Club Meeting: 27 November 2024
Report by: Ian Connelly

First the night started off with a brief discussion about Oyster Catchers, if you want to see some then the local hotspot is said to be Mangere Bridge – check with Dick for details.

Now on with the turning.

Started with a block about 60x60x250, mounted between steb centres.

With a spindle roughing gouge this was rapidly made round with the lathe running at about 1500rpm.

Strett then went on to make a spigot on one end, opps too small, so we ended up with a better sized spigot on the other end.

He then smoothed the piece with a skew chisel – pointing out to use removing waste wood as an opportunity to practice using the tools.

He then shaped the body with the spindle roughing gouge before separating it from the waste.

Then a jam chuck was used to tidy the other end – hot melt glue assisted the jam chuck.

Another piece of darker wood 50 x 50 was mounted in the chuck with the steb live centre supporting at the tailstock end.

It was then turned with a combination of the skew and the spindle gouge into a head for the bird.

Next a thin piece of wood, held in the centre of the chuck was turned for the legs, down to 6mm at the ends, with a “knee” in the middle. The legs were then cut at an angle and glues back together rotated to create a bent leg.

The legs were glued into 6mm holes in the body, and the head was glued on after creation a small flats on the head and body.

With the creative use of a piece of “natural” timber the Oyster Catcher was then mounted.

A great demo from Strett, who took all the audience suggestions in his stride to make it another very enjoyable night at the club.