The spigot was to fit his 40mm set of C-jaws with a 7mm depth. Andy used his thin parting tool to create the groove for the jaw lip at the bottom of the spigot and then a similar groove half way up; this was for a later process.
Andy initially sanded with the lathe turning while using a power sander rather than hand held abrasives in order to avoid the remaining sharp corners causing injuries. He then stopped the lathe and hand sanded along the grain before finishing with a coat of sander sealer.
The piece was then fitted into his C-jaws ready to hollow out the bowl. Andy sawed off the newly exposed tip to accommodate support from his tailstock.  Taking care to avoid flying corners, he gradually turned away towards the centre but leaving a stub for his tailstock.
As he cut closer to the flying corners, he regularly stopped the lathe to check that his inside cut was keeping parallel over the entire length of the outer edge of the piece.  Any disparity quickly showed just how far down the cut his Bowl Gouge needed to remove more wood to return the edges to parallel.  Halfway through the hollowing, Andy turned his toolrest into the hollow to avoid a long over-hang of the gouge near the bowl's bottom.
Once satisfied with the inside parallel shaping, he removed the tailstock as well as the stub to about 5mm from the bottom.  Using a smaller Bowl Gouge, he continued cutting to clean up the bowl's centre with just the chuck jaws supporting.

When it came to sanding, Andy took care to avoid the abrasives damaging any of the sharp edges.  He didn't do any hand sanding with the lathe turning, instead used his selection of various hard-backed shaped pads without applying too much pressure.  He found that his power sander with a soft padding was ideal for sanding the central bottom of the bowl when applied to the opposite side of where he was standing.  With the lathe stopped, he hand sanded to finish but again being careful of downward pressure near the edges.
The piece was sander sealed and when dried, microcrystalline wax was applied using some webrax.
The piece was repositioned so that the C-jaws now engaged the mid groove (formed when turning the spigot initially) which made the parting off an easier process.

(click for close up view)

The majority of turned items tend to be from a single piece.
However, a Toothpick Holder requires turning several individual components which all have to fit within each other, i.e. the knob, lid, caddy and body, which makes for an interesting and rewarding project and arguably one that becomes more relevant as we and our teeth age!  One doesn't even have to worry about food safe finishes.


The design of the holder is such that the lid rests loosely on a lip and attached via a dowel to the caddy, which must be able to slide smoothly up and down within the body.
To drill holes in wood (particularly deep holes) it is preferable to use a drill rather than a box cutter to achieve the straight parallel sides required.  Even though hole cutting should be done at a slow lathe speed, it will inevitably warm up the wood, so it is preferable to drill before turning away the outside of the component because a thicker wall will be able to dissipate heat better and less likely to split than might a thinner one.
Consequently, Paul prefers to start with the innermost cut and then turn away its outside to fit the next holed component.
With that said, there are many turners who favour working from outside to inside.  The choice is yours.

From experience of previous holders he has turned, Paul had planned a cylindrical blank for the body capable to accommodate his 32mm Forstner bit but still leave sufficient side thickness to fashion some shape to the outside.
Most 'YouTube' examples show the knob and lid created separately, whereas Paul prefers to turn these from a single blank.  This method might well create more wastage but if the body, lid and knob have a marked grain/spalting, the end result will be much improved with all 3 parts matching and aligned.
Paul's lid had to be a diameter of a few mm greater than the 32mm hole so it wouldn't fall in and able to accommodate at least 20mm depth for lid & knob combined. The caddy (ideally a piece of dry stable close-grained wood) needed to be cylindrical blank wider than the 32mm so it could be turned down to fit, and be able to accommodate his 25mm Forstner bit. The inside depth of the caddy should be about 25mm; if it was a bit more, by the time one had added a 5mm base, the caddy tended to look out of proportion.
The diameter of his dowel proved to be too big for his 4.5mm drill bit but too loose for a 5mm hole.  However, he chose to go for the smaller drill because despite tailstock and headstock supposedly being in line, inevitably the drill bit held in a Jacob's chuck and the wood held in the headstock chuck will introduce minute disparities that will result in the 4.5mm drill creating a marginally larger hole because it was ever so slightly off-centre.

 Top Tip : When using a Jacobs Chuck, the operation works well while under the positive pressure of winding the drill into the piece, but upon withdrawing, the bit can bind onto the inside of the cut hole and get pulled out of the morse taper.
Suddenly, a perfectly still drill chuck with gear teeth has started revolving at the speed of the lathe.
Anticipate this by supporting the chuck to stay in the tailstock with your free hand gripping it clear of the gear teeth.

 The Lid
Paul had chosen a piece of Laburnum (for it's stability, strength and finish) and mounted it in his chuck.  With his Jacobs Chuck in the tailstock, he drilled a hole about 5mm deep for where the dowel would eventually be glued.  This end was to be the underside of the lid. With the Jacobs being replaced with a revolving centre, the piece was well supported for turning to a cylinder and squaring off the end carefully with a skew so as to not press the skew's edge hard against the tail centre. The end 5mm or so was turned accurately with the aid of callipers and a parting tool to 36mm then slightly tapered towards the tail stock so as to help the finished lid to drop into position when it's let go.  Then allowing this worked 5mm to remain at the tail stock end, he turned away the rest to fashion a knob - he chose a dovetail shape. An advantage of using a wood like Laburnum was that it is so close grained and strong that a small parting tool can produce smooth accurate shaping. Before parting off, the piece was sanded.

 The Caddy
Paul had selected a piece of 'Pride of India' aka Golden Rain Tree (Botanical Name: Koelreuteria Paniculata) confusingly from China.  He hadn't used it before but it was purported to behave like Boxwood so should be ideal for this job.
Having been mounted in his chuck, the procedure was similar to above other than he used his 25mm Forstner first to cut about 25mm deep and then changed to his dowel sized drill to drill a further 10mm. He removed the Jacobs; accurately measured the internal depth for determining where the base would be and replaced with a revolving centre to steady the piece for turning the 'fit-critical' outside. (Should one/both ends of the caddy be a sloppy fit inside the length of the body, there is a likelihood that the caddy will tilt away from level as it moves up/down and jam its leading and diagonally opposite edges against the inside).
With the piece supported between chuck and tail centre, Paul carefully and gradually turned the outer surface down to 31mm diameter with the aid of callipers and small parting tool, which worked perfectly provided the tool is kept in motion back or forth.
(Whenever working with a wood type for your first time, it is important to check regularly that the tool you're using is working as you want, especially when using abrasives; eg sanding Yew too vigorously leads to overheating and cracks in the finished surface whereas light sanding with rests in between grits works fine).
The tail centre was removed so Paul could chamfer the inside edge of the opening.  To compensate for the missing tail support, he rested a couple of fingers of his tool rest hand on top of the turning piece.  As the piece turns down onto the cutting edge of the tool, its natural reaction is to climb upwards but the steadying weight applied by his fingers dampens the vibrations, which would otherwise cause an uneven finish.
Light abrasives were used to flatten the surface before parting off at the pre-measured depth plus say 5mm for thickness of base. This time, because of the central hole drilled for the dowel, Paul could part off exactly on the calculated line without worrying that the final cut would pull out some end grain.  The bottom was finished with sanding by hand.

 Assembly
Bearing in mind that most commercial toothpicks/cocktail sticks can vary from 50-85mm; that the lid is of about 5mm thickness; the caddy base is another 5mm and one will need some space to pick, lift up and clear the caddy to remove (say another 5mm); it follows that the hole depth in the body should be a minimum of 15mm plus the length of your stick. Paul had sticks of 80mm so used 95mm as his minimum figure.
Paul glued one end of the dowel into the lid and allowed it to dry before the dowel was sawn off 95mm below the underside of the lid and glued into the pre-drilled hole in the base of the caddy.

 The Body
A 40mm cylinder of spalted Silver Birch had been prepared with its end trued off for mounting into the Club's chuck and a Jacobs chuck with his 32mm Forstner drill bit in the tail stock. Paul stuck some insulation tape around the stem of the drill bit at 95mm from the bottom of the cutting edge (which is flat with a Forstner but often cone shaped with other wood drills which will thus need additional depth to compensate).
Remembering the TopTip above, Paul reduced the lathe speed and keeping his fingers gripping behind the gear teeth, drilled until the tape marked depth reached the entrance hole. While drilling this amount of depth, he found he needed to withdraw the bit to clear the shavings 3 or 4 times during the procedure.  
He then swapped the Jacobs with a large diameter tailstock revolving centre to steady the piece for shaping the outside.
Paul opted to create a gentle upward slope to where the lid would sit.  With the tail centre temporarily removed, he gradually turned a chamfered edge within a few mm of the opening that matched the chamfer of the lid. With regular checks to see how the lid rested in position, he decided upon leaving the lid slightly above the body's edge.  If the dowel had been left too long, one could still shorten it before gluing it to the bottom of the caddy.
He chose to shape the sides with 2 coves using a smaller one at the top for aesthetic proportion.
Spalted wood has areas of different colours which have different densities that will wear down at different rates resulting in an uneven surface.  Treating the surface with sander sealer will help to reduce the softer areas abrading away quicker than the denser areas.
With soft/spalted woods, 400 grit is about as far as you should dare whereas with hardwoods, one could continue down to much finer grits.
Having re-checked the actual internal depth of the body and adding at least 5mm, Paul marked the intended base of the body and proceeded to part off clear of the mark because a parting tool will inevitably tear out when cutting end-grain.
He finished with quickly turning a jamb chuck so that he could reverse the piece, finish off the base with a Skew and/or abrasives and even contemplate some decoration.
 

(photos by Rick Patrick & Paul Reeves))
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Turning a mushroom is a perfect use for branch wood.  Few projects can so readily integrate bark, sap, heart and pith in a single piece.  It doesn't even matter if the piece cracks, splits, withers or weathers with age, it will still look realistic.
Ideally, choose a wood with contrasting colours within its grain - although last month's Splash of Colour demonstration could be incorporated when using a bland coloured wood to produced those red-topped white-dotted examples.
A popular choice is Yew but Paul had brought a selection of more exotic branch wood including Giant Redwood (Sequoia), Judas Tree, Juniper and Japanese Maple as the example of a bland wood.

(All pictures with a blue border can be clicked for a closer view)

1.  Shapes
Mushrooms have quite a selection as illustrated to the right.
Turning is ideal with wet wood but note that most of the taller caps have deep undercutting underneath, which is helpful in avoiding cracks/splits to appear over time while drying. 

2.  Presentation
Solitary pieces are the norm but to make an impression, try turning a group displayed on a natural looking base, eg rotted or burred wood or a base covered in moss.
Mushrooms never stand precisely straight in real life so if turning a solitary example, it looks better if you saw/sand a bit off the base to produce an off-perpendicular piece.  With a group displayed on a base, the pieces were all turned with a 8mm spigot so that an 8mm drill could be drilled anywhere on your show base and at any jaunty angle of your choosing.

3.  Tools
A Spindle Gouge could do everything but it is easier for smaller sized tools like thin/curved scrapers and hollowing tools for undercutting the deeper caps.

Giant Redwood  -  Paul had mounted a piece of Redwood between centres with the chosen end to be the cap placed against the drive centre.
A Roughing Gouge was used to turn a cylinder from the tail end to about halfway.
Using a Skew Chisel, he turned a V-cut such that the left hand side remained clear of the drive centre's edges and the right hand side starting to form the shape of the chosen cap top while leaving a small stub for the drive centre to continue spinning the piece.

Then with a Spindle Gouge, he continued shaping the stem/stalk.  If the piece is to be free standing, leave the base more bulbous in order to lower the centre of gravity and improve stability.
Paul preferred to have his stem running thinner towards the cap and (depending upon the wood) arranged to leave a bunched-up curved shaving just below the underside of the cap to mimic the ring/skirt often found on a mushroom. This annular skirt is the remnants of a sack-like veil originally connected to the edge/margin of the cap prior to the mushroom starting to grow out of the ground.
He then repositioned his tool rest at right angles to the stem in order to better support his gouge as he turned away the underside of the cap to approximately parallel of the intended topside.  He took care to avoid damaging the bark remaining on the edge of the cap.
Continuing with his Spindle Gouge, he continued with the cap's top surface without cutting it completely off.
He sanded all round with 180 grit only, commenting that real mushrooms tend to have matt finishes.
Returning to his Skew Chisel, which works perfectly for cutting across the grain, he turned off as much as he dared (about 5mm spigot).
Now it was decision time for parting off the base.
 For standing alone pieces - saw off the base at an angle remembering to back off the tailstock to reduce the squeezing pressure on the piece;
 For mounting pieces on a base - while still between centres, create an 8mm spigot before parting off.
Finally, the top was sawn off and sanded smooth.

4.  Decorative Options
PYROGRAPHY -  The underside of the cap often has gills which can be replicated by scorching with a carving blade iron.  Once brought up to temperature, drag the nib outwards towards close to the edge. Slower movements produce darker & wider marks - if too dark, try brushing off with a toothbrush.
An alternative is a Dremel fitted with a disc cutter and then scorch with a blow torch.

ACRYLIC PAINTS  -  Ideal for decorating plain woods with a brush or cloth. Drying time can be shortened with a hairdryer. Acrylic paste is a good way of creating a protruding white spot/scale over a red background.

WOOD STAINS  -  Another option to suit plain woods. See Splash of Colour demonstration for technique.

Button Mushrooms  -  Although smaller overall, these mushrooms have comparatively thicker stems but will still need a smaller drive centre than used above.  Procedure much as before other than Roughing Gouge removes all the bark and the smaller size led to Paul turning 2 mushrooms from a single piece with a cap turned at either end.  Additionally, he used 240 grit all round to produce a shinier finish like the real Button Mushrooms and he used a thin Parting Tool close to the stem for his undercut.
These are prime candidates for plain coloured wood and wood stains.

Lobed Mushrooms  -  Paul had a piece of Juniper between centres, not necessarily on the pith but rather a point chosen equidistant from the various inward folds.  One might think to be wary of the piece being out of balance but with such a size as small as tonight's pieces, there won't be any danger of the lathe walking itself across the workshop. Paul recommended that we treat it as a normal piece; in fact, high speed is your friend with odd shapes because the gaps pass quicker and your gouge is into cutting again with minimal deflection.

The finished Demonstration pieces

5.  Other Ideas
  A popular request from family & friends is a Tooth Fairy's Mushroom, which has the stem fashioned as a box to hold the tooth overnight but magically changes to a coin by morning time.  It is recommended that the box is not made big enough to hold a £2 coin inside!
  Below is an example from Pinterest of a downlighter mushroom; the reflection reveals a strip of LED lights embedded into the underside of the cap that are powered by batteries secreted within the stem.

(photos by Andy Ogilvie, Rick Patrick & Paul Reeves))
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Paul started the evening asking how many of those present had used colour in their wood turning - (about 10%).
Then he asked how many liked to see colouring in wood turned pieces - (again, about 10%)
This response validates Les Thorne's comments to the Club earlier this year that he had stopped demonstrating various colour techniques due to a general lack of interest.
Paul admitted he wasn't a fan of colouring for the sake of it but did believe there were 3 occasions when colouring could enhance the finished piece :-
 1.    Spot Colouring
 2.    Liming Wax/Gilt Creams
 3.    Spirit Staining

  Spot Colouring
Small subtle areas of eye-catching colour(s) can emphasize an edge or boundaries of a decoration on an otherwise bland blank.
As an example, Paul had prepared a pale Sycamore bowl which he proposed to lift its plainness by adding some colour to the outer edge of the bowl's rim. To create a surface to show off the paint, he had used the indexing facility on his lathe to mark out 12 symmetrical points around the edge.  Using a drum sander with 120 grit mounted into his chuck, he just pressed the bowl edge into the spinning sander to make a lozenge shaped indent. (Similar effects could be achieved with the bowl mounted in the chuck and using a Dremel with a drum sander or other attachments).
Although the centre marks had been precisely drawn, Paul believes to use even pressure and movement by hand & eye to generate the indents so that the slight variations in size and depth underscores one's hand-made craftsmanship.

As Sycamore is very pale, Paul had chosen bright contrasting colours of green and orange.
There is no necessity to spend a lot of money on paints as there are many discount shops (Lidl, InXcess, Milford Supplies) that sell an array of acrylic paint pots.
TOP TIP : To keep painted edges sharp and to help remove any paint overspills, apply a sealer first as this will close up the timber pores and provide a solid foundation for the paint. Any overspills can be wiped away while wet or sanded away with 400 grit once dry.
He brushed on his paint keeping the paint thickness even and of alternating colours. He carefully wiped away any paint that had settled in the wrong place with a cloth before allowing it to dry completely - quickened with a combination of lathe turning and a hairdryer.
He used fine abrasive along the grain to leave crisp edges of colour and finally 600 grit before tack ragging and a spray Cellulose sander sealer to seal in the colour.

Paul had also experimented with staggered bevelling on both inside and outside edges of a bowl with an intention to paint the resulting upwardly facing wiggly line.

(click either above for close up view)

  Liming Wax/Gilt Creams
These are designed to work their way into the grain of the wood to make them stand out in a striking manner.  They are particularly effective on deeply grained ring-porous timber (eg Oak, Ash) where the pigmented wax can settle into the grooves, accentuating the grain and adding a sense of depth and texture often resulting in an enhanced rustic, antique feel.

Paul had prepared a plain Ash bowl having a flattened rim with prominent grain.  After sanding and sealing, he applied a coloured acrylic paint as above.  Once dry, he used 400 grit to open up the wood pores again and used a soft brush and tack rags to remove the dust.
White liming wax was applied into the grain covering the painted rim using a gloved hand and then he wiped most of it off with a cloth before it was left aside to dry thoroughly.  The instructions on the wax jar talks about using "finishing oil" but any mineral spirits (eg white spirits) should cure the wax.

Gilt Creams are predominantly available in gold, silver and copper, although many manufacturers offer numerous shades of each metallic colour as well as verdigris (green).
These bright/shiny flashes of colour are particularly effective in showing up grain when the predominant background colour of the piece is very dark or black from scorching/ebonising sprays.
Application is as with the liming waxes with the exceptions of being sparing with the gilt (it's more expensive after all) and wiping off the cream with only fresh unused sections of your rag/paper across the line of the pores to avoid dragging all the gilt out.

If required, both wax & cream finishes can have added protection with clear gloss/satin lacquer spray.

(click either above for close up view)

  Spirit Staining
Spirit stains are remarkably good at bringing out the best in figured wood, but beware, they are also good at highlighting any tool marks you have left on the surface. When using abrasives, sand along the grain (which will be across the ripple).
 

The September Competition was set to produce wood turned item(s) with a splash of colour.

There are many dozens of examples of utensils, apparatus, gadgets & aids found in a kitchen.
Paul had brought 20 he had found at home along with examples of blanks he had taken straight from his bandsaw.  He also talked of teapot stands, trivets, egg stands, mug rack stands, storage jars, cutting boards, biscuit cutters as other examples.

(click either for close up view)

Wooden spoons are an obvious choice but rather off-putting when you spend hours to produce something that costs less than £1 on the High Street.  However, most kitchenware from a shop is made from Beech so selecting a more exotic or stunning grained wood can suddenly transform the mundane into something extraordinary.
Just follow the spirit of the Bauhaus Movement's belief that functional items don't have to look hideous.

Apart from the kitchen roll holder above, all the other implements come into contact with foodstuffs.
Most bare woods have some degree of toxicity listed in wood databases. Beech & Maple are rare exceptions so are most commonly used commercially, but many close grained woods (e.g. fruit woods, box) would be acceptably safe.  A useful habit to acquire for food preparers is dipping the wooden utensil in water before using. It helps resist staining and pore absorption of raw food, which could otherwise end up rotting beneath the surface.

Paul outlined the various ways of producing scoops, rolling pins, roll holders & spoons.  He warned of ever decreasing cardboard tube diameters when designing kitchen roll holders and the dangers of turning spoons out of a single blank.  Still perfectly feasible, but needs awareness when turning the bowl end, because the handle section becomes an invisible propeller blade ready to thrash the unwary such that even a sadistic headmaster would wince! 
TOP TIP : On some lathes (particularly if you have rotated the headstock in order to increase turning clearance) the On/Off switch cannot be reached as normal so plan how you're going to switch Off BEFORE you switch On.
  Alternatively, the danger can be completely avoided by turning a handle (with a spigot) & a spoon bowl from separate pieces and glue/thread them together afterwards.

<Competition Results>

The Fishtail Parting Tool is similar in shape to the Basic but has a slight thinning shaft behind the tip.
Paul's home-made tool was fashioned like a Bedan Parting Tool (i.e. end cross-section as shown on the right) together with a more pronounced Fishtail shaped cutting edge.

  Planning Diagram
As the glued piece will have to be held in a chuck, the first job is to decide which jaws. Paul had in mind a bowl size that could be held in C-jaws so worked out where the spigot edge had to be.  From that circle, he needed to cut away a circular groove such that the C-jaws could clear the spigot and go down to the bottom of the groove to ensure a good grip.

Paul's next decision was to consider a pleasing overall width of the bowl and its ideal final thickness. 
The smaller the angle of the cutting tool, the wider would be the bowl lip; a large angle would tend to produce a tall narrow bowl more like a vase.
If one wanted a bowl wall thickness of 12-15 mm, it would give the turner more flexibility for shaping if the cut thickness was about 10mm wider.
 

Figure 2 illustrates that the desired bowl wall thickness is produced by a larger dimension along the surface of the plank. 
Additionally, the smaller the angle, the dimension along the plank's surface needs to be even more.

Paul had drawn an accurately scaled plan of the plank in order to find the correct cutting angle - (xº in figure 3.)63

+   Having found out that his Home-Made Parting Tool would create a 10mm cut, he planned the 10mm cut to run between A and B.
He wanted to go 3 layers high and start with a wall thickness of over 20mm which would allow him to finish up (after shaping) with a wall thickness of about 10mm.
With these figures in mind, he decided to draw point D exactly 30mm from B.  The whole principle for the second layer to sit precisely on the bottom layer's outer edge is for point D to end up at point C vertically above it.  By joining A to C, Paul could now measure angle x and found it to be 39º
The same principle occurs with D to E =10mm; E to G = 30mm; Point F can be found and the angle of the cut is the same 39º
 

  Mounting
Paul used a MDF disk connected to his chuck via a face plate ring.  The MDF provides a sacrificial depth that will help prevent the tool touching the chuck and causing damage to both.

(click any above for close up view)

The piece of plank was secured to the MDF with double sided tape or hot glue. If you use hot glue, run it out in a 'X' shape across the MDF to ensure all the rings stay attached when being cut out.
Paul made use of the tail stock to aid getting the plank centred.
The spigot diameter was drawn on the plank and a Parting Tool was used to cut a groove at right angles into the wood and enlarged to about 10mm wide plus a small cut-in at the base so the C-jaw would be able to get in to grip the spigot.
The next 3 cuts were the angled ones all the way through the plank with Paul's Home-Made Tool. Paul commented that he would start from the outermost cut first in order to help the inner piece of plank remain firmly stuck in position.
To help keep the tool cutting at the right angle, one could use a slab type tool rest with the required angle marked on its top face.  However, Paul used a magnetic digital angle tool (from Lidl) which he fixed on the banjo and provided a straight edge guide he could parallel.

(click any above for close up view)

With the plank cut into 2 rings and a circular base, the pieces were removed from the MDF faceplate.
Paul had drawn a pencil line prior to turning which would be helpful to get grain to line up once the 3 layers were turned over and laid on top of one another before they were glued, making use of the faceplate supporting the top layer and the tail stock keeping the bottom layer pressed hard against the others while the glue dried.

(click any for close up view)

Why would anyone want to turn buttons?
They are readily available very cheaply from shops/internet although they generally tend to be of poor quality.  If you have turned them yourself, one commonly thinks of them as something special.
For example, the Wife of one of our Members makes bespoke handbags/clutch bags, which are elegantly finished with a stained or natural wooden button to complement the design and avoids that 'mass-produced' look.

  Coat Toggle 
One of the simpler fasteners is a 'toggle' commonly used on Duffle coats.  Paul had a piece of composite ply made from compressed colourful Maple prepared between centres, which he turned to a cylinder.  He then marked out the two ends and the centre appropriate for the intended button hole/loop. Over the years, Paul had fabricated his own scraper-type tools from old chisels and even from a 1" wide commercial hacksaw blade, although that had to be heated several times to reduce its brittleness.  Having selected one of his homemade scrapers, Paul skewed from centre towards each end to shape before finishing out a cove around the centre to accommodate the fixing twine using a gouge.

  Drill Jig
It is difficult to drill sewing hole(s) accurately and get each button looking identical. Any misplacement will appear obviously out of square.  Even with a single toggle hole, the starting hole is easy but difficult to get it to emerge within the cove on the opposite side. It is well worth preparing a Drill Jig to fit in your tool rest banjo and thick enough to provide a pilot hole which will hold a drill bit to turn steadily without any wobble.

<Competition Results>

<Competition Results>

As an enthusiast of being given a challenge rather than following someone else's 'recipe' of turning procedures, Andy accepted the 'Kilner Challenge' :-
    To create an air-tight container like the renown Kilner Jar.

Following the standard plan of "Research -Theory - Practice - Refine," it looked like he might fall at the first fence!
No amount of Google searching revealed anybody, anywhere able to supply the wire hinges used by Kilner.
Neither could he devise a curved, hinged alternative made of wood; so his only alternative was to cannibalize the wire hinge contraptions from an old Kilner jar.
The closest he could find was that Asda had medium jars and clip top spice jars on offer for £1.20 (as of Sept 2022).

It turned out that this was helpful as it became clear that whatever size of hinge he used, it could not be adapted nor adjusted. Consequently, precise dimensions at the bottom of the lid and at the top of the jar were required for them to come together parallel and have any chance of the finished item being air-tight.

Before Andy started off turning wood, he prepared drawings showing all the crucial distances & circumferences between the wires when closed, from accurate measurements of his wire hinges 'stolen' from a 4" diameter jar.
These drawings were set and orientated correctly in his line of view from in front of the lathe.

Andy had turned a lid and a base at home and found ways to refine the design which he would highlight at the end of the demonstration.

  Turning a Lid
Andy had prepared a 4" square blank of Ash mounted in jaws and turned it down to a 95mm cylinder.
Working from his drawing and using an Outside Spring Caliper, Andy carefully reduced the end 9mm to an 80mm diameter cylinder. (This could be achieved with Parting Tool / Spindle Gouge / Skew - whichever preferred)
Using a thin Parting Tool and the Caliper, he turned a notch to a 76mm diameter, which matched the internal diameter of the rubber seal (also cannibalized from the Kilner Jar). This was subsequently turned back to the 95mm diameter as per his drawing.

Similarly, a 3mm notch with a wider Parting Tool was turned to an 86mm diameter at 11mm above the previous notch to accommodate the wire frame for the lid.
Next, the bottom of the lid was hollowed out while keeping in mind to keep the resulting wall thickness strong enough to withstand any forces from the wire and seal.
An appropriate groove was cut inside this hollowing to suit his chuck jaws in expansion, which would be needed to reverse chuck the lid.
Finally, the top of the lid was rough shaped WITHOUT parting off.
The sides, notches & hollow were carefully sanded to crisp edges before reverse chucking and finishing the lid top with gouge and abrasives.
The wire for the lid can be separated at the hinge and its loop be expanded over the side of the lid before engaging the appropriate slot and re-engaged with the hinge.  Similarly, the rubber seal was fitted into its notch.

  Turning a Base
This time, Andy used the seal and wire hinge from a 2½" jar for his demonstration.


He had prepared another drawing and a blank of Ash turned to a cylinder of 65mm and with enough length to exceed 60cm depth of vessel.

The base was turned with the diameters, grooves, shaping and hollowing with regular check-fitting of the base with its matching lid (turned prior to this evening to save time) using the same method as described above for 'Turning a Lid'.
The thickness of the walls at the base opening is most critical for strength at its narrowest point (ie where the wire hinge sits.

Reverse chucking, shaping, detailing and sanding carefully were completed as above.

(click for close up view)

And the solution to the puzzle - it's like squeezing a slippery lemon pip.
The rubber string is a red herring - after the glue had hardened, a drill bit was shoved up the bore and broke it so there is nothing for the notch to catch. When the Puzzle Maker demonstrates his 'skill', he pulls the ramrod out as if it had resistance and by subtly squeezing forefinger against thumb, the ramrod will fly out of his fingers and smack back into the bore; all due to the end shape of the ramrod.

The September Competition was set for a Puzzle or Trick incorporating elements of turned piece(s)

<Competition Results>

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You might have previously turned a Christmas Tree ornament in the shape of a bird box, but to turn one of full size would waste a lot of wood, unless you started with a log.

(click for close up view)

But before that, it is worth researching expert advice on sizes, designs and finishes.

A good place to start is from the RSPB  <here>

Leaving aside where and how to attach your bird box, some thought has to be determined about external & internal sizes before mounting your chosen log.
Apparently, the rougher the finish, the better for the occupants.
Inside walls must be rough enough for chicks to grip when they try to go for their first flight.
In times gone past, a perch was invariably incorporated but isn't any longer as they tended to be perfect for predators to lay siege on the nesting tenants.

Paul had considered making a box out of staves and bound like a barrel but decided upon a relatively straight log just over 6" in diameter.  He had started at home on a Graduate lathe because it was large enough to prepare the body and roof with the log as a single piece.

If you have a smaller lathe similar to the size of the Club's, then you will need to saw the log into the two component parts and prepare them separately. Whichever method you use,
■ Mount the piece(s) between centres;
■ Leave one half of the roof section untouched to ensure that the bottom of the roof will be bigger than the diameter of the body - this will allow the roof to sit below the top of the body and avoid rain getting inside;
■ Create a spigot on the bottom of the body section and another spigot on the top of the roof section to fit any reasonably large and deep jaws that you have for your chuck.

Paul's Leylandii log had been a victim of February's Dudley & Eunice storms. It was tight for the RSPB suggested dimensions but their sizes were suited for a rectangular box whereas Paul's was for a circular box, which after all is a more natural shape for a nest.

Shaping the Body
The body section was then mounted using the freshly turned spigot in the selected sturdy jaws and the outside was trimmed up with a Roughing Gouge.

(click above for close up view)               

Next, the centre was bored out with a Woodcut Pro Master Deep Hollowing Tool which could secure Twist Drills Bits and Sawtooth Bits with grub screws.  Paul did try using a Sawtooth Bit initially with a toolrest helping to start the central bore-hole accurately, but he found that it soon got clogged with soft wet fibres so changed to a twist drill bit.  Once the central hole had been started, the toolrest was moved out of the way because the rotating mounted piece kept the tool handle steady while the twist drill progressed precisely down the spin axis centre.  The hole would eventually go through the entire body and out the bottom to act as a drain but because of the limited length of the drill, this had to happen in stages as the inside was hollowed.
The body was now ready to hollow out to the determined diameter & depth.

From the photo above :-
the top 2 are 'pick' tools which are easier to control but work rather slowly because they produce small shavings;
the middle is a 'tip' tool which handles similarly as the pick tools but slightly quicker;
the 4th is a Woodcut Pro Forme with the brass cap acting as a bevel;
and the bottom is a Rolly Munro articulated hollower. The bottom 2 do a much quicker job but need practice to work efficiently.
There is one other option not shown above but had to be employed before these specialised tools came along - a hefty Spindle Gouge used very gingerly and taking a long time to complete the job.

Paul selected the Rolly Munro and started hollowing from the centre outwards. 

Ordinarily, one would aim to avoid producing vibrations and keep the cutter running evenly to maintain a smooth finished surface, but the inside surface needed to be a little rough, so hollowing out was progressed at pace.

Paul's technique was to have the tool handle pinned between his body and under his arm while using his body weight rather than arm muscles to keep the tool level with a consistent cut.
As the depth progressed, the ideal ratio of 5:1 either side of the toolrest wasn't possible so his left hand needed a strong grip to hold the tool down onto the rest.

Also, it was important not to lose the central hole.  Because Paul hadn't managed to breach the bottom of the piece earlier, he returned to his Twist Drill Bit once he had hollowed out enough to allow the Woodcut Tool Handle to go inside the body without touching the sides. Eventually, he managed to extend the central bore right through the spigot to form the drain hole.

Knots can block the tool head with poorly cut shavings and need to be cleared immediately as they prevent the cutting edge from working.  He continued to his planned depth and rounded off the inside floor like a natural nest. Having checked for even thickness of the walls, he used a Spindle Gouge on the outside and turn a curved bottom to match the inside shaping. 
Having determined the size and position of the hole as guided by the RSPB advice sheet, now would be a good time to drill the entrance, although Paul had done this before the demonstration.

Shaping the Roof
This project is a great exercise for just getting on with the shape as there is no worry about the resulting smoothness or finish.
The roof section was mounted using the prepared spigot and Paul levelled off the base.
He had decided to create a dome in the centre and incorporate a recess to fit the current chuck in expansion.
Having marked the required chuck diameter with callipers, he used a Spindle Gouge starting from inside and carefully cut out to the mark. He finished off with an angled scraper to match the dovetail of the jaws.
Then he used the callipers again but this time set to the external diameter of the completed body and marked another circle in the roof's base and cut as above so that the Bird Box body could be inset into the roof.
He used a Parting Tool to enlarge and square off the inset rebate to a close fit.
These shavings were dusty as he was now scraping end grain.

This now allowed an opportunity to reverse turn the Bird Box body and finish shaping it's rounded bottom.
With the roof still mounted and the body pressed into it's rebate by the tailstock pressing against the newly drilled drain hole, you could turn away most of the the spigot and shape the bottom of the body, before removing from the chuck and chiselling off the remnant hollowed stub.

The roof was turned around and mounted into the newly cut expansion recess.
    Top Tip  :  After cutting a recess for an expansion dovetail, nearly tighten the jaws and hand turn the piece - this will help clear out the bottom of the groove and allow the piece to be held perfectly square.
The roof not only keeps the nest area dry; it can also be designed to deter predators e.g. a spiked minaret!
 

(click for close up view)

The July Competition was set for a Bird Box turned piece(s).

<Competition Results>

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January 2022 - Demo 5
Added Value to a Two-Part Candlestick/Lamp with Paul Reeves
Thursday, 20^th January 2022 at MWCC Club Night

The basics of two part turning was covered in Spindle & Face Plate Turned in January 2020 with a three-legged stool.  <available HERE>

This time we are turning a candlestick/table lamp with "added value".
Some examples are shown in the adjacent photos :
● A Victorian Table Lamp with a shoulder at the top, elegantly turned and enhanced with gold colour highlights.
● A plain wood decorated with a base coat beneath a top contrasting coat, which was wiped before drying to expose the base colour in places.
● A slender column enhanced with a knop (ornamental rounded protuberance) painted or conjoined with a different colour or wood type.
● Paul's oversized candlestick with its added value of a large piece of copper plate, which doubled as a fire precaution as well as the spiked seat for the large candle above.
 

This demonstration is a Table Lamp with the added value of alternative embellishments, e.g. Corian.
(Corian is a man-made mix of minerals and acrylic typically used in worktops and can be turned on the lathe with a scraper.)
Top Tip : As synthetic materials tend not to move with humidity, best to select dry wood for the wooden parts of the piece to avoid loose joints when it inevitably shrinks inside a home.
Paul is using some surplus Corian-like material that had been developed for aircraft interiors; however it can be worked the same as Corian.

 The Knops.
There were to be decorative rings at the bottom & the top of the stem.
To save time, Paul had initially used his bandsaw to cut out a circular piece of his material at home (surprisingly, the bandsaw had no problem cutting an accurate circle on these types of synthetic material). He had then mounted the resulting disc within his chuck jaws and drilled a central hole of a size suitable for a spigot (soon to be turned on the stem so it would fit securely into the base).

Next he created a Jam Chuck from a cylindrical piece of gash wood such that one end could be secured in his chuck and the other end reduced using a Parting Tool so that it just fitted into the hole of the Corian and had a clean cut shoulder to hold the Corian perfectly square. He carefully made an accurate saw cut through the centre mark of the working end (down to well below the shoulder line) using a band saw or a tenon saw. With the the Jam Chuck attached to the head stock and the Corian ring set against the shoulder, the tail stock was tightened with its tapered point gradually parting either side of the saw cut until it jammed the Corian fixed onto his chuck.

Corian doesn't have any grain so it has no problem being scraped into a bead with virtually any piece of well honed metal. The scraper works best with a negative rake and by keeping it moving while at a slower lathe speed than when turning wood.
Paul scraped one half of a bead and squared off down to the Jam Chuck on the tail stock side of the piece before sanding. Corian sands well but does need the lathe slowed even further while keeping the abrasive clear and cool by brushing a carpet against the grit. He polished the surface to a shiny finish with some 0000 wire wool before reversing the Corian on the Jam Chuck and repeating for the other half of the bead to match the first half so that both sides were flat and parallel to each other.

 The Well.
This was to be a larger decorative ring resting in the upper surface of the base.
Again, Paul had prepared a circular piece of his material attached centrally to a MDF faceplate with double sided sticky tape.

The outer edge was fashioned with an undercut using a scraper as before.
The scraper was then worked from the highest point towards the centre following the curve already made.
As seen in the intended profile above, the outer curved edge finishes at the bottom of the material while the inner curved edge finishes higher up.
The desired shaped ring was cut with a parting tool straight into face of the circular prepared piece.

  The Base
For the demonstration, Paul had prepared the base by mounting between centres; turned a cylinder of appropriate diameter; shaped an upper surface.
A hole had been drilled in from the side to the centre running close to the underside and another hole drilled down the centre to accommodate an electric cable to enter the base at the side and bend upwards and eventually through the stem to a light socket.
The top of the base was mounted in a Screw Chuck.
The outer edge of the underside was squared off and the centre slightly hollowed. A ridge was turned within this hollow at an appropriate diameter for Paul's jaws to grip the base in expansion for the next step.
Having turned the base around, the top of the base was pared off sufficiently to allow the first turned Knop described above to sit in perfect proportion to its diameter.  Then the same drill used to cut the hole in the Corian Knops was placed in a keyed chuck & arbor fitted to the tailstock and used to bore a hole sufficient to receive the spigot soon to be turned on the stem.

Next, the internal diameter of the shaped Corian ring (that was to form the Well) was measured and marked on the base.
A Parting Tool was used to carefully get the width exact for the ring to fit snugly.
Once the ring's inner edge was right, the Parting Tool was used to deepen the cut a little at a time until the ring's outer edge became flush with the base.

  The Stem
Having turned the stem between centres to a cylinder of a size to allow for some shaping by the finish, Paul changed the tail stock centre from a pointed tip to a hollow ring type, which allows for a Shell Auger to be used through the tail stock for boring a long hole up the centre for the electric cable.
With the stem re-mounted between these centres, Paul placed the point of the Auger at about half way along the outside of the piece and marked the Auger with a piece of sticky tape adjacent to the back end of the tail stock.
He started the lathe and fed the Auger through the back of the tail stock until it eventually started to bore into the stem.
It now required a gentle steady feed with frequent withdrawals to clear the waste sawdust in order to prevent the Auger going off centre.  Once deflected, you would never be able to correct it back on course.

Paul had a brass insert that screwed directly into the drilled hole of the stem. This insert couples the bulb socket to the stem.
Top Tip  :  If a Lamp is going to be sold at some point there are some electrical goods regulations that must be followed eg. cable clamp.
To avoid this problem, the simplest way is to sell it un-wired with the customer arranging for a competent electrician to do so.

And finally, below all the parts individually and assembled with a coat of oil applied.

December 2021 - Demo 4
Box of Contrasting Woods with Paul Reeves
Thursday, 16^th December 2021 at MWCC Club Night

Spigot on base for decorative ring.
With the box base mounted using the prepared tenon, Paul squared off the front. Having measured the inside of the decorative ring carefully with callipers, he marked the same diameter on the front using dividers. The length of the required spigot was calculated to incorporate the width of the ring and then sufficient to grip the sides of the lid but avoiding making the lid's top too thin. Using his broad parting tool again, he made a cut at the calculated length and formed a parallel spigot to just short of the earlier dividers mark. The final fit was done gradually with the negative rake scraper with regular cross checks against the decorative ring. Paul finally glued the ring to the base using some superglue.

Inside of lid to fit spigot.
With the box lid now mounted on its tenon, the spigot was measured with callipers and the underside of the lid marked as described above.
To make this small recess, Paul initially used a spindle gouge from just inside the dividers mark towards the centre and then from in to out towards the mark. The box cutter was used for fine adjustments of both depth and inside diameter with regular fitting cross checks with the spigot on the box base to avoid a loose fit.  [Top Tip : don't be tempted to use abrasives at this stage because different densities around the piece will abrade away differently and the recess would become oval. It would also be difficult to maintain a square fit. A box cutter avoids both these problems ].  The correct fit was when there was a slight resistance to removing the lid.

Cabochon fitting.
Paul had removed the box lid from the chuck, lined up the lid to the base using the pencil mark drawn down the side of the cylinder at the start and closed the box. Some insulating tape (or similar) was applied around and over the joint of the base & lid before mounting the base spigot into the chuck. The lid's tenon was turned away and the process of making a small recess for the cabochon was exactly as the previous paragraph - other than the fit was finished by gluing the decoration into place.
Next, Paul used his spindle gouge to trim the insulating tape off, the decorative ring back to the outside of the box and matched the lid to the base to a smooth finished shape.  Finally, Paul used a thin parting tool to mark a groove where the bottom of the box would eventually be parted off.  This allowed him to calculate the maximum depth he could take from the inside of the base.

The tool finish on the Box Wood was good enough to proceed with parting off.
The thin parting tool was used in the earlier made groove and parted off the box base from its tenon. If it had been necessary, the box bottom would have been finished off by reverse chucking.

Paul changed his chuck for buffing mops, which he used to smooth the surfaces with just the White Diamond compound. He feels that the Tripoli compound with its red colour tends to darken the finish of the pale Box Wood. Following a change of mops, he finished the buffing with Carnauba wax.  Don't put too much wax on the mop wheel as this can lead to a hard ring building up, which will need wire wool to remove.
  The technique for all the stages is a steady gently stroke of the piece against the mop wheel and keep slowly turning it in your hands. [Top Tip : spreading a folded towel or similar on the 'ways' underneath the mop wheel helps to avoid dents if the spinning mop should rip the piece out of your hands ]
Pushing the piece hard onto or holding it still against the mop wheel will result in a build up of heat which could distort the piece or burnish a flat into the side.
Be warned - buffing a thin close grained wood to a magnificent sheen does make the piece appear just like plastic.

Below are some more examples of Paul's boxes with contrasting woods for inspiration :-

The 'screw in ring stand' has a ring caddy which slides up & down when inside the box but held steady by a screw thread just below the brim.
The 'stud earrings box' has small holes for the stud pins and a central container for the selection of ornaments to go on the studs.
The '2 cups inside' has one ring box with another lidded box on top, both having a soft-close fit inside the outer box.
The 'dimple in lid' has a ring caddy that is the precise height to hold the top of the caddy in place when the lid is on, which stops it rattling about.

November 2021 - Demo 3
Offset Turned Bowls with Paul Reeves
Thursday, 18^th November 2021 at MWCC Club Night

When is a bowl considered offset?
Take the three examples below.
The first has its bowl centre only slightly away from the centre of the rim of the piece.
The second has its bowl positioned to avoid the natural voids and imperfections (further enhanced with some piercing).  [Top Tip : if you wish to pierce Yew, plan to do so with 'green' wood as Yew gets very hard when old]
The last has a markedly offset bowl from the centre of the piece which has the advantage of providing a large part of the rim available to decorate.



Note that with any offset, the piece will have a tendency to tip towards the thicker denser edge and take up a natural 'show me' stance.
The slight offset example takes up this position but Paul has helped to maintain it with a seat of soft rope with the strands at each end pulled apart to stabilize the orientation (which he prefers rather than standing the piece on a separate circular stand).  The other two examples have thin rims and are best displayed using plate stands.

Another important consideration is that when the piece is centred on the offset, it will always be out of balance.
The more the offset (or wood removed in the pierced case) the greater the imbalance.
Consequently, it is important to ensure the lathe speed is minimal BEFORE starting to turn your piece in the offset position.  Many lathes can only change their speed with the drive rotating and it will be a bit late to realise it is too fast when your lathe is shaking itself across the floor!

Although there are several Eccentric Chucks especially designed for offset turning, there is no need for such complicated chucks because a combination of a standard chuck with a Cup Chuck or a Screw Chuck can achieve the same results.

For best results, choose a blank with a decorative feature; eg burr, rippled, exotic or unusual wood.  It could be first mounted either on a Faceplate or a Screw Chuck.  Paul had chosen a spalted Ash bowl blank, which he mounted with its pre-drilled centre onto a Screw Chuck.  [Top Tip : if your Screw Chuck extends from a flat plate, bevel the pre-drilled hole in the base; this prevents any scurf (from the Screw Chuck as it bites into the piece) protruding and preventing the piece from being held flat against the chuck's plate]  Ensure that your pilot hole is just the length of the Screw so that it will later disappear when gouging out what will become the inside of the bowl.

As with last month's 'Turning a Plate' demo, you could use just 1 tool to make this project; eg a 1/2" spindle gouge or a small bowl gouge.  Turn the the back to a curve of your choice; eg hemispherical, conical, parabolic shape.  Sand to a final finish (see Principles' below) then seal with Sanding Sealer, wiping off any excess. Pay particularly attention to sealing the end grain in order to prevent hot glue from penetrating deeply down the grain in the next step.

Sanding Principles
Wisdom has it that the secret to good sanding is to avoid leaving tool marks in the first place. It's probably best to leave that wisdom with the Professionals who turn day in day out, and an aspiration for us especially considering the Club sells more than £400 worth of abrasives per year.
The procedure for we mortals is :
1. The first abrasive is used to smooth away dents and scratches.
But after doing this, they will leave behind smaller scratches from the abrasive particles on that paper just used.
These small scratches are then removed by using an abrasive paper with smaller particles, which of course will leave behind even finer scratches ... and so on until you no longer see or feel any scratches (although a microscope would see them!).
2. Before using abrasives with the lathe turning, remove or move well out of the way all tool rests (and tail stock, if not in use) to avoid your hand being injured if it slips off your work.
Reduce lathe to a low speed before applying the abrasive (to prevent overheating the wood) and keep the abrasive moving (to reduce ring scratches on the piece).
Set up adequate extraction to reduce dust from filling up your workshop and your lungs! Certain trees & plants create toxic dust; eg Yew, Rosewoods, Oleander and indeed most woods to a varying degree. Probably best to use a mask as well as an extractor.
3. Start at the low number grits. (The grit number refers to how many particles could be squeezed into a standard area). P120 will probably deal with tool marks but holes (eg from end grain pull out) might need a lower grit number just on and around the flaw.
Using a backing pad can help in giving a more even sanding. Keep a steady pressure on your abrasive/pad but avoid pressing heavily.
4. Stop the lathe and check if the worst scratches are gone. If some are still there, try rubbing by hand with the lathe motor off using the same grit ALONG the grain until improved.
5. Brush/blow off the dust to avoid the next grit picking up sharp dust particles and putting more scratches in than they smooth out.
6. Select the next finer grit (typically 80 → 120 → 180 → 240 → 320 → 400 → 600 → 800) and proceed as described in para 3 above. Note : for most jobs, you won't need to progress through all the grits above. Just stop when you see and feel a smooth surface. For all spalted woods and wide grained woods like Ash, you will need to restrict sanding to just the low number grits because the parts between the spalts or annual rings are so much softer that they will wear more under the abrasive and you will end up putting ridges into your piece. Dense woods can become exceedingly smooth and polished if you work down to P400 and finer.
7. If your lathe can, then change the direction of spin between different grits to avoid one area repeatedly getting affected more than the rest; eg a bowl with long grain and end grain - the end grains have more resistance than the long grains resulting in the end grain being sanded away differently at its leading edge. However, changing direction lessens this outcome.

October 2021 - Demo 2
Turning Plates & Platters with Paul Reeves
Thursday, 21^st October 2021 at MWCC Club Night

What's the difference between a plate, a platter and a shallow bowl?
In Paul's humble opinion, you need to apply the TIP RULE.
If you press down within the inset of the piece about ¾ out from the centre and it doesn't tip - it's a plate/platter.
If it does tip, it must be a shallow bowl.
One certainly doesn't want to find a load of food in one's lap.

When does a plate become a platter? When it's big enough!
A single platter is normally used to cater several plates.
Plates tend to be functional while platters tend to be impressive.
If making a utility plate/platter then choose a plain wood to avoid food getting trapped in any decoration.
Paul prefers to decorate the rims of platters to achieve the spectacular.
It can also help to select a blank that has some marked feature (eg figure, spalted, burr)

Turning a Plate
There are 2 obvious ways of mounting : screw a faceplate ring onto the front face - OR - hot glue an MDF backplate which can then be driven via a chuck with a screw fitting or connected to a ring plate.
The first option is only suitable for thicker blanks as it needs to be fitted with short screws to attach into the central waste wood and will also require an expanded dovetail in the back to finish turning the front.
The second has the advantage of extra room to turn the back edge of the platter.

You could use just 1 tool to make this, eg a 3/8" spindle gouge or a small bowl gouge.
Paul started with pull cuts - with just the small radius touching - to level off the front surface for a couple of inches from the edge.
The edge was rounded off and the back was shaped by pull cuts (or a bevel cut if using a thick enough MDF backplate)
If your lathe allows, try swivelling the headstock away from the turner to get easier access to the back.
The work was then returned to finish off levelling the front surface.
It will help if you gradually slow your movement of the gouge as it gets closer to the centre; this will result in the feed speed of the wood being similar to the cuts nearer the outer edge.

John Bolt
Demonstration of Podlet turning
Thu, 19^th December 2019 at MWCC Club Night

Paul Reeves
Demonstration of Texturing
Thu, 21^st November 2019 at MWCC Club Night

Techniques :
    With the percussive tools, indent edges should meet while flat areas between indents be kept as small as possible. It is hard to be random but for the best effect, all indents should be kept of similar size and the same should apply to the spaces between. To keep depressions even, side grain areas will require slightly softer hits while end grain areas will require slightly heavier.  Hole Punches & Metal Bars tend to need harder hits, particularly with harder woods.
    When applying a band of texture, it is helpful to define borders for the band with grooves.  This is achieved with a round skew, a parting tool or even the point of a gouge; all placed so as to mask any marks outside the originally intended border line.  Any wayward indents remaining outside might be recovered with judicial use of woodturners spittle!

    A change of the lathe speed will result in different effects. With powered tools, the higher the lathe speed, the less regular the texturing while with the piece turning slowly or stationary, the cleaner the effect.  The opposite applies with the speed of the cutting tool - the faster the speed of the drill, normally the neater the finish.

Steaming was accomplished in Mrs Turner's Vegetable Steamer for about 5 minutes immediately before bending and clamping against it's shape former.
(It wasn't made clear whether Mrs Turner was aware of this usage but Graham did wash it out afterwards; so that will be all right then!)

Graham then demonstrated a method for producing feet for a piece.
Always enjoying humour in his turning, Graham took the literal sense of feet.
Starting with a piece of Walnut with a hole through one end using a 25mm Forstner, he turned a lip at the tail end before hollowing out to leave about a 10mm thick wall, (photos 5 & 6).
Using an indexed chuck to delineate every 30° so that a bandsaw could cut an individual leg (photo 7), a parting tool cut was made just above the depth of the hollow so that each segment could be easily broken off the round, (photo 8).

Each 'foot' was placed between a ring drive centre (for better drive support) & tail stock to shape the leg muscle
A microplane was used to round off the toe & heel areas before back to the bandsaw in order to form individual toes, (photo 9)

A similar process can be employed for making handles that connect at both ends.
Photo 10 shows the various stages.
With careful design, this system allows for the connecting ends to line up flush with the outside of your turned hollowed vessel to help with a larger gluing surface.

Other options allow different handle shapes; for example, double joint at the top with a single connect at the bottom, (see photo 11)

It is important to consider the direction of the wood grain in order to preserve strength.
Handles designed with large curves are likely to have a weak section of end grain somewhere while shallow curved handles with grain from one end to the other will have more integral strength.
Choice of close grain woods like Walnut, Maple also contribute to strength.

The November Competition was set for a turned piece(s) comprising an attached handle and/or foot.