This month’s submissions for the Chairman’s Challenge and other items made by our club members, during this month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting.
The challenge was “A Leaf shaped bowl or plate”.
Next month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting is on 3rd August 2023. The Chairman’s Challenge Theme will be “A Pair of something? or your interpretation of a Modern style Candlestick”.
For our entertainment this evening, we were lucky to have the excellent Emma Cook as our pro-turner with the memorable projects that she comes up with.
Emma is better known as the Tiny Turner, which she has used as her brand name since 2013, she also continues to move forward and develop her skills in her unique way.
It was with great regret that we were unable to have Emma’s demonstration at our meeting last month due to an electrical problem within the college itself. We were very lucky to be able to Re-book Emma straight away for this month, thankfully she was not booked for the evening.
We had a good start to the evening, with Emma being stuck on the M6 in slow traffic, therefore the evening demonstration was delayed due to this, but only for a short time. Over the last three times that Emma was booked for a demo to the club, the first was cancelled due to Covid, and the second last month for electrical reasons, so now she can attend our meeting tonight.
Project 1
Emma started with a platter made out of Sycamore and explained the relevant process for developing her chucking point for the platter after first mounting the blank between centres.
When mounted within a chuck an ogee shape was produced for the outside of the platter in addition to a dome and raised ring within the area for a decorative aspect of the foot. This was then sanded for a smooth finish with Emma stating that she started at 240 grit.
From this point sanding sealer was used first, this was then followed by True Grit Woodturners Abrasive Paste from Taylorsmirfield, both having one coat. This was then followed up with a microcrystalline wax as a polish, again with one coat.
Whilst mounted in reverse the outer edge was removed and this was then smoothed down, this edge was then painted over the edge part with gold and the other part left as a plain area, this was then covered in the crackle effect followed by a layer of black, this was then covered in the final layer of crackle effect which was the second bottle. All layers were applied evenly utilizing a brush, at this point, the platter was left to dry, the drying process for this effect takes about 48 hours which should be taken otherwise the first effect layer could cause the top layer to slide a touch.
At this point, Emma moved on to her second project, but I will carry on with the first. At the end of the evening, Emma returned to this project and mounted the platter to remove the centre. At this point the crackle effect had taken place but whilst on the lathe it just started to slip, When taken off the lathe Emma used an acrylic lacquer to cover the affected area.
Project 2
The second project was a textured banded bowl, which was again mounted between centres and mounting point produced, this was then turned to a curved rounded shape, sanded and finished. Emma then cut two groves around the bowl.
The area within the two bands was then cut out with a carving chisel 3F/12, 3 is the shape of the curve on the chisel, F states the shape of the chisel which is a fishtail and the final 12 is the width of the chisel. Before starting the carving, Emma explained the problems of cutting across the crown at 45 degrees so this is cut at 90 degrees. Emma started across the bowl after the crown and she continued all around the bowl with neat clean cuts.
A sealer was then applied around the textured area before a layer of black gesso was applied around the band area and then allowed to dry. When dry a size was applied ready for a metallic flake effect to be applied, these flakes are brushed on and rubbed into the size. When complete this then becomes the finished effect with no spray being applied over the flaked area. The bowl was then reversed and the centre was taken out, Emma also explained how she went about turning within bowls due to her size. When complete a 2mm diameter leather band was applied to the cut groves of the bowl, this was applied with a 45-degree cut on the end of the leather and laid into a layer of Fabritec glue, when coming back to the start another 45-degree angle was cut to line up with the original first cut.
Project 3
For a third project, Emma finished off a piece that she had with her, it had a dry layer of black lacquer applied on the inside of the bowl, She then used a Jo Sonia colour which she mixed with a flow medium of about 50 – 50 mix. This was then applied to the inner edge of the bowl and then mounted back onto the lathe and covered by cardboard before spinning up to speed, this produced a radiating shape around the edge of the bowl.
When dry a layer of size was also put around the inner edge of the bowl and allowed to spin. This was then taken off the lathe and a metallic powder was applied, this being brushed on in the same direction of the flow, this is to prevent the crossover of the powder and take it away from the centre.
We also had a very good turnout of the member’s work which was out on display for all to see, well done all who took part in this section.
Thanks go out to all club members who undertook the setting up and breaking down of the equipment, also to Rob for the technical backup, Steve for looking after the raffle and Barrie for this report and Photos. And special thanks to Chris who got down on his knees for Emma, to remove the flying dust.
Thankfully we got through the night without needing the lights in the college rooms as they were not working.
This month’s submissions for the Chairman’s Challenge and other items made by our club members, during this month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting.
The challenge was “Project with all or part Segment work”.
Next month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting is on 6th July 2023. The Chairman’s Challenge Theme will be “A Leaf shaped bowl or plate”.
This month’s submissions for the Chairman’s Challenge and other items made by our club members, during this month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting.
The challenge was “A Mixed Timber Project any design”.
Next month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting is on 1st June 2023. The Chairman’s Challenge Theme will be “Project with all or part Segment work”.
Blackcountry Woodturners had their Saturday All-Day Members Workshop on April 29th 2023. It started at 10.00 and went on till 16.00, this is an event that is popular with members and takes place at least once a year.
The project for the day was to turn a set of nine oak Skittles
The workshop day was well attended by the committee and had a steady member base drop in during the day with most being in attendance all day.
Members’ workshop days and evenings will be ongoing events in the coming years for the members to get hands-on with the club lathes.
We had three lathes on the go during the day, which were used to good effect, each lathe was looked after by a “lathe master” (an experienced club member) giving guidance to members turning the Skittles.
Though out the day members were able to help themselves to tea and coffee with biscuits, cake and savoury items provided for everyone
Robert kindly brought along one of his 3D printers to demonstrate to members that were interested. He was kept busy most of the day with questions and demonstrations.
These are some interesting infrared Videos, thanks to Chris Clay.
Report by Steve Hackett – Photos thanks to Andrew Bache, Chris Clay and Greg McAteer.
Toy Car Competition
Thanks go out to both Ian and Roger who have spent time in putting together the car kits for each car with all items being prepared and drilled ready for the exhausts and wheels to be mounted, all of which were included within three boxes for the teams.
The room was set up with three lathes being set out in a row for this competition with each team made up of three club members, there are three lathe masters who will be offering individual guidance to the team members as they progress through the project. The lathe masters for the evening were Paul, Roger and Steve. Each team had the same pattern to follow.
At the end of the challenge event the teams will have two car bodies which would need to be split apart, the idea of this being to have a balanced system within the lathe speed, when complete the teams will need to concentrate on one car to complete, and this must be able to run along the floor.
Different members took part in this process and all gained some additional experience and knowledge to upgrade their individual skill level.
For this evening, Rob took over the role of looking after the raffle, whilst Steve was looking after one of the lathes.
Report & Photos by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett.
This month’s submissions for the Chairman’s Challenge and other items made by our club members, during this month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting.
The challenge was “Toys & Games”.
Next month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting is on 4th May 2023. The Chairman’s Challenge Theme will be “A Mixed Timber Project any design”.
The event started at 10.00 and went on till 14.30, although we had to be on-site earlier to set up the tables in the center.
The turned items that had been given to the club as donations from members took up the charity table, it was very full of different types of projects. Alongside this, we had two further tables which took up the work of six other member turners, in addition to this we had Ian’s wife Kim with her craft cards going under the name of ‘Kimskraft`s’ displaying and selling cards for various occasions.
We had a steady footfall of people during the day coming and going, but not that many buying even on the charity table, signs of the economic climate at present I think.
Thanks go to all members who turned up on the day to add support and encouragement to the crew who were there for the duration of the event. Thanks also go to the members who helped set up the equipment and all those that took it down.
At the end of the day with the charity table sales and donations from members present we were able to hand £105 to James from Mary Stevens Hospice.
Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett
For this evening’s demonstration, BCTW was pleased to host Robert Till, who has demonstrated for the club many times previously.
Project 1
For this first part of tonight’s demo, Robert introduced everything to do with using ‘Green Wood’. Green wood or wet wood is kept in clingfilm to keep the moisture in, in this way it stops the drying-out procedure from being so quick and allows the wood to dry with less stress and hopefully less cracking.
It must also be kept in mind that whilst shaping the wet blanks and letting them stand after this can cause them to warp and move out of shape, which some might want. If any of the items do crack it gives the turner another avenue to produce something with added features. Robert gave a good explanation of why and how to treat the ‘Green Wood’ prior to it drying out completely.
The wood used in the demonstration is Cedar, with the first project to be a rough-turned bowl from a half-split branch. This is mounted by means of a screw chuck, but do not overtighten it as it may cause damage to the wood and become loose. The tail stock is also engaged for safety to stop the blank from flying off.
Robert used a bowl gouge which had a long grind feature with a 48-degree grind, he went on and produced a tenon as a mount for the chuck, prior to this though the outer shape was produced to a level that needed additional work when the blank had dried out some more.
With the blank being reversed and mounted to the chuck the waste from the middle of the bowl was removed, this being done to a set size again prior to it being finished off after drying out. Robert then used PVA glue to coat the outside of the bowl and also the rim but not the inner of the bowl, this was where he wanted the moisture to come out without undue pressure on the fibers of the wood.
At this stage a set of kitchen scales can be used to measure the weight of the blank with the remaining water or sap content, this was written onto the blank with the date, and this could then be checked out in the future to see how much moisture has dried out from it. Keep checking weight until it becomes stable or no more moisture is coming out. It can also be checked via a moisture meter to check the percentage of moisture held within the wood, this needs to get down to about 10%.
Robert then referenced the sanding of the projects whilst wet, this needs to be carried out when the blank has dried out more and the abrasive does not clog up so much, the project is then finished with finishing oil.
Project 2
The second project was again Cedar which would be made into a vase time permitting with a thin wall. The blank was made round by using the side wing of the bowl gouge, a roughing gouge can also be used but care needs to be taken if there are a lot of twigs and branchlets protruding.
When round a tenon was put on one end, if you require a lid to be fitted it would be best to put a tenon on each end prior to separating the parts. The outer part of the vase shape was achieved by Robert using three different tools a bowl gouge, a spindle gouge, and a spindle roughing gouge. This was taken down to an acceptable shape that was pleasing to the eye.
When this was achieved a 20mm hole was drilled down the blank to a sufficient depth ready for the hollowing out process, with the hole drilled some of the tension had been taken out of the wood, to help the drilling process candle wax can be applied to the drill to aid with the drilling process.
For the hollowing process, Robert showed a number of tools that he uses but settled for a Simon Hope hollower with an 8mm cutting tip. He hollowed out the piece until it was about 6mm thick. He then used an LED light internally on the hollowed-out vase.
Robert then started to remove waste from the outer again and took the thickness down to about 4mm, This showed up well on the screen with the light being visible through the wood thickness.
If you do not have time to complete the hollowing-out procedure then pack it with the wet shavings and cover it again with clingfilm but leave the hole open so that the moisture can run out.
Robert answered all questions directed at him throughout the evening, as a club we must thank him for an interesting demonstration with some good advice being given
For this evening’s demonstration, we had 27 club members present.
Thanks go out to all people who helped the evening go without any problems and to the members who helped with the setting up and taking down procedures.
Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett
This month’s submissions for the Chairman’s Challenge and items made by our club members this month.
The challenge was “Easter Theme”.
