Artistic Woodturners

May 2007 Newsletter

Here it is another opportunity to produce some fine turnings for gifts or for sale from your lathe. We have had some opportunities to learn new and exciting projects. Ralph Thomas did an outstanding job to keep your attention with a very well prepared demonstration. He went thru the whole demo and showed enough of the details during each step along the way that you should be able to turn an open ended hollow form. Thank you Ralph! For you folks that don’t have a computer you are missing out on the photos from the demonstration. Get your friend to show you the on line newsletter so you can get more info.

Remember the June meeting will be The Turning Exchange so your goal should be to start working on your entry for the exchange. In order for this program to succeed the club needs more participation from our members. Our president would like to see his idea develop into something you want to be a part of each cycle. Remember The Exchange takes place only four times a year so come and join in the fun of making an entry.  Start your own collection of turnings.

  The committee has come up with the Mentor Program to help our members become better turners. It should work like this, contact one of our members who have volunteered to participate in helping you become a better turner. The following members have volunteered to be your mentor, Bill Bryan, Jack Diamond, Al McCoy (Pensacola), Ralph Thomas (Gulf Breeze), Robert McBroom (Milton), if you would like to be a mentor let the committee know.

  Robert McBroom will be doing a demonstration this month. He will be showing how to turn a birdhouse from a single piece of wood hollowed out. He will show you his way to turn ornaments and tops. The small things we all like to turn. Robert has his own way to turn items and will show a different slant on turning and some tools that has made.

  Al McCoy will show you how to take care of your own shop lathe.

See you at the meeting.

Our meeting took place on the 21st of April and the following photos will document the meeting.

James is asking for more people to volunteer to help during a big event such as Bill Grumbine's demo. Don't over work the officers that are in office. Can you spell BURN OUT. 


We did get a volunteer to run the video camera. Charlie Toner will be running the switcher and camera which was donated by the man from the Freeport Club who was here for Bill Grumbine's Demo. He teaches video production in his school. Thank you for the switcher and camera. I believe all we need is a few cables and Al has volunteered to make sure it works for the next meeting.

The Show and Tell table had quite a few entries, keep up the turning. Remember we will have the Turning Exchange in June, so start turning something for this event. No Excuses.


James turns a round bottom natural edge bowl from some of the cherry he had left from the Grumbine evolution.


Al shows part of the three bowls that he got out of a piece of Brazilian Rosewood that OB gave him a few weeks ago. Al said that the wood had just been polished.


Darnell turns in two more great turnings, sorry I can't remember what he said about the bowl in his right hand. He did say that our club will be going International, his in-laws want to learn to turn.


Mike has another great offering. Said that he sent in a turning to AAW for a critique and Malcolm Tibbetts said that his bowls feature ring had less rings than the other rings had. Malcolm needs to check out the photo on the front cover of his latest book "The Art of Segmented Wood Turning" I think he violated his own rule. Mike your turning looks outstanding to me. 


Bill Bryan turns a nice spaulted bowl for his neighbor and he has yet to come and get it. Take it to him Bill if you want him to have it.


Bill turns a nice platter out of scrap wood that he has been collecting. Goes to show you that a nice turning is laying around your shop waiting to be discovered.


Frank Strong is really getting into this turning thing. Shows off three new turnings that he used a technique AL told him about. Al found the mixture of apple cider vinegar and #0000 steel wool, mix together and let set for a week or so. This was given to Al by someone in the carving club that does Intarsia carving and needed some black wood. The vinegar can be strained and saved and used to blacken some types of wood. Al used it on Butternut and Walnut.


Frank shows off a cane he made with a rattle on the end.


Here George shows off an air brushed bowl. He said while turning there was something coming detached from the turning, after an inspection found out it was a dizzy worm living just under the bark which he had to pick out with tweezers.


Lee Howard shows off some of his new things made on his new JET.

Lee has two in a row. Keep the lathe turned on an your tools sharp.


Mark turns this item on two axis's, a canteen. This project was suggested by OB. Nice turning.


Mark said he almost threw this piece of wood away, but decided at the last moment he would try to carve something out of the trash bound wood. Great save!


Bill found this piece of wood along the road half burned, great looking bowl. you never know where your next turning will be found. Keep your eyes pealed as the old saying goes.


Jack makes another creation out of staves. He had his own show and tell to show others how he did this. Thanks Jack.


Mike Peters shows another one of his laser light creations. Nice for a glass piece from DrJ.


Our new auctioneer Kurt filling in for the last two who were absent.


There just has to be another piece like Mark turned in here some place. Keep looking!!

Ralph's Demo

The following photos will attempt to show you Ralph Thomas's demonstration on how he makes an open ended hollow form. During this presentation he will use several different pieces he has turned in stages to show how he performs each step along the way. It was his intentions to speed up the presentation by doing the hollowing at home and show you the critical steps here at his demo.  He doesn't want to insult your intelligence by removing every splinter before your very eyes.


Some of the hollow forms created by Ralph using the open ended method to produce these fine turnings.


Ralph starts by showing off his collection of Southwest forms.





Ralph uses his first example, he turns the outside, turns the tenons and creates the shape of his hollow form.



The start of a Southwest Shape from a Chinaberry tree.


Ralph switches to a pre shaped bowl to show the members how he uses his hollowing rig before switching over to the laser light rig. You can use other methods to hollow out the wood, Ralph uses his Hamlet hollowing rig available from several supply houses or check out the Web for this particular tool.


Notice how heavy the shavings he is cutting out, these are from the type of scraper he is using. Remember this turning is open on both ends and Ralph is turning this down close with this Hamlet tool so he can finish up with his laser guided tool.


 This tool is very aggressive.


Here Ralph uses his laser to thin the sides. Notice he has lines on the turning to thin to the thickness he wants in increments as he gets to the bottom. This is a different turning for demo to show the use of the laser.


Here Ralph prepares the bottom before he installs the top. He has used his caliper to check the hole size before adjusting the diameter prior to gluing up.


Checking size prior to glue up.


Gluing up the bottom using his aligning tool.


Shaping outside of top.


Turning inside of top.


Questions?  Ralph says that he has the bowls finished and will bring them to show and tell. See you on the 19th of May.