Denise is an adventurous woodturner who likes to explore the limits of woodturning and creative art that comes with the territory. On this occassion Denise chose to produce a life-like image of a rugby ball complete with lace-up entry, but only 1/3 the size.
Her starting point was a block of Kauri 180mm long and 100mm x 100mm square. This was rounded between centres with chuck spigots turned at each end.
To hollow the interior, the 180mm long round was parted off at 70mm.
With the smaller section removed the larger piece is still held in the lathe. First set it up to provide the interior overlap as for a lid, at approximately 65-70mm ID. Hollow out interior to match the shape of a rugby ball.
Chuck the smaller section and cut a lip to cover the interior overlap in the lower secton. Proceed to hollow out as for the bottom section.
Mount both sections ensuring a good fit. Use a small steb centre to hold in place.
With a pre-made exterior template, shape the exterior to match. Sand.
Using the tool rest draw four equally spaced horizontal lines from end to end. These are the stitch lines of a ball. A Dremel or carving tool can be used later to make a small groove. At the centre of one line drill six pairs of 2.5mm holes 8mm apart and 5mm each side of the stitch line. Leather lace to be installed later.
Tape the small end onto the base. After removing the tail stock finish shaping the end of the ball and sand.
Take the lower section and use the expanding chuck to lightly grip interior of opening. Use tailstock to secure and finish the rugby ball end. Hand sand the shape which was inaccessible when held in the tail stock.
Finish as per personal choice, ebonize, paint brown, fit lace, cut stitch lines.
To display, turn a base with hollow interior on which to place pointed end of ball.
Club Meeting: 21 June 2023 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
What has the old master got in store for us this week? Dick’s demos always inform and entertain, so we wait expectantly. It starts off in a pretty routine manner – Dick takes a wet pin oak blank about 90 x 90 x 135 and turns it round between centres. After making a chuck bite at one end he mounts it in 50mm chuck jaws.
Applying the rule of thirds, he pencil marks at 45mm intervals and uses a spindle roughing gouge to quickly turn a pot shape. After facing off the neck end he takes a short 25mm forstner bit and commences to drill out the centre. He switches to a longer auger bit of the same width to complete drilling to a depth of about 125mm. The purpose of using the shorter drill bit to start the hole is to stop it wandering off centre. All the way along Dick is explaining his actions in detail so turners can take full advantage of the knowledge and experience he is passing on to us. Further tips about drilling included sharpening your drill bits and making a handle extension for the tailstock to allow extra leverage.
Dick hollowed the pot, starting with a spindle gouge and switching to a hollowing tool. He then substituted a partially completed pot from his magic box of tricks – the first of many pre-prepared pieces – and showed us how to take the spigot off using a hollow form reverse mount. This is pretty much a DIY tool consisting of a shaft with a sanding mandrel at one end and a cone which floats on the shaft and tightens with grub screws. The cone is fixed to a small faceplate. The mandrel fits inside the pot and secures the base against the tailstock. The cone fits inside the neck and is tightened down at the appropriate length to hold it snug. The whole affair secures the foot nicely to allow the base of the pot to be worked on. I’m guessing that because of the interest in this piece of apparatus that there will be a few more versions appearing in the workshops of club members.
So why is the demo named “Pot Black”? The answer became obvious as Dick produced pot after pot from his magic box and showed us techniques for enhancing the appearance by blackening them in a manner which totally highlighted the grain pattern.
He started with an NGR (non grain raising) black wood dye which he applied generously with a brush. Then he showed us how a significant amount of colour had penetrated through the wood to the inside of the pot. Next he took a pot which was already stained black, and simply put, didn’t look too great. After rubbing down with wire wool and applying a coat of Liberon Finishing Oil, the piece took on an improved, but not spectacular, appearance.
The next example was a pot which had been sand blasted, black stained and then rubbed down with wire wool. The sand blasting accentuates the grain pattern by taking away the softer wood between the grain lines. From experience Dick has learned that polishing grade crushed glass does the best job because other abrasives are too coarse. Then Dick thoroughly rubbed on Liberon Liming Wax with a soft rag (the tin says to use Liberon wire wool – Dick suspects that is a marketing ploy). After 3 to 5 minutes drying time he rubbed on generous amounts of the finishing oil with a paper towel. The surface wax is removed leaving the grain elegantly highlighted with the embedded liming wax. To get all the surplus wax off requires folding the paper towel to a clean surface or using several clean paper towels. This approach delivers a highly pleasing finish, and the process is completed by applying at least two more coats of finishing oil on successive days.
Next up was a pot which was ebonised. Ebonising is a process in which a solution is made up by leaving steel wool in vinegar for a few days, and applied to the wood. The acetic acid solution reacts with the tannin in the wood and turns the wood black. Tannin bearing woods like oak are suited to this process. This pot was rubbed down with black patinating wax (instead of the liming wax), and when the finishing oil was rubbed on, it brought out the grain beautifully. Sand blasting first and then ebonising will create bolder black lines and further enhance the look.
Some discussion took place around the effectiveness of using tea in the ebonising process. Dick’s conclusion is that tea contains tannin, and adding tannin to tannin has minimal effect.
Dick tried a pot with Artist black acrylic paint and white wax. This thicker viscosity of the paint tended to fill the grain more than Dick liked and was not quite so effective.
The next examples demonstrated the use of Dazzling Metallic acrylic paints by Deco Art. These are the pearlescent paints used so effectively by Robbie Graham in his work. The paints can be bought on line from Hobby Land, and come in a range of brilliant colours. Dick applied the black paint to a pot which was not sand blasted and the lines didn’t show up too well. Applying it to a sand blasted pot gave a better result. After the liming wax and finishing oil the pot still looked more grey than black, probably due to the pearlescence in the paint. Using the blue coloured Dazzling Metallic created a very beautiful wedgewood like effect.
Further methods for blackening included burning and fuming. Burning worked to a degree, but it was a little hard to control without over burning. Fuming is a process which Dick followed by popping a pot in a Sistema plastic container along with 4 little pots of cloudy ammonia cleaner. In Dick’s example the black was not very dramatic, but depending on the wood stronger effects can be achieved. Oak can also be darkened by using a baking soda solution.
Although Dick did not have examples of these, the audience mentioned the use of wire brushing and Kiwi black nugget for achieving grain highlight effects.
The demonstration illustrated the huge variety of finishing effects that can be achieved in simple and inexpensive ways, although Dick’s demonstration clearly showed that sand blasting as part of the process was a key ingredient for superior results. Preferred woods for grain highlighting are oak, cedar and ash.
Experimenting with different waxes, colours, processes etc can produce a wide range of results, so fill yer boots. I for one will definitely be buying some liming wax and probably the metallic paints.
Terry put forward a project designed to increase your skills productivity and process. The double sided wing project was a project in keeping to task. The project, arising from past work, is designed for hardwood such as Blackwood, Black Mairi and Kwila.
The preparation is detailed, checking the lathe set up and alignment, measurements of lathe swing, consideration of clearances, grain direction, and the true squareness of the block.
The block preparation is critical, measuring and both sides, describing and definition and/or defining of cut-out sections with marking. Measurement of the cut out sections has to be correct as they form the key visual part of the lids. And, in essence, the carryover wood for the raised lips.
The spigots require equal attention, and the process involved is standard for all turned bowls. A quiet little quirk of this exercise is that there are two bowls, each opening on opposite sides of the wood wing. Each demanding checking and measurement, and the marking is to which is the correct side.
Care and attention around the completion of the spigots. Marking the toolrest can help as a reference to where the danger is. As Terry explained, in an interesting side issue with the swinging wings: Step back and away, and do not go sideways as catching the moving things (wings) can be harmful.
Similar comment is made about clearances of the base feature and working on the correct side of course. Terry noted the exercise involves the form of hidden or ghost turning. Present at all stages; the shaping of the rim, correcting the bead, shaping the bowl or box, and the final cuts.
Base thickness needs to be even. Thickness targets have to be predetermined and regularly measured as part of the normal process. However, Terry noted with a smile, that that there are appropriate times i.e. not when the base wing is still moving.
Along with the base measurement comment is a correct choice of tools. There are tools for each of the steps. Parallel comes the identification of top and bottom, or bottom and top lids, bases and rims. Identification is critical. Measurement is always coming up, checking. Again, mentioned these while making sure of your place in the project plans and processes. An example given; it is helpful to drill the correct depth for hollowing of the bowl or box. Incorrect depth lets light into the work.
Jigs and the appropriate tool rest raises its head at the later part of the project. The process standard for lidded boxes and/or bowls. Amongst all this process and planning. Lathe speeds to be checked, at each change between vessel and lids as the box progresses
Terry stated that there is a multitude of options, each carrying a respective set of steps, and good challenges.
Variations can be found among the plans on this website such as Bowl, Wavy One Wing
Kieran started the demo by mounting a bowl blank on a screw chuck, and proceeded to chat about needing to consider what would be a shape that would make a good canvas for the airbrushing. He turned an ogee like shape on the bottom.
“Ogee is any variation of an S shape”
Kieran Fitzgerald
Kieran then talked about his compressor with a tank capacity of 21l, which is only really any good for the airbrush as it cannot sustain the requirements of a full sized spray gun. Although it works fine with a toolshed touch up gun.
His airbrush is a $16 trademe item and pressure on the compressor should be set to about 25-30psi – this should be checked with air flowing through the airbrush.
For colour he was using u-Beaut water based dyes. He decants the dye into a pill container, and dilutes with water (3 sprays to 2 drops).
Then he explained the dual action of the airbrush – down for air, pull back for flow.
On the piece of wood that he had now mounted on the lathe, he sprayed yellow, red, green and then cedar. Drying was aided by a heat gun. Then danish oil was rubbed over the piece – which seemed to enhance the blending of the colours.
The next step is to hollow the bowl to get a sharp edge between the colour and the wood.
Alternatively on a bowl that is already hollowed you need to mask – either mask to the edge, or mask over the edge and cut it off at the edge were two suggested alternatives.
Once hollowed the piece was then sealed with a spray can of clear acrylic. Two tips came out during this – clean spray nozzle by tipping can upside down and spraying until clear – store cans upside down as it keeps better.
Next onto another piece with a hammered finish.
The final piece had pieces of tape put across it, then airbrushed black, tape was moved then red applied, tape was moved again and blue was sprayed. The piece was then sealed with clear.
We then got a recipe for a cleaning solution:
1 part tap water 1 part isopropyl alcohol 1 part windows cleaner 2-3 drops of dishwashing liquid.
Kieran gave a great and lively demo, full of information that was presented it all in a very approachable way. I look forward to seeing the results of others having a go at some of the things we were shown
Club Meeting: 31 May 2023 Report by: Graeme Mackay
Shannon came forth with a wide array of paints, glues, colouring stuff, and brushes to be used in embellishment. The process used was called tutuing Roundwood. A part of a sculpturing process with Woodturning lathe as a tool. The process, as Shannon had shown, is for large-scale wall-hangings-process target is embellishing, in this case, his large wall-hangings.
Shannon view is that the pieces are for looking at, broadening one’s horizon, and showing off the wood. Clearly stated that he is forgoing technical nit picking and, rather, looking at the piece and applying techniques to highlight the item and shape.
He uses a range of easy technique and products. Stuff, that is easy to find, easy-to-use and can be sourced in a 2 dollars shop. Items such as spray paint, standard PVA glue, dishwashing liquid and even water. Outlined was a process requiring preparation, order, and some fun. Noting that checking on the order is critical to keeping the flow up and the process in place.
Key steps of this painting glue embellishment process: Working in a planned process. Getting the products organised i.e. glue. Paint. Paint brushes. Glue brushes, and on Ensuring and avoiding over painting and gluing. planning for the crossovers processes i.e. surface suitable to linocut. Ordering and organising the colour applications. Preparing for the colour up to S layers
There are a wonderful array of simple patterns from simple set of tools and techniques. The words came out. paint separation paint frazzle crackling pattern separation emerging pattern
Club Meeting: 10 May 2023 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
Bruce took the wheel this week and in typical fashion took off like Stirling Moss. The exercise of thread chasing presents several tricky challenges – not least cutting the thread itself, but trying to get the thread the correct length and having everything line up. Bruce had several practice runs in preceding days, and attempts one and two were unsatisfactory. The third attempt was successful, but then he twisted it too far and broke the insert while trying to get the grain to line up.
Using a hard timber is essential for thread chasing. Titoki, black maire, pohutukawa and puriri are all good to use. Some – pohutukawa and puriri – can also be threaded cross grain.
For tonight’s demo, Bruce selected a piece of black maire approx. 60 – 70mm square and 80 mm long. He marked centres on each end, mounted it on steb centres and roughed it down with a roughing gouge at 2000rpm. Black maire has a distinctive smell when cut (prompting several graphic descriptions), but cuts like butter and produces a very smooth surface. Bruce turned a 35 mm spigot on each end before marking out a 20 mm lid, a 40 mm base, and parting off. The lid goes in the chuck, is faced off and drilled out with a 45 mm forstner bit to a depth of 14 mm. The base and sides are cleaned up and a texture pattern added to the underside of the lid.
Now for the tricky part. Bruce showed us the four tools he would use to chase the threads:
a16 tpi internal thread cutter (female)
a 16 tpi external thread cutter (male)
a rebate cutter
a right angle hand held tool rest.
The first step is to use the rebate tool to make a 3 mm deep lead out cut in the side of the lid at 6mm down from the top. The purpose of this is to mark the end of a 6mm long thread and, importantly, create a clear space for the thread cutter at the end of the cut. After this Bruce applied a finish to the inside of the lid with CA, EEE and Aussie Oil.
To get the thread started, Bruce cut an arris, then with the lathe at 200 rpm, and the thread chasing tool resting on the right angle tool rest at just above centre, he started to cut the female thread. The process is to start with the thread cutter diagonally across the arris, make a light push cut and withdraw the tool. Push, withdraw, push withdraw, push withdraw repeatedly, bringing the tool round gradually until it is parallel with the side of the lid. Once the thread starts the speed of the lathe just drags the tool in. Take care not to crossthread. Bruce applied beeswax at one point to lubricate the cut. The black maire produced very fine curls of shaving, but a softer wood would just produce crumbs. As the thread cut progresses make sure it stays parallel to the side, or gets marginally deeper, so that when the male thread is screwed on it has enough width to turn fully in, and doesn’t get stuck.
Bruce showed how to sharpen the thread chaser with a hone across the top. Now it is time to do the bottom part of the box. Take the lid out and mount the base. Face it off and hollow to 34 mm with a 35 mm forstner bit. Clean up the base and sides, and at the same time hollow out the sides a bit more towards the lower two thirds of the sides, but not at the top. This is to make it simpler to blend in the fitted insert later on. Cut a recess 3 mm down out to a width of 43 mm. Give the inside a quick sand.
The next step is to make an insert to go into the recess he has just made. Ideally this could be a contrasting colour, but remember it needs to be hard wood to accept a thread. You could cut the thread directly in the base, but the insert makes it easier to adjust the length of the thread so you don’t have to twist the lid so many times to get it on. Bruce used a piece of black maire about 20 mm long to start with. He rounded it down to 47 mm, stepped it down to 43 mm at the spigot end, and cut a 24 mm spigot. Once mounted on the spigot, he turned down the outside 43 mm, checked the fit against the base, and commenced to make the thread. Rebate, arris, and this time the external thread cutter is used. The male thread is cut slightly below centre. The routine is the same as previously described – push, withdraw, repeat, repeat, bring it round to parallel. Bruce made the thread longer than necessary with the idea of removing some of it to a precise length. Test fit, take the top off the cut threads if necessary, and keep threading and test fitting until a good fit is achieved and the threads mate nicely. Bruce adjusted the length of the piece by cutting off some off the top with a parting tool, and cut a new arris.
Once happy with the threaded insert, Bruce put the base back on the lathe and glued in the insert. He then drilled the centre out with a 38 mm forstner bit, blended it into the base side walls, and gave it a sand. He screwed the lid on, taped it up, and trimmed the whole exterior down to required diameter and shape. He applied texturing either side of the join, and sanded the outside. The next steps were routine box making – shape the top of the lid slightly domed, sand and finish. Rechuck the base on expanding jaws, bring up the tailstock, and remove the spigot, leaving a slightly concave bottom so it sits well. Finish it all with CA, EEE and Aussie oil.
The thread chasing technique is much harder than it seems, and requires good wood selection, careful planning, deft tool work, sometimes test fitting and adaptation, and most of all a heap of patience. We are grateful to Bruce for sharing his skill and knowledge with us. And several lucky punters scored gifts from Bruce of his finished boxes and black maire blanks. Thanks Brucie, nice to see you, to see you nice.
Club Meeting: 3 May 2023 Report by: Kieran FitzGerald
John began by explaining what he was going to make and showing us some examples of the finished product that he had previously made. In simple terms, the idea is to make a shallow but normal bowl, cut it in half, and from there you can enhance it in many ways including piercing, carving, colouring, inlays, by adding a stand, a lid, a finial, and in so doing creating an art sculpture. John showed us a slide show of some pretty serious pieces made I think mostly by American wood artists using this technique. Some of our club’s experienced turners were able to quickly recognise who had made a number of the pieces shown.
John accompanied the practical part of his demonstration with a clear, concise and satisfactorily detailed commentary which would easily enable all present to follow his example in their own workshops.
The blank you start with does not need to be huge, especially in depth, because the depth is doubled when the two halves are joined together at the end. In fact the symmetry achieved with a slim composition is very pleasing.
John began with a roundish blank about 200 x 40. Finding centre, he drilled a shallow hole to take a worm screw. He used a packer to take up some of the length of the worm screw before screwing on the blank. Mounting alternatives include using a faceplate with double sided tape or hot glue. Bringing up the tailstock for added security, John rounded the blank and made a spigot on the bottom. Procedure follows the normal bowl turning method, with some simple adaptations to ensure the joined halves have the desired end shape. These are that the bottom of the bowl should be cut fairly straight and flat, and the side near the top also needs to be straight and flat rather than coming to a point. This will create nice flat sides when the two halves are joined later on, and avoid a “v” shape at the join. John used a simple drawn template to give himself a visual reminder of the shape he needed to achieve on the outside of the turning. A shear scrape to remove any ridges left by the tool and minimise sanding followed, but in fact the final sanding was left til later when the bowl was in the cole jaws.
As per normal bowl process, John mounted the wood in the chuck using the spigot and commenced to face off and hollow. The inside shape needs to mimic the outside, with a flattish bottom. An even overall wall thickness is important because when the bowl is cut in half and joined the wall thickness of course is visible. John hollowed his to about 4mm, but thickness can vary depending on the look you are going for. The rim also needs to be perfectly flat to create a seamless glue joint, and John ensured this by sanding with a sandpaper faced board while the bowl was still turning on the lathe.
Taking the bowl from the lathe, the next step was to mount in cole jaws and remove the spigot. Give it a sand. John left the foot flat, then advised that this is a good time to add embellishments. He marked the centre to indicate where the halving cut will be made, and then scribed two circles about 30mm out from the centre, using a modified screwdriver. The idea of this is to cut a more square edged trench rather than a “v” shaped trench, because the latter diminishes in size with sanding. When the two halves are cut and joined the rings will appear as half circles on the mid top side of each half of the split bowl. John experimented filling the cuts with cayenne pepper and fixing with CA glue. As with a previous attempt using paprika, the plan was not totally successful, so perhaps revert to a tried and tested filler like copper powder.
Use a flexible ruler laid across the centre mark to rule a line through which the cut will be made. When cut, hold the two halves together to check the join and sand a bit more if necessary. Glue it up; John uses pva, and hold it together with rubber bands. When selecting wood, and cutting into halves, be mindful of the grain pattern and what will look best. To achieve a different look, contrasting veneers may be laminated between the join. If a lid is to be made, a photocopy of the top of the bowl may be used as a template. The lid is rebated with a router. Further variety can be achieved at this time in the way the split bowl is mounted and the decoration that is applied to the bowl.
Thank you John for an enjoyable, instructive and well planned demo.
Club Meeting: 5 May 2023 Report by: Kevin De Freitas
Often, we have a well-defined and elaborate grain in a piece of wood and want to retain as much as possible at the joint of a lidded box. The problem can be matching the grain when a large section is removed to accommodate the tenon. Dave shows us a method that requires minimal loss, giving the best possible matched grain between the lid and body of the box.
This process was developed from watching various demos on YouTube and adapting ideas to come up with this process. This is a common approach for Dave as he needs to develop faster approaches for production turning.
Dave started with his blank mounted between centres and made it round at 2000 rpm. He then turns a 5mm spigot on each end.
From the 70mm blank, Dave is aiming for a box 60mm high and to part off for the lid at 42mm.
Use a thin parting tool – as thin as possible is the key to losing as little wood as possible. A thick blade (e.g. power hacksaw blade or similar) can be modified into a parting tool.
As you part off, ensure to leave enough room so the parting tool does not rub on the sides and generate excessive heat. To do this Dave moved the parting tool side to side as he cut into the wood. This created a gap that was wider than the tool.
Mount the body (larger piece) in a 50mm chuck.
Drill a hole (or hollow) 10mm deep.
Using another piece of wood (preferably darker in colour), turn an insert that fits snugly into the hole. This insert should protrude the required distance to form the tenon for the main body of the box. Glue the insert in place with CA glue ensuring good glue contact around the rim.
Fit the lid in a 50mm chuck and turn a mortice that fits the tenon with some friction. Hollow and finish the inside of the lid. Ensure that the hollowed depth leaves enough material to shape the outside of the lid.
Mount the body in the chuck and fit the lid and hold in place with the tailstock.
Turn and shape the outside of the box. Tape the lid on and finish shaping it while continuing to support it with the tail stock.
Remove the lid and hollow out the inside of the main body. If thinning the walls, ensure that the tenon is left fully intact by rolling over the edge after the join.
Reduce the tenon slightly so it is no longer a friction fit.
Turn and finish the bottom using a jam chuck or similar.
Club Meeting: Wed 29th March 2023 Report by: Kevin De Freitas
The aim of Cam’s demo was to produce a box out of a cube whilst clearly showing evidence of the cube in the end product. The sample he passed around had evidence of the original 6 faces of the cube of wood.
Cam started with a cube measuring 110mm and mounted between wooden cups. These cups were made from pieces of wood cut at 60degrees and 3 pieces glued together in such a way as to form the square vertex of the cube. Once the glue s dry, the block is turned round to form the final cup. Ensure a strong bonging glue is used – as Cam discovered, the block can come apart and could cause damage to the piece.
Cam warned that turning the cube would result in tear out and chips until the high corners are reduced and the wood has some support behind it. He began to turn off the 4 exposed corners to start to form the desired final shape.
Cam suggested that once you approach the final dimensions, to coat the end grain in CA glue to stabilise it. The comment was made that this would stain the wood however Cam was planning to coat the entire finished piece in CA glue anyway so these stains would not show up.
Cam then marked the blank for height and a place to part off the lid from the main body.
He added a spigot for a 50mm chuck at the headstock end and another at the tailstock end to fit a 30mm chuck.
He then proceeded to cut off the waste at the bandsaw to leave the two spigots.
Mount the blank in the 50mm jaws and hold with a steb centre.
Cam marked the location of the #1 jaw as he needed to relocate the blank in the chuck again later.
Part off the lid of the box (part closest to the tail stock.)
Use a Forstner bit to hollow out most of the main body of the box to about 60mm deep.
Widen the hole and shape to fit the 50mm chuck in expansion mode.
Cut the lip to mate with the lid. Normally the lid fits over the rim on the base but Cam chose to do it in reverse. Finish the inside.
Mount the lid in the 30mm chuck and hollow out to 25mm deep. Shape to fit the main body and finish the inside. Re-mount the main body in the 50mm chuck and hold the lid in place with a steb centre.
Do final shaping of the lid and body together making sure that the flats (original faces of the cube) are the same size.) Mount each part in expanding jaws and turn off the spigots and finish the top and bottom of the box.
This charming young lady has been a member of the SAWG for four years. Introduced to and trained initially in woodturning by Ross Johnson. Emma met Ross when she visited one of his presentations at Maraetai where they were both living at the time. Emma has a degree in fine art. So now we have the perfect combination of an artist and woodturner.
Emma started her demo by showing her ability to take a piece of suitably light coloured timber, such as Macrocarpa, to turn up a small bowl shaped container approximately 100mm in diameter. The centre was drilled out using a 38mm Forstner bit in which a standard decorative candle 15mm high could be mounted. Enough wood was left around the candle mount to form a bead using a parting tool. A gentle curve from the bottom edge of the bead down to the outer diameter of her bowl-shaped candle-holder provided the working surface for the artwork to follow. The bead was rounded and the whole piece sanded and finished.
The pyrography and coloured artwork that followed was the most intriguing part of this demonstration. The actual pattern entailed drawing the petals of a sunflower around the centre candle mounting using a soft leaded pencil. This to prepare the entire circle for even spacing before any burning is commenced. Starting at the neck, the outline of each petal is burnt using low temperature heat which can be raised as needed. The same blade is used to burn in other accoutrements such as an under petal between the tips of the main petals, then the midrib, the veins, with a vein at every tip. At the bead all remaining space is filled using a “Dot” pyro-pen. Use a normal rubber eraser to clean up all pencil marks and burnt debris.
The final artwork, which enhances the entire piece, is undertaken with oil based drawing pencils. Every colour “in the rainbow” comes in a tin of pencils. Seldom necessary; these pencils last for years. (Available from Dave Gillard). A degree of colour matching skills would help to choose the appropriate blends. For sunflowers just start with yellow and work from there. This completed a very attractive enhancement on this beautiful table decoration.
