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HWC members pictures 19-04-2020

Here are some more of our members pictures that I recently received, they have come from Gordon Leitch and Jeff Buttress. I did receive some of Gordon’s pictures before the post on Natural edges went out, but as these pictures did not have any natural edge element in any of the items he sent me pictures of, I decided to do them as a separate post, and here they are now.

These were the first 2 pictures , the picture on the left has a bowl and a box both made from Walnut, the picture on the right has 2 goblets, both made from Native Yew.

A few days later I also received some more pictures from Gordon Leitch this time of a natural edged bowl, and Gordon had a couple of questions about the item he had made.

These are the 3 pictures of his Natural edged bowl, Gordon also went on to ask the following.
Evening Alex I am sending you 3 photos of a natural edge bowl I just finished for your thoughts. It is made from a misshapen piece of laburnum,
(A)  Would you have carried on or scrapped piece ?? 
( B) Do you think it looks odd with hole in side. 
 I would appreciate your thoughts.  
Regards Gordon 
Here’s what I think Gordon, I would most certainly have carried on, it would not have been scrapped, do I think it looks odd with the hole in the side? certainly not! I am always looking for odd things or odd shapes to turn into precious artefacts , you have done very well with this piece of work.
These next 5 pictures came in from Jeff Buttress.
Jeff you have done very well with all the items you have made, you would also appear to be very much better at the cleaning up than most of us are, I’ve never seen my workshop this tidy even when I was setting it up.
Here’s what Jeff had to say about his pictures,
Hi Alec
I enjoyed seeing the members work for the live edge bowl work, so much that I decided to have a go. Having had the beginners tuition postponed because of the closure I’ve been trawling you tube for guidance.
I usually only turn pens but with time on my hands I’m exploring further. My first turned bowl (pic 1) is from a mahogany blank 150 mm dia x 60 deep. I’m quite pleased with the resulting bowl even though the walls are on the thick side at 10mm.  The second piece I tried ( pic 2 )was from a Laburnum blank I prepared myself from a tree taken down about 4 years ago. It started life at 135 mm dia x 50 deep and I ended up with a bowl 128mm dia x 45 mm deep with wall thickness of 7 mm. Both bowls were finished with sanding sealer and Melamine lacquer. The main problem I had was dust instead of shavings with some of the cuts. Today after having been inspired by the club images I decided to have a go at a live edge bowl. I don’t have any seasoned wood suitable for a live edge bowl but I had a lime tree lopped a month ago so found a suitable bit of green wood. I started with a branch joint about 90mm diameter and 120 long. One of the bits in pic 3. I’m really pleased with the result (pic 4) although I have a few issues with it, There are a couple of areas of tear out that I couldn’t get rid of and sanding proved a bit difficult, just kept clogging up. I will see how well it dries and will possibly be able to remount it and sand it and add a finish coat. Pic 5 is a view of my woodturning shed with the 1960’s Tyme lathe I rebuilt.
Regards,
Jeff Buttress.

Thank’s to Gordon and Jeff for sharing their work and thoughts with us all I hope this will inspire some more of you to send in some pictures, but do remember to give me a few details along with them.

Also remember that our clubhouse remains closed, the situation will be reviewed after we see what the government does on the 7th May, in the meantime stay safe and avoid this virus.

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HWC members pictures 12-04-2020

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you are all staying well. I have received a few more pictures from our members that I will share with you now. The pictures are from David Hay, Martyn Torode and just in this morning from Nick Simpson.

These 6 pictures are from David Hay, a Wych Elm box with a rather curious finial.
Picture 4, the inside of the box. Picture 5, the underside of the lid. Picture 6, the top of the box. The following was what David had to say about his box.
  I have sent pictures of my mouse box, that I had originally made for competition,
Size width 155 mm
     Hight 95 mm
 
Wood, wych elm burr, finished with sanding sealer, then waxed & polished with mops,
Mouse is cherry with ebony eyes leather ears & tail ,
 
Regards David
This box was made by Martyn Torode, a new member to our club, Martyn thought the wood might be Oak, but it’s more likely to be Iroko and for a first attempt at a box he has done very well.
This is what Martyn had to say about his box.
Here’s my first attempt as a beginner at turning a box. It’s 3 1/2” dia x 4” tall and I think made from a piece of oak and finished with friction polish.
I had a bit of trouble with dig ins on the internal bit but managed a reasonable job in the end but I’m going to need advice with that. Maybe oak wasn’t the best wood to start with.
Hope you’re keeping well
Martyn
Just in this morning, these 2 pictures from Nick Simpson, I have to say they certainly made me smile when I saw them.
Here is what Nick had to say about his pictures.
Not Easter eggs but their precursors
I was saving these for Showtime but they might brighten up someone’s day
Both are 12” tall made of sycamore the cockerel is finished in Jo Sonja iridescent paints
Happy Easter Nick

We hope you can all have as good an Easter as possible under these lock down conditions, you may not be able to get away anywhere but your workshop is not out of bounds, keep the pictures coming and remember I’m looking for your pictures from the Natural Edged Turning virtual meeting, pictures to me by the end of 15th April please. I have 3 entries so far, hoping for some more by Wednesday.

Do remember the clubhouse remains closed, you will be informed when we will be opening again.

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HWC members pictures 06-04-2020

Here are the latest pictures I have received from 2 of our members, the first lot are from Nick Simpson and the second lot are from David Ross.

These pictures are from Nick Simpson of an African Blackwood box he made at a meeting held on the 23rd January 2020, it wasn’t quite finished at the meeting so Nick finished it at home before sending me the pictures. Here is what Nick had to say about his box.
Dimensions are:
Shaker outside 40mm inside 30mm diameters
Height of shaker 60mm internal depth 50mm
The lid is a spinning top and is threaded by hand chasing 18tpi
Height of lid 50mm
Diameter of lid where it meets shaker 44 mm so it just overlaps
Wood = African Blackwood. There were some of the characteristic voids which can be seen (as features)
Finished by sanding from180 to 400 grit and then 2 coats of Renaissance wax.
The whole was in regular use by our grandsons until lockdown
Best wishes Nick.
This Yew box was made by David Ross, pictures arrived today.
This picture was also sent from David Ross, David mentions he was not sure of what type of wood they were, I can tell you that they are all made from Spalted Beech. Here is what David had to say about his work.

I have attached a couple of things I have turned over last month or so, the small box is made of yew 30 mm H and has a 50 mm diameter
The wood for the three bud vases came from a wood pile my son had so not sure what kind of wood they are all the items are finished in sanding sealer and a couple of coats of melamine and a coat of polish both vases at front are 90 mm H with 60 mm diameter vase at rear is 90 mm H with a 45 mm diameter
Hope all the members are keeping safe 
 
David Ross

Thank you Nick and David for taking the time to send your pictures, we hope to see many more pictures from any of our members, please keep them coming.

Do remember the clubhouse is temporarily closed, you will be advised when we will be re-opening.

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HWC members pictures 03-04-2020

Hi everyone, picture just in from Tony Wilson, although not wholly woodturning this is still very acceptable to be shown as part of Tony’s work. As this was the only picture received in the last few days I have included a small box I made over the last few days.

Tony’s sit on toy made for his grand children, he made 3 of them, and well done too ! This is what Tony had to say about his picture, and I see he needed a little help with the computer part of this submission, this goes to show even if you are not quite computer literate you can still get a picture to me using someone else’s knowledge.

I hope you are in good health.
Following the request for club members to submit an example of their work please find attached a message from my daughter with a picture of a tractor with turned wheels etc.
I made three for my grandchildren.
It reflects the basic level of my skills but I thought it would be nice to try to support you and the committee in your efforts on behalf of the club and members.
I will not be offended if it isn’t suitable for your display ( probably quite relieved)
Thank you again for all the work, energy and imagination you all give for the club.
Keep well.
Tony Wilson

Below is a box I made recently, I’m calling it my Bell Box.

This is a small box I made over the last few days, quite a bit of gluing required so it takes a while before you get to the interesting part, the turning. The woods used were Oak for the main part of the body and lid, the half moon shapes were Goncalo Alves and the finial was made from Holly.
Another 2 views of the same box, this time the insides can be seen, you will observe I had hollowed out the lid as well, the overall sizes are, height 150 mm, width 150 mm and with a slightly elevated base to give you the bell shape appearance.

I do have one more set of pictures to post, but I’m waiting on some text information before I can upload them. In the meantime please keep the pictures coming, we are getting a good response from those viewing.

Do remember the clubhouse is closed temporarily, you will be informed when the first meeting will be after the crisis is over.

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HWC members pictures, 28-03-2020

During this lock down period I felt we needed to take advantage of the situation to stay in touch with each other by posting some pictures of what we have been doing whether it’s working on the lathe or anything else. I have done the first post showing some of the things I have been making since the lock down. You will all be receiving an email from Geoff outlining what this is about and what we would like you to do, we would like as many of you to take part as possible but there is no obligation to do so, you can if you wish just get onto the club web site and observe what others have been doing. This first post of my work should give you an idea what any picture and text you provide would look like.

To take part you would need to photograph what you are doing or making and send that to me along with some text giving me the dimensions, the type of wood if known and any other useful piece of information by email, attaching any pictures, you can use my own email address to do this if you feel uncomfortable doing it through the web site contact.

My email address is, a.j.mutch4321@btinternet.com.

A spalted Beech bowl made by Alec Mutch, the bowl measured 190 mm in diameter by 90 mm high, some of the white areas were quite soft and required some fairy liquid being applied to achieve a good finish, the final finish was sanding sealer followed by a coat of Melamine.
A natural edged bowl made by Alec Mutch, the wood is spalted Beech made from a half log. The dimensions are 235 mm long by 175 mm wide and an overall height of 100 mm. The finish was sanding sealer followed by a coat of Melamine and buffed to a soft sheen.
A small shallow bowl made by Alec Mutch, made to hold your house keys. It was made from Beech with a decorated rim coloured with a felt tip pen, the engraving was done with the use of a laser.

Now it’s your turn to send me some pictures of your most recent work and I will post them here for others to see.

Do remember the club house is still closed and the meetings suspended for the time being, you will be notified when the club meetings will start again.

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Clubhouse temporary closure.


Important notice to all HWC members.
Precautions against Coronavirus.

In light of the Scottish Parliament taking the decision to close all outside gathering of more than 500 people and all inside gatherings of more than 100 people we the committee for HWC have taken the decision to suspend all our meetings in the foreseeable future.

The reasoning for this is that our building does not allow for reasonable separation of the individual, the ventilation is poor and our members are mostly of a certain age. Although our numbers are less than 100 we are in a confined space with everyone breathing the same air.

The length of time the closure will apply will be open ended, but I would anticipate there being no meetings before the end of April and could be longer, a review of the situation will take place mid to late April.

Any new information will be posted on our web site and Facebook page.

Anyone with any questions or concerns can contact me or Geoff through the web site email contact.

Regards to everyone,

Alec Mutch, Chairman, this notice issued on behalf of the committee for HWC.

Updated 14th March 2020.

If you have made an item for the competition that was due to happen on Thursday 19th March, hold onto it, we will be holding that competition as our first meeting after the crisis has passed.

In the meantime our meetings have been suspended and the clubhouse is closed.

This applies to all meetings, committee meetings and training meetings.

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AGM Minutes available

The minutes from this years AGM on February 6th are now available in the members area after logging in.

Just a reminder – the members login details will be changed shortly, a notice will go up in the club with details and the date of the change.

If you experience problems logging in, remember to check your username & password is still correct. Due to ongoing attempted hacking issues on the site, the lockout for incorrect attempts will still remain at 24 hours before your connection will be allowed to try again.

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New Committee Minutes and Health and Safety Documents now available

The minutes from the last committee meeting are now available.

The new Health and Safety Documents are also available on the same page. You will need to login to view all the documents.

Remember the safety of yourself and all other users depend on each member being a personal health and safety person. Think before doing anything. Think while doing anything. Think after doing anything. And most importantly think of others.

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Report on our all day meeting on the 27th July 2019.

Our all day meeting on the 27th July was a great success, it was organized by John Cheadle who arranged for 3 turners to do different demonstrations throughout the day, he also arranged for Celtic woodturning supplies to be present to sell their wares. We had a good response from our own members, but what was also very pleasing a group of 12 woodturners from the North Highlands Woodturners based in Castletown Caithness also attended the meeting, there were also representatives from the Elgin Woodturners. The day went very well and to schedule finishing off with the customary raffle. A summary of all 3 turners work follows in 3 separate galleries.

Alec Mutch.

Here we have John Cheadle opening the meeting and introducing the first turner, Alec Mutch.
Here I am showing the crowd my intended work piece, a piece of spalted beech that will be a natural edged bowl.
My work piece mounted on a set of pin jaws ready to start the turning.
I brought up the tailstock for added support for the first few cuts.
The first cuts being taken on the outside shape.
Here I can be seen making the recess on the base to take the expanding collet jaws.
Now I have laid out the extent of the foot on the bowl, approx 55% of the outer diameter.
Cutting back the outside shape to suit the newly laid out foot.
The chuck recess requires a very small internal dovetail to match the jaws, this is the tool I use for this, it's a modified file.
Here I can be seen sanding the whole of the outside, I use the Powerlock system for most of my sanding.
After the sanding, I applied a liberal coat of sanding sealer and rubbed it well in.
After the sealer a coat of Melamine was applied, here I am rubbing it in with a paper towel.
Now with the lathe running and a fresh paper towel I burnished the outside to a soft sheen.
A change of chuck to do the inside, these are the standard dovetail jaws that will fit inside the recess I cut in the bottom.
The first cuts being made on the turning of the inside.
After the first few cuts, I moved the rest into the hollow to minimise the overhang of the tool.
Further cuts being taken on the inside.
Getting closer to the desired wall thickness and depth.
Checking the wall thickness with a double ended set of callipers.
The tool work on the inside now complete.
Sanding of the inside using the Powerlock system, both the lathe and the drill running.
The tops of the wings on the bowl being sanded with the lathe stationary.
The bowl would now be sealed, rubbed back with wire wool and a coat of Melamine applied and buffed.
My finished natural edged bowl.

Gary Lowe.

Here we have John Cheadle introducing our guest turner, Gary Lowe, from Elgin.
Here is Gary showing the crowd the piece he is going to work on, He is going to make a variation of a spinning top.
Here Gary is fixing the tailstock, having mounted the other end in the chuck.
Using a roughing gouge Garry brings the blank of Beech to a cylinder.
Now he starts to shape the top end.
Top end shape almost complete, he now marks out where he is going to start near the bottom.
Bottom end shaping in progress.
This overhead screen shot shows Gary completing the final shape.
Sanding in progress, Gary first coated the item with a light layer of wax to minimise the dust.
This screen shot show to better effect Gary's sanding method.
Here he is buffing the wax finish he applied to the item.This completed the first part, the base.
Now for the 2nd part the spinning top itself, Gary used another piece of Beech for this.(can be seen on the lathe).
The small block of Beech mounted between centres.
The blank now turned into a cylinder.
Gary starts to shape the bottom of the spinning top.
The bottom and the inside of the bottom now nearing completion.
This was where Gary was heading to reproduce.
Gary had made a tool just for the purpose of shaping the pin in the inside.
Now he is sanding all of the inside including the pin the the top will spin on.
Now Gary starts to work the outside shape.
He sands the cup part before going any further.
This screen shot shows the top end of the cup being worked.
The final cuts being taken prior to sanding and parting off.
This screen shot shows Gary sanding the delacate stem.

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Mark Sutton.

Here we have Mark Sutton making his address to the crowd on what he was about to do.
He brought in a couple of examples, here he shows a Triptych, a set of 3 artistic works.
A close up of his Triptych.
Another example, this time it's a Diptych, made in 2 parts.
Mark shows the crowd some of the paints he uses in his work.
The turning begins,forming the first of a series of shapes from the centre out.
The shaping progressing well.
Here Mark can be seen sanding some of the first stages.
Mark showed the crowd some of the materials he works with, this was copper leaf.
Mark applying some size to the centre to hold the metal leaf.
The metal leaf being applied to the centre.
Once the leaf was firm, Mark put it back on the lathe to clean it up.
Using a skew Mark trimmed the edge of the metal leaf.
Now for the next part Mark put on some masking tape, here he can be seen trimming the edges.
Here he can be seen spraying the masked area with black acrylic paint.
While the paint was drying Mark showed the other colours he might use.
The other colour were applied with a small sponge, just dabbed on, and all at the same time.
With the tape removed, the results were quite clear to see.
Mark cleaned up the painted areas overspill.
As a final clean up of the face, Mark used a gouge on a trailing cut to smooth off the face of the work.
Mark put a second piece of detail on the work, here he is off centering one piece to do this work.
Here Mark is cutting the small 2nd detail, the ghost of the rest of the work is quite clear to see.
Mark repeated the colouring on the small detail.
A little bit of heat was applied to dry the paint using a heat gun.

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The all day event was first done in 2018 to good effect, this year however with the addition of Celtic Woodturning Supplies and a very good attendance this year was even better, we will be having an all day event again next year.