Club Night Report

Wednesday 13th June 2018

Club Night Photos for 13th June 2018 - Guest Demonstrator - Robert Till

The demonstrator for the June meeting was Robert Till - whose subject for the evening was A Birdhouse.
This was a demonstration of 'wet turning' - complete with lots of advice, do's and don'ts involved in turning (very) wet wood.

For example: protect the lathe bed from the worst of the water/ sap that is released by the turning and thoroughly clean the lathe and tools when the work is completed; tightly wrap a partially finished turning in domestic cling film - with any hollows packed with the wet shavings and it will be OK overnight (and should not split). The 'secret' of wet turning and thin walls is a CONSTANT wall thickness - this will prevent splitting of the item as it dries out…
The item can be left 'natural' or stained - for example: use Cuprinol 'Garden Shades' - use a tester size pack for £2 from Homebase stores.

Robert started with a chunk of very wet (rescued) timber - possibly Maple or Alder and made a birdhouse in 2-pieces. The lid is separate - held by screws to facilitate removal for cleaning.
The timber was generally held on a dovetail spigot in a 4-jaw chuck - for both hollowing and shaping the outside. The wall thickness throughout was 6 mm.

An interesting and entertaining evening, showing a methodical and steady approach to making a thin walled item in wet wood - a subject that is often mentioned but rarely shown in such detail. Thank you Robert!

The display table contained a mix of turned items.
Arthur Kingdon showed a small cube shaped tea light holder - that had been machined on all sides via his rose engine in African blackwood.
David Branscombe presented a number of items he had made - including a 'disaster' where he went 'too thin' into the base of a small end grain dish… Another item from David included a large intricately pierced bowl. He also showed a large bowl that had been textured, scorched and coloured; that he had made whilst on a day's tuition with Les Thorne