Vice Chairman s Report September 2012

Transcription

1 YewTurn The Monthly Magazine for Norwich Wood Turners Affiliated to the association of Wood Turners of Great Britain Vice Chairman s Report September 2012 Greetings all, Ivan is away on holiday so he has asked me to produce a report for the September YewTurn. At our August meeting we had a demonstration by Chris Norton who showed us how he makes his clocks using both spindle and cross grain turning techniques. You will find Jon s detailed report later so I will say no more about it apart from commenting on Chris s use of a hand held flat scraper. This scraper was made from an industrial planer blade and was held against the work, without using the tool rest, to produce a flat surface. I will try this myself, but it will be with great caution because if there is a dig-in the blade could be launched in my direction: full face protection will be essential, together with a very light touch on the wood. I will let you know how it goes. As you will all know we have a full day demonstration on October 13 by Les Thorne who is an excellent woodturner and great entertainer. The committee has decided to make this event free to all paid-up club members so please come along, I am certain you will not be disappointed. This will be the second YewTurn produced by our new editor, Jon Simpson, and I am sure that you will agree that he made a good start with the August issue. Having been editor for several years myself I know how important it is to get feedback and help from club members. Jon will welcome any contributions and articles you can offer and any comments that you have about the content and presentation, both positive and negative. If you are able to contribute an interesting item don t worry about grammar, punctuation and spelling if it s not your forte, that s what editors are for. Finally, I would like to remind you that the September meeting is a hands on evening. This is your chance to try out a range of tools and lathes and seek help for any problems you might have. If you are having trouble with a particular tool, project or technique bring them in, we have a wide range of experience among our members and someone will usually have an answer. See you there, Barry YewTurn No September 2012 Page 1

2 FOR SALE A VICMARC VL300 variable speed lathe is offered for sale, in good working order. The price is o.n.o. If you are interested, please contact Roger Lowry on r e- mail him at rfl1@btinternet.com for more information. Library Picture John Mortimer has a set of Henry Taylor Diamic turning tools for sale o.n.o. You can contact John on , or via mortimer308@btinternet.com Ron Gibbons has a NuTool MC900W lathe for sale. Speed range is from 500 to 2000 rpm and the distance between centres is 851mm. The lathe comes complete with turning tools, a live centre, an RP4000 chuck with long nose jaws, a face plate, and a Jacobs chuck You can contact Ron on for more information. Cressing Temple - The European Woodworking Show There has been a change of heart on the tickets for the above show. I have talked the venue holders into sending the tickets to me, to be distributed and paid for at the next meeting. If you do not intend to attend the September meeting then please let me know either by or phone, asap, so that I can get the tickets to you. I would, of course prefer you all to attend the meeting to make it easy for me. Happy days. Grumpy YewTurn No September 2012 Page 2

3 The Chris Norton Demonstration - 3rd August 2012 Chris is an amateur who has been turning for about 15 years and is a member of the Norfolk and Kings Lynn clubs. Much of his early turning was centred around decorated fruit and vegetables, but now, his skill has moved him into many other areas. His excitement comes from spindle turning in general, plus the ability to take a log and then convert it into something special. Memorable moments include any demonstration that gives pleasure to others and he gets irritated at people that turn a piece over to look at the bottom. We were to be treated to a demonstration of how to make a bandstand clock using English Cherry. Clearly, there was much too much to do to make a finished piece, so lots of pre-turning had been done to prepare the blanks and very little finishing would be done. To that end, sanding, sealing and finishing will not be mentioned in these notes, I will leave it up to you to add those bits at the appropriate stages should you choose to have a go. Chris normally uses sanding sealer, friction polish and carnauba wax. Much more important here is to show the method to be used. So on with the turning. A bandstand clock consists of a base, a top, four columns, a clock mount, a finial, and upper and lower clock supports. For the base, a piece of cherry measuring about 2" thick by 8" diameter was mounted on a screw chuck and was then trued up on the face and edge with a bowl gouge, and the open face was smoothed with a long blade scraper made from an old planer blade. A chucking recess was added in the centre, and decorative detail was incorporated into the centre in the form of rings and a small hollow. Re-mounted using the chucking point, the open face was true up, and with a bowl gouge, he cut a series of steps down the edge. Use your eye as a good gauge to get all the steps equal in size, then use the long point of a skew to clearly define the inner corner of each step. finally, use a cheese wire to burn in each of the inner angles. The final touch, mark the centre before you take it out of the chuck. YewTurn No September 2012 Page 3

4 With a blank for the top section on a screw chuck, true up the faces and add a gentle ogee curve to the open face, curling down to what will be the bottom edge. Add a burn ring to the edge to give it a highlight. Drill a pilot hole in the centre allowing the piece to be remounted on the screw chuck, then face off what is now the bottom of the top. At this point Chris showed us a Perspex template he uses to mark hole drilling patterns each at 90 degrees to each other on the pieces. Choose which edges will be "front of clock" then the top of the base and the underside of the top each need 4 half inch holes drilling close to the edge. In addition, both pieces need a hole drilling "back of centre" to mount the clock, and the top also needs an "on centre" mounting hole for the finial. For the columns, mount the first blank between centres and round off. Having decided on the length of column you want, mark the blank with the desired length, allowing for a mounting spigot at both ends. Using callipers, or an old open ended spanner of the appropriate size, turn down the spigots at both ends. These will need to be a correct fit into the holes you have already drilled in the top and the base. Double check the column length you are cutting by measuring the length between the shoulders of the blank. If care is not taken to get it right it will not fit together. Using a spindle gouge, turn a large bead at both ends, add other bead and cove detail as you feel fit, and turn the main length of the column, tapering from bottom to top. For the other 3 columns, simple copy turning can be achieved by mounting your master column just behind the lathe bed so that you can easily see the piece in the lathe and the master. Quite often, the best gauge to use is the eye. Now the central unit to hold the clock. True up and face off a blank, and mark the correct diameter on the open face to take the clock mechanism. Hollow the front with a combination of round and square end scrapers, making YewTurn No September 2012 Page 4

5 the hole large enough to allow the clock to be a nice sliding fit. Don't forget to add some detail inside the clock recess. With the mechanism inserted, mark the rim for a very small overhang on the open face. This will help reduce the impact of the clock mount. With a sharp bowl gouge, reduce the overall diameter to that marked on the face. Mark the edge to denote the finished thickness of the clock mount, and add detail to the edge with rings and a texturing tool. Reverse chuck the piece to removed the marked waste section from the back, add detail, and drill 2 half inch holes into the edge, having decided which is to be top and bottom of the clock mount. The finial. With a spindle mounted in the chuck, make it as simple or complicated as you like. Allow enough timber at the base to make the mounting spigot, then proceed with a combination of beads, coves and fillets to make the finial of your choice. At this point, Chris made the classic mistake. While he explained the best way to hold a gouge to reduce the risk of a dig in... BANG... all of a sudden we were into extreme offset turning. With the piece put back in the chuck, the damage was repaired, ring detail was added, and the finial was done, finally, allowing the mounting spigot to be cut followed by parting off. The clock mount is supported between the top and bottom by a pair of turnings. The top piece consisted of nothing more than a half inch wide bead between two mounting spigots. For the bottom support, assemble all the pieces you have made so far, and measure the gap between the top of the base and the bottom of clock mount. This is the finished length you need for the bottom support. Like the 4 main columns, this piece consists of nothing more than a pair of mounting spigots separated by a series of beads, fillets and coves. A complicated piece to attempt in an evening demonstration, but well done Chris, a demonstration which was well received. YewTurn No September 2012 Page 5

6 The Wizard Of The Workshop This is the first in a series of articles being contributed by a little known but highly skilled wood turner of some 30 years experience. Here he describes an alternative friction drive centre (let's also hope he knows how to put a plug on that lamp). These drive centres have an advantage over regular 2 prong, 4 prong, and steb centres, in that they drive using nothing more than friction, a big advantage for the learner. The merest hint of a heavy cut or a dig in will stop the work piece from rotating. Our secret contributor says: I recently read an article in an AAW magazine entitled, Shop Made Cup Centres. After obtaining a stub arbour (Axminster part no ), I proceeded to make one for myself. I already use a friction drive centre from Reg Sherwin, which I find is very good for when I m teaching. The main differences with the one that I made, is that the diameter of the ring drive is 7/8 instead of 5/8 in the Sherwin drive centre, and uniquely, has a 1/8 diameter straight pin projecting a ¼ from its face. This also increases accuracy in centring if the wood is reversed end for end. The first picture shows the tools I used in the making, including a suitable drill bit for the size of pin. I used a masonry nail to make the pin. With a 1/8 bit in the tailstock chuck I drilled the centre ¾ deep. The recessing and profiling was done with a 3/8 square section HSS scraper with the lathe running at about 500 rpm.. The second picture shows the completed job with my Sherwin centre on the left, my home made version in the middle, and on the right is a blank arbour. The stub arbour is 1 in diameter which allows a tapered circular rim of 7/8 diameter, to be in contact with the wood. The tool rest needs to be adjusted to a height which will allow the tool to cut in line with the centre of the rotating arbour. A depth of 1/8 will be fine for the recess, and the slope coming up to the rim is not critical. I have a slight negative rake on my scraper, and I found that the tool cuts well with the grinding burr removed. I used Araldite to fix the pin in place, making sure that the point projected no further than ¼ from the top of the ring. W O W YewTurn No September 2012 Page 6

7 Turn East 2012 On Saturday 18th August, I and about eighteen other club members attended Turn East at Fakenham High School to watch a day of first class demonstrations by four leading British turners. The seminar is a bi-annual event run by the Norfolk Woodturning Society and takes place in the years between the AWGB Loughborough seminar. The four turners were Bob Chapman, Mark Sanger (who we have had at our club), Richard Findley (Woodturning magazine writer) and Jason Breach who is a tutor for the Axminster Turning School. We were not disappointed. Each turner did four sessions, with a different subject in each one. The first one I watched was Mark, who turned an off-centre lidded vase. Every step was explained in full detail, including tool angles and presentation, and also Mark s thinking on the design of the piece. Full method of making this piece can be found on his blog for download at After the morning tea break, we watched Richard. He is a qualified carpenter and joiner who discovered woodturning as a hobby about 9 years ago, and is now pursuing it as a career. He is a Tudor Rose member who simply loves turning. So far as wood is concerned, he favours clean, simple forms, and anything that people will pay him to make. Richard demonstrated the making of a walking stick. Using only a roughing gouge and a very cleverly constructed long wooden tool rest, clamped at one end to the tailstock and propped up in the middle with a block of wood. The method of making these seemed very simple and may be worthwhile trying. If only my lathe was long enough!!! He told us afterwards that he gets paid 18 for each one and they retail at over 100, but he can, however, make 3 or 4 in an hour. YewTurn No September 2012 Page 7

8 A buffet lunch followed provided by Jean, our shop lady, and was appreciated by all. The next demonstration was with Bob Chapman. Bob is a professional who has now retired from the craft fair circuit. When asked what he enjoys making the most, he feels the need to say that he'll make 'anything you want, as long as its round' but the question often makes him feel inadequate because he does not have that single item' specialty that seems to be expected of him. As well as actually turning, he now spends much of his time teaching woodturning skills and demonstrating to clubs and other interested groups. He showed us how to make a small acorn box using pieces of Sycamore and Mahogany. His tool work was superb and once again every step was explained, both on the white board and verbally. The finished piece was superb. Yet another cup of tea and the final demonstration by Jason who made us what he calls a bubble lidded box. Once again tool work was exquisite and one of the tools he used, a skew chisel, had no handle and was sharpened concave on one side and convex on the other, and it worked a treat. This was a first class demo. All of a sudden the day was over, and after a final closing down speech in the main hall all 130 delegates started to make the journey home to all parts of the Eastern Counties. To a man, all had had a fabulous day and I shall certainly be inviting two of the demonstrators to the Norwich club next year. Happy Days. Grumpy Brian Elmar says: As we all get older and things start to slow down a little, the one thing that is quite frustrating is our eye sight, the old saying comes to mind, "my eyes are dim I cannot see, I have not brought my specks with me". I have a 5 ft. fluorescent tube over my lathe and I was quite surprised at the amount of dust that had collected on the top and partly down the sides of the tube. After a good clean the difference in the light was quite amazing. Thought this might be of use to some of the club members, and by the way, my turning is no better but now I can see all the faults and scratches much clearer. Brian YewTurn No September 2012 Page 8

9 A Letter From The Editor For those that are wondering, this is not going to be a regular feature in the newsletter, it will only appear when I feel I have something that needs to be said. First, I need to say thanks to the many club members who noted their approval of my first newsletter for the club (issue 68). Clearly, the format and content met with your approval. Second, there is no way that I am able to attend the club meeting on 7th September. I am double booked, and she that matters most says the other booking takes precedence. Who am I to argue. In my absence, Barry has offered to take a few notes and pictures at the hands on event, so if you are turning on the night, please help, and make sure that your bit of demonstration is notified to Barry. Naturally, if you want, you can always send me 20 or 30 words on an about what you were doing on the night. Try to include a picture if you can. In the same vein, I would welcome any input from the members regarding what turns up on the display table. Any words and pictures will be most welcome. A final comment. I now have proof that Grumpy is a forward thinking, man of the future. This month he sent me his "Turn East" report, it was headed "20012". Yes, most certainly, he is "our man of the future". Jon Simpson The Les Thorne Demonstration - Saturday 13th October On Saturday October 13th, the club will be holding an all day demonstration by well known Woodturner and cheeky chappie, Les Thorne. This will be a free day for paid up club members and 10 for non members. Les gives an excellent demonstration, with loads of wit and banter, so it is hoped that there will be a good turnout by members, including those that do not normally attend these sessions. It will be a good insight to a very good days entertainment, and we hope that as many members as possible turn up. Tickets will be available, hopefully at the August meeting. So put it in your diary and come along. You will not be disappointed. Grumpy YewTurn No September 2012 Page 9

10 Table Critique by Chris Norton Once again, the table seemed to be overflowing, maybe we could spread the offerings out more, then we can all appreciate the individual pieces a little more. Chris noted that there were many quality items on the table, showing a variety of skills and techniques. Of particular interest was a nut cracker bowl exhibiting excellent finishing with sanding sealer and lacquer, even on the bottom. The fixing for the nut cracker was concealed with a matching wooden plug. Several pieces from Barry Mobbs received excellent comments. Club Tools Available For Loan The club has several tools available for members to borrow. Please enquire with the person noted below, or any other member of the committee. Record DML305 Lathe See Barry Mobbs Woodcut Bowl Saver } Ashley Isles Unichaser } See Dave Wilcox Robert Sorby Texturing Tool } Axminster Reciprocal Carver } Record DX1000 Dust Extractor } Robert Sorby Eccentric Chuck } See Roger Groom Record 6 grinder and Axminster sharpening system } YewTurn No September 2012 Page 10

11 Forthcoming Events For Your 2012 Diary Sat 22nd/Sun 23rd Sep. Friday 5th October Saturday 13th October Friday 2nd November 23rd/24th/25th November Friday 2nd December The European Woodturning Show, Cressing Temple Barns. The Ralph Jones Trophy Night. All Day Demonstration By Les Thorne. Jon Simpson Demonstrates Pen Turning. The North of England Woodworking Show at Harrogate. Andy Coates Demonstration. Norwich Woodturners - Committee Contact List Chairman: Ivan Tatnell ivan.tatnell@btinnternet.com Vice Chairman: Barry Mobbs norwichwoodturner@btinternet.com Secretary: Roger Groom roger.groom@btinternet.com Treasurer: Roger Lowry rfl1@btinternet.com Webmaster: Dave Wilcox webmaster@norwichwoodturners.co.uk Member: Darren Breeze ddbreeze@fsmail.net Co-opted Editor: Jon Simpson jonandbron@googl .com Co-opted Librarian: Ben Palmer benpalmer24@yahoo.com Co-opted Member: Nigel Law nlaw@btconnect.com Web Site: And Finally For This Month - Chineese Sick Leave Hung Chow calls into work one day and says, "Hey, I no come work today, I really sick. Got headache, got stomach ache, legs hurt, I no come work." The boss says, "You know something, Hung Chow, I really need you today. When I feel like this, I go to my wife and tell her to give me sex. That makes everything better and I go to work. You try that." Two hours later Hung Chow calls into work again, and says "I do what you say boss, and feel great. I be at work soon,... hey, you got nice house!" YewTurn No September 2012 Page 11