Club meetings

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Demo Report – September 2023 – Keith Fenton All-day Event

It was that time of year again when we had our all-day Saturday event featuring professional woodturner Keith Fenton.

But first, we must thank all those who turned up early at 7:30 to sort out the room and prepare it for the event by means of covers and setting up the video and sound system.

Keith also used his own lathe for this event, which was to cover the following projects:

  • Laced Vase with Jo Sonja paints
  • Wine bottle Tee Light: demonstrating how to cut the bottle safely
  • Selection of fruit turning

The total number of people who attended the event was 25, who were made welcome to the event. It was also nice to see two members of Burcot Woodturners turn up for the event, and at the end, they stated that they had enjoyed the complete experience of our open-day turning. We did feel that this was a poor turnout for our club due to the fact that they had voted for it to go ahead.

Thanks must also go to Kim Brown for preparing the food, which was available for free to all attendees at the event.

There was also tea and coffee on the go throughout the day on a self-service system for everyone.

The college was open from 7.30 so that we could set everything up in preparation for the 9.30 start. Greg got the event started and introduced Keith.

Keith started off by giving some information on himself and the health and safety issues associated with woodturning.

`1. Laced Vase with Jo Sonja paints


The wood used for this was Holly, but also Ash, Lime, or Sycamore could also be used.
The size was around 175 x 100mm
Keith started off with a piece of timber that had already been turned to the round and had a tenon positioned on one end. When mounted on a chuck with the tail stock brought up. The basic shape of a barrel was turned, and then the end was faced off square. The outer shape was then sanded down to 240 grit so that the ebonizing spray could adhere to the smoothed wood. At this point, the vase was hollowed out. Keith showed various methods of hollowing it out using different tools and methods. The first was a Simon Hope 6mm hollowing tool for the first three inches; this was then swapped out for a Rolle Monrow hollowing tool, quickly moving on to a Crown hollowing tool; this was then changed for a Woodcut tool, so it depends on what you require from your own turning, with the Woodcut being Keith’s preferred tool. The speed used, depending on the hollowing tool being used, was between 650 and 1200 rpm.
Keith also showed the various types of sanding tools used for smoothing the inside of the vase, one of which we can get in this country and can be purchased from Chainsawbar, and the tool itself is made by Manpa.


With the ebonizing dry to the touch, it was time to apply the Jo Sonja paints. The colors used were gold, red, and green, all of which had a flow medium applied in addition to a pearl effect being added to each color. This was applied to the vase with a plastic glove; it was applied by using his fingers in a haphazard way all around the vase. When this was complete, a layer of clingfilm was used over the paint, and it was manipulated to form a pattern.
TIP When using this system, it would be good if you had another vase to color, as there is enough paint left
on the clingfilm to be used again. The clingfilm needs to be removed by lifting it off and not dragging it off, as this would change the pattern that you have produced.


We had a Blue Peter moment at this point, when Keith brought out a vase that was dry, to demonstrate cutting the slot down the side. Keith started by applying three strips of masking tape, marking a strip around 12mm down the length, and then another line on either side, which would be the line for the eyelets down each side of the slot.
Dividers were set at 15mm, with each row marked along the two outer lines; these were then drilled out by using a 5mm brad point bit first and then 6mm after. A 12mm hole was cut towards the base of the vase; this would be the endpoint for the slot that is cut using a hand-pull saw. A cut was made down both lines until the wood strip was removed. The edges were then smoothed along the length, and the corners were rounded off. If the thickness of the vase is out at this point, filing the inner edge of the slot to an even thickness is one way of fooling anyone looking at the item. The eyelets were now fitted into place by using super glue to stick them into place. Keith then used some 2mm leather lacing to lace up the slot; this can be in any pattern that you choose, and then a type of toggle can be used to hold the ends of the lace. These toggles can be purchased with leather or glass beads.


Prior to fitting the lace, the tenon base needs to be removed; this was achieved by having a pressure pad mounted on the chuck, and then the tail stock was brought up to hold it in place. This needs to be done carefully because of the slot being removed, which makes the item a bit weaker than if it had been a complete round.
To finish off the vase, a blast of lacquer would be used as a finish.


2. Wine bottle Tee Light – Demonstrating how to cut the bottle safely

The wood Keith used was Sycamore – Size 100 x 100mm

A line was marked along the base going through the center, and a 16mm bit was used to drill towards the center of the block from both directions, with the bit cut partly out of the block. When both of these were cut, a 32mm Forstner bit was used to hollow out the middle of the block about halfway along the block. The base is again turned down so that you only have half of the 16mm hole showing.

When mounted, this was turned into a round, with the required diameter being set by means of a parting tool and a set of callipers. Also, at this point, a tenon was put on one end. Then it was mounted in the chuck and trued up. We now need to drill three holes, which are breather holes for the candle.


It is now time to cut the bottle.
A bottle cutter was used for this, which is available from Amazon.
The bottle was mounted on the cutter at the required depth, and steady pressure was kept on the bottle as it was turned around and scoured with the glass cutter. At this point, some boiling water was poured over the marked bottle and then cold water, each for about 20 seconds, and the bottle should make a pop sound as it separates. This is known as a thermal shock on the glass.


The base of the bottle now needs to be smoothed down using a flat diamond disc that is mounted between two pieces of wood and mounted on the lathe. As the lathe spins, the bottle is kept square on the disc and polished both along the bottom and on the outer edge, with the inner edge being smoothed by using a diamond file. The Diamond disc and diamond files can again be found on Amazon.


The wood is now turned round and mounted on pin jaws; at this point, the main body can be shaped to your desired shape. The tenon spigot was also turned off at this point.

Again, a line was marked across the center of the top, this being the markings for the breathing holes to be cut down into the body. The center was marked out for the size of the tee light holder first before drilling down the sides internally, with 12mm on either side of the center. A Forstner bit was again used to cut through to the other hole, so we now have a hole all through the block. At this point, the hole for the tee light glass base is cut which leaves about 2mm sitting proud of the top.

The inner part of the bottle is now measured prior to the wood being marked and the wood being cut to a depth of about 20mm. This is deep enough that when people go to pick them up, the wood will catch on the glass base of the bottle. This can be done by using a taper until the bottle fits correctly.

The unit is then sanded to a final finish, and a sanding sealer is used prior to finishing with a hard polish that was made of a Carnauba wax and Bees wax mix; this was applied in a thin layer and then polished to a high shine. Keith makes his own by using a 50/50 mix of both.


You must consider warnings when selling these items due to the use of candles.

3. Turning Fruit

The blocks of wood were about 75mm in diameter when turned round. Keith stated that the required shape for both the pear and the apple is down to the turner, as there are numerous shapes of the fruits around. A small hole of about 4mm was drilled into the base, and a clove was glued into the base to form a more natural-looking item. Again, the hard wax was applied to the items of fruit and polished up.
At the top of the fruit, a 5mm hole was drilled at an angle to simulate a real fruit and a leaf stem was inserted and glued. The stem is found around the bottom of chestnut trees when they lose their leaves and the leaf has died off. The remains are a stem, which, when left to dry, becomes hard and is a more natural stem than turning one.


A big thank you to Keith for his input and effort throughout the day, and everyone should have learned something new and hopefully be able to apply it to their own projects.

Also, we must thank all those who cleaned up the room at the end of the event.

Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett


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August 2023 – Members Workshop Evening

The August club evening was a Member’s Workshop Evening. There was no specific theme for the night. We had a couple of club lathes out and available to any member wishing to have a go.

Roger assisted on one of the lathes, and Ian brought in his pro edge sharpening system for members to use.

We also had a good display of member’s work this month.

Report by Barrie Fisher, edited by Steve Hackett

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August 2023 – Chairman’s Challenge

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 Pair of something? or your interpretation of a Modern style Candlestick”.

Next month’s Chinwag Zoom meeting is on 7th September 2023. The Chairman’s Challenge Theme will be “Any Style Clock”.

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July 2023 – Chairman’s Challenge

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”.

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Demo Report June 2023 – Emma Cook – The Tiny Turner

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.

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April 2023 – Saturday All-Day Members Workshop

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.

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April 2023 – Members Workshop Evening

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.