Terry called the lidded box the Midas because it became his signature piece and he made 100’s and was a great money earner.
Terry tabled several examples of his work from small pieces to very large pieces and some with variations from plain wings to highly decoratively carved. Selection of wood is essential as is ensuring the alignment of the Head and Tailstock.
The wood needs to have straight and tightly grained and the demo used kiln dried Kwila cut 75x175x250 the wood must be squared true and the ends were treated with superglue to ensure fibres are firm It was mounted on a screw chuck using a fine thread with the hole drilled in the center of the 75×250 face. Because the wood is rotating, like a propeller, care must be taken.
The outline of the final product was drawn on the 75×250 side indicating the curve and position of the box, which had a bowl profile. The waste is marked to ensure you only cut out what you have to. The bowl gouge of choice was a 55 with a fingernail grind and using a draw cut to ensure the wood being cut is supported by the wood below and you are not risking entering the end grain.
Marking the outer edge of the wing helps highlight the danger area. The progress is slow to ensure a safe and desired result. The accuracy of the curve is confirmed by using a glue stick. A 30mm spigot is turned on the bottom of the bowl to enable remounting for the shaping of the wing and hollowing of the bowl.
A vee cut is made where the box/bowl meets the wing to assist in defining the top. It is recommended that the wing is supported on the underside by gluing dowels/struts from the wing to the bowl before turning Speed is 500 – 700 for the process.
The remounted wing is shaped with the rim of the bowl seen to extend above giving the appearance of it sitting into the wing. A rebate for the lid is cut and is sized to take the 30mm chuck, in expansion mode, so the lid fit can be managed. Following the wing curve remove the waste.Sand and finish.
Turn the lid ideally from the same wood ensuring the grain alignment. The lid fit should be loose because if it is tight the whole piece may be lifted when the lid is lifted risking it falling resulting in the wings breaking off. I finial can be added. Note pianos made after 1940 did not have Ebony keys.
A great demo and there is a DVD in our library or available from Terry that gives more detail.
Club Meeting: 18 October 2023 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
Tonight the club welcomed Teles as a first time demonstrator. Teles’ life as a tradie includes antique furniture restoration and cabinet making, so with this background we pushed the lathe out of the way and erected Teles’ site workbench. Let the demo begin.
How many of us have picked up a roadside set of drawers or replaced an old piece of wooden furniture that has seen better days? These old treasures are a goldmine of beautiful old timber for the enterprising woodworker. Teles took the kauri sides of a set of drawers to demonstrate how to make a pencil box. Box making is the basis for so many wood working projects, and the dovetail joint is a time-honoured and integral part of much furniture and cabinetry.
With pre-cut sides and ends, Teles started to show us the techniques for hand cutting dovetail joints. His aesthetic preference is for older style narrow pins. The standard ratios, and starting point for marking out the dovetails are 1:6 for soft wood and 1:8 for hard wood. Since Teles was using kauri he took an end piece and measured 1cm one way and 6cm the other way and drew the angle of the first dovetail. He then took his sliding bevel and set it to the same angle so he could mark out all the dovetails. Teles set a marking gauge to the thickness of the wood he was using, and scribed a line to denote the depth of the dovetails.
Teles had taken on board advice that there is learning to be had from doing a demo, and in this situation Teles had discovered this to be true. His learning was that he had to think about and plan for the rebate he would need to cut for the sliding lid of the pencil box before he raced in and cut his dovetails.
First step is to decide the number and spacing of the dovetails. Three is appropriate for this size box. With one of the end pieces, mark out the pins first, starting in the middle. Then Teles used a Japanese fine tooth dovetail saw to cut out for the pins, to the depth of his scribed line. The next step is to form the gaps between the pins. The pin sockets at each side can be easily cut off with the saw. The centre sockets need to be removed with a chisel.
At this point Teles became somewhat animated, because he is a chisel aficianado. However he managed to restrain himself and limited his discussion to the types of most commonly used chisels, these being the firmer chisel, which has the bevelled sides, the mortising chisel, which has square sides and a slightly gruntier blade, and the paring chisel, which has a less bevelled cutting edge for paring end grain.
Teles used a firmer chisel to chisel out the gaps between the pins and tidy up the edges. Then, using the pins he had just cut he marked out the tails on one of the side pieces. These pieces were labelled to facilitate assembly later on. Cut out for the tails with the dovetail saw, and as with the pins, use a chisel to cut out the wood between the tails. Try a test fit, and adjust any of the cuts with a chisel or Stanley knife until a firm fit is achieved. The joint will hold tightly together without any glue, and can be disassembled if necessary.
Continue to cut the dovetails for each of the corners, scribe lines and, with a chisel, cut the rebate for the sliding lid, and assemble your box. Sure, the modern woodworker could have used a router and various jigs to do the same job, but there is nothing so satisfying as the beauty, sophistication and strength of a hand cut dovetail piece.
Teles rounded out his demo with a history and explanation about the vast array of hand planes which are used in wood working. As an avid collector of planes, Teles said that the quality of many of today’s planes cannot rival their older forebears. He described and showed to us some of the different planes, including:
Stanley planes numbered 1 through 8. Stanley planes are regarded by some as the benchmark when it comes to the varying range of planes. The #5 would likely be the most common plane in use. Moulding plane – a narrow wooden plane which came into commercial use in the 18th century with the industrial revolution – before that each woodworker made their own planes. Compass plane – for shaping curves – Teles uses this for making templates to use with his router. Rebate plane – self descriptive – the blade goes all the way to the edge. Scraper plane – useful for removing finishes, eg varnish, off recycled wood. Block plane – a small low-angled plane for touch up work etc.
Tonight gave us a most interesting departure from our usual routine of making round stuff. Thank you Teles – your skill, knowledge and enthusiasm was totally infectious and may certainly motivate me to try dovetailing instead of the boring rebate and glue joints I have surrendered to in the past.
Club Meeting: 13 Septembet 2023 Report by: Roger Pye
Once again Dick was in his element showing us how to make something. While looking complicated it is really quite straightforward. In true fashion Dick arrived with a “Christmas Box” loaded with parts of his ongoing demo completed and ready to display at the appropriate time.
Select a nice piece of wood without shakes or knots about 150 x 150 x 75 mm. Drill a centre hole in which to mount an expanding 50mm chuck. Mount onto the chuck and form a mounting spigot. Round out in the shape of a tortoise shell, leaving the outside face flat for a least 40mm.
Reverse mount onto your spiggot. Then cut a full diameter ring which you will cut into five equal lengths, four legs and one neck. Three quarters of this ring can be completed by working the outside top corner of of your mounted wood. Cut 25mm below the top edge on the face and 25mm along the top outer face. Do not let this second cut intersect with the first cut. Then proceed with the use of a 25mm round template to cut and shape a neat ring. The inner attached section will be treated later. Sand as needed. Cut ring off the main mounted body taking care to avoid damaging when it falls free.
Reverse the ring and glue with hot melt back onto the lathe from where it was removed. Proceed to complete the ring to size and sand.
The completed ring is ready to cut into five equal sections. (3.143 X the outside diameter divided by 5). Mark outside edge and cut five pieces.
Finish the remaining wood still mounted to be a hollow tortoise shell lid for the completed tortoise. That is, hollow the inside to fit over the body still to be turned. Include a mounting ring yet to be matched on the body section and several decorative rings inside. Reverse with the use of an expanding 100mm chuck. Remove 50mm mounting spigot a carefully finish the whole outer face of the shell.
The outer shell will be more realistic if the scutes markings can be drawn on the outer face of the shell and finished with pyrography.
Mount another block of similar wood to shape for the body. Should be about 140 x 140 x 80mm and have a predrilled hole suitable for a 50mm expanding chuck. Prepare as for tortoise shell above but top edge must fit the previously prepared mounting ring on the shell/lid. Keep the wall thicknes at least 18mm to allow for mounting holes to be used for legs and the neck plus the tail.
Another block of wood 45 x 45 x 150mm is mounted in the open jaws of a 50mm chuck to make a head and tail. Cut a suitable tail including a 12mm mounting spiggot. Then make a head into which you can drill a 25mm hole for mounting. Be sure to shape with one end tapered for the head and mouth.
The body is marked out to drill 25mm leg holes and a neck hole higher than the leg mounting position. Drill all mounting holes in a drill press including a 12mm hole for the tail. The head should have flats positioned for eyes and mouth marked out for finishing with pyrography.
Assemble components with suitable glue. Fit eyes and define the mouth.
Club Meeting: 6 September 2023 Report by: Bob Yandell
The subject covered, in one, what is normally covered in three and as usual at a speed only possible if your name is Bruce Wood. Informative, creative and new toys.
Part 1
Bruce began by turning a sphere using Soren Berger Sphere Calipers(SBC). The process involves creating a cylinder of equal diameter along the length of a piece 100x70x70 between Steb Centres. Determine the center of the piece to guide the marking out of the diameter of the sphere; the Diameter is defined by the long arms of the SBC. at approx 50mm. Clearly mark out on the length of the turned cylinder. cut down using the Parting tool and remove the waste wood from the line to toe Steb Centers. Face off ends to ensure square to cylinder and the length of the cylinder now equals the diameter.
Using the large beak of the SBC mark lines on each end, one from the ends on the outer surface on the outer surface and one on the squared off face from the outer surface. The next step is to remove between these lines so that there is a straight line/surface NOT CURVED.
Using the small beak of the SBC mark lines on each end, one from the ends on the outer surface on the outer surface and on the squared off face from the outer surface. The next step is to remove between these lines so that there is a straight line/surface NOT CURVED.(You can follow the process on Youtube)
Using a stainless steel tube, with a handle in one end and sharpened on the belt sander to create an squared face, carefully remove the remaining high points to form the sphere. Part off.
Re-mount between so waste at right angles having cut off as much as possible of the nipples left using a saw or knife centres using cups with leather inserts, turned to fit over live Steb centres or on the drive center albeit a threaded piece or designed to fit an insert in a chuck.
Part 2
Bruce used pyrography to define the lines of the design using a pyro knife. light pressure to start and cleaning carbon from blade. The design called for areas to be “excavated” so a pyro chisel bade was used and again frequent cleaning. Bruce then used cup spheres of different sizes in the design and these are available from Regal Castings,(Check with Kevin D??)
Part 3
Bruce then coloured to work starting with Indian Ink/ He illustrated a trick to remove the gloves used to protect hands – blow into the glove at the point the glove and inside of the wrist. Several water colours were applied using a brush. A drop of paint on a paper towel, put a little on the brush and then brush/wipe to remove the majority before applying residual on top of texture/embossed to form highlights on work and dry with hair dryer between coats. Colours used – Yellow, Red, Blue, Green, White and Gold.
A thoroughly absorbing and informative demo – Thanks Bruce.
Club Meeting: 30 August 2023 Report by: Bill Alden
Kevin stressed that Preparation is important
Start by drawing a plan to scale choosing two complementary shapes. A scale drawing will allow you to take measurements directly from the page.
The next stage is to prepare boards to desired thickness (10-15mm). Mark out your boards with rings a little larger than the plan dimensions and drill the centre to fit the mandrel (12mm) then cut the disks on the bandsaw. Sand the faces . Inner shape for gluing and outer shape for finishing later.
Turning
Prepare a thick tenon block for a 50mm chuck and drill a 12mm hole to fit the mandril. Stack the disks for the inner shape in the order on the plan on a mandril with the grain aligned and add backer pieces to support the end disks. The same procedure is followed for the outer shape
Tighten the mandril leaving excess length to protrude into headstock, and fit to a chuck using the tenon block Rough out the shape using 1800-2000rpm to help avoid chipping the edge. Use a shear cutting action on final cuts to get a clean cut with no tear out. Consider the grain direction and cut ‘uphill’ for a grain supported cut. Repeat for both shapes and sand to a finish.
Partial Assembly
The pieces are removed from the mandrels and restacked back on a mandrel in alternate pieces from the outside form and then the inside form. It could be possible at this point to stack the pieces put aside to make another piece however new top and bottom layers may have to be added. The grain direction is aligned the upper to be hollowed. Kevin then remounted the piece on the lathe in order to take off sharp edges of outer shape.
Glue all joints except the one between upper and lower sections. Use the mandrel as the clamp.
Glue in a dowel into the bottom half leaving a little dowel protruding to fill the bottom of the upper hollowed section.
Using a compression chuck to hold the upper half, drill with a Forstner bit to the desired depth (location of end of the dowel from the lower half).
Hollow inside of upper half. Bear in mind the wall thickness of inner shape.
Who would have thought a good story from going through the bottom of the bowl.
Dick Veitch demoing in the process for conjoined bowls as seen in SAWG project sheet. An interesting project work around paper joined pieces, calling on measuring skills and checking on basic turning skills.
As with many of Dick Veitch’s demo projects, measurements, are critical. The two bowls, paper joined, and the associated angles have to be equal and exact. The project plan as a good directive with the steps well laid out.
The wall thickness of the initial bowls are critical and requires that constant check the appropriate set of callipers. Measuring tools that work inside bowl. And that assist in even bowl thickness.
Even going to the bottom of the bowls as a difficult process. The measurements need to be accurate in order to control the separation of the pieces. Sometimes referred to as the fly off.
Sanding and finishing requires an evenness. The final process and gluing is part of planning and accumulating in the final “chosen” bowl options.
A good planning option,
a SAWG project one which checks each stage in progress.
Another cold winter’s night, but Jon’s well prepared and expertly delivered presentation was about to warm the bones with a lively and enjoyable demo.
Jon began by taking a look at the abundant use of threaded objects in everyday life, and then spoke to some examples of threading in the woodturner’s field of activity. Examples of salt and pepper shakers, pill boxes, and needle cases were accompanied by a warning: “you wouldn’t want the lid to come off a needle case in your pocket, you’d get a severe case of pins and needles in your leg.”
Next Jon gave us a straightforward description of what can be a reasonably complex subject: a thread is basically a spiral cut into a round object, with a particular shape of tool, at a specific pitch. Pitch is the distance between thread peaks. An external (male) thread and an internal (female) thread with the same diameter and cut with the same pitch can be screwed together. The two most used thread standards used in the world today are: imperial (USA) and metric (the rest of the world). The pitch for an imperial thread is measured by TPI (threads per inch), and the pitch for a metric thread is measured by the distance between the peaks of two adjacent threads in millimetres. An imperial thread of 16 tpi and a metric thread of 1.5mm are similar. Both have a thread depth of around 1mm. Both have a thread angle of 60°. These threads look fairly close in size, but they are not the same as the pitch is slightly different.
Jon is a metaller and adherent of Ozzie Osbourne… sorry strike that…Jon is an engineering machinist and discussed with us the key differences between a wood lathe and a metal lathe. Essentially a wood lathe has a fixed banjo/toolrest over which the operator uses a hand tool when turning objects. Whereas, a metal lathe has a carriage that can move along the lathe bed when in use. Both have a rotating chuck. Cutting threads on a metal lathe is a very precise mechanical process with little room for human error. Conversely manual thread chasing on a wood lathe using hand held tools is an imprecise process and requires skill and practice to achieve well cut threads. With this in mind, Jon set about researching how he could build a jig using his metal lathe which could be fitted to his wood lathe for thread cutting with the same precision as a metal lathe.
So, on to the jig itself. Simply described, the jig has a post which fits in the banjo. Affixed laterally to the top of the post is a dovetailed sliding mechanism. A knob allows controlled movement of the upper dovetail. This is used to adjust the depth of thread to be cut on the item being turned. At the end of the sliding dovetail mechanism is a spindle assembly which consists of a threaded spindle (16TPI) and a sleeve. This fits into the outer casing which is attached to the upper dovetail. At the end of the threaded spindle is a thread on which a chuck can be screwed. A 60° cutter is fitted to a MT2 collet, and that is fixed into the headstock spindle via a drawbar.
To cut the thread, the chuck holding the lid of the lidded box is screwed on to the jig’s threaded spindle and the jig is lined up parallel with the lathe bed. With the lathe turning at about 3000rpm, the jig’s spindle is advanced towards the cutter by turning the handle. Experimental passes ensure the jig is perfectly positioned to make the correct cut. I should mention that the tenon and rebate on the lidded box have already been turned square on the lathe to the appropriate length and have a relief cut at the end so that the cutter has a place to move in to when it reaches the end of the tenon or rebate. Once the jig is correctly positioned in relation to the cutter, Jon progresses his thread cutting in two passes. The first pass is 0.6mm and the second pass is 0.4mm more, to take it to the desired thread depth of 1.0mm. One complete turn of the depth knob equates to 1.0mm travel on the upper dovetail, and there are five détente positions of 0.2mm each so progress can be accurately measured. Jon applied CA glue to the threads to stiffen up the wood, so he made a final pass without adjusting the depth setting, just to clean out any CA glue and wood chips.
The thread on the lid duly completed successfully, Jon took it out of the chuck and replaced it in the chuck with the base of the box. Using Vernier calipers he measured the internal diameter of the thread on the lid and added 1.1mm to the measurement. This becomes the finished size of the male thread on the base (allows for a little bit of “slop” which caters to any movement which might occur in the wood, but also gives a fairly snug fit). He then repeated the process to make the external thread. Now comes a really clever enhancement – to test the fit of the lid to the base without losing any of the alignment settings for the jig, Jon has added a lockable hinge to the jig enabling the top part to be flipped back. In this case, voila, a perfect fit.
Just to let you know, I have never been in a toolroom, or seen a metal lathe. So the descriptions given in this report may, or may not, make sense to you. But I have tried to convey my understanding of how Jon made and used the threading jig. The good news is that Jon is a youtuber. “What’s that?” I hear echoing in the deep, amplified chambers of your hearing aid. Well, if you want to take a closer look at how Jon built his jig, there are two videos on YouTube in which Jon gives an interesting blow by blow description of his build. You can find these by following these links:
Jon’s handle on YouTube is The Hobby MachinistNZ and he has a YouTube channel with various other videos demonstrating his metalwork skills.
Thank you Jon for an entertaining demo. Your ingenious device is truly remarkable. And just to let people know, there are other jigs out there which do the same job, but as Bob indicated, they come at a considerable cost. Jon’s jig is definitely a one-off, but it is an impressive piece of kit. We could borrow it though, eh John?
John gave a demo tonight which intrigued many of the watchers and I was under strict orders to write the report clearly and accurately so others could make their own versions of the demonstrated pieces. To be frank, when John started out I thought this was going to be a complex piece, but ultimately it turned out to be a relatively simple turning but with dramatic effects.
How do I begin to describe what John made? In essence, it was three stand-alone bud vases, which when placed next to each other were visualised as a single piece with a design on the front. However if the three vases were stood adjacent to each other in a staggered fashion, and rotated on a lazy susan, they presented as having four entirely different faces, each one a clever work of turned and coloured art. The pictures accompanying this report will help make it much clearer what I am trying to describe.
The starting point for this turning is a plan; this is essential as the pieces will be numbered and if constructed in the wrong order will destroy the end design. In fact John showed us an example where he thought he had it right, but when he lined it up the middle piece was wrong.
Take three matched blocks of any size – for the demo John’s blocks were 230mm high and 40mm square. Place the blocks alongside each other and mark the outer pattern dimension by scribing a 160mm diameter circle. Rule a line at each end to mark the finished size of 200mm. Number the face of each block on one end as per the plan (1 to 12; refer accompanying diagram).
Next, tape the three pieces together (faces 1, 2 and 3) and mark the centre. Place the three blocks centrally on a large round faceplate and screw a frame tightly around them to help hold them in place. Initially John screwed the three blocks on to the faceplate at each end as well, but he found that hot melt glue actually was better and held them securely. Check the balance by bringing the faceplate slowly up to speed.
Starting with the 160mm circle whose diameter you have already marked, form a cove or cut of any description. Be careful to get the outer dimension accurate as you will need to repeat this size on each of the four faces otherwise it won’t line up and will look odd. Also take care making this cut as it is a combination of wood and air. Now work your way inwards with any variety of cuts – coves, beads, v cuts, centre dome etc. As you work inwards, subsequent cuts are easier because they are all wood, no air, so more detail can be applied. Shortly you will be rotating the blocks to a new face (follow the numbers as per the plan) and creating a pattern on that face, and then the next, and then the last. The idea here is to create a different design on each face, so that the finished piece, when assembled and rotated on the lazy susan, shows a completely different picture on each face. This is easier said than done; the instinctive inclination is to make fairly similar cuts on each face, because you are working on a smallish canvas and obviously are limited to circular patterns. Be adventurous and use embellishments such as colour, texture, pyro, gilders paste etc. Frame your texturing with a point tool. You can highlight v cuts with a formica burn.
I’ve skipped ahead a bit, but you obviously need to complete one face at a time, including texturing and colouring, before moving on to the next. Don’t make the cuts too deep, just deep enough to show a pattern, and keep the speed fairly high to make a clean cut. All sanding has to be done by hand rather than power sanding; the latter is too brutal and will lose detail on the edges of cuts. All sanding and embellishments are completed while still on the faceplate, but remember that you can return it to the lathe at any time to add any extra detail, because the frame is still mounted. Remove any remaining pencil marks. To take the three blocks out of the frame so he could rotate them, John used isopropyl alcohol to soften the hot melt glue and scraped it off with a chisel.
Once the four faces are finished, take the first block and mount it between centres to turn a spigot for a 35mm chuck. Put it in the chuck and mark out for a rolled bead at the top and a pommel which forms a shoulder between the square block and the rounded top. With the tailstock up, make these cuts. Then with a 22mm forstner bit, drill a hole to create a bud vase. Tidy the top, and sand. Repeat this for each of the three blocks. John uses a drop saw to trim off the spigot, leaving a square base.
All present were thankful for John’s well planned and very clear delivery of a fascinating project, before slipping out early into a cold winter’s night.
Club Meeting: 2 August 2023 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
Terry gave us a motivational insight into his multi-axis turning methods when he demonstrated a seder plate for us. The demo was well explained down to the smallest detail and accompanied by much humour from Terry. The crowd responded with a fair bit of ribbing, to which Terry said “Good to know who your friends are.”
Thanks Terry, we’re fortunate to have you to simplify these more advanced turning techniques for us.
Club Meeting: 26 July 2023 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
Our club was privileged to host David Dernie as a guest demonstrator tonight. Dave is an accomplished turner who brings with him a lifetime of woodworking experience. Dave started his working career as a cabinet maker, before building for 38 years, and then adopting less physical roles of building inspector and trainer of building inspectors. The fact that Dave is an eloquent and witty speaker contributed to an enjoyable evening.
Dave showed us a finished piece which was to be the principle subject of his demo. This was an emerging bowl with a difference – it was in two pieces. Dave’s inspiration came from watching Terry demonstrate a traditional emerging bowl, and Dave was keen to indulge his liking of contrasting wood and at the same time challenge himself to create something a bit different. The result was a bowl in one colour, resting at an angled offset within a different coloured base, and at the same time managing to appear as if it was one piece.
Dave ran us through a PowerPoint presentation which illustrated the various steps in the production of the bowl. The nature of the construction technique lends itself to offering a large range of different designs and looks which can be achieved. To be honest the steps involved in making the piece are too difficult for me to adequately describe in a way which you would be able to follow. Essentially the bowl part was turned first, then the base piece was pre-marked, partially cut on a bandsaw, and screwed to a faceplate. The pencil marks showed how the finished piece was obliquely set within the blank. The blank was turned to exactly accommodate the size of the bowl, and then taken to the bandsaw to cut off the waste wood along the marks. Once cut out and placed flat on the table, the hollowing was not vertical, but tilting outwards. Luckily David has a pdf version of his PowerPoint presentation, and this is included with this report.
Further points to note are that Dave left a small tenon on the base of his bowl which aligned with a recess in the base, and served to keep the piece in alignment. To hold it together he also put magnets in each piece. Dave observed that timber with no grain direction, such as a burl, was best for this type of work. Unlike the traditional emerging bowl, it is not strictly essential that the bowl is spherical. Dave ensured his bowl fitted the base by chalking the hollow in the base, rotating the bowl in it, and observing the touch points, which he could then turn off.
To cap off his demonstration, Dave showed us how to turn another project using the same principles as his emerging bowl. This consisted of a small bowl set on a base at an angle, and with a Saturn-like ring. In Dave’s case, though, it was not a ring but a square, cut with end grain on all four sides. What makes this interesting, is that the hole in the ring, or square, has to match the angle of the bowl, and therefore is not a straight edged hole, but an ellipse. To achieve this and get an exact fit involves making an angled cut through the blank, and fastening the ring (or square) between the two pieces, and then completing the turning.
Please forgive me if this report fails to adequately describe the clever work that Dave showed us tonight. From the questions that were being asked I could tell that there was a lot of interest and admiration for these projects. Personally I find it mind boggling how he was able to work out the processes and design the jigs etc to facilitate these stunning works. Thanks very much Dave.
