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Bowl – Richard Johnstone

Club Demo: 15 June 2016
Written by Graeme Mackay

Richard started with a cheerful introduction and gentle lead in by opening with his key point; the need for sharp tools, always, sharp tools. Also, he reinforced the need to keep doing the sharpening. Not only that, he remembered the colour of the honing bars red blue yellow or was it yellow blue red. Whatever the colour or the system, the basics are sharp tools.

Naming your blanks: when question image and he puts his both date and name on the blanks when they are shaped. This protects a piece against all comers and has several sons. A good basic idea that gives an indication of when this piece was shaped up and put out for storage.

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In all standard starts, Mark the centre before putting on the faceplate and again before that, with great humour, discuss the options (as Richard noted even with yourself) and ensure the screws and holes the right size. Sometimes a simple operation that is missed.

The steps are straightforward and available on our club website. Go through the steps and verbalise each part of the process. Richard commented that saying is allowed often helped keep things ordered and avoid missing steps.

Restrain the aggression: when cleaning up the faceplate and getting things ready avoid being aggressive. Get the blank and balance and then start working on your plan. That is if you have a plan or a drawing. A point taken up not too much later in the demonstration.

Check your measurements: Do you have the correct chuck bite? Do you actually know the correct size? Do you have something to measure things with? All this to avoid later readjustment and correction of any miscalculations. A good direction for getting back to basics.

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The correct gouge: Do you have the correct gouge are making the rebate? And as Richard corrected the taper of the rebate he commented; did you checked instructions? Sometimes it’s the little things that really miss you up when you have to go back. Marking a bottle spot will resist resend train if needed corrections. Think through the process for the shape you want. Have you thought about the foot? Richard cheerfully mentioned the need for planning and drawing. A basic feature which helps that particularly nearly days of the first 200 bowls.

The foot: have you made a decision. There is a need to plan early and ensure that the correct amount of wood is left for the type foot that you’ve decided upon. Sometimes simple questions such as “is it easy to sand” will assist in back to basics approach. Again the cheerfulness Richard said look at the shape you have chosen and make sure that you have the appropriate tools close by and sharpened. All these items are on the checklist. If you can print them off.

Working through the items on the checklist avoids the need to go to Plan B or plan C or plan D….

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Along with this approach is a need to have your body position worked out. Ensure you have the correct placement of your feet. Can you move freely and complete the cutting exercise without interruptions making those lovely bumps and humps. Richard returned the conversation to early planning and the oft missed drawing a diagram. Planning can mean room for options; is there room on the rim to have an undercut. Will you be able to use some of the attractive grain in the wood?

A good joke about callipers; if there are no batteries for the digital callipers, do you have the batteries to run fingerometer to judge the thicknesses. In a back to basics approach, it is good to think about how you’ll take the spigot off. Some prior thought, and even some prior planning will make this a little easier and probably provide a better visual finish.

Richard commented that in this back to basics approach; just slow things down. Don’t rush. Have a thought about things, sharp and tools and enjoy yourself.

Lidded Box – Cam Cosford

Date : 25 May 2016
Author : John Whitmore

The intention was to take the audience through the basic procedure of making a lidded box (instructions can be found on the SAWG website). This morphed into a version that Cam makes based on the style of a Guilio Marcolongo jewellery box and characterised by a flared base; and with a top that is both flared and off-set. The point of difference was in using a Vermec Multi-Centre Chuck, theatrically described as a ‘wobbly chuck’. For simplicity of description, sanding and finishing stages are omitted.
The starting point was a side grain cylindrical blank of (unidentified) timber of 95mm diameter and at least 95mm long. This length allows enough waste for a sacrificial foot and from the separation of lid from base – but all dimensions are, of course, variable according to individual taste. 50mm spigots had already been turned on both ends, plus a drilled hole in the waste at the base end that would later be attached to the ‘wobbly chuck’. If matching of grain is desired, the likelihood is that straight-grained timber used in end grain format, will be necessary.

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The blank was held between centres by 50mm jaws with a Steb live centre as tailstock support. 22mm was parted off at the tailstock end to form the lid section, reversed and mounted into 50mm chuck jaws using the existing spigot, for later use.
The remaining, larger, base section was drilled close to final interior depth using a 60mm Forstner bit and finished with skew and square ended scrapers. The interior wall line was flared to approximately match the intended later flare of the outside. At the same time the rebated step for fitting the top, was formed, and must be parallel to the box axis.
It was now time to remount the lid piece in the 50mm chuck jaws ie with the eventual top surface facing the headstock. At this stage the lid was hollowed out and the corresponding rebate cut to match the base rebate, with a close interference (ie jam) fit.

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The base plus fitted lid was then mounted as one unit on the ‘wobbly chuck’ (set to zero and held in conventional jaws) – with the Steb live centre brought up for support while the outsides of both parts is ‘coved’ together to create the outside flare shapes. After this, tape is used to firmly secure the top to the base section and the tailstock support is removed. The spigot was turned off while the work was still on-centre; then the ‘wobbly chuck’ was adjusted to give whatever degree of offset is desired (in this case #24). Careful, offset doming of the lid was conducted by cutting with a bowl gauge against the grain (ie from the outside) to minimise edge chipping.
Discounting sanding and finishing, the final task was to separate the parts and reverse the base onto chuck jaws to turn off the waste wood into which the ‘wobbly chuck’ was screwed.

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Lidded box enthusiasts will be able to devise their own dimensions, styles and preferences based on this soundly demonstrated format.

Pepper Grinders – Norm Jenner

Club Meeting :  25 May 2016
Report by: Phread Thurston

Norm knows quite a bit about pepper grinders.  So lets get the confessions out into the open straight away.  This writer has never made one.  But this will not stop me describing Norm’s presentation.  I do know that I will make one in the future as it’s not too daunting.
Instead of turning timber Norm has a presentation board with the stages of the process in live form mounted upon it.  He then described each stage and some of the pitfalls that he had to overcome.  In discussing the presentation with another woody it was mentioned that you can see five or so pepper mill presentations and they will all tackle the task in a different way.

Norm discussing the finer points on the presentation board
Norm discussing the finer points on the presentation board

 

Now having shown how Norm went about the evening’s demonstration it’s not going to be written up here with all the instructions on how to make pepper grinders.

It is very clear that this is just not possible and if an error in the process is made then it’s in fact not even helpful.  But don’t fret if you want Norm’s detailed instructions given to the writer on the evening then contact South Auckland Woodturners Guild’s Secretary, provide your email address and a copy will be sent to you.

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A couple of interesting pepper grinders

Norm’s presentation was relaxed, interactive and covered all the trouble spots involved with turning pepper grinders.  With no actual turning the subject matter was covered quicker than it would have been otherwise.  However if we had turned one from go to completion it would have been very late indeed when we left our clubrooms.  The Crushgrind mechanical grinding mechanism is the preferred peppercorn grinding mechanism.  Cheaper mechanisms should be avoided as they will just not last.  Only two pepper grinders had been returned with problems.  Yes one of them had just simply run out of peppercorns.  Obviously Norm makes quality grinders.  He likes Forstner bits for doing the drilling and even though he sharpens them contrary to good practice ( honing the flat and not the bevel is good practise ) he has never had a problem.  He uses a very narrow saw when parting the top from the base.  The basic reason is to preserve the grain.  He likes Danish Oil to finish the grinders.

So the evening came to a close.  Norm did put a few shavings onto the floor just to give the nominated sweeper a job to do that night but this small part of the evening was not about pepper grinders.  Thank you for your demonstration Norm and yes I will have a go at making a pepper grinder.

Platter – Raed El Sarraf

Club Meeting : 11/05/16
Report by: Paige Palmer

Raed started this demonstration by talking about the size, shape and design of platters. While the SAWG instruction sheet recommends that platters be 300mm in diameter and have a depth of 15% of the diameter, the process for turning a platter is the same regardless of size. Raed demonstrated this by turning what he referred to as a ‘saucer’ – a small platter.

The first thing that Raed pointed out to us was a lesson that he learned the hard way – make sure that your final product is the right size to fit your cole jaws. You will need to turn your platter around and hold it in your cole jaws in order to turn off the spigot.

Speaking of spigots – typically when turning a platter you will have a fairly thin blank, however you should ensure that you have enough depth to create a spigot deep enough to fit your chuck. Other members of the guild suggest that you create one using hot melt glue or a PVA paper joint; however Raed isn’t too sure about these methods.
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Raed mounted his blank on the lathe, having drilled a hole with a forstner bit and expanded the jaws of the chuck. Alternatively, one could use a screw chuck (if the piece had enough depth) or a faceplate. After checking that his setup was safe, Raed went about turning his blank so that it ran true. He then cleaned up what would become the bottom of the platter and created a spigot.

Raed then started to create the shape of his platter. Raed said that he did not have a particular shape in mind for this piece – he was just going with what the wood showed him. While shaping the outside of the platter, Raed needed to be aware of the depth of the recess which was holding the piece to the chuck to make sure that he didn’t end up with a hole in the bottom of his platter!
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This is where Raed ran into a little bit of trouble. He was having a bit of trouble with the finish on the outside of his platter. Dick suggested that he check the grain of the wood, and encouraged him to make sure that he was cutting uphill, with the grain. After checking his positioning and trying again, Raed produced a finish that he was much happier with.

Once the outside of the platter was finished, Raed turned the piece around, mounted it in the chuck and started to hollow the inside. Raed reminded us to ensure that your spigot is the right size for your chuck so that the chuck holds the wood securely, with the jaws as close as possible. Raed then started to talk about making a border or a rim around the top of the platter. In decorative pieces, the rim of the platter provides a canvas for the turner to be creative and decorate to their hearts content. On this occasion, Raed made a rim that rose to a small lip towards the centre of the piece then dropped to create the hollow of the platter.
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Raed discussed one of the problems of working with thin pieces of wood – if it gets too thin it may start to vibrate on the lathe. This will produce a poor finish that can be hard to get out. To combat this challenge Raed ensured that he left a mass of wood at the centre of the platter while he hollowed around it for as long as he could. Once he reached the depth he was aiming for, he then carefully turned out the mass. Doing it this way reduces vibration in the piece and can increase stability while turning.

Finally, after hollowing the piece to a nice finish, Raed explained that he would mount the piece in cole jaws in order to turn off the spigot. Unfortunately Raed’s piece was too small for his cole jaws … but you get the idea!

Bowl Saving – Dick Veitch

Club Meeting: 4-May-2016
Report by:Gary McDonald

On display on table this evening were a set of four natural-edge bowl saved bowls from a pepper tree that Dick had turned some time ago – this term’s theme is Back to Basics, tonight’s topic was Bowl Saving.

Whilst commonly referred to as bowl saving, other terms may also be implied such as coring or centre-saving.

IMG_0876Dick kicked off by giving an overview of the business end – discussing the various clearance angles and rakes on the cutters of three bowl-savers. Two New Zealand manufactured products were on display: Woodcut Bowlsaver and the McNaughton Centre Saver, in addition Dick also covered the cutter on the Oneway, a Canadian coring system.   IMG_0879

Having owned and used the Woodcut I was keen the see the McNaughton demonstrated but unfortunately the handle was missing in action. This tool appears to offer greater options for coring but Dick stressed this is a judgement tool, that may take some time to become familiar with. Sourcing may also be an issue.  Carbatec are the distributors for Kelton Industries.  Also check the Library for a Mike Mahoney DVD on the McNaughton Centre Saver.
Onto the Woodcut.  Dick covered off the assembly and also showed the difference between the Guild’s bowl-saver and his own which has been modified to accept a longer cutting blade that Woodcut now offer.  Sharp is key with a quick refresher on honing the Steelite tip was useful.

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Mounting a blank of kauri roughly 350 in diameter Dick commented that he has managed to bowl save up to six bowls from one blank with the Woodcut. Forming a spigot – another useful tip noted was that by using larger chuck jaws these are able to absorb the cutting pressure better when bowl saving. It is recommended finishing the outside of the bowl and if coring green wood this can be achieved by wet sanding. Use of a reversing mandrel makes remounting the blank more accurate – another item for the tool kit.

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One thing I have noted with purchasing kiwi made woodturning tools is that the manufacturers in the main have good written instructions and advice on setup and use. I still have the video on my early Woodcut Bowl Saver and the advice in the early booklet on setup discusses using callipers to determine the mounting/cutting position. The later models offer templates to assist with setup or an optional extra is a laser guide.

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Setting the lathe to 500-600rpm in this instance the general thrust, no pun intended, is nice and steady using the body where possible to support the cutting pressure. With the pivot point set some 20mm towards the turner, the longer blade, in this instance, allowed for a clean cut right to the centre rather than having to knock the inner core out if the shorter blade had been used.

Time passed quickly and this was a timely refresher as I have some bowl saving to do coincidentally it is pepper wood that I am planning on coring. Thanks Dick another insightful demo.

Segmented Work – Keith Hastings

Keith Hastings sent me a document with some of his stunning segmented work to share, enjoy.


These are photos of a few of my segmented and open segmented work and a little bit about them. All my work is finished off with Teak oil.
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    1.   Segmented large Greek Vase.
      Segmented Greek Vase 230 mm diameter x 380 mm high turned from Fijian Kauri and Mahogany finished off with Teak oil.Hastings02
    2. 3D Segmented Bowl.
      It’s a 3 dimensioned segmented bowl turned from Fijian Kauri 220 mm diameter x 90 mm high the 3D part is constructed from Kahikatea, Kauri and Mahogany cut into diamond shaped segments glued and finished off with Teak oil.Hastings03
    3. 3D Platter.
      3 Dimensioned segmented platter 300 mm in diameter with segmented Kauri outer surround the 3D part is constructed from Kahikatea and Mahogany.Hastings04
    4. Oak Segmented Clock.
      The Oak clock started out as a solid Oak platter that warped and buckled so badly that I couldn’t turn it out, so cut it up into segments and reconstructed it as a segmented clock 350 mm in diameter finished with Teak oil.Hastings05
    5. Open Segmented Bowl.
      Open Segmented Fruit Bowl turned from Oak with a Kauri rim and base, this started out as a solid Oak bowl which buckled and warped so badly I couldn’t  turn it out so I cut it up into segments, reconstructed it and then re-turned it 350 mm in diameter x 150 mm high.Hastings06
    6. Open Segmented Christmas Lantern.
      Christmas Lantern is open segmenting Rimu and Fijian Kauri. 140 mm diameter x 200 mm high.Hastings07
    7. Segmented Fruit Bowl.
      Segmented fruit bowl turned from Kahikatea and Fijian Kauri 260 mm diameter x 90 mm high.Hastings08
    8. Segmented Oriental Bowl.
      Oriental Bowl 150 mm in diameter x 150 mm high, turned from Radermachera ( China Doll ).Hastings09
    9. Segmented Teardrop Urn.
      Teardrop segmented urn turned from Tasmanian Oak and Jarrah 150 mm diameter x 150 mm high.Hastings10
    10. Wooden Flower
      Wooden flower I turned from Macrocarpa a few years ago using the inside outside turning technique.  Something a little bit different from turning a bowl.