Club Night Report

Wednesday 12th April 2023

Club Night Photos for Wednesday 12th April 2023 - Guest Demonstrator: Paul Sweet

The demonstrator for the April 2023 meeting was a welcome return of Paul Sweet - who last entertained us in April 2022.

Paul's demonstrations for the evening were a Bird Feeder - to include a small hollow form and spindle turning - mounted on a natural edge plank and a Square Platter with decorated edges and a 'burned' finish.

A spalted beech blank approx. 3 inches square by 4 inches long was mounted between centres and made round.  A small tenon was cut at the tailstock end for mounting in the O'Donnell chuck jaws - and some initial shaping was carried out.  Now, mounted in the chuck a large hole was drilled to depth in the part to remove the bulk of the waste prior to hollowing.  Paul used his favourite hollowing tool for this - manufactured by Rolly Munro.  The outside form shape was completed and a spigot cut - sized to suit the mounting hole in the support plank.  The part was sanded and finished with hard-wax oil.

The 'perch' for the bird feeder was turned between centres, and shaped - with a sized spigot for mounting on the plank.  After parting off - the 'nub' was sanded off on a home-made, chuck mounted sanding pad.
The hollow form was returned to the chuck - held on the spigot, and part of the rim was cut away with a coping saw - to enable access to the bird food in the bowl and to provide a 'roof' for the bird whilst feeding.  This shaping could also have been completed prior to parting off the form from the chuck.

Paul's second demonstration was the making and decorating of a square edge platter/ dish.  He passed around (the room), a couple of completed platters to show different affects achieved with the burning torch.
The blank was a very dry piece of oak - approx. 7 inches square by 2 inches thick.  The part was chuck mounted in a pre-drilled recess - with tailstock support.  The underside surface of the platter was roughed out using a series of 'pull cuts', a foot created, finish turned and a spigot cut for the chuck.
Particular care needs to be taken when turning this type of workpiece - the spinning corners can be sharp and very dangerous - Paul recommended that the tool rest be positioned and marked to indicate a 'no-go' line that your fingers must not cross!

The part was reversed into the chuck jaws and progressively roughed and finished to complete the dish shape.  It is important to maintain an even (thin-ish) wall thickness - as any variation is very noticeable on the edges.
A round Microplane rasp (which appears to be difficult to purchase, at the time of writing this review in mid-April 2023) was used to decorate (by cutting shallow notches) into the edges of the platter - it is not important for these to be equally spaced (artistic?).  A mini, gas-powered blowlamp was then used to burn the edges and the inner surface of the platter.  A brass liming brush was used to remove soot and burnt 'whiskers' from the part prior to finishing with hard wax oil.

The final action would be to remove the mounting tenon. There are several ways of accomplishing this task.  Use a vacuum chuck (if you have one), or use a padded support former in the chuck and tailstock support to hold the platter in position.  The final 'nub' would be removed by hand.

Paul entertained us with a wide-ranging demonstration of different techniques - along with showing excellent tool control and providing safety suggestions.  An entertaining, engaging and informative evening.
Thank you, Paul!

The Display Table was very well supported with a wide range of interesting items.

Dave Newman showed a spoon carving hook/ scorp knife he had made from stainless steel and his first completed spoon, carved from sweet chestnut.  Bob Wells displayed a large rippled ash plater along with a thin walled, pierced ash bowl. Bob also showed a large (flat sided) flask, with a carved top made in walnut.  A large candle support, made in oak, was presented by Ken Gateley.  Tim Mortimer showed the completed thin-walled hollow form and stopper - that he started at his demonstration in September 2022.  Mike Crawshaw, following a design by Steve Heeley, presented a large, turned, coloured and decorated flask, with inserts.  Bill Savage challenged Members with two turned puzzles - one: removed the ball from the box and two: remove the ring from the shaft. Both made from combinations of box wood, pink ivory and African blackwood.  Arthur Kingdon brought along a small elliptical box (created via his ornamental lathe/ elliptical chuck), made from three layers of white and pink Corian, an African blackwood insert in the lid was surrounded by a knurled brass ring with a pink ivory centre. The edges of the box were fluted and a row of 48 equally spaced 'pearls' were cut into the top face and a feature edge.  Graham Furze shared a small finial box made in pear - inspired by a design from a Chris Stott book.  Dave Branscombe displayed a large number of finished, unfinished and some of his 'mistakes' in various timbers and plywood - showing texturing and colouring.