Start time 6.45pm
Our next meeting is on Thursday 26th October 2023, it’s being organized by David Hobson, David did not select a theme for this meeting he arranged for all 5 lathes to be in use but the turners can choose to make whatever they want and feel comfortable doing.
This does present a slight problem for me not knowing in advance what each of the turners will be doing, as I normally like to give you all an insight as to what might be happening on the night. However it does also add to the mystery and to find out what each of the turners choose to do you will need to come to the meeting.
I have selected out a few items from our archives of items that had been made in the past by some of the members and myself. I started with what I considered to be the easiest of items to make and gradually making the difficulty harder as you go through the pictures.
These are by no means the only items that had been made or presented to the club for viewing but it does give you an idea of what sort of item might emerge at this meeting.
Here are my thoughts in pictures, enjoy.
Picture 1, probably one of the easiest items to make, a weed pot, this one was made from Zebrano wood and measured only 4 inches tall. Picture 2, another all time favourite to make, wooden Mushrooms, and not too difficult, this one was made from Juniper and measured 6 inches tall. Picture 3, a pair of candle sticks, again quite easy to make the first one but you have to match the second to the first, that’s when the difficulty starts to increase.
Wooden bowls, a favourite with all wood turners, Picture 4, a pale Burr Elm bowl with a very simple shape, this shape of bowl is fairly simple to do and can be used in all types of timber. Picture 5, a Spalted Beech bowl, slightly more difficult as there could be some soft areas that need some careful turning, and very sharp tools. Picture 6, another Burr Elm bowl, this time a small section of natural edge has been included in the design, adding to the interest and the difficulty.
Now the difficulty is being ramped up a little. Picture 7, a selection of little boxes, some easier to do than others but all have one thing in common, the lids need to fit and for the lids to stay fitting the wood needs to be very dry and the items worked over a period of time allowing for any movement in the box or the lid to take place before the final fitting. Picture 8, the difficulty ramped up a notch further, these goblets were made in 3 parts, a fairly simple base plate, the stems long and very slender adding to the difficulty due to flexing on the lathe as they are being cut and a natural edged top cup that has the minimum of mounting when turning the inside.
Now for what I consider the most interesting items here. Picture 9, A Burr Elm bowl that was turned with a fairly large flat natural edge on the top and the side profile left intact as grown. Picture 10, An Elm Quaich, the turning is fairly simple but the final shaping where the 2 handles are needs quite a bit of attention in both matching each other and not damaging the sides of the Quaich when removing the excess. Picture 11, a laminated bowl that has a 40 year calendar at the centre, the woods are Oak, Paduak and Maple, accurate cutting when doing the laminations is paramount, they need to fit perfectly. Picture 12, A Natural Edged Laburnum bowl made from a “Y” piece of wood, the outcome is stunning but great care needs to be adopted when working a piece of wood like this. Picture 13, a Hollow form that was made up from 8 pieces of wood, the 2 main parts were hollowed before being glued together, the Maple strips were also shaped on the inside before fitting, the top finial was fitted last before the whole item was finally finished with several coats of Melamine Lacquer.
Now we need to come to the meeting to see exactly what is being made, a good turnout is always desired, so we hope to see you all there.
Do remember the meeting Raffles will be on sale as will the Christmas Raffles, we are still looking for donations for the Christmas Raffles, anything will be acceptable. Tea and Coffee will be available for a donation of 50p.
I will remind you all that the November Competition is the meeting after this one on the 9th November 2023, the subject is Christmas Decorations, terms and conditions are on the web site.