Smoky Mountain Woodturners is a Regional Chapter. Our June Meeting Recap

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Lester White
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Meeting Recap Did you know that there are two types of water in a tree? Did you know that you need to cut the pith out of the center of a log to minimize cracks while drying?

1 June 2017 Volume 4, Issue 6 Monthly News Special Interest Articles: Pens and Ornaments Time! 3 rd Quarter Woodturners Challenge One Antique Turns on Another Individual Highlights: AAW 3 Fall Wkend 3 Marketplace 5 Turn for the Troops 8 Smoky Mountain Woodturners is a Regional Chapter Our June Meeting Recap Did you know that there are two types of water in a tree? Did you know that you need to cut the pith out of the center of a log to minimize cracks while drying? Did you know that woodworkers used to boil green wood to relieve stress in the wood and stabilize it before storage? This is just some of the interesting information that Drue Hogland shared with those who attended the June Chapter Meeting. Drue s Demo covered the Coming up in July Christmas In July (Ornaments that is). topic of handling green wood in your shop masterfully. His presentation included a lot of audience interaction. Drue covered, among other things, preparing the wood for storage, coating the blank to minimize checking, using a template to cut a bowl blank and rough turning a green blank.. He concluded the demonstration by showing us why he really enjoys turning green wood. He chucked up a green blank and created a wood shaving rainbow. It gave us an up close look at fun you can have with this type of wood! Thanks Drue for an excellent demo. Photo Gallery 9 Antique Turning 11 Wears Valley Ranch 12 It s hard to believe that it s already time to begin focusing on turning Ornaments for friends, family and the Fantasy of Trees. At our July Meeting, Bob Law, Jake Niedling and friends will kick start the ornament turning season with some great suggestions. From simple spindle turned trees and tops to more complex hollow form ornaments, you ll take home ideas you can put to the test in your shop in plenty of time for the holiday season. The Fantasy of Trees service project will see us turning and donating over 200 ornaments this year and all before our October 17 th Meeting! Think about starting a tradition for your family (if you don t already do this) by turning a different gift ornament each year.

You ll find the Safety Page on the Website Navigation block located on the home page, right side. The page includes a link to a digital copy of the AAW Safety Guide that AAW provides free to members.

We ve also included a Shop Safety Manual and Quiz that is an example of those used by trade schools and colleges to instruct their students who use a woodshop.

2 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 2 of 11 New Safety Page Added to our Website We ve added a new Safety Page to our Website. Now, in addition to the monthly presentations and Newsletter article provided by our safety officer, Bruce Pharis, we ve begun to archive information on the Website. You ll find the Safety Page on the Website Navigation block located on the home page, right side. The page includes a link to a digital copy of the AAW Safety Guide that AAW provides free to members. There is also an article on lathe safety reprinted from American Woodturner. entitled Safety Matters by Lynne Yamaguchi. Well worth the read. We ve also included a Shop Safety Manual and Quiz that is an example of those used by trade schools and colleges to instruct their students who use a woodshop. Why not read, take the quiz and see how your knowledge stacks up. It includes a variety of woodshop tools in addition to the lathe. The Beads of Courage Treasure Box Update We still need more Beads of Courage Treasure Boxes. Even though our members and friends have generously provided over 45 boxes to date, the number of sick children who benefit from the BOC program doesn t diminish. Please remember that this year, our partnership with East Tennessee Childrens Hospital means that all of our boxes will go directly to them. Our ETCH volunteer liaison, Drue Hogland, will continue to present our Treasure Boxes as they are needed to the kids at ETCH. Our Chapter provides BOC Beads and Artist Cards to our members at no cost for this worthwhile project. You can pick up beads from Drue at any of our monthly meetings. You are urged, as well, to contact Drue for the opportunity to accompany him at the Hospital as he distributes Treasure Boxes to the kids in the BOC program! For information on the guidelines for turning BOC Treasure Boxes please click on this link org/pages/woodturners.html June Scholarship Draw Winners Each month we have a draw to choose a monthly winner for our annual scholarships. The first is to Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and the other is to the John C. Campbell Folk School. At the end of each year, we hold a grand prize drawing where each monthly winner has the opportunity to be the Grand Prize Winner. Scholarships provide Tuition only for a weekend or one week workshop at the School. Our June monthly draw winners are: For the Arrowmont Scholarship, Joan Cannon and for the John C. Campbell Scholarship John K. Jordan. We will, once again in 2017, be awarding two Arrowmont Scholarships.

The Special Guest Demonstrator for our September Meeting will be John Jordan (Nashville).

The date is September 19 th. Our Final Special Event of the year is our Fall Woodturner s Weekend with Michael Gibson.

The dates for the Fall Woodturners Weekend are October 28 th & 29 th. Registration will open on August 1 st. Once again, we ll be using an on-line registration service.

Your check, made out to Smoky Mountain Woodturners can be submitted at the September Chapter Meeting.

3 Page 3 of 11 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 3 of 11 September Guest Demo & Fall Woodturners Weekend Summer will be over before we know it! We ve got two dynamite Special Events booked for September and October. Please mark your calendar as a reminder to set aside these dates. The Special Guest Demonstrator for our September Meeting will be John Jordan (Nashville). We ve asked John to present our Back to Basics program on how to select wood and how to choose the right tools. This will be a must see demo for woodturners of all skill levels. The date is September 19 th. Our Final Special Event of the year is our Fall Woodturner s Weekend with Michael Gibson. Michael will present the Saturday Demo on turning hollow vessels and wooden teapots. He will follow that up with a hands on workshop on Sunday. The dates for the Fall Woodturners Weekend are October 28 th & 29 th. Registration will open on August 1 st. Once again, we ll be using an on-line registration service. Registration fee for Saturday will be $20.00 and for the 10 slots available on Sunday, $ We will need four (4) members to loan or bring to the hands on their own mini lathe. Your check, made out to Smoky Mountain Woodturners can be submitted at the September Chapter Meeting. John Jordan Michael Gibson WOOD DRAW DONATIONS Our thanks Drue Hogland, Dick Hammat, Gordon Sloane, Bob Law, Dave Kral, Brian Horais, Larry Bass, Harry Ford and others for their donation of wood for the June Draw. AAW Updates There isn t a better bargain in Woodturning than membership in AAW. You can even test drive the benefits of membership by signing up for a Guest Member Access Just log on to the AAW Website ( and click on membership. Select guest member resources and follow the instructions. You ll get access to some of the organizations top features for 60 days. Absolutely Free! Discover Woodturning is an online learning experience that introduces the art and craft of woodturning to visitors. Discover Woodturning enables the general public to learn about woodturning, its origins, appeal, and how to get started. Click on the Discover Woodturning logo to learn more about the hobby most of us pursue with a passion! If you have friends who are interested in learning more about woodturning, please refer them to this AAW feature!

4 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 4 of 11 John C. Campbell Calendar The John C. Campbell Workshop Schedule is available on-line through their website. Here s the line-up for July. 7-2 to 7-7 Carmine & Elizabeth Prioli Multicolor Laminations and Woodturning. 7-7 to 7-9 Robert Johnson Small Projects on the mini lathe. 7-9 to 7-15 Pat Johnson Woodturning Basics and More 7-16 to 7-22 Donald Marks Take Wood for a Spin on the Lathe to 7-28 Kurt Hertzog Total immersion in Pens 7-28 to 7-30 Kurt Hertzog A Weekend of Ornaments 7-30 to 8-5 Charles Farrar Turning Hollow Vessels with Lids Click on the logo on the left to access their website. Next Month at Arromont Don t forget about the LOCAL RESIDENTS SCHOLARSHIPS that provide 50% of workshop tuition for one workshop per person per year. Residents of Sevier, Blount, Cocke, Jefferson, or Knox counties in Tennessee are eligible. No deadline. Here s what s coming up in July. 7-9 to 7-15 Emmet Kane Creativity through practical learning Turning wood to free the mind to 7-22 Emmet Kane and Derek Weidman Chain Saws, Power Tools and Flames Contemporary Wood Sculptures to 7-29 Don Ward and Carter O. Steinbeck Pens and Beyond 7-23 to 7-29 Brian Simmons Woodturning Perfected. Click on the photo/logo to the left to access their website. Regional Symposium Information We ll do our best to keep you updated on the Regional Symposium calendar for You can also access up-to-date information on the AAW Website using the AAW Connect feature. 9/15 Turning Southern Style Georgia Woodturners Dalton, GA 10/13 Ohio Valley 10/13 Ohio Valley Woodturners West Harrison, IN. 11/3 North Caroling Woodturning Symposium Greensboro, N.C.,

5 Page 5 of 11 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 5 of 11 President s Message Wow, what a great turnout we had for our June meeting! Drue Hogland s presentation on drying and turning green wood evoked a lot of discussion from the audience. The whole club gives a big thank you to Drue, for presenting and demonstrating Drying and Turning Green Wood. I really enjoy the Show-and- Tell portion, of our monthly meeting. To see all the different things the members are doing is a real treat and is a great learning experience, for all of us. The only down-side to this month s meeting was Gordon not winning the Arrowmont or J.C. Campbell raffle. I know all of you were heartbroken. Members Marketplace Members interested in getting a shirt embroidered with the SMWTS Logo can do so at the Embroidery Boutique 141 Brooklawn St., Knoxville, Tn You will need to furnish your own shirt. You will need to identify yourself as a SMWTS Chapter Member. Like many of you I did not get back to woodturning until I retired. I had forgotten how much fun and enjoyment I got out of it as a boy in seventh grade shop class. I go to symposiums and watch really great turners spin there magic and think, if only I had figured this out earlier in life I could be just like them. Well folks, I don t know if I will ever get that good, but I sure am going to try with the years I have left. That is the reason I signed up for J. Paul Fennell s (jpaulfennell.com) embellishing class and with the scholarship from the club last year. I didn t know who Fennell was or Price is very reasonable. TOOLS FOR SALE Gordon. Sloane has the following turning tools for sale: 1) John Jordan Armbrace - like new $ ) John Jordan Shear Scraper - like new $ ) Robert Sorby Straight exactly what he did before I signed up for the class. I did know that he said we were going to learn about piercing and carving on wood turnings and that I would learn about the indexing on my Powermatic lathe. On Sunday evening I met Fennell and the other students taking the class, (9 men and 3 women) all of whom were accomplished turners. I was amazed to learn that J. Paul Fennell was a former engineer of the Apollo Space Program and had been turning for 35 years. That was the beginning of a very enjoyable week where I got to know my classmates and instructor much better. I learned about using a piercing Shank multi-tip hollowing tool - like new $ ) Robert Sorby Bent Shank multi-tip hollowing tool - like new $ ) Crown Bent Shank 'Ring Cutter' hollowing tool - like new $40.00 Contact Gordan at g.sloane67@gmail.com hand piece (60,000 rpm), a micro motor carving machine, how to hollow turn pieces to 3/16ths of an inch, how to segment pieces on the lathe, and almost figured out the Powermatic Indexing feature on my lathe. I did not come away with any finished pieces but came away with lots of knowledge and friendships of other woodturners. Going back to school is a great way to further your woodturning skills, while meeting interesting people from all over North America. Making Sawdust Gordon Members can advertise products or services available to the Chapter. You can also advertise for items or services you need

We hope to complete a supply that they can be offered for sale. The Beginners Woodturners turned their first real project, a Weed Pot from green wood in May.

6 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 6 of 11 What s Happening on the Ranch this Month? Our Intermediate Woodturner students have been busy working on their bowls from a board/plank We introduced them to Christmas Ornaments at the June Workshop. We hope to complete a supply that they can be offered for sale. The Beginners Woodturners turned their first real project, a Weed Pot from green wood in May. Thanks to Drue Hogland who stepped in to give Jake a break in May! The Ranch expects to participate in the Wears Valley Fall Fest again this year and our students and staff are working to produce wood items to sell in support of the wood shop program at the Ranch. Thanks to John Jordan who completed the inventory in the New Shop Building this month. The information will be used to begin the process of selling the cabinet door panels, rails and stiles to make room for the new woodturning studio. Our thanks to Drue Hogland for donating a set of hollowing tools and a gouge to the Ranch workshop! Pharis Safety Corner In our May Newsletter, I asked the question, What is the most dangerous machine in your shop? Some said it was the band saw. Other thought it was the lathe. Still other the chain saw. Not even close. It is the computer in one s head. Without a clear head when operating any piece of machinery, you may be flirting with danger. Never operate any piece of machine if you are: 1. Drinking Alcohol 2. Tired 3. Mad 4. Trying something that you do not know how to do. Get expert assistance 5. Using the wrong tool to perform a task 6. Using dull tools 7. Wearing the wrong clothing for the job Your mind might think so, but is it thinking right? Safety Is Everyone s Number One Concern Nothing Even Comes Close July s Topic: OUCH! THIRD QUARTER WOODTURNERS CHALLENGE Based on our July Demo, you are invited to turn a Christmas Ornament and enter it into the competition at our August Meeting. Jim Vogelsang will be our judge. The winner earns a $25 Woodcraft Gift Card!

7 Page 7 of 11 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 7 of 11 Time to get started on Pens and Ornaments for 2017! Smoky Mountain Woodturners P. O. Box Knoxville, TN info@smwts.org Contact: Gordon Sloane Chapter President info@smwts.org Newsletter Editor Bob Law info@smwts.org Time to start work on our 2017 Service Projects. We ll need to produce hundreds of pens to support the Annual Turn for the Troops project. SMWTS and Woodcraft Knoxville support this worthwhile project each year. You can obtain supplies from About Our Organization The Smoky Mountain Woodturners Chapter of the AAW meets each month of the year on the 3 rd Tuesday of the Month. Our meeting place sponsor is Woodcraft Committee chairperson, Bruce Pharis at our upcoming meetings. Deadline is our October Chapter Meeting. It s also time to start working on our ornaments for the Childrens Hospital Fantasy of Trees. Jim Vogelsang is Knoxville. Meetings start at 6:30pm each month. Guests are always welcome. Woodcraft Knoxville is located at 8023 Kingston our committee chairperson for this worthwhile Annual Event. Each year we turn over 200 ornaments that are sold a la carte at the Fantasy of Trees over Thanksgiving Weekend. Ornaments can be turned in at Chapter Meetings through October. Pike in Knoxville, near Trader Joes and one block from West Town Mall. We re on the Web! See us at: Tom s Cartoon of the Month

8 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 8 of 11 Page 8 of 11 SPONSORS CORNER WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Woodcraft Knoxville is our meeting place sponsor. We are grateful for their continuing support of our Chapter and its various activities. Woodcraft Knoxville is offering our members two great ways to save on select purchases this summer. First up is their July Sale. Watch for the sale circular that provides more information on the items that will be included. We were pleased to welcome Joan Cannon from Madisonville who joined SMWTS at our June Meeting. Please take the time to get to know her at our next meeting. TURN FOR THE TROOPS We started our 2017 Turn for the Troops service project at our June Meeting. Thus far, 100 kits have been signed out. More kits will be available at our July meeting. Our club now has available, over 500 pen blanks for the slim line pen kits being supplied by Woodcraft. At our July meeting, please take as many blank pieces as you want. Just sign out the number of pen kits you take and when you return the finish pens, indicate the number you are returning. There is also on the sheet, a list of pen turning items that you can purchase from Woodcraft. Just indicate what you want and you will be notified by when your package is ready for pickup. Bruce Pharis, project chairman, threw out a challenge to the club. For every 5 completed kits, he will make one pen kit. Knowing that the club has lots of members, he scheduled himself to make 100 pens, so get your turnings in and make him turn even more pens. Next. During the months of June, July and August, Woodcraft Knoxville offers members of the Smoky Mountain Woodturners a club discount on many of the items in the store. (Their standard exceptions apply so not all brands are discounted). All you need to do is identify yourself as a club member and any savings will be passed along at the time of sale. If you would like to learn how to turn a pen, you have four options. 1. Take a class from George Barber at Woodcraft there is a charge for the class. 2. Make an appointment to work on Bruce s lathe in Rockwood, Tn. 3. Sign up to come to one of Woodcraft: Turn for the Troops Workshops. a. August 10:00am. Lunch will be catered by Gus s Chicken. b. November 11 10:00 am. 4. Teach yourself. Watch a few videos and within 5 pens, you will become an expert. You too will be making 1 pen complete in 15 minutes. If you would like to sign up for the August 19 th Pen Turning Workshop at Woodcraft, contact Bruce Pharis at PharisBL@gmail.com

9 Page 9 of 11 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 9 of 11 Photo Gallery

10 Page 10 of 11 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 10 of 11 One Antique Turns On Another By Tom Knight I never dreamed that one day I would turn on a lathe that was older than me. 39 years older as a matter of fact. A few weekends ago I was helping out some friends with their bi-annual Steam Day event on their farm. My normal task is to keep the boiler fired in their machine shop so kids can blow the steam whistle. That boiler also powers various pieces of equipment in the shop. One of which is a lathe. (actually two lathes: one for wood turning the other metal) The wood lathe is a unit built by the 1909 University of Tennessee engineering class. An engraved plate attached to the lathe bed authenticates that bit of history. The voyage of the lathe from UT to its current owner is somewhat of a mystery, but research may eventually fill in the history of the unit. I genuinely doubt that the lathe was built with the intent of being powered by a steam engine but that is its current status. In reality, any power source could be attached to the drive pulley to make the shaft on the headstock turn. The Setup NOTE: All pulleys referred to are flat pulleys and the belts are flat belts. In the machine shop there is an upright boiler with a firebox at the bottom. Fire in the firebox heats the water in the boiler above. The boiler holds about 75 gallons of water fed by opening a gate valve in an incoming water line. Steam produced above the water is piped over to a small steam engine. The steam engine was originally used to power a pump which pumped water out of coal mines. The single cylinder steam engine turns a shaft on which a 18 (?) pulley is attached. A 4 wide canvas/leather belt goes from this pulley up to another large pulley overhead. This second pulley is attached to a steel drive shaft that is suspended overhead the full length of the shop. Along this drive shaft other pulleys are attached sending power down to various pieces of equipment. Including a drill press, wood and metal lathes, etc. Adjacent to the wood lathe there is a setup with 8 pulleys; one idler and one drive pulley for the lathe. This setup also has a clutch handle to shift the drive belt from the idler pulley to the drive pulley. A little roofing tar on the drive pulley then a flip of the clutch handle to move the belt from the idler pulley to the drive pulley and you are off to the races. Well... more like off to a crawl. My best estimate is that I was turning at 200 rpm MAX! AH! But it IS a variable speed lathe. You can [1] let the pressure in the boiler drop by failing to keep the fire hot enough to boil water; [2] adjust the steam going from the boiler to the steam engine by using a gate valve in the steam line; OR (the most common) the belts start to slip on the pulleys thus slowing down the whole contraption. A little strategically placed roofing tar at the point of slippage can easily bring the system back up to speed. So the speed variability isn t typically something the woodturner intentionally does, but speed must be constantly dealt with. My Job Starting with the power from fire in the firebox: to heated water in the boiler: to steam in the boiler: to the steam engine: to pulleys: to belts: then finally to the pulley/clutch setup. I flipped the drive clutch handle shifting the drive belt from the idler to the drive pulley. Then; around went the shaft in the lathe headstock. I might add, by tightening the tailstock live center drive up into the spindle I was turning I could also slow the rpm considerably. It was a finesse touch to keep the tailstock tight enough to hold the spindle against the drive center on the head stock without slowing or stopping the rpm totally. So using a borrowed roughing gouge and a skew, away I turned for the better part of the day. Mostly made wood shavings. I also had to manage using a grinding wheel obviously used to sharpen Bush Hog blades, I did manage to keep some sort of edge on the tools and entertain the Steam Day visitors. The accompanying photo with the boiler in the very background, and the steam engine just in front of the boiler on the floor, next a drill press then me at the lathe.

turning on a steam powered lathe and you will kiss your lathe the next time you use it.

Wears Valley Ranch Holds Craft Show/Sale On June 10 th, Wears Valley Ranch held a Spring Artisan

We were pleased to see that our Woodturning Workshop group was well represented.

11 Page 11 of 11 SMWTS Monthly Newsletter Page 11 of 11 Great Experience Had a fun time and hope do it again at the next Steam Day Words of Advice SO, next time you think your lathe isn t up to snuff; try turning on a steam powered lathe and you will kiss your lathe the next time you use it. Plug in the lathe. Flip a switch. Make woodchips fly. Wears Valley Ranch Holds Craft Show/Sale On June 10 th, Wears Valley Ranch held a Spring Artisan Craft Sale in the Pavilion. We were pleased to see that our Woodturning Workshop group was well represented. Offered for sale were a selection of beautiful pens, hand turned wood tops, Ranch cutting boards, rolling pins, weed pots and even salt and pepper grinders! Students, past and present, manned the booth and did an outstanding job of selling the items to the public.

CHAPTER NEWSLETTER 2014 Issue 10 PROMOTING INTEREST IN WOOD TURNING

CHAPTER NEWSLETTER 2014 Issue 10 Chapter Newsetter October 2014 PROMOTING INTEREST IN WOOD TURNING Turning a Bowl from a Log with Drue Hogland The October Demo featured a start to finish review on how