Club Meeting: 5 Feb 2025
Report by: Peter Wyatt

Strett discussed the use of ‘JAM CHUCKS’ to allow turning in situations outside the normal lathe chucks.

Theoretically there could be jam chuck for all situation.

Small Bowl Chuck

This can be used to remove spigots and finish the bottom of the bowl. The jam chuck does need to completely fill the bowl tightly with the tail stock needed to centre the bowl and hold it in place.

Larger Bowls

The same situation as small bowl

Internal Pointed Chuck

This chuck is cone shape with rubber around it and will go into hollowed out bowls, as in the photo. The tail stock must again be used to hold and centre the bowl.

Oyster Catcher

This chuck is made with spigots at both ends It is round with holes in each end to suit the item to be placed inside. The holes will need to reduce in size to take the shapes to go in. Strett uses this chuck to make his Oyster catcher, as you can see in the photos

Glue Chuck

Glue chucks can be used to support small to very large items for turning.
They can have spigots for attaching to the lathe or a threaded piece to screw the board to the lathe.
The items to be turned are held in place by the tail stock and then glued to the supporting timber plate.
This chuck is used in off centre turning, and for small items such as Deer antler buttons

Dowel Work and Finials

Strett showed us a jam chuck, in the photos, that can be used for turning dowel. The dowel is griped by the 4 piece plug that can be seen. Once centred by the tail stock it is tightened by pushing the plug in. The hole in the chuck goes right through to allow a length of dowel to go in.

Strett stressed that jam chucks are limitless, and he advised that he only showed a few to show what can be done.
He mentioned:
Box spigots, Pencil repair kits, All off centre turning, and all dowel and finial work.


“Keep all left over ends, and pieces as they will come in handy one day”

Club Meeting: 12 March 2025
Report by: Ian Connelly

John has been doing a variety of resin work to complement and enhance his woodwork. Not always with woodturning, but we will let him away with that on this occasion.

John used a EnviroTex Resin purchased from Rowe Advanced Materials, the particular resin was a 1:1 mix designed for tabletops.

He explained that colour could be added to the resin with dyes, and he had examples of both transparent and opaque dyes. He had also used copper powered and other similar materials to change the effect of the resin.

John favoured small pours, which meant that the bubbles were easier to manage. These he popped with the help of a small gas torch.

He explained the journey he had been on, with the mixing process of multiple cups, settling on a process of just using one cup.

He had also experienced issue where he was mixing by weight, but due to the differing specific gravity of the components this resulted in a sub-optimal result. He calculated the weight ratio as 1 to 0.88 for this particular resin. Bottom line – read the instructions on the resin.

Other tips

• Level the work
• Glue down objects so they do not move or float
• Seal the rim of a bowl with acrylic paint or PVA to avoid bleeding
• Thickest layer with this resin he was pouring was 3mm
• Blowtorch bubbles

John poured three objects during the demo, two open pours of clear resin to make “Rock Pool Art”, and also a third pour to an enclosed void in a block of wood, that he is planning to turn into a bowl.

The first two pours went without incident, John constantly remembering to go back periodically to pop the bubbles.

The third pour demonstrated the ability of resin to find the smallest of holes in the sealing material (in this case masking tape, with a layer of duct tape over the top) and escape. John was clearly expecting this as he had the object in a plastic basin to contain the pooling resin.

This was an excellent demo from John that stood in with only a weeks notice when it was determined the lathes were going to be on the truck for participation before the meeting. Everybody that was there would have learn something more about working with resin and the possibilities of incorporating it into your wood art.

Club Meeting: 5 March 2025
Report by: Graeme Mackay

Emma’s demonstration came through with a new approach to embellishing, with the use of a 3D raindrop effect and water based Suminagashi colouring technique. A bright introduction to the options of marbling. Emma’s demonstration and illustration of methodologies was cheerful and well presented, providing an easy view of how to get into the subject of embellishment through marbling and colour.

Key features of these embellishments:

• 3D water effect that requires a flat surface.
• A black painted surface on the lathed areas.
• Preference for spray-painted black base.
• Preference for acrylic based paint.
• Starting preference on the complimentary colours to be used.
• Clear contrasting areas dark and light.
• Use of colour wheel.
• Practise and experiment on water delivery and your application styles i.e. pipette.
• Awareness for drying times and requirements/equipment needed.

Illustration an example was given to encourage new entrants to conduct regular experiments. Also, use and record a trial and error approach on waste blocks etc. Emma noted that there were many ways to initiate and start the marbling embellishment process. And, there is a lot of fun in exploration.

Traditional Marbling.

Emma outlined the basics of paint on water marbling with an emphasis on colour choice. This approach is matched to the characteristics of paint material. An excellent introduction to the beginning marbling and highlighting of key points:

• Appropriate liquid base, Emma used Carrageenan.
• Appropriate colour variations and selection.
• Emphasis on method of alum application.
• Introduction to the basics of the mordant process.

Each section was given tips and directions i.e. use of a colour chart, working on complimentary colours, avoiding air pockets, and recording the style of application. It was interesting in that some topics appeared on a regular basis:

• Experimentation
• Trial
• Method variations tested.

Emma had an excellent approach to finishing the base product: surface presentation is essential. Working to the standard sandpaper grades is a normal process.
And remember: marbling shows up all the faults!

Club Meeting: 28 Feb 2025
Report By Cory Wyatt.

John started the demo with a small hand out describing the 4 major spindle working forms: Bead, Cove, Vee, and Straight. As seen below:

From this John moved to the four actions used in spindle turning and how the combination of these actions gets the differing forms.

From Here John moved to showing how these work in making a wig stand shaft (refer to the SAWG link https://sawg.org.nz/sawg/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Spindles-for-Wig-Stands.pdf).

Wig Stand Shaft

Starting by marking centres, placing between centres on the lathe, moving the rest to slightly below centre lining up with the bed, before checking the spacing with the lathe off with his spindle roughing gouge.

From here he started rounding off the timber with the tool at an approximate 45-degree angle starting in from the edge and moving to the end to avoid chipping the end. Showing the gouge was held on with two fingers and making small frequent cuts during the rounding process.

He used a 25mm spanner to remove the material at either end of the stand where they will be attached to the base and head. Note the club generally uses a 26mm Forstner bit for these holes, so please adjust to meet the tooling that you use. The ends of these cuts were then under cut to ensure a good fit on the base and head with a spindle gouge.

John marked up the shaft with his design and used a skew with a small vee cut to mark up his lines for his beads and coves.

Making Beads: Using either a spindle gouge or skew, you cut away from your high point rolling down to your low point. Best down in small cuts if not comfortable with larger cuts. By finishing with a vertical spindle gouge this means the wings do not hit the other side of the cut.

Making Coves: Start with a V cut and move towards the lowest point of the cut making small cuts. You are cutting downhill for an easy definition.

Making Skew Cuts: Roll the body and work towards the lowest point of the cut, remember that your tool rest hight is normally higher for your skew than your spindle gouge. There is no issue with changing between a spindle gouge and skew.

Door Stop

John moved on to his next project and described the two ways to make a door stop. Firstly, you can make a single stop and once turned you use a saw to remove the waste wood. Or you can make a double ended stop and cut in half. Either way the turning is the same.

You start by Turning your square end into a ball or large bead, as described above with a slight rounding of the inner edge with a v cut.

This is needed to make the bead and looks attractive, once done you can either turn the other end for a double stopper or take straight to the saw for a single. These can be made with either the skew or spindle gouge.

Other possible projects

John showed other projects that be completed using the same cuts and the work completed on the beginner’s course.
Muscle up Toy

Christmas Cracker

Baby Spinning Top

Tulip

Club Meeting: 19 Feb 2025
Report by: Kevin De Freitas

David, an experienced woodworker with 12 years of spoon-making expertise, shared his process for crafting wooden spoons and spatulas. Throughout the demonstration, he provided insights into his techniques, tools, and finishing methods.

Development of an Idea

David showcased various samples of his work, discussing how his designs have evolved over time. He emphasized the iterative nature of woodworking, where additional features, such as scraping edges, were added based on functionality and user feedback. Notably, he created a batch of spoons of Martha Stewart style, using native New Zealand wood for export to the USA.

Making a Spatula

Materials and Preparation

• Uses wood scraps approximately 300x100x30mm.
• Layout includes two spoons or spatulas per blank.
• The bandsaw is used to cut away excess wood (referred to as “wings”), which is then repurposed as kindling.
• The spoon or spatula end is mounted at the tailstock end of the lathe for optimal shaping of the handle.

Turning the Handle

• Key considerations: Stability between centers and proper tailstock tension (not too tight) to avoid vibration.
• The lathe runs at 2400 RPM, and a face shield is worn for safety.
• A roughing gouge with swept-back wings is used, allowing it to function as a skew when required.
• The curve is shaped starting from the spoon end toward the headstock.
• The neck is refined while leaving the handle thicker initially to maintain stability.
• For the final cut, the handle is stabilized by hand—often using a paper towel to prevent heat buildup.
• A Detail gouge is used for final shaping of the end of the handle.
• The piece is parted off 1mm beyond the intended end, followed by power sanding to prevent grain breakage.

Shaping the Spatula End

• The bandsaw is used to remove excess material from either side.
• The belt sander (80 grit) is applied to smooth the spatula’s surface.
• To avoid linear scratches, the spatula is moved up and down quickly during sanding.

Making a Spoon

David employs a Pantorouter, a pattern-following router jig developed by Matthias Wandel (YouTube creator). The Pantorouter ensures precision, as the template used is double the size of the final spoon, eliminating inconsistencies.

Steps:

Routing the Spoon Bowl

• The router is equipped with a ball-nosed bit.
• Mount the blank and carefully follow the pattern to create the concave spoon profile in the blank
• Can create both right-handed and left-handed spoons (typically at a 40:4 ratio).

Turning the Handle

• The process follows the same steps as spatula handle shaping.

Finishing the Spoon Bowl

• Cut away excess wood to form the outer shape of the spook
• Superglue is applied to stabilize torn grain before sanding.
• The spoon is carefully sanded for a smooth finish.

Finishing Process

• After sanding, the spoons and spatulas are treated with Woodgrain Wood Conditioner.
• The pieces are oiled and waxed, with the wax left overnight for better absorption.

Packaging for Sale

David demonstrated how he packages his finished spoons and spatulas in hemp bags, making them ready for sale at markets.

David’s demonstration provided a comprehensive look into the artistry of wooden spoon and spatula making, from raw materials to a finished product ready for sale. His combination of traditional craftsmanship with modern tools like the Pantorouter highlights the balance of precision and hand-finishing required for high-quality wooden kitchenware.

Club Meeting: 12 Feb 2025
Report by: Ian Connelly

Anwar came well prepared with tools and examples of his wavy bowls.

First you need a bowl with a broad rim, then you need to work out how many segments you want to lay out the wavy pattern. Anwar suggested that odd number look best such as 7, 9, 12.

This was followed with a number of ideas for how to divid up the circumference of the bowl.

1. Calculate it, π d gives the circumference, you can then divide this by the number of waves desired… dividers were then used to step around the edge, allowing for adjustment if need before making the marks.
2. Use a round template with the angles marked (good method if you are doing many with same number of waves)

The centres between the marks were also marked.

Anwar then mounted a bowl on a woodcut promount and with a sanding drum on drill he showed one of his methods of carving the waves. Other methods included rasps, dremel.

Anwar showed a second example and passed many pieces around the audience.

The final method he presented was a sanding drum he had made by gluing sandpaper to a cylinder of wood and mounting that in a chuck on the lathe.

A great demo giving another idea for how to make a bowl more interesting, thanks Anwar.

Club Meeting: December 11, 2024
Write-up: Holm Miehlbradt

Gary started by describing the enjoyment of catching and eating Kina. He then proceeded to make a wooden Kina shell.

He started by rounding the piece of wood between centers and made a spigot on one side. He then mounted it in a chuck to turn the outside of the Kina. This surface will be later carved, but needs to be well finished including good sanding.

While still mounted on the chuck he drilled a hole with a forstner bit for easier hollowing and for mounting on a smaller chuck. For hollowing he used a Munro tool and cleaned out the shavings with a spoon! If possible the lathe head can be rotated to allow for a better position when hollowing.

After turning the piece around and remounting it, he finished off the bottom and drilled a hole which can be enlarged or reshaped during the carving process.

Gary finally discussed and showed different way of carving the outside of the Kina to make it look more realistic or decorative. He used different patterns to achieve various effects.

Thanks Gary for this very interesting demo with a lot of creative possibilities.

Club Meeting: 4 December 2024
Report by: Roger Pye

If ever there was a member of the SAWG who loves turning wood, it certainly has to be Jonathan. He is by day, a professional surgeon, who works at Middlemore Hospital and then, after hours he has become a “Wood Surgeon”.

Somehow there must be a connection between carving flesh by day and then wood after hours. After all, he has such a happy smile standing behind his lathe and cracking jokes this must be his outlet following a day of serious and detailed concentration involving hospital surgery.

Johnathan spotted an interesting figurine made with wooden components on his European travels. This “little man” is made entirely of wooden components, all of which can be turned on conventional woodturning equipment. At a cost of €26.00 Johnathan purchased his sample from which he soon sorted out how to make and assemble the exact same thing. So tonight, at the SAWG, Johnathan is passing on his methodology.

Basic materials are wooden blocks of Macrocarpa or anything similar, even Oak.

Dimensions:-

• 45mm x 45mm – 125mm long
• 20mm x 20mm – 125mm long
• 10mm x 10mm – 125mm long

Each of the above are used for various body parts.

1. Main body with two parts; his bottom which will become what he actually sits on, then his torso which is shaped like the top and narrow part of an egg. (Refer to photographs herewith.)
2. Hands and nose.
3. Head and hat.
4. A tray of Christmas presents in various shapes and sizes is not part of this demo, but as illustrated can be added.

Components are made with a “fingernail” spindle gouge and two chucks, one 50mm and the other with jaws for the smaller parts. Hands are spherical at 10mm diameter and drilled for a 2.5mm mounting dowel. The nose is a tiny cone.

From the 20mm rod turn a head (another sphere). To show a beard use a Japanese draw saw to cut a carefully placed 45º cut from the forehead to the chin. Cut it off at right angles then sand with a circular sander mounted on the lathe spindle. This will provide a recess for the face inside the head. (see photo) The cap, made from the same diameter wood will be concaved to fit over the head and shaped as in pixie shape and fitted later with a pompom.

Painting is another exercise requiring a spraying gun (alternatives are possible). Paint the body green and the base black. Use acrylic tubes to paint the head white and the nose red the face left plain is “touched up” when finished. The final assembly is rather fun if you choose various statures for the finished man.

So, it was a fun demo, and a good look into miniature woodturning, certainly a good way to use up a few scraps.

Club Meeting: 27 November 2024
Report by: Ian Connelly

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

Now on with the turning.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Club Meeting: 20th November 2024
Report by: Rebecca Waite

On November 20th, Dick Veitch captivated the audience with a vibrant demonstration inspired by the renowned UK woodturner Phil Irons, featured in this month’s online NAW meeting. For a deeper dive into Phil’s stunning work, check out his website: Phil Irons Woodturning.

Before diving into the demonstration, Dick showcased an exquisite piece turned by Dick and coloured by Phil, alongside a striking blue vase he created using a similar colouring technique. The vase was pre-turned and sanded, setting the stage for the creative process.

Dick began with a piece of highly rippled macrocarpa, emphasising the importance of selecting the right wood. He explained that lighter woods not only enhance the vibrancy of colours but also contribute to the overall beauty. For a balanced vase design, Dick adhered to the rule of thirds, allocating one-third for the top and two-thirds for the base. He marked his wood and began to shape it into a tulip-like form, using a spindle roughing gauge sharpened at a 35-degree angle. After achieving the desired silhouette, he sanded the piece to a smooth 250-grit finish.

The colouring process was equally intriguing. Dick utilised the colour-fast Bri Wax spirit-based dye, which can be explored further at Briwax Wood Dyes. He began with black dye applied with a brush as the lathe turned slowly, removing excess dye with a paper towel soaked in clear methylated spirits—wearing gloves for protection, of course. Allowing the dye to dry for 30 minutes.

Next he started power sanding with 320 grit while the lathe runs at 100 RPM. It’s normal for the sanding paper to clog with paint, so keep going until you see some white wood. Then, apply the blue Briwax colour-fast dye, wipe off the excess, and let it dry for 30 minutes. Thankfully, Dick was well-prepared and showed us a piece with both black and blue.

Avoid water-based Briwax dye because it takes longer to dry and can raise the grain. Next, sand again with 400 grit to remove some stain, then repeat the dye step again then sand with 600 grit. This lets you gradually work through the grits and add more layers of colour to achieve your desired look—one of Dick’s finished pieces had three layers of black and one of blue.

Different woods affect dye colours; for instance, macrocarpa has a yellow base that alters the dye’s appearance. The key challenge is to find the right balance of sanding and colouring.
Dick also noted that different woods can dramatically alter the appearance of dye colours, with macrocarpa’s yellow tones influencing the final outcome. He expertly navigated the challenges of achieving the perfect balance of sanding to colour, concluding with a suggested finish of low gloss lacquer for a polished look.

This demonstration not only showcased Dick’s skill but also sparked creativity and inspiration among participants, making it a memorable event in the our woodturning community!