PROGRAM
Year 2020-21
(last updated Thursday, 25 February 2021)

.

D / Demo= Demonstration
C / Comp = Competition
Meetings on the 3^rd Thursday of each month unless specified.
Program subject to change.

PAUL's CHALLENGE
The challenge for this month is

A Mug or Glass or Bottle Coaster  

Everyone needs one or even a set, (no more than six at the moment, but you may have to burn a couple before Christmas!!) to stop those nasty rings on your Chippendale dining tables or the pristine surfaces in your workshop.
I mean who can work on a bench if there is a mug ring on it? Oh horror!!

The suggested size is between 85mm and 100mm diameter by about 10mm thick.
Any interesting wood will do; plain if you intend a decorative finish.
A coaster is a perfect project to try out different surface finishes/textures as they are relatively quick to make and then you have a flat surface to work on.
I stick my blanks on to an mdf disc with double sided tape and turn a shallow decorative dovetail into the base. Hot melt glue works just as well. Then you can hold it on your chuck to turn the upper face and sides.
I like to make a small raised bead around the edge so that you can be sure, even after a few glasses, that your wine glass is located on the coaster and not balanced precariously with only 51% contact.
A circular recess can be turned into any flat shape if you don't want your coaster to be round.
Simple if you stick it on as above.
Natural edge anyone ?

Image 1 shows some ideas for you to try:-
Turn rings and beads as in the lower line;
Use a texturing tool of some sort to create bands or even the whole surface;
Pyrograph a pattern/picture/Confucian wisdom etc;
Use your iridescent paints... Come on, you are going to have to open them at some time or other;
Turn the edge bead a bit deeper, decorate/paint and then float a layer of resin over it to protect your artwork - bottle coasters are ideal for this as the sides are a bit deeper anyway to contain any drips;
Cut straight across a branch and flatten both sides - liable to crack, although the Yew in photo 1 was one of many made 20yrs ago by my father and none have split at all;
Spend a ridiculous amount of money on an Ornamental lathe and the rest of your life trying to work out a very small number of the decorative possibilities as top right of Image 1. (click picture for larger version)

All of the above will need sealing with a few coats of acrylic lacquer or polyurethane to keep any moisture out of your masterpiece.
I am sure that you can come up with loads more ideas but these may get you started.

Once you have made a set you will need to store them. So the options are :-
  chuck them in a drawer   or
  make a nice storage container for them as in Image 3.
The thinking Woodturner would probably make the bottle coaster the right size to hold the others as in Image 4.

NB Under current Covid-19 guidelines, this example would exceed the Government's 'Rule of Six' !!

Good luck and remember to send a photo to Rick Patrick at for display on the < PAUL's CHALLENGE > webpage.

NEW 'MARKETPLACE' WEBPAGE
From time to time, the Club receives items offered for sale.
When it does, the 'Marketplace' button will appear in the TOP FRAME.
(in lieu of the , which are still selectable via the Competitions page.)
Clicking the 'Marketplace' button will bring up full details but meanwhile, the following have been listed :-

❶  August 2020  : Various sizes of Thread Chaser pairs from Paul.

CONGRATULATIONS to Andy Ogilvie
Andy has won a competition with the prestigious Society of Ornamental Turners at his first attempt with his 'Gada' (ornamental mace),  This is all the more remarkable as he has only just started getting to grips with the Holtzapffel lathe and cutters etc.
A brilliant achievement - well done Andy. 
We have a photo of the piece on the Corona Page <HERE>.

Feb 2021  : A Message from John Bolt and the Committee.
Hello everyone. I hope that you have all kept safe and well during this terrible time and that everybody will soon have their vaccination, if they have not already. It does give a slight confidence that the future may look a bit brighter.

It was decided last August that our meetings would be suspended with a review in January and back then, things were looking promising to commence early in the New Year. Obviously, things did not go as planned and it is now decided that another review should take place around Easter time when, hopefully, prospects will look a bit brighter.

We have kept the Corona Page going on the website and it is good to see that Members have had the time to make things and submitted them. It would be nice to see even more contributions as I am certain that a lot more things have been made during this time.
It has been suggested that Members might contribute to the website by offering 'Workshop Tips' that they have picked up along the way to make things easier or better for their turning.  However small, it may solve a problem that others might struggle with.

There are numerous demonstrations that can be viewed on the web, which can keep your interest going if you are missing the demonstrations at our meetings.  Among them are those which have been sponsored by Record and shown around the world.  Les Thorne and Martin Saben Smith have teamed up to produce live demonstrations via Zoom from < www.thewoodturningshop.com > (NB : link was unwittingly mis-spelt in my email).

I am hoping that when we can resume our meetings, your enthusiasm for woodturning is still as great and that once again we can fill the hall with happy faces as before.

Stay safe and well and I look forward to seeing you all again in the near future.

Dec 2020 : This is a Message from the Committee to wish all of our Members a very Happy Christmas, in spite of the Government restrictions on family gatherings, and hopefully a much happier New Year than this has been.
  Most of us are in the older age group, and we hopefully have all managed to stay healthy throughout this difficult time.
  It has been good to see how much turning has been achieved and how much of it has been displayed on our excellent website.

To summarise the year :-
● The AGM could not be held, and therefore no election of officers nor any cups presented, (although the decision had been made on who should receive them);
● The election of officers was performed on line with 30 members submitting their votes;
● The committee consists of John Bolt as Chairman, Paul Reeves as Deputy Chairman, Clive Potter as Treasurer, Trevor Elliott as Secretary, Greta Reeves, Graham Turner, Ian Wright, Rick Patrick and Vic Russell.   These were proposed by Richard Slee, and seconded by Tony Perry;
● The annual wood sale was held at Paul’s house with appropriate social distancing being observed and proved to be very successful.

Stay safe everybody, and hopefully we will all be able to meet again in the near future.

Following a Committee Meeting on 26^th August that despite the MWCC preparing ways & means for the Community Centre users to consider restarting activities, it was decided that considering the current uncertainty of Covid 19 infection rates over the Autumn & Winter months, it would be prudent to delay any restart of Club Meetings although this decision would be reconsidered with a possible restart in January 2021.
Consequently, all Thursday's Meeting at the Mudeford Wood Community Centre remain cancelled until further notice.

Rather than Members being left alone during the current crisis, the Committee proposed that we have a webpage to show/discuss work that members have been doing while in 'isolation'.
The idea is to :
    show work for appreciating (or if requested, for appraisal),
    ask for advice on how to achieve something  or
    just to pass along some comment / humour.

Use the email hyperlink below for the webmaster to process.
   

Click     to access Members' contributions

If anyone needs some wood, please email Paul here     or
telephone on the number listed on your Membership Card.

Trading Post purchases for CSW Members while Government Coronavirus conditions are in force.

Use the email link below to request what you would like;
I'll reply with whether we have it in stock and the price;
We'll mutually arrange a pick-up point & time.

Rick Patrick