Over the next few months (July 2025 – October 2025), the Black Country Woodturners are proud to be part of the “Come As You Really Are” exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
Presented by Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Artangel, an award-winning artist (and Spider-Man enthusiast!) Hetain Patel
Come As You Really Are showcases hundreds of objects created or collected by hobbyists from across the Midlands and beyond. Alongside a brand-new film by Patel, the exhibition celebrates the creativity and individuality of people who dedicate their valuable time to pursuing passions outside of consumer-driven culture.
On display are unique handcrafted works loaned by hobbyists in diverse disciplines: knitters and needleworkers, woodturners and model makers, potters, painters and illustrators, costume and cosplay creators, model engineers, origami artists, and many more. You’ll also find fascinating collections – from vintage football programmes, kitchenalia, milk bottles, painted eggs, gnomes, and stones, to comics, action figures, and toys including Goo Jit Zu, Transformers, He-Man, and dollhouses!
We were again invited to attend and take part in this year’s Mary Steven’s Hospice Coffee Morning, the event has a number of tables selling various items of goods for Christmas and a stall selling jigsaw puzzles at a £1 a piece. Along with these they had a couple of tables with tombola gifts, for the correct numbers drawn, The many visitors kept the tea and coffee people busy during the opening in addition they also had a good number of cakes on offer.
We were able to set up three tables, a section for the charity table sales, a section for members selling their own turned items, and a small section for Kim Brown (Ian’s Wife) in attendance with Kim’s Kraft’s selling her hand made cards and gift packages. There was a good turn out from the club with nine members turning up and helping out for the day, we were very pleased to have this additional help.
The charity table had a steady flow of people, although the event had fewer people turn up due to a couple of other events going on in Stourbridge. We had many returning customers whole purchase items from us in previous events. The charity table raised around the £140.00 with the member’s donated items, this also included donations from the members that were selling their own turnings.
Thanks from the club, go out to Paul Whiley for making the very large log snowman, which stands around 3 feet high. It was raffled off on the day and this made £48.00 for Mary Stevens.
The winner was picked out of the hat by a member of Mary Stevens Hospice staff, the winner was Steve from Halesowen.
It was a good day out with members chatting to the public and explaining about various items and different woods.
The club and its members are looking forward to the next event.
This club was asked by Mary Steven’s Hospice, who are our preferred charity, to give a demonstration of our woodturning skills to the gentlemen day unit service users of the hospice, some more of an interest as everything is normally more aimed towards women. This could turn into a regular event for the club. We have already been asked to cover another demo event in December, which more of the women will be going to. For this event we had four members who volunteered for the event, these were Steve, Ian, Brian and Barrie. Within the event room, we had a display table that showed some of the member’s work as to what could be done with wood. Prior to starting we had nine patients who were driven in by ambulance to Mary Stevens in addition to a number of the nursing staff. Ian started the event with an explanation of what woodturning was about and how it all started with bodgers. Once again we had Steve who started by explaining the various items of the lathe and what they are used for and also how to use them. On the lathe he demonstrated turning a snowman and after explaining about the health and safety involved for keeping yourself safe, and giving a talk about the process of turning has he worked through the process. Steve also explained how the trees are prepared and cut so that we can have them to turn. Various pieces of wood blanks were shown and the type of tools that we use. After Steve finished his snowman, Ian took over on the lathe and showed how to make a Christmas tree with carved areas along the length of the tree. Both Steve and Ian gave a running commentary on what they were doing as they progressed through the projects. Question were asked during the event by patients and staff a like, who also showed an interest. After this first session was completed, we stopped for a bite to eat put on by Mary Stevens. Whilst we were having a break the other area was set up by the staff so that the painting side of the event was able to start, when this got underway we had a limited number of people taking part in the painting of the items, and also an additional lady asked if she could take part whilst she was waiting for the ambulance. At the end of the day, everyone who turned up to view the demonstration took either a snowman or Christmas tree home with them Thankfully, we had a number of donated items from the club members for the event. We were thanked by Ruth and the nursing staff for the day’s event, and they look forward to the next one. All four of us would like to thank them for looking after us all day with the food and drinks to keep us going.
The club took up the option of taking a trip out to the Botanical Gardens who we are hoping to develop a relationship with, so that we can acquire any cut down trees and be able to turn some items in return for them to sell.
We were there on Sunday 10th November 2024, to represent the club at the Tremendous Trees Event, to display the works and also sell items from our charity table and other pieces members had for sale. The event ran from 11.00 till 15.00, but we needed to be there by 9.30 to unload and get all areas of the demonstration and selling areas set up and ready for the public to arrive.
The area that we had been given for use during the day was undercover and out of the elements. It was also a large area, this area was about 30 feet square.
They also made sure that we had enough tables and chairs for us to use, of which we ended up using eight tables for the three areas that we had taken with us.
Three tables were used for the turned items that were for the gallery and were looked after by Mike and Georgie, Steve’s wife, whilst on the table they were having a good many questions about how the various shapes were produced and the techniques that were needed to produce them. This was ongoing throughout the day, and it was good to know that the public wanted additional information.
We also had three tables for all the charity items that were donated by club members, who we would like to thank again for their effort in producing them. On the remaining two tables, we had members selling their own items to the public.
Once again, we had Steve taking his lathe to the event along with the required tools and required wood blanks for the day. Steve was set up in the corner of the room with plenty of room for the public and kids to see what was being done and also to ask questions during the day. Steve was producing a number of spinning tops and Christmas trees throughout the day.
The club’s thanks go out to all members who took part in the event.
When the gardens opened we had a steady footfall throughout the day looking, buying and asking questions of everyone.
Having spoken with the people of the botanical gardens, they are hoping that this can turn into an ongoing event for both of us. We must also take this opportunity to thank the garden staff for the hospitality that we had from them during the day and also keeping us supplied with tea and coffee along with the biscuits and the additional hot water during the day.
The feedback that we have received was that it went down well with the public, and they enjoyed the additional aspect of having a wood turning club within the confines of the gardens as it gave an additional aspect for the visitors.
As a group, we started to set up at 8.30 with four gazebos being erected by the club members, who supported the event by giving their time and donating turned items to the charity table.
There was a chance for club members to sell their turnings, also Steve’s wife was selling her felting pictures. We had a steady number of members who came along and helped out during the day with the charity table.
Steve and Angus turned spinning tops for the kids throughout the day as a demonstration for people to see and ask questions. They made over 25 spinning tops and all the spinning tops were given to the kids free of charge during the event.
The event itself was set out all around the bottom field with various stalls offering different items for sale, tombola stalls, food stalls, and many others making money for the charity. The Theme for the event was Beside the Seaside. And the whole event raised £18122.42 for the hospice.
Many members turned up and gave us their time during the day, and from what I saw everyone enjoyed the event and thankfully the rain kept off for the duration of the event. During the day the charity table made a good amount of sales for Mary Stevens with the details to follow on how we did during the day. Thanks to all members who added items to the charity table and this is greatly appreciated that you put your time and effort into making these items.
The raffle also did well selling a good amount of tickets with it being drawn out at the end of the day.
During the day we had a steady flow of people looking at various items, with some buying. But the event went quiet for sales at about 14.30 for us
This year we have raised the following:- Summer Fayre Charity Table £332.15 Summer Fayre Skittles £152.00 Sedgley Flower Show £203.40 Botanical Garden Reps Donation £20.00 The total paid to Mary Stevens this week was £707.55 A very large thank you to all who took part in these events in any way.
In total for this year. Blackcountry Woodturners have donated £1221.28 to Mary Stevens Hospice.
The committee would like to thank all those who turned up to help including the wives of some of the members it was a big help in the packing up process, it made it a lot easier.
The Club is now looking forward to the December Xmas event for Mary Stevens Hospice.
We had a good day at the Sedgley Flower and Gardening Show on Saturday 17th of August.
We were a bit concerned when the day started quite slowly, but once the flower judging in the main hall was over, there was a good flow of visitors through the community centre.
There was a lot of interest in our work that was for sale on the Charity tables and on the club member’s personnel sales table containing work from Steve, Rob and Andy.
Ian spent the day selling tickets for this year’s club charity raffle, which will be drawn at the Mary Stevens Summer Fayre at the end of August 2024.
Both areas sold many items and we made £203.40 for the Mary Stevens Hospice.
The charity table was manned by Andy & Greg throughout the day, with help from Roger Sherwood.
The charity table was manned by Andy & Greg throughout the day, with help from Roger Sherwood.The charity table was manned by Andy & Greg throughout the day, with help from Roger Sherwood.The club member’s personnel sales table containing work from Steve, Rob and Andy. The club member’s personnel sales table containing work from Steve, Rob and Andy. The club member’s personnel sales table containing work from Steve, Rob and Andy. Ian spent the day selling tickets for this year’s club charity raffleMany thanks to those members who came along to set up, man the stands
Many thanks to those members who came along to set up, man the stands and clear up afterwards – it all makes the day pass well and makes it a jolly time for all.
Well, it’s that time of year again when we are taking part in Mary Stevens Charity Coffee Morning and Jigsaw Festival, there were tables with various Christmas-themed items and a few tombola tables all for the benefit of Mary Stevens Hospice. Again it was nice to be invited along for this annual event and take part in the fundraising for the benefit of the hospice and the people who rely on it. The stalls attending the event were showing a varied amount of items and were displayed to the best and people were able to get round the hall easily. In addition to this, a hot drink and cake stand was being used to its fullest by everyone who attended.
The weather for the day was very cold with snow being advised at some point, thankfully we had a stand inside the hall and not outside unlike the jigsaw gazebos. We had to be at the event by 9:00 to set everything up and be ready to start at 10:00 and was open during the hours of 10:00 and 14:00. The event attracted a steady footfall throughout the opening hours, although the weather could have caused a few not to show up.
We had a few of the normal crew to set up the event which included Ian, Rob, Steve and Brian, along with this we had a few members arrive during the day and help and support the event, they were, Arthur Roger S, Roger C, Paul & Barrie A lot of turnings were as per normal donated by the club members for the charity table and those members who were selling their own pieces, gave a donation at the end of the day, out of their profits.
The club had a three-foot wood block snowman donated for a raffle, Tickets were sold at our last club meeting (Nov) and the Coffee Morning and Jigsaw Festival throughout the day, this was donated by Paul Wiley and it was appreciated by the committee for his generosity with all proceeds going to the hospice.
The ticket for the raffle was drawn at the end of the day by James from Mary Stevens Hospice. The winner was our own Elwyn Jones. The snowman raffle raised £79 for the hospice, Throughout the year the cub has raised a total of £1644.75 for the hospice over the last year, which has been handed over to the hospice.
We can now all look forward to the club’s Christmas Bash on our normal club night at Dudley College as usual.
Congratulations to our very own club member Wolfgang Schulze-Zachau for competing in this year’s “Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker 2023” TV program. Wolfgang was the woodworker of the week in many of the episodes and got through to the final episode. Unfortunately, he did not win, but Wolfgang’s kitchen island, which he designed and constructed in the final was excellent.
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.
Once again, we attended this very fun and enjoyable event that was held at the Mary Stevens Hospice grounds in Stourbridge. This is the second of three events we will be attending for Mary Stevens Hospice this year. The day started with us erecting the gazebos and setting up the tables within our allotted area. Unfortunately, we had no mains electrical supply, as we have had in previous years. But we were still able to use the lathe using a generator kindly loaned to us by Ian. We set up our usual charity table, with the member’s donated items in prime position and other items for sale by members who were taking part in the event with the club.
We were also joined by Ian’s wife Kim and Steve’s wife Georgina, who were selling their own homemade crafts.
The festival itself is a fundraiser to raise funds for patient care within the hospice. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Around the World, with the hospice grounds being transformed into an immersive experience for all visitors.
The event started with a parade, which featured motorcycles, classic cars, movie-themed cars, and a Cinderella pantomime float. The parade route was around Swinford Road, Love Lane, and Oakleigh Road to make a grand entrance into the hospice grounds at 11 a.m. to officially open the event.
Once open, visitors were invited to travel around the various stalls and take part in the tasty cuisine along with the live stage entertainment. There was a Nerf gun area, Stalls and food from around the world, a Jigsaw festival, a Toybarn Hoedown party, a BBQ, cakes, refreshments, and an Ice cream parlour. Also included were a football shooter game, a children’s entertainment area and the very popular Dog Show
We also set up the prize raffle for the skittle set, Which we turned as a group at our Saturday all-day workshop event back in April. It was front and centre on the stand, we have been selling the tickets during our last two events. The tickets were on sale throughout the day, and the raffle was drawn towards the end of the event by a Hospice staff member.
The winning number drawn was 15, it was won by Leanne from Wednesfield, Wolverhampton. Leanne was contacted by Greg to let her know the good news. The Skittles will be kindly delivered to Leanne by our club member, Roger Sherwood Howles.
Our stall was very busy throughout the day, with both the charity and member’s sale tables having many purchases. Steve kept the visitors and their children entertained with a live turning demonstration of spinning tops, which were given to the children for free. he turned over thirty tops during the event.
We were also visited on the stall by the Mayor of Dudley, Mayor Andrea Goddard. Who was very taken with Robert’s wand’s. Meanwhile, Arthur was entertaining her husband with his trick snapper game.
Overall, the Skittles raffle raised a total of £189. Along with money raised throughout this year:- The Charity table from the Summer fayre £447; The Sedgley flower show £97.00; plus some wood sales of £39.00. So we will be handing over to Mary Steven Hospice the total amount of £772.
The committee would like to thank all the members who came along to help out during the day. It does help us take some of the load off organizing and attending these event visits.
