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Demo Report Oct 2020 – John Aitken

This month the club had a Zoom demonstration put together by John Boyne-Aitkin, better known as the Bowler Hatted Turner who is primarily a jobbing turner.

We want to say a big thank you to The Shropshire Turners who joined the event in collaboration with us. This made the event a lot better with respect to the cost of the demonstration.

The Zoom session opened at 6.45 pm for a 7.00 pm start time, the demonstration went on until 9.30 pm with a refreshment break in the middle, and John was answering questions throughout the evening.

Project 1 for this evening is a Sea Urchin Ornament for hanging.

The project was made out of Maple for the top and bottom areas of the project.

The bottom part was 1.5” sq x 8” long – Top part was 1.25” sq x 6” long

The Sea Urchin shells can be found on Amazon or eBay but a good link would be www.onlineshells.co.uk

John has a good method of explaining everything as he goes along and uses close-up camera work for this also, we did have a problem with one camera at the start when it stopped working, but John was able to sort it out with the help of his technology expert.

John mentioned the use of Health & Safety throughout the demonstration.

  1. First, start by making the hole at the top of the shell round by using a Dremel with a 10mm grinding cone.
  2. To make the shells stronger when using them, paint the insides with PVA glue and let it set.
  3. Turn the bottom section down to round with the speed set at 1330rpm.
  4. On the end of the spindle turn a 12mm tenon about 19mm long, this needs to be the full depth of the sea urchin and the shoulder needs to be undercut to take into account the shape.
  5. At this point, drill an 8mm hole down the centre of the tenon to a depth of 20mm
  6. Turn the spindle around in the chuck and start to shape, this can be any shape that you require, as John said it is your work and your idea as to the finished shape. John used his Skew chisel for this.
  7. At this point, John sanded the project and then used Friction Polish, and Carnauba Wax to give it a shine, the overall finished length for this being just over 6 inches.
  8. The second part of the Top of the project.
  9. Turn to round again and take the tenon down to 8mm, John showed a couple of methods of carrying this out.
  10. The shoulder again needs to be undercut for the shape, and then the top shaped as required.
  11. At this point, John sanded the project and then used Friction Polish, and Carnauba Wax to give it a shine, the overall finished length for this being just over 6 inches.
  12. The two parts now need to be put together carefully with the shell being able to rotate freely, this is required due to the possible movement in the wood as it may still be drying.
  13. At the very top end, a hole must be drilled through so that a ribbon can pass through and the ornament can then be hung up.

Project 2 for this evening was a mirror/picture frame.

Wood was 8.5“in diameter, and Mirror was 4” in diameter.

  1. Turn a hole larger than the 4” diameter mirror due to the possibility of the wood moving, which could put pressure on the glass.
  2. He turned the project around to cut the hole so that the mirror would not fall out of the front.
  3. To cut a hanging point on the back of the frame, drill a hole large enough for the screw head to go through then drill a smaller hole above for the shaft of the screw, this is then run into the larger hole.
  4. Take a screw and grind the head down so that you have a cutting edge, at this point insert this into the drill and you will be able to cut the slot at the back of the wood so that it will remain on the wall.
  5. A piece of hardboard was used to protect the glass at the back and keep it in place,
  6. Glazing sprigs were used at this point to secure the mirror into the frame.

John answered various questions throughout the demonstration whilst carrying out the demonstration, he showed some very useful techniques of how to achieve different effects for patterning also.

At the end of the evening, John showed us around his workshop area with all of the various machines in place.

The club would like to thank John for the demonstration.

This may be the first of additional collaborations with SAW when we can share a demonstrator.

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Demo Report August 2020 – Roger Cheshire

This is the first demonstration carried out by a club member whilst on zoom, this is a bit nerve-racking as there is no audience in front of you whilst you are explaining what is happening throughout the process and also a different type of how to ask questions, therefore this will be a steep learning curve for all of us in the use of the cameras and sound and recording of the process.

The Demo

The Black Country Wood Turners Club had one of their own, Roger Cheshire, to demonstrate how to use pewter within a wood-turned project for this evening. The pewter can be turned into cabochons, finials and rings, all of which can be decorated.

PPE requirements

Gloves – Mask – Glasses or goggles – enclosed shoes

Also, have a fire extinguisher on hand just in case you did not clean the area sufficiently first.

Tools

Scraping chisel – Parting tool – could also use carbide tools – patterning tools.

Roger started by explaining how to obtain pewter from various sources and demonstrated how to cut the pewter down and melt it. The melting pot was a standard milk pan to contain the pewter and then a camping gas single hob canister heater which is more than sufficient to melt the pewter, Roger has found over the years to melt the pewter and let it cool for a while and then reheat to melted prior to pouring. There is also the possibility of getting slag on top of the pewter which can be removed with a fork or spoon, at this point don’t tell the wife you have just used the best pan and utensils for this work. You will also need a level surface before you pour the pewter to get it level within the former.

Whilst waiting for the pewter to melt Roger mounted some wood onto the lathe to form a former for the pewter to be poured into, a steady hand is required whilst pouring, you need to take it steady but not too slowly for when the two ends of the molten pewter in the former a tenon was also turned into the former so that the solid pewter could be inserted into a chuck with gripper jaws ready for shaping. This was then turned to the required size ready to be inserted into the turned wooden item.

Prior to pouring the melted pewter, the former itself was warmed up to remove any moisture that might be present as this could cause the pewter to bubble and splash out of the former. Roger also warned against using oily wood as this would also react against the melted pewter.

During the session, there were various aspects of turning the pewter and inlaying a pattern which was explained along with the type of tools used for shaping the project.

The turned pewter is then polished down to 2000 grit with some wet and dry and then with the addition of T-cut to finish the polishing process. It was also stated that the use of Yorkshire Grit could be used (the White container type).

Our thanks go to Roger for being the first turner to be captured digitally by the new set-up.

I for one thought that the event went very well for a first-time event and was also a steep learning curve for both Rob and Ian to get to grips with the audio and video side of things, there is room for improvement to give a better viewing aspect and enjoyable experience. It is hoped that we will have learned a little more about the computer system for future demonstrations and be able to record them and use them on the club website for everyone to see again. At the same time, now we have the full complement of the Zoom facilities we are still getting to grips with the added aspect of what can be used.

Hopefully, by next month we will have enticed another club member who is willing to undergo the inspection of the lens and get used to talking through a mike and camera.

We will also be maintaining our chin wag sessions on a regular basis, so we can still discuss things as to what may be accomplished with the Zoom demonstrations.

Additional Information for Pewter.

Pewter can be beautifully crafted and is relatively easy to work with but!

********* Warning *********

Melt pewter in a well-ventilated area with access to incoming fresh air. Some pewter contains a high concentration of lead, which when melted can be toxic to inhale.
Never allow water to splash into your melting pewter.
A splash of water can cause a burst of steam to fly up onto your face or hands, potentially causing serious injury.

Step 1

Place your pewter pieces into a stove-safe pot or pan.

Step 2

Turn the heat on your stove up to its highest setting. Temperatures allowed by stoves vary depending on the make and source of heat; your goal is to reach the pewter’s melting point, Depending on the exact mix of metals, pewter has a melting point of 225 to 240 C (437 to 464 degrees F).

Step 3

Allow the metal to melt slowly. Remember that, unlike ice, pewter does not melt gradually. The pewter will not begin to liquefy until the full piece has reached its melting point. Be patient during the melting process. Melting times will vary depending on how much pewter you melt and the temperature of your stove.

Step 4

Gently stir the melting pewter with a wooden utensil. This will help the heat to distribute more evenly.

The cuttlefish bone can also be used to form a mould.

Tip

Pewter can also easily be melted over a fire, or by using a blow torch.

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Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Egg Lockdown Project

In Early May 2020, Phoebe Vaughan from Slimbridge Wetlands & Wildlife Trust contacted Blackcountry Woodturners via the contact page on the website enquiring if the club would be interested in supplying the trust with a quantity of around 50 wooden Goose eggs in two different sizes and what the cost would be.

The eggs were required as dummy eggs, to be painted by staff and then used to swap the real eggs from various nests around the complex, this serves two functions help reduce damage and breakage by other birds and preserve boost numbers of new chicks.

The real eggs would then be incubated within facilities at the trust and replaced on the nest just prior to hatching. This would ensure the maximum return and best chances for the young bird’s survival going forward.

Wolfgang drew the request to the committee members and it was agreed that this would make an excellent lockdown club member challenge for all levels of ability, It was agreed the club would pick up costs and ask all members to make and donate the eggs. With this an email was circulated to everyone proposing the idea, this came back as a resounding yes and so the challenge was born.. Game on…

Wolfgang emailed Phoebe informing her that the club would make all the eggs and would do this at no charge to the trust to which they were stunned and very appreciative.

Within two weeks club members had made 106 wooden eggs, the eggs were then either collected from members’ porches and front door steps or dropped off the same way at the two agreed collection points Mell and Wolfgang’s homes.

A small sample of the eggs before sending off…..

Six boxes of wooden eggs were boxed and sent to the trust, 5 by Mell and Wolfgang and 1 by Nigel and Teresa Goodricke who sent their own egg contribution as due to distance was simply a more practical solution during the Covid19 lockdown.

Within no time at all Phoebe had made contact stating the Trust had received all six boxes to which they were thrilled with the result and were staggered by the number of eggs made for them by our members.

A section of the reply…

To let you know that I have now received 6 incredible boxes of eggs.

Thank you so much! 

Today I managed a lesser snow goose nest, and put together a few photos to show you all.  You can see one old wood, with chipped gloss paint after a herring gull tried to eat it. There is then some real goose eggs mixed in with a few of your wooden ones.. The real goose eggs range from 105g to 140g, and so you see how different sizes can work in our favour 🙂  

Both new and older club members, beginners to advanced were more than happy to help the trust in this very worthwhile cause, this being a different type of challenge, not one that comes around every day, the egg making being a welcome distraction to the mad Covid19 world we currently live in.

Here is a link to their website https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge/

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Demo Report April 2020 -Wolfgang Schulze-Zachau

Project Fruit Turning

It’s that time again when we welcome a club member or members to carry out the turning demonstration for tonight’s event. The member is Wolfgang, he is producing a project of Apples, Pears, Lemon and a small box all made out of Yew.

Fruit Turning Demo

Wolfgang used a type of screw chuck that the members were able to produce back in Jan, instead of it being made out of pine this was a stronger and more stable wood Laburnum.

The Yew blanks had already been turned round ready for the demonstration, these were in two lengths for the fruits.

The Apple was turned first which can be turned to a apple shape that does not need to be perfect for every one produced as we do not get exact shapes in nature.

Wolfgang gave a commentary whilst turning and answered question that members had whilst the turning was taking place.

The Pear was next which was started basically the same as the apple but was finished with a differing shape to produce elongated section of the pear.

Both the apple and the pear were finished off by applying microcrystalline wax and then polished with a polishing mop which was dedicated to this wax, prior to inserting a clove into the base of each. The stalk was made from a small twig that Wolfgang had growing at home.

The next area of fruit was the Lemon which was turned without the use of the screw chuck but needed a spigot to work from to produce the shape required which is more symmetrical than the other fruits. All of this took place before the half time break. After the break A Yew box was started by using spigots and jam chucks to get the overall shape required.

It’s good that we have a large amount of expertise within the club and members are able to step in and deliver their knowledge for various projects.

Thanks must also go out to Rob who set up the camera and video set up which made the demonstrations clearer for those seated watching.

The members also bought into the clubhouse a selection of their own handcrafted items for other members to look at during the evening, and give them additional ideas for themselves.

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Hands-On Evening February 2020 – Led By Bob Mercer

Thursday 16th January 2020

Welcome to everyone that turned up for the Black Country Wood Turners event, the first for the New Year. We have had the pleasure of having Bob Mercer for this evenings demonstrations, which was a three part event.

The Black Country Woodturners put on a hand’s on event with two lathes being used for this process and two different projects on the go at once, the club members are invited to take an active part within these sessions so that they can develop their individual skills to a new level.

In addition to the practical aspect of this the other members can ask relevant questions to gain underpinning knowledge of other areas that they may be struggling with.

Project 1

Tool Sharpening

Bob Mercer will be taking the lead with evenings interest.

Bob will be bringing his own grinding station to the evening event and hopefully members will aid the event by bringing along their own tools that they need sharpening or if they require additional information in how to sharpen properly. Bob will give an explanation of the ins and outs to gain a good sharp edge with the correct bevel angle for the tool. Bob was using CNC grinding wheels for the demonstration.

Bob was kept busy for the duration of the night with other members taking an active part in developing their own skills, in addition to correcting poor techniques used by some members due to approaching the grinding station correctly.

Project 2

The next part of the demonstration was showing the correct techniques for stripping down and cleaning a scroll lathe chuck. Andrew Dore taking the lead for this part of the evening. In addition to demonstrating the cleaning of chucks, and what to look out for when putting them back together in the correct manner.

Andrew also showed some of his own made chucks for development of other projects such as pool-ball boxes.

Project 3

Rob and Wolfgang also demonstrated how to make a simple screw chuck. Other members were then invited to take an active part within this session, this also had a number of people around asking questions throughout the session.

The materials used for this are as follows:-

  • 65mm x 65mm x40 Pine blank
  • 50mm Woodscrew
  • 3mm drill bit
  • Countersunk bit
  • Screwdriver
  • Super glue
  • Members are able to use club tools for this small programme.

Bob hopes that the members will make their own screw chucks and bring them with them for the April event on the 16th where they will be used to make items of fruit or some other small item.

For each of the Black Country Wood Turners evenings, the members bring along their latest creations for the interest of the other club members, and will also explain how they went about turning them and putting them together or decorating them.

As normal the club itself has a number of wood blanks for sale which is a regular for the club, In addition to this individual members can use this time to sell on any unwanted tools or wood blanks that they no longer require, There is also a raffle with various items donated by members going on at the same time as having a mid-session break for a drink.

We also had the potential to take on an additional eight new members who turned up for the evening and from what was stated would be interested in taking up the hobby of turning, two have actually signed up on the first night.

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Demo Report November 2019 – Wessex Resins and Adhesives

Thursday 21st November 2019

For November’s meeting, we had the pleasure of Richard Ross, regional area manager from Wessex Resins and Adhesives, who are based in Romsey in Hampshire.

Wessex Resins and Adhesives have been developing and manufacturing high-quality epoxy products since 1981. During this time the company has worked with a large range of organisations that demand specialist formulations, including the Ministry of Defence, London Underground, Bombardier and BAE Systems, the company have in recent years been developing a range of general pouring resins, suitable for numerous applications including the professional and hobby craft arena.

Richard began the evening with a very interesting history of how the company Wessex Resins began by two brothers from humble beginnings in the early 1980’s, its continual development to, todays achievement where it has a substantial product range covering a worldwide market for many diverse industries.

Richard distinguished the differences between epoxy resins and polyester resins, describing their advantages and disadvantages; he described exactly what an epoxy resin is, being a bi product of the petro chemical industry, and highlighted to the audience how the industry in general is working very hard to make resins a “Greener” more sustainable product.

Richard then went on to discuss, demonstrate and mix a range of resins and adhesives, establishing and emphasising the need to measure the resin and hardener in the correct proportions and mix meticulously for at least two minutes allowing the chemical compositions to bond together properly. His demonstration of what happens when proportions are mismatched was an eye opener.

Richard encouraged and fielded a lot of questions from the audience throughout the whole evening who were eager to fill their subject knowledge gaps.

After the break Richard invited anyone to go up to the demonstration table and have a go at mixing and pouring and experimenting with the resin products.

Steve Hackett had kindly prepared some bowl/platter blanks by drilling holes around the perimeter to be filled with resin for the Christmas raffle where lucky winning members will take away to practice on.

Several other members also brought in items for discussion with Richard on how to progress with project ideas or simply fill with resin to have a go with at a later time.

Sadly the meeting had to be drawn to a close at around 8.45 pm with audience members still keen to gain product knowledge.

Richard was given a warm and appreciative round of applause for giving up his time to educate and entertain us all.

The club wishes to thank Richard for a great evening and hopes he will come back to entertain us at some future time.

Hopefully, in the months to come, we will see resin-based projects appearing at our meetings.

For product information, Wessex Resins company websites are

www.wessex-resins.com & wessexresins.co.uk/en

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AWGB – NEC Stand Creative Craft Show

Thursday 1st Nov –Sunday 4th November

In October 2019, the AWGB contacted a number of Midlands based woodturning clubs seeking a little assistance.

The AWGB Committee required help in manning the AWGB stand at the Creative Craft Show, National Exhibition Centre NEC, hall 20 between Thursday 1st and Sunday 4th November 2019.

The call went out to our Blackcountry members, which was met with a great response, 5 members agreed to help out during the event, Bob Mercer Thursday 1st, Ian Brown & Roger Cheshire Friday 2nd, Bill Hubbard Saturday 3rd & Kim Harris Sunday 4th.

Without exception everyone enjoyed their day, and agreed it was well worth their days’ time.

We all met and chatted to some very interesting people from all over the country and further afield, many interested in taking woodturning up as a hobby, and were pointed in the direction of their local home clubs, several were pointed in our direction and we may get lucky with a few new members in the future.

We hope the AWGB come to the show next year as we will volunteer again, below are some pictures from the event.

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Demo Report Oct 2019 – Les Thorne All-Day Event

Saturday 19th October 2019

For the 2019 all-day club event, Blackcountry Woodturners were very fortunate to have secured the professional services of the renowned National and International Woodturner Les Thorne, who travelled to us from his Hampshire home. 

This was Les’s first visit to Blackcountry Wood Turners, but hopefully not his last.

Les Thorne has been on the Register for Professional Turners since 2001 after spending the majority of his working life involved with the family wood business.

From his workshop in Old Alresford in Hampshire, Les is primarily a production turner and works on a huge variety of jobs and with many different clients.

To entertain and educate us today Les was treating us to a number of projects with and without decoration, covering box making, bowl turning and a candle stick. 

Doors opened at 09.00; the audience began to drift in and engage in the wood and tool sale areas, viewing and discussing displayed members’ work, hot drinks and general banter. 

At 09:30 the audience took their seats, Les was formally welcomed to the club by Mell Adams, Club Secretary, and the day began to unfold. 

Les began by introducing himself and described his woodturning journey to this point in time; he then began his first project and one that would then take up the morning and early afternoon sessions.

Project 1: A long curved lidded box, textured and coloured, this style is one of Les’s signature boxes, the audience were completely embroiled for the whole of the morning in listening, laughing and watching Les work his magic, each stage is well described, and demonstrated in great detail, his open manner prompted many a good question from the audience. 

Les has an instinctive knack of using tools gained over thousands of hours and many years of work, he is always in complete control of what goes on at the cutting edge, and portrays this in a relaxed, confident style and light-hearted banter.

Having had lunch the audience assembled for the afternoon treats, initially Les finished off the lidded box, describing each step of the texture and colour application.

Project 2: A decorated Ash bowl “au natural”…no colour on this one, to the delight of Elwyn in the audience!

Les demonstrated each step of the way from mounting the blank, consideration of design and tool usage. Les again described and demonstrated to great effect various types of cuts including pull & push cut, shear cut and scrape used to form the bowl profile detailing the pros and cons of each method and the best time and place for their usage. Once the back of the bowl was complete in profile, Les then demonstrated how to place several bead rows onto the piece without taking the tool off the wood, a feat none of the audience had seen before, earning Les an appreciative and enthusiastic round of applause. 

The bowl was turned round, and Les began work on the front outer rim decoration and hollowing techniques, again he very effectively described the tooling techniques used at each stage, going to great lengths to fully demonstrate and describe the inner lip undercut tooling sequence.  

Following afternoon tea Les treated us to the making of a candlestick; he did this in what he described as “working mode” we all were amazed at the detail speed and accuracy he was able to achieve this project from complete start to finish, all the way through describing why and what he was doing. 

His final half an hour is what he described as his “Play” time, demonstrating to us his bead forming skill with a skew chisel and a few other very unusual tools.

The day came to a close at around 16.30 with Les receiving a well-deserved and warm round of applause from all in attendance; we very much hope we can lure him back to the club in future.

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Demo Report October 2019 – Steve Heeley

Thursday 17th October 2019

Steve is a good old friend of Blackcountry woodturners we last had the pleasure of his company in September 2016.

Steve has not been too well of late but fulfilled his promise to the club to come and entertain us once again, for this we are very grateful and very happy to have you back.

Steve’s project for the evening was a dried flower vase, starting with a flat piece of pine approx. 6 inches wide by 12 inches long, the intention was to keep the lower portion of the vase rectangular, this section of the piece would later be textured, sprayed black and then rubbed back, to again expose the natural wood, this then contrasted with the turned foot and vase neck.

Steve identified that this was one of his own creations unique to him, that he had been making for some time; he identified how the piece would usually be made with square stock but the rectangular style added another dimension to the overall finished product.

Steve initially mounted the stock into the lathe and proceeded to turn the opening of the vase then began to shape the neck area.

Steve very carefully described and demonstrated the” Pommel cut” that adjoins the main body to the neck area, he demonstrated how to approach the cut with both a bowl gouge and skew chisel, stating that without doubt this was the hardest cut on the project to get correct but if done well helps to set the piece off, Steve then went on to complete the final shaping of the neck to the main body area.

Having completed the top half of the vase and rough shaping of the foot, he turned the piece round to complete the foot detail as this gave better tool access. 

Steve then progressed to texturing the main body of the piece using an electronic hand-held grinder with an Arbourtech cutting wheel attachment, texturing all four of the flat sides, once complete, the texturing and corners were sanded smoother to remove the raised and torn-out grain, this was then covered with a light spray of sanding sealer and over sprayed with chestnut ebonising lacquer, then when dry rubbed back the high points exposing the natural wood.

The piece was then finished off with the addition of three boxwood buttons, fitted into three pre-drilled holes in the main body.

The evening drew to a close with the audience giving Steve a wholehearted round of applause for a fine evening of entertainment.

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Mary Stevens Hospice -Summer Fayre – Oct 2019

Saturday 31st August 2019

The Summer fayre is the second of three events this year that Blackcountry Woodturners will be attending raising funds to help support the children’s hospice, this has been Blackcountry Woodturner’s selected charity for some years now.

We turned up on-site at the Hospice grounds at 09:00 and were allocated our spot on the main field, it then took just over an hour and several cups of tea, to get things all set up and ready for the grand opening at 11 am, we were just one of many stalls supporting this great cause.

The event opened at 11 am and things got underway, the crowds soon built up and were entertained by not only the stall holders but also the great entertainers and events were staged throughout the day. The weather held until around lunchtime but then the heavens opened for a short while but quickly blew over and things soon got back into swing.

From the club’s perspective, again the stall looked great, with plenty of members’ work on sale, plus many items on the charity table. The public gave many complimentary remarks and the lathe demonstrations were as always a great success, enjoyed by both adults and children alike.

Many thanks go to Steve & Rob Hackett, Roger Cheshire, Roger Sherwood Howells, Arthur Mills, Mell Adams, Ron Lunn and Ian Brown for turning out giving their time and talents to support the social event.

Special thanks go to Roger Cheshire who organised and oversaw the raffle of the skittles game made by him earlier in the year; lots of tickets were sold with the eventual lucky winner being a family from the Stourbridge area.

At the end of the day we managed to raise the sum of £157.80p which Mell handed over to the event organisers who were very supportive and grateful for the clubs attendance.

Thanks again to those that turned out and/or donated items for the charity table, a great day was had with a good pot of money going to Mary Stevens fund.

Our next Mary Stevens event will be the Christmas Fayre on Saturday 7th December 10am to 3pm please visit us and help in supporting a great cause.