Club Meeting: 3rd July 2019 Reported by: Murray Wilton
David’s subject was simply and plainly “Just a Box” and he began by showing samples of lidded “boxes” he has made for worthy causes, like families who had lost a child through cancer. In the “Beads for Courage” programme a glass butterfly is placed in the box to commemorate the courage of an ailing child.
Choosing ash for his work, David mounts the block in two 50 mm chucks, one at each end and turns to 100 mm diameter, then re-mounts in a chuck at one end and a steb centre at the other, or two steb centres can be used. He first shapes the body of the box ensuring that the top is straight so the lid will fit snugly.
Once the bottom has been turned to desired shape, David separates it from the lid (top) and removes it from the lathe. He then remounts the lid in the chuck and cleans off the face. He carefully marks the diameter of the bottom on this face and proceeds to hollow the lid. Aiming for a snug fit, slightly on the loose side so it won’t jam. To achieve this it is essential to work slowly and measure constantly.
Once he has the fit correct David continues hollowing the lid and rounding off the outside as far as he can reach around the chuck jaws. Now is the last chance to do any inside lid finishing work and sanding because it won’t be possible when the lid is removed from the chuck.
Next step is to re-mount the lid on a smaller chuck gripping the inside of the lid and using tape or sheet rubber to avoid marking the rim. A jam chuck is another alternative holding system. Now the exterior finishing can be completed. This includes drilling a suitable sized hole (6 mm) for the addition of an ebony knob or finial which will be glued into the hole.
Finally, David re-mounts the base of the box to remove the spigot and complete any necessary finishing.
Thanks to David for giving us a nice end of term project to think about in our club’s quest to do good things for others. (See the SAWG web site under Projects for more information and box plans.)
Club Meeting: Wednesday 26th June Report by : Emma James-Ries
This week we had Ian doing a demonstration. As this terms theme is back to basics, Ian showed us some examples of spindle work shafts with cross grain timber bases. Examples included wig stands and paper towel holders. For the demo, Ian chose to make a scissor and string stand for the kitchen bench. Ian highlighted the fact that these projects are not only good practice for new turners, but they are very economical with the wood quantity and you can make them out of old bits of recycled timber that you might have lying around.
For Ian to make the base for the holder, he first found the centre of the square block of Kahikatea. After checking that the lathe was aligned properly, Ian used a friction drive chuck and a steb centre to hold the wood while he turned off the corners. Ian mentioned that he prefers a steb centre, because it has a spring loaded pin which results in a better grip, as there’s constant pressure against the wood. A bowl gouge is ideal for this type of work, a roughing gouge should be used.
Once the base was rounded off, Ian made a 50ml spigot. He then mounted the spigot on the lathe and proceeded to drill a hole in the base for the shaft to sit in. He did this by using a sharp 13ml Forstner bit. Dropping the speed, Ian made the hole, emphasising the importance of keeping the bit moving so as not to polish or overheat your work. Once the hole was drilled, Ian shaped the base, something that looked good and made him happy. Ian reminded us to always think about your end position, where you will end up after a cut, and to make sure that position is comfortable before you start a cut. Once Ian was happy with the shape, he went through the sanding process using all the grits and tidied up any tear out by hand sanding. The next stage was removing the spigot from the base. Several options were mentioned (between a foam faceplate and steb centre etc) but Ian chose to use two steb centres and turn the spigot down to the steb size. He then retracted the tailstock steb and used a Jacobs chuck and sanding mandrel to remove the last of the spigot.
To make the stand shaft, again Ian marked the centres of the block of wood and mounted it between steb centres. Ian demonstrated using both the roughing gouge and the dreaded skew chisel, noting that turning speed is your friend during this process. By rubbing the skew bevel Ian did some nice planing cuts to round off the shaft. Once the shape was made, Ian showed us the block method of sanding, by holding sand paper over a solid flat surface, you can push it against the shaft to make sure it is even in thickness. Something that is great to do when turning rolling pins etc.
Once he was happy with the shaft, he went on to make the small spigot that would fit into the 13ml hole he’d made in the base. He did this with the parting tool on a slight angle so as to undercut the spigot to make a tight fit.
Next in the process was making the hole in the top of the shaft, in which to hold the scissors. Ian said you could either hold the shaft in the centre of a 50ml chuck, using tape to prevent marking, or you could use pin jaws, which is what he demonstrated. He made the hole using a twist drill mounted on the tail stock. Once the hole was drilled, he used a tiny spindle gouge to smooth out the edges of the hole. Finally there was some shaping done to the end of the shaft and then he assembled it to complete the holder. A great project for those who wish to practice their spindle work and make something useful, thank you Ian!
Demo by Bruce Wood (based on an Eli Avisera design) Report by: Robin de Haan Meeting: 19 June 2019
Comprises of three pieces: Cup, Stem and Base. The form is like an elongated stem goblet.
Bruce: “First you make a cup then streeetch it out”
Don’t wear sandals. Do wear a face mask. Stop the lathe before moving the tool rest.
Use fine grained wood with a straight grain for the stem, at least 400mm long, greater than 11mm wide.
Block of wood that will form both the cup and base, about 70mm wide, 150mm long.
Round and Prepare Spindle
Centre Punch both sides of the block.
Mount block between a drive centre in the headstock and a live centre in the tailstock.
At 2000rpm, using a spindle roughing gouge, turn round. Start from ends to centre (to prevent splintering ends).
Turn to a (70mm) cylinder. Leave headstock end 70mm wide.
Turn a large extruding spigot 60mm or larger on the tailstock side (this will become the bottom of the base). Square off the tailstock side. Dimple centre. Move tailstock away for the next stage.
Start the Bottom of the Base.
In the same orientation, move the round to 70mm diameter in self centering jaws (Bruce used 70mm ‘Infinity’ jaws).
Using a bowl gouge, turn the 60mm diameter end slightly concave (so the base will sit stably), and make a 25.4mm wide recessed spigot (for expanding pin jaws). Add centre dimple.
Finish bottom of base with optional pattern and ‘picture frame’ lines.
Start Hollowing the Cup.
Put the 60mm (bottom of base end) into the jaws and clamp them closed. Tool rest across end (perpendicular to bed).
At 500rpm, using a 5mm drill bit, go in 50mm (to help hollow and locate the ‘bottom of the cup’ depth).
At 2000rpm, using a bowl gouge, hollow the cup.
After shaping the cup centre hollow, Bruce used the wing of the gouge with a pull cut (‘back cut’) from centre to edge to finish the cup inner surface.
At 2500rpm, using the edge of a negative rake scraper (prefer carbide cutter blade), tidy and finish inside. Move tool rest away.
At 500 rpm, sand as prefered (Bruce used 120, 240, 320)
Bring tailstock up and drill out the cup centre (for the stem socket). Then move the tailstock to the end of the bed to avoid punctured elbows.
Outside of Cup
Move tool rest parallel to bed.
At 2000rpm, with spindle roughing gouge, roughly shape the cup upper rim to about 65mm in diameter.
Mark the cup inner depth (50mm) on the outside with pencil, and where the cup outer curve will reach bead (about 55mm).
Starting at rim, cut downhill, with a ‘cyma recta’ ogee curve, to the diameter of the cup bead (i.e leave more than 15mm at centre which will become the cup bead). Aim for about 5mm wall thickness.
Finish with a small spindle roughing gouge, measuring wall thickness with calipers as required. Don’t sand yet.
Outside of Base
Keep mounted as is on the lathe, at 2000rpm. Mark 30mm from headstock.
With a spindle roughing gouge, starting at the headstock side, shape from the jaws a cove (forming the top of the base). Leave centre at 10mm for the base bead.
Use a small spindle roughing gouge to finish shaping the surface. Move tool rest away.
At 500rpm, sand the surface if the base (Bruce sanded in reverse from 120, 240, etc).
Sand the Cup
Using a thumb inside the cup to brace against sandpaper pressure, sand the cup outer.
Supporting the outside of the cup, sand the inside.
Shape the Cup Bottom and Part
Mark bead and end of cup bottom.Tool rest parallel to bed.
At 2000rpm, use a tiny spindle gouge to carefully shape the bead cove down to 7mm.
Use a tiny parting tool to cut the cup from the lathe.
Shape the Base Top
Take the big jaw chuck off the lathe. Put small expandable pin jaws in. Expand them into the 24.5mm recessed spigot in the base bottom.
At 2000rpm, using a spindle roughing gouge, roughly shape the base.
Mark the base proportions – including the base bead – with pencil. (Bruce says “I don’t bother to get the dimensions too accurate).
Bring the tailstock up. At 500rpm, with the 5mm drill bit, drill out the base centre to 20mm depth (which will become the bottom socket for the stem). Then move the tailstock away.
At 2000rpm, with a mini spindle roughing gouge, shape a gentle cove ‘downhill’ from the tailstock side, to the outer diameter of what will be the bead.
Use a small spindle gouge to finish shaping the outside.
Then use a tiny spindle gouge to shape the bead. Use calipers to measure the bead cove is down to 6-7mm (carefully don’t cut into the socket.)
At 500rpm, sand with grit as required to desired finish. “There’s nothing wrong with using sandpaper for some final shaping”, Bruce says.
Decorate as desired. Bruce mentions a ‘texture tool’ will give different results depending on pressure, rpm and angle against surface. Quickly sand over again in reverse with finest sandpaper.
The Stem “It’s good to have fine, straight grain”
Take the wood shaft, 400mm long and 11wide. Measure and mark the lower ornamentation first: The 20mm bottom pin, 5mm bead and 30mm taper, and leave at least 5mm for a bottom spigot. Although these are turned last, you will want to know where the bottom taper begins as you finish rounding the stem.
Mount the shaft through the drive centre, preferably using a small pin chuck (or can be mounted in the middle of self centering jaws (or pen turning chuck?)) with most of the length right through the drive centre hole, and only 40mm protruding. Stem Cup Pin, Bead and Top Reduction Taper
Measure the cup pin hole (Bruce’s was about 24mm long and 5mm wide). Mark depth on shaft.
At 2000rpm using spindle roughing gouge turn a pin exactly as wide as the cup hole. Measure pin with calipers periodically (don’t take too much off “You can’t put wood back on”). Test using the cup to see if it fits (spin lathe by hand, while placing cup to pin).
Mark bead depth. Turn the top the the stem bead with tiny spindle gouge. Finish with skew chisel.
Pull shaft another 30mm out of drive centre. Mark the taper depth.
Complete bead bottom and cove with spindle gouge.
Use spindle roughing gouge to turn the reduction taper from 10mm bead diameter to 5mm stem shaft diameter.
Sand bead and taper to finish. Stem Shaft
Install ‘French steady’ into tail stock. (Detailed guidance better obtained elsewhere!) Put the French steady waxed string into the cove between stem bead and taper. The waxed string should be looped around the French steady mounting pins to provide support in all directions while not impeding spin. Bruce “Not too tight or the string will melt.” Question “Why not use a 5mm bearing in the tail stock?” Answer “That’s not how it’s done”.
Pull the shaft another 50mm from drive centre. Turn to 5.1mm diameter. Bruce used digital calipers to check 5mm diameter while the lathe was spinning.
Skew to finish to 5mm using hand support on the other side to counter chisel force. Measure often with calipers.
Bring another 50mm of shaft out of the drive centre. Gentle use Spindle roughing gouge and then skew to round. Bruce: “Work down 1mm at a time.”
Sand the previous 100mm. Remember to use hand support.
Pull more of the shaft out to where the start of the bottom taper is marked (see step 39), about 40mm.
Spindle roughing gouge to 5.1mm then skew, with hand support. Sand with hand support.
Stem Bottom taper, Bead and Base Pin
Pull shaft another 40mm out of drive centre for the stem taper and base bead. (The stem may flex quite a bit across the 250mm mid length.)
Spindle roughing gouge to turn taper from 5mm to 10mm, and round 5mm more for bead. Skew to finish.
Spindle gouge to turn cove and bead. Sanding.
Use a spindle roughing gouge to shape the base pin down to 5.1mm, and a skew to finish. Check with calipers. Test against the goblet base. Last sanding.
Club Meeting: 5 June 2019 Report by: Murray Wilton
Cam’s subject was actually a segmentation goblet with angled lamination, but the process of planning and preparing the materials and tools was well illustrated. Starting with the story of his first introduction to SAWG and woodturning eight years ago, Cam brandished a massive 25 mm bowl gouge he had been persuaded to buy at Carbatec and suggested he might turn a delicate goblet with it. A little like using a chain saw to cut match sticks.
Cam emphasised that goblet-turning is fine work requiring scrupulous accuracy, and that he personally works to tolerances in the 0.00237 range. (How do you measure that?) The point is that for this kind of segmented work even the starting block has to be dead accurate so that the diagonal end measurements are precisely the same. A little outside the tolerance and the resulting patterns will not align correctly.
Contrasting timbers are needed in order to get the best outcome with the final goblet pattern. Cam was using maple inserts in a block of dark wood (not sure what it was).
As with all projects it is important, Cam teaches us, to start with a plan drawn to scale. The first task is to cut four slots in the bowl end of the goblet block using a drop saw. To prevent the cut intruding into the stem of the goblet Cam has devised a jig which keeps the block sufficiently far from the saw backstop to prevent this happening. All meticulously measured of course. The wedge shaped cuts are to take the maple lamination inserts.
CC Hint No. 1 To prevent the saw blade gripping the timber at the end of the cut and damaging it, always turn the saw off before lifting the blade from the work.
The 10 mm maple inserts are then glued into the cuts and allowed to dry before turning begins. They must be tight as or, in Cam’s inimitable words, “they will wobble round like a how’s your father in a shirt sleeve”!
With the bowl end of the goblet already turned and mainly finished with the Beale system, Cam demonstrated how to finish the stem of the goblet. He uses a jam chuck in the goblet bowl end at the tailstock, and mounts the base end of the stem in a chuck. He set the lathe speed at 800-1000 mm (and couldn’t understand why the lathe wouldn’t start until he realised that Terry S had mischievously turned the switch off while his back was turned). During the demo he occasionally leaned on the speed control dial and inadvertently changed the speed, causing more mirth among the spectators. Using a 55 degree bowl gouge (10 mm, not the 25 mm giant tool!) Cam started working carefully on the stem.
CC Hint No. 2 When working on north-to-south grain timber always work from each end towards the middle to avoid going against the grain.
As the stem became slimmer, Cam’s work became increasingly careful, taking off small bites of timber (more like dust than shavings) to avoid a disastrous jam and a ruined masterpiece. Eventually he got it down to his planned 5 mm diameter and finished with sandpaper.
The final task is to part off the goblet at the chuck end and finish with whatever polishing is called for. If the goblet is to be used for actual wine, finish the inner bowl with polyurethane or lacquer.
For an 8-year veteran, Cam works like pro with four times that much experience. In between the usual banter and good humour, the audience were attentive and went away knowing they had been present at another SAWG class. Many thanks Cam, and we hope you will soon put on the promised class in segmented turning!
Bob showed members two examples of the cake stand he intended to make; a single platter on a pedestal, and a two tier platter with a central supporting column. The demonstration would be how to make the two tier version.
Bob commenced by emphasising the need to attend to the basics i.e. plan your project. A little planning will make the project run smoothly. He suggested that the platters could be made from recycled cupboard doors or old cabinet sides. The central column was to be held together by a threaded rod so that the cake stand could be disassembled for storage.
When planning platter sizes, remember that a standard cake size is 250mm but can range from 200-360mm.
The central column included the base, a central spacer and the top which could be turned to your preferred shape e.g. as a handle.
Bob had prepared his support column by drilling a hole through his base, centre spacer and top for the threaded rod. A recess was drilled in the bottom of the base to take the jaws of a 50mm chuck and later the assembly nut. The platters had been cut to round on the band saw and a centre hole drilled to take a spigot.
Once the base had been shaped, the next task was to turn the first platter to round. Bob fitted the base to the platter using the spigot and using the tail stock, pressed the platter against a large disc mounted on a faceplate. With the lathe running at a slower speed, this was a quick and effective method of holding the work for finishing.
The centre spacer was turned to shape and the same method of using tail stock pressure for holding the second platter would have been used. However there was a technical problem and the project was not completed.
So the plan was to have a hands on night, where each member of the club made a slimline pen.
As there have been many new members since the last attempt at something similar, Terry started with a “short” demo. Of course Terry the proceeded to try and get everything he could about how to make a pen into the demo, here is a quick report of the major points.
Blank – 20mm square cut slightly longer than tubes
Mark to keep grain aligned
Drill a 7mm hole for the tube – alternative methods of drill press with jig or on lathe using pin or pen jaws were discussed
With lathe option about 500rpm. Make sure you align the lathe head first.
Rough up the outside of the brass tube with some sandpaper
Put potato plug in end of the tube to prevent glue going in.
Glue into blank with superglue
Mill ends of blank – don’t use vice as may stretch brass tube.
Put the blanks on a pen mandrel with bushes to match pen kit. Mandrel saver (live centre) presented as an option instead of default knurled nut.
Turn lathe up fast as you are turning a very small diameter.
Cut from the centre out with spindle roughing gouge.
Skew for finishing cuts
Sand through grits -240 320 400
Use U-Beaut EEE-ULTRA SHINE to get a high polish.
Terry the used SHELLAWAX GLOW to finish.
Take the matching pair you have just turned – keeping the grain aligned. Terry suggested if turning a lot of pens to make up a board with 4 inch nails to keep them together.
Assemble pen – taking care to put mechanism in correct distance into the pen to have the point protrude the correct distance and allow it to retract.
Terry then gave a quick demo of the disassembly process if you want to refinish a warn pen or replace some parts.
The crowd then went to the lathes and the real fun began. Many people taking home a successful first pen.
The intention was to both inform members and to preserve the Guild’s tools. Consistent sharpening of SAWG tools makes it easier for new turners to move between work stations and the tools last longer. Instruction is available for using the sharpening station.
Tools can be sharpened on either an abrasive wheel or on a flat abrasive surface such as a disc or linisher (a belt sander in disguise). Whilst all have their merits, the basic difference is that wheels produce a concave bevel and discs/linishers give a flat bevel. Honing was not part of this presentation but could usefully be incorporated in a later demonstration.
The usual form of abrasive wheel sharpening is via a double-ended grinder having wheels of 150mm (6”) or 200mm (8”) diameter, the larger size being preferable but more expensive. More specialised machines are available including several brands with larger 250mm (10”) wheels running in a water bath and slower speed grinders intended to reduce the generation of heat.
Ordinary ‘workshop’ grinders are usually supplied with (grey) carborundum wheels of low quality. Internationally, there is a variety of different coloured grinding wheels purporting to serve different purposes but the ideal approach is to have a cubic boron nitride (CBN) wheel for high speed steel (HSS) tools at one end, plus an aluminium oxide wheel (white) for other ferrous materials, at the other end. Both are readily available in NZ.
The use of a 300mm disc sander for sharpening was developed in-house and with a jig for each tool, enables a quick ‘polish’ rather than serious grinding to replenish an edge. The linisher is a much more expensive product by Robert Sorby having a useful variety of easily interchangeable belts and reliable jig settings for repeatability. Whereas all grinding wheels (except the CBN) gradually reduce in diameter, the disc and belt abrasive surfaces remain consistently flat.
Other useful points arising were:
Recommended bevel angles for Guild tools are bowl gouges of 35 and 55 degrees, spindle gouges 30, spindle roughing gouges 45, parting chisels 30, skew chisels 30.
Wheels, disc and linisher abrasives have different grits (or roughness) and hardness.
Don’t dip HSS tools in cooling water as the temper will be ruined. Tool steel is OK for cooling.
Always use a jig to achieve a single, smooth, and symmetrical bevel. This doesn’t work well for negative rake scrapers or if an asymmetrical bevel is wanted – the latter usually by professionals freehand sharpening.
Putting a diamond-section parting tool sideways into the Guild’s Truegrind tool holder enables both bevels to be sharpened without any repositioning.
A diamond dresser is available for cleaning dirt and glaze off all sintered (cooked in an oven) wheels. A CBN wheel is never dressed.
Sintered wheels can shatter so always use them with guards in place.
Do not sharpen on the side of a wheel unless specifically labelled as a side-cutting wheel.
A 55 degree bowl gouge is useful across the inside bottom of bowls when a more ‘pointy’ 35 degree grind may result in a gouge shaft hitting the bowl rim.
Sharpening a pencil is a good analogy to explain ‘cutting with the grain’.
A plug was also given for using sharp sandpaper.
Alongside the theory, sharpening using Guild jigs and tools was demonstrated with some bowl shaping. The presentation was accompanied by excellent visual aids and invasive music from next door. Despite the music, a good time was had by all and clear information was received during a well-structured performance.
This was a brilliant presentation from a very well recognised woodturner. Peter had travelled down from Kerikeri and met up with his old colleague Ian Fish to present to the South Auckland Woodturners Guild. The many members in attendance must surely have reflected on a great deal of the experiences and words of caution outlined by Peter in their own woodturning ventures. Peter opened his presentation by sharing his own introduction to woodturning and was once a member of our Guild.
The most problem once you start to turn wood it that it is:
Addictive
Exciting
Competative
Interactive
and introduces friends for life.
Wood
Where do you find it? A Chainsaw really makes life easy, but it’s a dangerous tool. Aspects of Safety where discussed – a wonderful log support frame was on display for members, this would handle most log sizes used by members. A couple of fence battens and a half round post cut in half is all that was needed to build this jig. A must have.
The chainsaw settings: Teeth at 30 degrees for cross cut, and along grain cutting. Teeth need to be set at 90 degrees for end grain. Obviously a selection of chains would be required to accommodate both methods of cutting. Peter produced his favourite Makita electric chainsaw, noting that his wish list was for a battery powered model. Bantering from Dick Veitch on the pros and cons of battery powered saws, suggesting that Peter should settle for nothing less than the latest Stihl.
Green or dry timber?
There’s an unlimited supply of green wood. The size of bowls is not limited by standard stock sizes available from a wood yard, but only limited by the time available to go wood hunting. Collecting is exciting as you never know what you will find. Turning green wood is easier than dry. Pururi or gum is a nightmare to turn dry.
Transporting: You need to cut your bounty into manageable sizes. Probably 4ft lengths will fit across most trailers, without too much effort in loading. A great explanation and diagram showed members how to load large logs onto a trailer. The system was based on leverage with a long rope fixed at the front of the trailer and trailed to the back, slid underneath the log and back around the tow bar. Two 4×2 boards were used as a ramp. The rope was then attached to another vehicle which pulled very slowly while the log was rolled up onto the trailer deck. A very descriptive explanation of the trip home had members in awe of such a successful wood hunt. We were reminded to seal the ends of the logs to control moisture loss. Peter’s theory of cutting 4 foot long logs was that there was usually some good non split wood in the middle.
How to form the blank: Depending on log size, this will dictate on whether the log is just split or slabbed. It’s easier to start off with a basically round shape before you put it on the lathe. Peter demonstrated the safe way of holding and cutting wood on the band saw, and the importance of stability of the log being cut. Peter explained that he always used disk templates from 125mm to 400mm in diameter. A blank that had been cut to a handy template size was tabled as an exhibit, along with the waste wood. A thin disk of wood was presented showing where to take various bowl blanks from in order to avoid the pith. The pith is the soft centre of the log. After all it’s the pith that pithes you off!!
The easiest bowls to cut are from side grain. Green timber is usually sought for making bowl blanks.
Points to remember were
Turn as soon as you can after collecting the wood.
Seal inside and out with a wax rich medium as soon as the bowl blank is formed.
Record the date, species, collection location and most importantly the weight.
Store the blanks stacked somewhere cool and out of the sun to allow for slow even drying. Every 2 to 3 months reweigh and record as the blank loses moisture. Once the weight no longer reduces the blank is dry enough to finish.
Sometimes a moisture meter is used in conjunction with weighing.
Drying can be accelerated using a kiln or a closed box with a dehumidifier for finishing later when dry enough.
Could be wrapped in 1 sheet of newspaper.
Dry timber can be mounted straight on the lathe and worked to a finished bowl.
Considerations>Bowl shape: Peter explained the Catenary curve – using a string of beads or a light chain he demonstrated the various curves than can be created – curves that were pleasing to the eye! However, it was important to establish designs and features that defined the turner and ultimately created work that is unique. There always had to be a connection between the bowl and the foot, and this aspect could not be ignored. The foot should always be in balance with the piece.
Ready to make your bowl How to use a gouge – Your tools must be sharp. Theories on gouge sharpening, bevel angles, jigs to assist with maintaining the correct angles, along with an overview of the wide variety of gouge bevels used nationwide. Northland use a 55degree bowl gouge with swept back wings at 35degrees, whereas South Auckland mainly prefer the 35 degree gouge for general turning and a 55 degree gouge for refining the inside of bowls. Preference is something that comes with experience.
RUB THE BEVEL: The same old same old !! rub the bevel!!!
Once the gouge is sharpened it can be used for any one of four things.
Push
Pull
Tilt
Twist
When using gouges and doing the push and pull cuts, most catches come from allowing the gouge to cut while not being supported by the bevel. Without bevel support, the cut will dig in violently in a split second. Big chunks of wood are ripped away. The bevel prevents the gouge from cutting too aggressively—it is a controlling factor. Peter guided the gouge tip with his thumb when entering a starting cut on the inside of a bowl.
Attaching the wood to the lathe: another moment of interjection – this time from Bruce Wood who was determined to show Pete his method of fitting the screw chuck in the Nova chuck. However persistent Bruce was, Pete reverted to his presentation plan. This was a period of light hearted banter and laughter.
The faceplate was the preferred option for most mounting over 150mm. Grain – an excellent example of grain direction and the cutting process was presented with the following diagram being most helpful to newer members
Good support vs no support for wood fibres
Turning: Mounting the round– bring up the tail stock whenever possible. Form the outside of the bowl first Let the grain govern the direction of the cut. Feet positioning: Place your left foot first in the finishing position then the right foot at the start of the cut. Swing from the hips, which is not so easy when on the inside of the bowl.
Roughing: start from the tailstock centre and work the shape. Can use either a push cut or a pull cut. Always rub (kiss) the bevel using a push cut. This steadies the gouge. Because you are pushing the tools and it wants to buckle, it can’t so it either digs in or scoots away.
Finishing a bowl blank after it has been dried: The blank will probably be out of round after drying. So mount the bowl so that the chuck bite can be trued up by positioning the foot towards the tailstock.
There are a number of ways you can hold the bowl in this position. Cole Jaws chucks are easy to use, but keep the speed down and bring up the tail stock before starting the lathe. Similarly, if you are using a vacuum chuck, check for cracks in the wood, anywhere air can escape or OUCH – your bowl takes off into orbit. It is important to see that the bowl is seated properly too. If you don’t have access to this equipment, use a compression chuck. You can make one yourself – a simple rounded jig not unlike a darning mushroom, costs nothing and is very useful. Use a piece of thin rubberised matting (probably a bit in the cutlery drawer) over the compression chuck and fit carefully into the bowl. Centre with your tail stock (having marked the spot during roughing out).
Remount the blank and turn to finished shape. Starting with the chuck bite, make cuts slowly and shape the outside. Finish the outside first then reverse the bowl, hold in the chuck, and finish the outside. You may have to retouch the outside near the rim of the bowl to get an even thickness of the rim.
Once the bowl is turned to your satisfaction, sand through all the grits using a power sanding system. This will leave you with an amazing surface. Now it’s time to apply the finish and see your creation come to life.
Peter was very particular with his sealing and waxing, leaving the product to dry before wiping the excess off and rubbing the compound into the grain. Peter used toilet paper as his preferred application material.
Other clothes were not recommended because they left lint which often caught on the cut grain.
This was an excellent presentation by a world class wood turner, and we as a club are very privileged
to have shared in Peter’s life-long learning experiences.
Having written this review, I must thank Peter for sending me his notes, because the majority of this report is taken from the raw material provided.
Important – Don’t forget to have a cuppa at and during each stage!!
An ingenious piece of mechanism individually made by Holm Miehlbradt.
TOTAL STORY !! — You had to be here to understand what was being demonstrated. See if you can work it out from the photos taken by Ross Johnson.
This was an unexpected demonstration of an engineer’s determination to make a complicated piece of design concept to produce a machine that will produce repetitive patterns of a circular character on wood, plastic, or other similar substances.
Holm using MDF for the main frame and lathe head, a compound slide to carry the tool holder and cutter head, together with a powerful electric spindle motor and sundry pulleys, sheaves and rubber band type drive belts created this amazing piece of wizardry known as a Rose Engine.
With the lathe head rocking back and forward to the pattern of the Rosette pattern and the cutter driven by the spindle motor, all controlled by a pair of hand wheels, the product was produced.
Comment:- You need to have a lot of time to make and use a ROSE ENGINE. Well done Holm!
Date: 10th April 2019 Report Author: Emma James-Ries
This demonstration by John was complimentary to Richard Johnstons’ demo on wet turning earlier this year. John started by giving us an over view of why one might want to turn wet wood and the different qualities it possesses.
Some positive reasons to wet turn: For Woodturners it can be a feast or famine situation when it comes to acquiring timber and we’re more likely to be offered green wood. Wet wood gives the opportunity to turn very thin work, allowing it to distort and create interesting shapes. Green wood often come with the bark still attached, granting occasion for a natural edge bowl. Additionally cutting of wet wood creates very little dust, it is easier on your tools and creates very little dust. Drying of a green cut bowl will only take a year to dry, as opposed to a raw lump needing several years to properly dry. John reminded us of the very important point of striving for domestic bliss, as turned wet wood creates less storage and clutter within the household.
Some negatives to recognise would be that some timber can distort badly, particularly fruit trees. John told us of an incredible situation where a turned wet bowl of apricot had completely turned inside out whilst drying! Other points would be the possibility of wood going mouldy and to always be aware of irritant or toxic sap when turning wet, best to keep forearms covered.
John went on to demonstrate how one would mount and turn a conventional wet half log. He covered briefly how to cut bowl blanks to get different grain patterns within the bowl, butterfly or oval rings etc. John then used a faceplate to attach his large Rewarewa log to the lathe. He prefers to use passivated Tek screws over galvanised, as they are less likely to shear and they come in a great size range.
John then engaged the tailstock for security and to find the live centre. When turning a wet log into a rough cut bowl, a rule of thumb would be to keep a wall thickness of 20-25mm. The base is to be similar, however the spigot will determine this, as an internal spigot or dovetail recess is suggested to allow for remounting options once dried. John reminded us that we would need to guess the amount of distortion with the wood type, to allow enough timber to re-cut both sides of the bowl.
When moving onto the actual cutting process of the wood, John talked about different tool options. Until recently he used a Texas style Hamlet bowl gauge. However when turning rough, out of balance wood, it creates a bad thumping on the bevel. John found to alleviate this irritation somewhat, he uses large Easy Wood tools with carbide tips, tucked underarm for extra leverage and support.
John also recommends using a Chainsaw helmet for this type of turning as it reduces fogging and allows for ear protection. He went on to demonstrate the impressive carbide tools, cutting on centre.
John then let us imagine a scenario where the faceplate had been jammed on to the lathe by the huge amount of torque created when rough turning. While some people use leather washers to alleviate this problem, most do not and they are hard to find.
John showed us his spanner range that he would use to first undo the Tek screws holding the faceplate and remove the wood. He recommends the Gear Spanner from Trade Tools in Ellerslie. Once the wood has been removed, one can then find an appropriate leverage option (in Johns’ case this was a lump of metal acquired from a concrete power pole!) to lever the faceplate from the lathe.
Next John moved on to show us how to mount a rough block, with no practical flat face, to the lathe. His choice of wood was a 10kg uneven lump of Feijoa. He mounted the block between the centres to adjust the balance on the Steb centre. The problem with such a large unruly piece of timber, is that using a Steb or Spur to drive the wood will result in it boring into the green wood. This will also be the case with a screw chuck. The weight of the timber also rules out boring for a small faceplate or expanding jaws.
Johns solution to this was to create a large custom faceplate, with multiple holes that direct long screws angularly into the wood. This faceplate was a personal development of an earlier prototype that he passed around, very clever. One could either pilot drill or use a guide to direct the screws in if the wood is hard. John then demonstrated making some cuts, once the faceplate had been mounted. He proved that his mount ran true, as there was no evidence of a wobble in the live centre once the tailstock was removed.
To wrap up the demonstration, John let anyone who was interested in trying out his carbide tools, tackle the Feijoa. An offer that Richard Johnston took up eagerly! A very knowledgeable and interesting demo, thank you John.
