North Carolina WOODTURNER

Transcription

1 North Carolina WOODTURNER Journal of the North Carolina Woodturners Association A Chapter of the American Association of Woodturners Volume 11, Number 2 February, 2001 Gnome Home By Dean Amos, Sandy Ridge, NC

2 2 February 2001 The President s Message By John Winslett My first message is my gratitude for your confidence in me to be your President. I pledge to you my best efforts to continue our club as one of the best - both for improving our skills and also enjoying the fellowship of our friends in turning. Next I wish to express our gratitude to Edgar Ingram for his dedicated and skilled services as President these past two years. For all of us, we thank you Edgar! Edgar will continue his leadership by agreeing to be our Coordinator for Symposium 2001 in Statesville on the 3rd and 4th of November. Please give him your support and advice. The Statesville Civic Center is a very convenient and spacious facility. The staff is very helpful and cooperative. Ours should be a special event and I anticipate we will have a large turnout from many different areas. As an adjunct, Edgar has arranged for the Iredell County Museum to host a reception on Saturday evening of the Symposium and they have asked for a gallery of turned objects from our group. Sales will be possible and there should be a large group of possible buyers, since an Art show will be ongoing at the same time. Edgar will provide additional details. Our membership has decreased this year with the formation of three other turning clubs. I encourage you to seek additional members. Mary reports we currently have 82 paid members. While on the subject of Mary, we are most fortunate to have her dedicated service as our Secretary and also to provide the delicious baked goodies for every meeting. Please remember to put your contribution in the box to defray expenses - same for coffee. While on the subject of thank you, I encourage each of you to thank your officers and board members for their dedication and service. I believe I am inheriting a highly qualified group and will be pleased to serve with them. See you at our February meeting when we will have Alan Hollar demonstrating his unique talents. We start at 10 o'clock and will have a Board meeting during the lunch hour. Share your talents by bringing something to the Gallery. John NORTH CAROLINA WOODTURNER Journal of the North Carolina Woodturners Association Published Monthly by the NORTH CAROLINA WOODTURNERS ASSOCIATION, INC Route 7, Box 137, Hendersonville, NC Editor: Bonner Guilford 1371 Perth Road, Troutman, NC (704) bguil@bellsouth.net Contributing Editor: Craig Summerville (704) craig_summerville@dell.com OFFICERS President: John Winslett, Tryon (828) Vice President: Dwight Hartsell, Charlotte (704) Treasurer: George Wunker, Winston Salem (336) Secretary: Mary Bachand, Hendersonville (828) Programs: Dwight Hartsell, Charlotte (704) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Craig Summerville, Charlotte (Term exp. 2001) (704) J.T. Barker, Hudson (Term exp. 2001) (828) Clyde Hall, High Point (Term exp. 2001) (336) Wayne Hutchins, Charlotte (Term exp. 2002) (704) Scott Ollis, Hickory (Term exp. 2002) (828) Grant McRorie, Trinity (Term exp. 2002) (336) David Kaylor, Davidson (Term exp. 2003) (704) Gary Johnson, Statesville (Term exp. 2003) (704) Ric Erkes, Davidson (Term exp. 2003) (704) PAST PRESIDENT Edgar Ingram, Statesville (704) Member News By Mary Bachand There were no new members this month, but there were several renewals. Remember, dues are now overdue for this year. Pay up by the February meeting or you will not be in our 2001 Directory. If you have a change in address, phone or , please let me know ASAP. I would like to thank Ken Phillips for being a caring NCW member. He called to let me know that John Winslett's wife had been in the hospital after a fall, allowing me to send a card from our group. I always have cards of sympathy, get well, and surgery in supply. I just need to know when to send them. With the addition of our younger members, maybe I'd better get some Welcome the new baby cards! Please help keep me informed. Treasurer's Report Beginning Balance.....$2, Income. 2, Expenses..1, Ending Balance (Year End)...$2,800.63

3 3 February 2001 Coming Events By Dwight Hartsell February 10, 2001 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM our monthly meeting will be held at the Hickory Klingspor Woodworking shop. Our featured demonstrator will be Alan Hollar. He will show how he cuts feet on a vessel, bowl and vases. He has some fantastic carvings on his works. Alan is also very knowledgeable on all types of finishing a turned or carved piece. You don't want to miss this demonstration. Alan s work is seen at numerous locations in North Carolina and he is very active in most craft shows and displays in North Carolina and other states. Our March meeting of NCWA will be on the second Saturday, March 10th at 1:00 PM. Our speaker and demonstrator will be Mr. Brad Packard from Packard Woodworks, " The Woodturners Source" in Tryon, NC. Mr. Packard will demonstrate tool usage, the different types of tools available, creative ways to use tools, steels that tools are made from and something about sharpening tools. This also should be very informative for all levels of turners from novice to professionals. Gallery Notes By David Kaylor The January gallery contained a wide variety of beautiful objects: burl vases, platters, compotes, spoons, objects with carving and objects with color. Those contributing to this success were Grady Butler, Edgar Ingram, Don Olsen, Ron Mechling, Craig Summerville, Harold Lineberger, Dwight Hartsell, J.T. Barker, Dean Amos, J.D. Reinhardt, Scott Ollis, Ric Erkes, John Hill and Brett Hagerty. Don Olsen even brought an ordinary-shaped cherry bowl (!), along with a natural edged, three-legged crotch bowl of box elder. J.T.Barker, Dwight Hartsell and John Hill, influenced by Betty Scarpino, presented pieces using surface treatments and dyes. Dean Amos continued his interest in the unusual with a madrone burl object of intricate design. Challenge Project By Scott Ollis January Challenge. Ric Erkes took the honors this month, tuning a new project for himself, a perforated urn and lid. It truly was an excellent piece in every way, making Ric look more like an old pro in the form. Many thanks for bringing this wonderful piece for all to admire. February Challenge. Since this is a leap year, extra day and all, why not incorporate something extra in a turning. The challenge for February will be to incorporate a natural or found object in your turning. The object can be primary or secondary. Imagination is favored in scoring. March Challenge. Beware the Ides of March. This month, we should try to turn something that is not quite what it seems. Something with a bit of mystery or surprise. This will require some thought and imagination, but no doubt, you are up to the challenge. Surprise us. Library Notes By Mary Bachand No new items arrived for the library this month. Please let me know if there is Ric Erkes anything which we need which might be useful to the group. Books and videos are available for loan, but please remember to return them each month, even if you plan to renew them. The fee remains $1 per month. Definitely the best bargain around. Dues Notice Remember that according to our By-Laws, dues for 2001 are now delinquent. Please pay your dues by the February meeting to be included in the Directory for Also, this will be your last issue of our Journal without renewal See Mary at the February meeting, or, send your renewal and any information change to her at Route 7, Box 137, Hendersonville, NC

4 4 February 2001 January Program Review By Craig Summerville For the January meeting, NCW welcomed Willard Baxter back to Hickory for an allday demonstration. Willard is a well-known turner with a special talent for working with novice turners. On this day he came to share his expertise in turning a shallow bowl with a decorated (textured) edge and in making a lidded vessel that incorporates threadchasing. Willard Baxter Takes A Turn Willard began with an emphasis on safety consciousness by sharing a story about fellow turner Dave Lancaster who was seriously injured when a blank dislodged and struck him in the face. Through surgery and therapy Dave is recovering and has begun turning again, although he now uses a full helmet with protective face shield. Look for an article from Dave in an upcoming issue of American Woodturner, the AAW journal, about this experience and the lessons he has learned. Willard prefers to use a chuck for his turnings rather than a faceplate. He uses the Oneway Woodworm screw in the Stronghold chuck to start his turning, and then switches to the chuck itself once the outer shape has been defined and a dovetail recess turned to accept the chuck jaws. For his cutting tools Willard has decided that simpler is better and now primarily uses the Oneway Michael Hosaluk style tool handles and Oneway Mastercut gouges. Some of these gouges are double-ended, which allows him to have a different grind on each end. His 5/8 bowl gouge, for instance, has a traditional flat grind on one end and a more modern fingernail grind on the other. Willard justifies the expense (approximately $100 for the 5/8 gouge) by noting that it is not only the equivalent of 2 gouges, but the entire length of each flute can be used up completely due to the adjustability of the gouge length in the handle. For sanding Willard prefers the manual method (as opposed to power sanding with a drill), making liberal use of mineral oil during the process. The oil greatly reduces the amount of dust and causes the wood fibers to stand up, making it easier for the sandpaper to shear them off without leaving scratch marks. In response to a question from the audience, Willard stated that the mineral oil does not affect any finish you wish to use (unless you build up several coats, which is not necessary for sanding purposes). As the mineral oil may cause some color to bleed from the paper into the wood, Willard recommends using wet-dry sandpaper to prevent this from occurring. He begins with 150-grit and works his way up to 320-grit, making certain that no grits are skipped along the way. Before texturing the rim, Willard recommends sanding it as if preparing for a finish to be applied. This insures a uniform surface for cutting with the Sorby texturing tool. Willard admitted to some frustration when he first tried to use the texturing tool and was ready to get rid of it when he ran into a Sorby representative at a Missouri conference who was more than happy to teach him the proper methodology. Because there are so many different textures that can be created with the tool this article will not attempt to describe the proper methodology. Sorby has produced an instructional video for this tool. Check with Mary Bachand to see if it is in the club library. After completing the bowl, which he generously donated to the club raffle, Willard proceeded to the thread-chasing portion of the demo. For those just beginning to work with thread-chasing he recommends boxwood, dogwood (if dried properly), cocobolo, lignum vitae, and goncalo alves, as they are dense hardwoods, which thread well. Mike Mahoney says the ideal practice material is plastic, as it will not tear out. Willard emphasized the need to take care of your threading tools, as the cutting end is very delicate. Willard wraps his threaders in tape before taking them on the road.

5 5 February 2001 The reason you don t see large threaded pieces is because if the grain of the wood moves even slightly it will throw the threads out of alignment. Smaller pieces will typically have less movement thus increasing your chance for successful threading. The female half (threads on the inside) is done first and typically becomes the lid. The area to be threaded must be cut 90 degrees (perpendicular) on the shoulder for a precise fit. A relief area is cut just back of the threaded section so that the threads do not break out if someone is too zealous in tightening the lid. For beginners, Willard recommends using 20 tpi (threads per inch) because it s easier than 10 tpi or 16 tpi. An auxiliary tool rest supported by the lathe tool rest is used in conjunction with the threader, and the threader is presented to the wood on center. Once the initial pass is made the threader is placed at the second or third thread to start subsequent passes. The cutting motion is in one direction only, in toward the headstock, then taken away and removed to the outside. A rhythmic motion is used to cut the threads until sharp. Willard sets the lathe speed at RPM and does not recommend going higher. His last step for this procedure is to ease the corner of the inside shoulder to make it easier to mate the two halves. The first priority for making the male (bottom) half is to measure the inside diameter of the lid so you ll know when to stop cutting the bottom half, otherwise you have just made your box shorter than you may have wanted originally. A relief is once again cut in behind the section to be threaded. The auxiliary tool rest is not needed for cutting the outside threads but the same rhythmic pattern is used. Make certain your tool rest is as smooth as possible to present a level surface for cutting the threads. Stop every few passes to check the fit of the lid to the base. It may be necessary to only cut down a few threads depending on the quality of the fit. As you screw the lid on you will notice which threads are higher than others in order to take corrective action. With the lid completely on you can turn the lathe on and see if the whole box runs true or not. If not, this is a sign that the threads were not cut precisely perpendicular. It is not necessarily a problem since most people aren t going to rapidly spin your box to see if it s perfectly aligned but it will help you refine your thread cutting technique. Thanks, Willard, for another great day. Frank Sudol will be in the area later in March. If anyone is interested in getting a group together for sessions from Frank on turning or surface treatments, please contact Dick Nielsen at

6 6 February 2001 Roy Fisher Woodturning 101 By Craig Summerville Woodturning 101 Turning a Green Bowl Move the tool rest out of the way. Check the speed of the lathe. Remove the bark from the center area on your blank. Mount the blank between centers using light pressure to allow free rotation. Rotate the blank by hand to find the true balance. The heavy bottom should be lifted up a little, centered, and rotated again between centers to find the balance. Continue the process until you find a true balance. Mark the centers. If you use a spur drive, drill a 1 diameter hole about 3/8 deep for the spur drive to fit into. Set the spur drive across the grain with a wooden mallet. Remount the blank and bring up the tailstock with rotating center and apply pressure. Stand aside and test the rotation and speed. Turn off the power. Position the tool rest at a 45-degree angle near the outside edge. Rotate the blank by hand for several revolutions to check the clearance. Put on safety glasses or a face shield. Sharpen your tool! Apply power and start your cuts to shape the outside. Allow an area at the bottom for your faceplate or four-jaw chuck spigot. Stop and move the tool rest frequently. Listen for sound changes. Investigate. Don t let your tool extend beyond the tool rest very far while roughing the outside. Try to work in the center of the tool rest to prevent breaking the tool rest if you hook the rotating piece. Complete the outside form with nice gentle sweeping curves. Make sure your spigot is correct for the mounting device you plan to use to attach the bowl to the lathe. Be sure to concave the faceplate spigot area. Stop the lathe and remove the blank from between centers. Mount your faceplate using short screws that fill the holes in your faceplate or mount the blank on your four-jaw chuck. Mount on the lathe. Pull up the tailstock and apply pressure. Check for proper rotation. Apply power and true up the outside area. If you find tear-out, sand and cut again. If the outside is OK, position the tool rest to smooth the rim area. Stop and check the rim condition. Where is the pith? Leaving too much pith will cause the rim to bow up in the pith area as it dries even more. With the rim established, start to remove the material from inside the bowl. Leave the revolving center in position as long as you can. Work down the inside in steps of 2. Roy Fisher When the revolving center becomes a problem, cut down the post to remove it. Slide the tool rest out of the way and remove the rotating center from the tailstock. Set your calipers to the dimension you want for the bowl thickness. For a 10-inch diameter green bowl, set calipers for 1. Continue to hollow out the bowl, stopping occasionally to check the thickness. Strive for a nice gentle smooth curve. Practice your turning techniques while turning a green bowl. Leave a smooth surface. Remove the green bowl from the lathe and store in a cool dry location for drying. Make sure you have a center mark on the bottom. Write the date and wood type on the piece. Some coat the bowl with end grain sealer. Others store the piece in its own shavings in a brown paper bag for several (3-6) months. Some even coat the blank with a mixture of one part dishwashing liquid soap to two parts water. Try it sometime.

7 7 February 2001 NCW GALLERY GALLERY Clockwise from top left Dwight Hartsell Don Olsen Grady Butler Harold Lineberger Bill Young Photos by George Wunker

8 8 February 2001 NCW GALLERY Gallery Clockwise from top left J.D. Reinhardt J.T. Barker Craig Summerville Tom Fitz Edgar Ingram Photos by George Wunker