob introduced his shop-made beading tools, one made from an old bowl gouge, and one from an old carving gouge.

And another made from a bolt.

Rob shaped the blank ready for the beading process.

At this point, Rob used his beading tool made from a bolt,  to apply three beads at a point where the blank was to be parted. 

The central one was then removed for the parting to take place, at which point a depth of 5 to 6mm on the rim was cut for when the blank would become one piece again, 

After parting the blank both ends were then hollowed out to the required depth, the shape of the lid part was taken down prior to parting with a small 18 or 19mm tenon for holding.

At this point, Rob introduced a Collet Chuck which can be found on Amazon’s website. 2MT ER32 Collet Chuck or 2MT ER25 Collet Chuck

After both parts had been hollowed out they were then glued back together with some CA glue in this instance for quickness, epoxy would be better. Being careful not to run the glue to the edge of the item as it could cause fumes when banding the item when dry, the beading then starts to take shape along the length of the hollow form.

At this point, Rob explained how he made a beading tool out of a normal bolt which worked very well, a slower speed was required for the beading of the hollow form with the tool being moved from side to side but it must be remembered not to go all the way to the bottom of the tool as tear-out could happen and spoil the artistic flair of the item.

At each point where the beads meet a wire was inserted with the lathe running to get a burnt line around the item, where the wire could not be used a small piece of Formica was used.

Drill out the top of the hollow form at this point with a 12mm drill to form the opening.

At this point, the complete project is sanded down ready for the decoration to be applied.

As Rob stated the basketweave required could be applied either by eye or by measurement depending on what you require the outcome to be, the upright lines are now burnt into the form being very careful not to touch the beads, work from both sides to aid in this aspect. 

When you are satisfied with the pattern you can start to think about the colors that will be applied and in what shape. The paint used was acrylic with a high pigment content, this will mean that you only need to color twice to get the depth of color that you would require.

All questions were answered throughout the session with good positive answers by Rob with additional information added also.

On behalf of the club, I would like to thank Rob and Steve for this month’s demonstration and for the bumping car announcement partway through. 

Report by Barrie Fisher and edited by Steve Hackett

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