April 2025 - Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie

(click for close up view)

Phil had brought in a spectacular looking steep sided Yew bowl, highly micro-crystalline waxed with a split level rim. Also a Holly hollow form from a tree he had cut down about a year ago and turned recently.
Alan's Yew bowl had been treated to Hampshire Sheen's Citrus Burnishing Oil leaving a food-safe satin finish.
With Easter fast approaching, Merls has been turning eggs from exotic off-cuts - a colourful selection of Lacewood, Walnut, Box & Judas Wood. Andy's tip for an ideal egg shape was a semi-circle attached to a parabola, but he did teach Mathematics in his past so what would you expect!
Allan's wet-look bowl rim is achieved by painting a mid-blue water-proof base colour first and once dried, introduced some water droplets out of a spray bottle before a dark blue aerosol was directed horizontally across from one direction and then a pale blue aerosol from the opposite side. After the water had evaporated away, the fine coats settled onto the base coat as highlighted below and were stabilized with a coat of lacquer before the bowl was hollowed out with an undercut to preserve a wide rim to show off the effect.

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It has been another full month's work from Rhob's workshop.  A Japanese Maple bowl; an Oak platter with some intricate leaf design on its rim (clearer view if photo clicked) created with a diagonal shape from his Peter Childs Pyrography kit. - the technique was to drag the iron back after the first contact had burnt black; a Sauracker Shell shape that he had shown us in February 2024 had now been re-modelled as a timepiece - Rhob commented that although some might prefer the small circle at 12 o'clock, the piece already had a flattened foot from its original incarnation;
Below is a Walnut bowl; a Catalpa (aka Indian Bean Tree) bowl with its fluted sides incorporating this wood's typically stable pith; a couple of threaded acorn boxes with their cups acting as stands; another box formed from a Chestnut Gall; a couple of pens from a stunning piece of Thuya Burr and finally a child's birthday present in the form of a colourful bird from off-cuts.

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Following a recent trip to Canada, Phil created a Maple Leaf, paradoxically out of Brazilian Tigerwood, more commonly used for Flooring & outdoor furniture; spinning tops made with dense close grain wood to create the weightiness and low centre of gravity aided with metal tips which Phil told us could sustain typically 4 minutes before toppling; as a nod to tonight's Inside Out demonstration, he has brought 3 large examples together with a technical drawing he had used to calculate the appropriate dimensions as he didn't have access to modern day CAD software that Rob Randall had used.

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Having spotted the renown Four T's puzzle on line, Andy decided this would be a satisfying turning project, although he did ask a friend to laser cut the Perspex for the necessary accurate dimensions of the T's. The base for the 100mm circular play area was of spalted Beech burr after an earlier attempt with Hornbeam had suffered so much shrinkage that he had to remount on some Cole Jaws and remove another half a millimetre from the rim for the Perspex to still have room to fit flat to the base; at the recent Yandles Day Event, professional Jason Breach was showing examples of Streptohedrons, which Andy had previously demonstrated to the Club (Feb 2023) - however, these were boxes, which were a far more difficult project than creating the shapes in the first place; Andy's first attempt at a segmented bowl had 15º segments (as shown in the close-up view) which he thought would require 24 such pieces (15 x 24=360) but instead required 21 pieces. Although the width of a dark & pale segment is slightly smaller at the bottom due to the wedge shape, it extends more than 17º on the circumference of the smaller circle at the base, hence only room for less segments; and finally was Andy's champion Spinning Top which hasn't toppled over after several months since set spinning - primarily due to the design which stops it from touching the ground!

March 2025  - AGM

Awards

March 2025 - Appraisal Table
 with Paul Reeves

(click above for close up view)

◙John's thin walled first bowl had a fine finish which he wished he could consistently achieve today, decades later.
◙Rhob considers his first bowl's foot as too big & thick, which he could easily remount and correct, but then it would no longer be his first bowl.
◙Andy's bowl was turned while attending a past Member's (Andy Browne) "Experience Day" course.
◙Trevor and his Cabinet Maker's background is conspicuous in this spalted Beech bowl with its well proportioned shape from detailed lip through a wide curved side to a narrow neck then back out to a good sized foot.

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◙Allan's first bowl is another "very early on" example with its large undercut bowl rim which is so difficult to execute well even after years of practice and the choice of using 'window wood' adds to the hassle. Allan's Daughters, ◙Annabel & ◙Emily, had persuaded their Dad to take along their first ever pieces which revealed that avoiding complicated first attempts invariably draws out encouragement like, "Nicely done!"
Paul recounted that years ago, turning cases for clocks was particularly popular.  ◙Alan's first Skeleton Clock in spalted Beech was from around that time.
◙Geoff's first turned piece suggests a misspent youth but it was just a false beer pump handle made for his local.
This next bowl is ◙Paul's first entry into a club competition back in 1992 which raised a chortle now, much as he remembered it did over 30 years before. In those days when virtually nobody had a chuck, your blank was glued to a MDF board and you worked from there, hence a simple design with some line decorations to jazz it up.

(click above for close up view)

Above are our two most recent New Members, who have brought forward some interesting pieces.  ◙Gavin Roach's box inspired from Balancing Stone sculptures was turned in his first year of turning. Year two saw him turning this natural edge bowl, which as suggested above, is a difficult project for beginners with its vertical or undercut sides and for maintaining a clean cut on the bark rim 
◙Phil Scoltock's large Cherry bowl was turned from the tree's crown judging from the numerous knots, where wind and birds tend to drop stones, grit and bits of metal like musket balls amongst the shoots, which eventually engulf these foreign bodies and cause havoc to subsequent cutting edges of gouges. His Ash hollow form was decorated with plain & metallic acrylics and for the texturing, 4 different sized cutting/prickly balls. The inside had been coloured dark which is a perfect way of masking anything that might be considered unsightly!
The remaining items were of more recent productions, which are shown below.

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TABLE  A

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The detail on Trevor's cannon was striking; his tyres and spokes were of Burr Beech which must have been incredibly awkward to turn but apparently it was the only suitable diameter timber he had to hand.
I think Paul must be seeking a Royal Charter with the spectacular 23 individually turned features of his shooter - if you don't believe it, click for the larger view and count them for yourself.

(click above for close up view)

Rhob's unique design was meticulously executed with sunken hexagonal bolt heads, clever trigger mechanism and beautifully finished. It's excess of power let itself down during the shoot-off regardless of selected elevation due to the roof not high enough. (see Pencil Shoot-off below to sense its size).
Andy decided upon a relatively simple single rubber band wound around .38 bullet cases. His wheels were artfully created with resin in-filled with segmented Laburnum branch wood.

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Al's camouflaged shooter had wheels to get it here while Rob's hidden multiple rubber bands packed a significant punch as did John's exceedingly strong Parker Knoll springs which needed the winch to prime it.

TABLE  B

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 Merls' spring-driven shooter ended up being the winner of the Pencil Shootout. 
To construct one's Pencil Shooter out of a mosaic of pencils was an inspired design from Nigel but an internal failure prevented entering the shootout.
Jayne has only been turning for a matter of weeks and just a few days before a holiday away from home to construct an entry. Despite not having time to finish it as she would have liked, she still wanted to enter the competition, which is exactly the example the Club is hoping for.

February 2025 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves

(click above for close up view)

 In promoting tonight's Clock demonstration, Paul had brought some timepieces turned years ago when the common challenge of what to do with an interesting but awkward blank inevitably 'wound up' as a clock.
 New member Jayne (from a senior generation) has been regularly to Paul's workshop and this bowl was the second ever piece she has turned. Apparently she is quite picky about her finish which is probably a good attitude to hold on to.
 Allan's brightly coloured and sharp-edged Xmas tree is from a Monkey Puzzle knot which turned like a resin, which in some respects is more or less what it is.

(click above for close up view)

 Nick is another recent starter who is clearly a fan of Harry Potter looking at the wand he's made. The other piece is an alternative design for an egg cup as his first cup of more familiar shape was considered too unstable by his family. This shape had been done with an very old gouge with NO flute. It sounded like Alan Beecham's Skewchigouge of the late '90s, which was a hybrid Skew Chisel and Spindle Gouge that was forgiving when mishandled but dreadful to sharpen accurately.
 John's Kokeshi dolls (symbols of good fortune, protection and healthy wishes for children in Japanese culture) are decorated with iridescent and pearlised paints (as shown in the click to enlarge photo)

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As per usual, Rhob had brought about a dozen new pieces for the table including :
1.Japanese Maple (Acer Palmatum) was well worth turning over to spot the spirit staining and Rhob's signature base design.
2.Natural edge banana bowl in Holly - Normally, Holly is predominantly white coloured which is the case of this sapwood but clearly the darkened heartwood has picked up something from the soil.
3.Walnut bowl - with a beautiful ogee shape.
4.Ash D-handle - particularly dense piece of Ash, rather swish design because for reasons of speed & simplicity, handles were normally T-bar so delightful to see the extra care & attention.
5.Hand-carved & Painted
6.Scorched Hollow Form
7.Apple Burr Hollow Form - with a window in the side which has shrunk as Apple readily does - so best to be finished in one session.

January 2025 - Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie & Paul Reeves

(click below for close up view)
< Andy's >   < Paul's >   < Nigel's >   < Alan's >

  The Club was fortunate to receive several pieces of Monkey Puzzle from a donor in Lymington and above are a selection of end-grain designs from four Members. All pieces have spalted spectacularly with a blue-grey fungi, which is common in felled/dead white conifer woods although Monkey Puzzle takes a much longer time to succumb to disintegrating, which is probably why they have survived for the last 200 million years. The first examples were introduced into England from Chile in Georgian times as Ornamental Trees. These knots/eyes have a strikingly defined deep orange and this tree seems to have developed them at identical heights which has resulted with all knots appearing level at the outermost curve of each piece.
  Andy's design has the advantage that both sides of each knot are in view. He had put in a sharp edge which has taken well with this wood and he has also drilled out the pith area and cunningly replaced a spare knot which won't shrink or be at risk of dropping out. This was glued in prior to the final tool passes which then disguised the join. He had finished with Howard Feed 'n Wax, which has conditioning oils feeding the wood while providing a coating of Beeswax & Carnuba which gives a flat finish without being over shiny.  Ideal for this wood but not for figured or chatoyant wood that need more gloss to enhance them.
  Paul said he wasn't happy with his attempt as he feels it is too heavy and will have a go with another piece which he will turn half this thickness now that he sees that these blanks can take it. He remarked that if you are new to hollowing, then this example would have been better turned the other way up so that the majority of the hollowing is near the opening whereas when he hollowed this out, most of the hollowing was at a long distance from the toolrest which required steady and precise tool work with a long overhang. He finished with a coat of Danish Oil, tickled with some 400 grit when dry before another coat applied - he warned that it is too easy to wipe all the second coat away in one's cloth when you must leave some behind to absorb and level itself off before setting.
  Nigel had found it difficult with his small mouth design to remove the shavings during hollowing so his piece took the longest time and was the heaviest. Paul recommended using something like the bent wire hangar attached to a handle (displayed in the centre of the photo above) as the best tool to clear out shavings when hollowing, regardless of whichever tool one uses.
  Alan hollowed out his with a Rolly Munro, which Paul commented that he had successfully started his blank with a Rolly after fitting a new cutter and a very fine gap setting. However, he found his original Woodcut (with a U-shape cutter rather than the modern J-shape) gave better results, particularly as these blanks were still slightly wet and cut more readily. He recalled that with older very dry Monkey Puzzle, it had gone rather crumbly but he found hollowing was better after allowing the wood to absorb water before the final passes.

(click below for close up view)

  Rhob's fun looking Kellogg chickens out of a mixture of woods are quite appealing with their stick-on eyes sunken into the wood. Continuing his theme of mixed woods, one box comprising deceptively named woods of Black Walnut with an inset of White Walnut (a.k.a. Butternut) from North America, which is currently a species of concern following the spread of Butternut Canker since the 1960's; and the other of Cherry with an inset of Japanese Maple.
His Birch circular bowl below has a hidden surprise of green ferns created in relief on its underside (as seen in the enlarged view). The natural edge platter is out of a figured crotch piece with its edge carefully highlighted with green stain.  Like all of these pieces, his square polished Yew platter also has detailed decoration underneath from a Decorating Elf or a Knurling Tool.
  Ian's Lime bowl had a marked undercut rim which makes it easier to remove small items (eg nuts) as they naturally fall into your fingers when you draw them up the side.

  As reported last month, Finn had assembled a production line of 30 odd pens within a couple of months which is a perfect way to improve one's tool handling and finishing techniques.
  John's fish platter wood sculpture is a pleasingly erudite design of regular arcs centred on each corner but then transformed simply with colour.  The arcs were cut exactly the same way as in the Club's Multiple Centred Turning Demonstration <here>.
  Below is a troublesome piece from a plank of Silver Birch that was felled because it had rotted up the centre so spalting had occurred in the sapwood while the heartwood suffered from rot showing up as little white lines which readily fell apart. Paul decided to persevere with some wood hardener, but soon realized that he had selected an environmentally-friendly water-based product that didn't penetrate much below the surface. He subsequently chose a spirit version mixed with Sanding Sealer which penetrated far deeper and stabilized the piece for turning and abrasives. One must allow time for solvents to evaporate before buffing up when using a wax finish. Because solvents will dull a polished surface as they evaporate, waiting until the following day will ensure an enduring shine as all remaining solvents will have gone by then.

  Andy got conned into believing that he was in a 'fun' challenge with some other members to make a Spinning Top drive something else. When he stepped forward with his effort, all the others seemed to have stepped back. The Top with its pull string is held upright in the dished base with the aid of the white PTFE counter with a matching hole in its bottom. Once the Top is set spinning and the string & PTFE put aside, the Button Wheels can be placed on opposite sides of the Top with their bottom edge against the base's rim and then allowed to rest upon the Spinning Top, resulting in the two wheels going round and round the base.
The left-hand box below is Walnut outer sleeve over a Boxwood insert. The walnut had been hollowed first and then cut in a sinusoidal wave shape. The Boxwood had to be carefully decorated with Andy's Ornamental Lathe cutters so that the different sized circles would end up parallel to the gap of the Walnut wave shape. The other wavy box is of Chanfuta (a.k.a. Pod Mahogany from East & South Africa) with an insert of Beech.

December 2024 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves

  Phil's Cedar bowl has an impressively thin rim which has added strength from its drop-lip curve. The two large platters clearly took considerable time & effort to complete; the Spirograph decoration was not achieved with an Ornamental Lathe but rather using a Milling Head working off a Compound Table for each circle while the zig-zag pattern is laboriously done with a Router after carefully preparing the top to be perfectly flat. A couple of inside-out Walnut vases; the larger the size, the more accurate tool work required to get the openings to line up when 'remounted'.
  Meanwhile, Andy has used his Evans Ornamental Lathe to turn two spalted box with contrasting colours; one with spiral sides and the other with straight fluting. Having been shown some examples of a 'Hans Weissflog' wood shapes, Andy has adapted the idea with recessed components in his Turned Wood Sculpture. The Club has been donated many knots/eyes from Monkey Puzzle trees, which despite having a pith down the centre, are like an orange resin that turn beautifully; Andy has created this ornament with three different shapes fitted together. The smaller cone has spalted with a fungi's alluring blue-grey pigmentation which commonly affects Monkey Puzzle.

(click below for close up view)

  John's Potpourri pot makes an elegant statement for a table top.
  It appears that Axminster's pen kits have been kept buoyant this Winter by Finn Trotman's countless number of pen turnings. This example is their Executive Gold fountain pen kit to a piece of Olive with interesting grain.
  Trevor has produced a lot of elegant spindle work in the past which these two finely turned miniature spindle-back chairs (30cm high) and his pedestal bowl readily attest. We weren't too sure whether the right hand chair's seat with it's centred button was to deter children from fidgeting or to punish them!

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  Merls' small lacewood-figured bowl of English Plane (more figured, less pale and slightly pinker than American Plane) doesn't disappoint. When turned from quarter-sawn blanks, the figure created by the Medullary Rays running from Pith towards the bark, look spectacular while in their blank cut but prone to disappear when hollowed out. This bowl appears to have been from a regular sawn large trunk resulting in a striking finish. His delicate Christmas Bell tree decoration is of Holly, but with an Ivy Wood clanger!
  Vic's screw-top box looks as if it is made of two woods but in fact, the base is of the same Spalted Holly as the lid but with a black stain through which the spalting pleasingly remains just visible. For similar reasons to Paul's preference to have a bowl's finish glossy on the outside and different on the inside, this adds delight. The thread was cut with the Simon Hopeless jig; Vic is still getting used to setting it up but looks very promising for future projects.
  Although Clive's wooden spalted bowl from a 30cm diameter branch had a flat back from the bandsaw, relying upon hot-glue to secure it to a back plate (in order to avoid any screw holes showing) was considered too unsafe with such a large crooked blank. The chosen solution was to use two U-Bolts with extended legs to pass over opposite corners and bolted through some thick MDF. Pieces of folded lead were then screwed onto the MDF in a strategic place (found by careful trial and error) to balance the revolving blank and prevent the lathe from chasing him around his workshop. 
  Phil's Gonk character is quite fun as a holder for his spectacles. The snowman at its drum kit is a seasonal addition for outside the front door of his toy Fairy House. The Laburnum low-lipped bowl is a perfect 'Show Me' bowl formed to proudly display something special; an issue with the inside undercut lip is to avoid gouging/scraping from the rim downwards, which is technically cutting against the grain and tends to leave a pulled surface; for a smoother finish, work from the widest point towards the rim. His Holly bowl demonstrates the disadvantage of turning a 'green' endgrain blank because it shrinks on average 10% circumferentially, 4% radially & about 2% in length; the bottom tends to bow outwards and lifts itself off its foot and star shakes will appear in the knots up the sides.

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Apologies to Rhob but we weren't able to discuss his pieces because he had to collect his work and leave early.

November 2024 - Comp 4
Jewellery

TABLE  A

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Prolific entries from individuals with some worthy of further details :
♦ Paul's bangle laminated with resin and Pink Ivory were calculated using Golden Ratio proportions for their thicknesses and the various centres of arc were selected so the piece became oval with a thicker top section while the opening could pass sideways over the narrowest part of the wrist. His workings can be found upon clicking the photo.
♦ John's 'fish hook' shapes in his central row are his copy of traditional Maori jewellery; he made the white piece from cow bone while the ivory looking rings are from Tagua Nut, which many describe as 'vegetable ivory'. The smooth dark grey pendant is of slate.
♦ Nick's necklace with epoxy & ceramic insets was length adjustable via the two stringed spheres further up the cord.
♦ Bill's bangle was of a Maple laminate.

TABLE  B

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November 2024 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves

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  Rhob has been perfecting his inside-out turning along with some resin mixed balls; he is also ahead with his output for the local Christmas fayres.
  Paul's large Sycamore bowl had proved difficult to bowl save with his Woodcut system which for this size blank, could only reach inwards to leave a 3" central connection. This was too much to separate and still ensure not losing the outer bowl so he refitted with his Kelton McNaughton system, which although had a different cutting arc, did manage to reduce the central stub enough to prise it off without risking the bowl's bottom becoming too thin.  The other 4 Cherry bowls were from 2 blanks and a lot simpler to bowl save. Paul likes to buff just the outer surfaces which makes for a different appearance with the insides, both visually and tactilely.
  The goblet had been decorated with the Veining Chisel (used in tonight's demo), and a project he had failed to waterproof successfully. It was a case of choosing the wrong wood for the job; Elm grows with very open pores. The piece of Pink Ivory was originally a spindle with a thread on the end to screw-mount into a Jam Chuck to turn buttons, finials etc; rather than waste the last piece, he trimmed & decorated the Ivory as a lid and the Jam Chuck into a small pill box.

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  Paul finished with a challenge project he had in mind for his Wife Greta, who regularly pins her hair up.  The design needs a fine light-weight hair grip, perhaps using a 'banana bowl' technique with natural edge, similar in style to the one below, but strong enough for a pin to hold the grip in position without slipping through the hair.

(click above for close up view)

October 2024 - Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie & Paul Reeves

 It's always lovely to welcome new Members but it's not often the Club is fortunate enough to attract such accomplished work as displayed by Phil. Clicking below for a closer view underscores his skill and attention to detail with specialist tools like laser levels, precision borers etc; they were a delight to examine at the table.

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 Bill's Macrocarpa bowl still has a fragrance, although Paul prefers to avoid its smell and dust as it can leave him with skin and respiratory irritations. It's a wood that needs care when sanding as it quickly clogs and heats up causing marks and cracks. This example has been done cleanly and very well.
Vic's German style 'Smoker' appears to be at an Axminster Trade lathe, which demonstrates the extent of time & effort he spends on detail. Did you spot the hollow form under the lathe? He displayed some of his Mitre Boxes and templates used for repeat components.

 Andy's decorated bowl was achieved by pouring in green resin followed by 8 spots of red and then by black resin poured into the centre of the reds. Following suggestions from Ceramists in the family, Andy plans to experiment with dragging one colour into its neighbour.  In response to last month's Bobbin turning demonstration, he produced a matching pair of Lace Bobbins from Purpleheart on his Ornamental Lathe which received great acclaim from the demonstrator, Merls de Pearle.
 Putting forward appraisal of ones woodturning on the table for the very first time can be nerve-wracking for many, so it was pleasing to see such from 2 new Members from opposite ends of our age demographic. Finn is one of our youngest Members ever and this snowman was his first effort after some Club tuition. Likewise, after a working life of producing commercial wooden artefacts with saws & chisels, Mike turned his first bowl (although he still refuses to give up the day job!) 

 With Halloween fast approaching, Ian had dusted off his Flying Witch while Alan had produced a Witch Smoker that is best viewed by clicking the picture to discover the spiders, cat, hairy warts and all in full detail.
 Rhob had another prodigious month's work with a String Holder for Club Sales and 3 natural edge bowls, all having crisp edges with the aid of a goose-neck Cabinet Scraper (just visible behind the back Walnut bowl) which was used to dress out the torn grain of the inside curves, right up to the rim which avoids the chance of abrasives ever having to touch the natural edges. That Walnut bowl was particularly thin walled, which inevitably shrinks at a different rate to the the bark edge and would start to separate. This had been prevented by soaking the inner bark (Phloem) down to the Cambium cell layer with thin superglue. The spun-colours bowls are best to be done inside a cardboard box unless one wants to redecorate the workshop. The brown bowl at the back is of exotic wood, Wenge, which would have furniture makers turning in their graves to see so much beautifully grained wasted shavings on the floor just for a turned piece. Wenge is extremely hard and needs to be more engineered into shape rather than gouged. Some blank dolls had been left for a 2 year old to paint a face and clothes to her mind's content as Christmas ornaments. A Giant Redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum) scorched hollow form is perfect for Shou Sugi Ban charred wood finish because it readily brushes out the softer Summer growth between the harder growth rings. Paul advised that to get the beading evenly blackened, you should choose from staining, marker pen or spray painting with an eboniser.

 Rhob's bowl with resin embedded with Larch fir cones when the rim of the bowl was a lot higher allowing a deep trench to contain the cones & resin before subsequently being trimmed back to leave the resin at the bowl's highest point.
 With Christmas around the corner, Paul had brought in a selection of ideas (mostly from previous demonstrations) with the reminder that if one used a real candle in a tea light, it should be encased in a non-flammable holder; or better, use a LED version. He had also brought an old Walnut deep platter (regularly brought out for Christmas nuts etc) with golden stars encrusted in a scorched rim that had been turned many years before and had certainly moved with age as it had dried out. A platter will have opposite sides where a gouge has to cut across the grain. When the gouge cuts down the undercut rim in these end-grain sections, you are technically cutting 'uphill' which will result in a roughness caused by the tool tip pulling the grain out. No amount of abrasives will smooth this without sanding far more away from the softer along grain sections. However, with such a large diameter as this, Paul used a small handled spindle gouge which he could cut from the deepest part of the undercut up to the rim edge and therefore cutting 'downhill' to create a smooth tool cut.

And finally, John had brought in a spalted box in the Chinese style of only opening when the correct slither of wood is removed, two interlocking snakes forming a Rosewood trivet and a cleverly segmented Nautilus shape.

TABLE  A

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TABLE  B

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September 2024 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves

 Phil's Yew vessel was a brave piece to tackle as there wasn't a lot of wood holding the piece together once hollowed to as thin as seemed safe.
 Allan's Walnut bowl with its Celtic Knot style decoration demands a difficult shape. The outside has been done nicely with a good foot but so much flat space for the rim makes it difficult to undercut thinly enough to keep the weight down, made even harder because of how a tool cuts/tears differently along softer side grain and harder end grain.  The pattern had been printed on paper to the required diameter before copied onto tracing paper to transfer the outlines onto the rim. Then the blackened pattern was laboriously produced with a Pyrography Machine using Ball and Knife Point heads.

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 Recent new Member, Jane had turned a tricky natural edge with a satisfying shape. Paul commented that many turners attempt to make the ends too steep which creates difficulty cutting the inside surface; better to leave the high points flaring outwards to help keep the edge thickness even all over. This can also happen if the piece moves during drying, particularly if you work the inside days after turning the outside. When the edges are already thin, a 1mm shrinkage is far more noticeable. He also commented that despite achieving sharp rim edges with her gouges, in some places they had been rounded off, most likely by sanding with the lathe turning and/or not using a flat pad held perfectly vertical.
 Paul described how his "scruffy old" Walnut bowl had been turned several years ago and finished with a food safe oil. He had recently knocked the oil finish back to a fine smooth surface by hand with 0000 wire wool and after a coat of Renaissance Wax, this was the result.
 Rhob has continued with upmarket pens/pencils; his Catalpa (aka Indian Bean Tree) wood bowl turned nicely but won't take detail easily;

 Rhob keeps up with enlarging his hollowing experience - it's a long adventure to get the inside cut smoothly although Paul recalled himself masking inside his early attempts with matt blackboard paint because without internal reflections, one couldn't pick out blemishes. Next was a bowl made of Box Elder wood, which Paul enthused about its natural tendency to ripple, its chatoyant lustre and that it often has an attractive pink streak which fades over time although some people have the pink permanently painted in.  Rhob's Continus box (aka Smoke Bush Tree) is another attractive wood. 
 Rhob had brought in a Yew & Resin medallion together with more of his Birch Burr, but this time treated with a stain; The cut-out leather works as a home-made Jam Chuck with a spigot on the back to fit his jaws.  Paul considers Rhob's 6" tall hollow form as the perfect size to practice hollowing; making the opening small is another way of masking your finish inside. Finally, his spinning toy top was embellished with a Decorating Elf and he learnt that sanding a top interferes with it working well. Paul commented that it was inevitable to sand one side more than the other and that would lead to wobbles.

 August 2024 - Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie & Paul Reeves

(most of the below can be clicked for close up view)

Ian's pen pot was a Cherry branch turned from wet.
Phil's unusual bark covered underside works well with making use of an ancient branch long-time lost to leave an interesting feature.
Meris de Perle is still working through more 'punky' blanks donated to him. A small bowl with vastly contrasting densities had resulted in the tenon collapsing twice and all requiring a lot more time than his customary Bobbin turning. A salty piece of flotsam driftwood found on Hengistbury Head turned up surprisingly well when mounted upon a re-purposed old-fashion bell push.

Allan's raft of ducks created considerable interest with their well-fashioned tails.
A perfect sphere is the simplest form of a "body of constant width in all directions" (known as an 'Orbiform') but there are many unexpected shapes that also satisfy this definition. Andy has turned an example of the first alternative discovered although there are more sophisticated orbiforms incorporating triangles, pentagons or heptagons as their background shape.  While we were talking of punky pieces, this initially perfect cylinder was from a blank cut across the trunk (just missing the pith) and turned thin when very green so that the drying out created uneven shrinkage movement. This effect is even more pronounced when using a similar cross-section of branch wood, which tend to have pronounced reactionary growth above the pith to compensate for the tension of the bending force due to the branch's weight. Andy's Holm Oak hollow form was another across trunk blank but this time incorporating the pith. An attractive change of grain but awkward to hollow out. A Milk Pearwood cap turned on his ornamental lathe distracts from the over-weight form and on its own, would be a fine candidate for tonight's 'Straight from Tool' competition as no abrasives were necessary.

Vic has been machining some hollowing tools fitted to a 6mm cup cutter. As remarked in his April 2023 Pro-Demo, Les Thorne was always surprised that the smallest diameter scrapers seem to be the quickest to remove the inside, which Andy could attest after he had a go with Vic's version in his workshop.
Rhob's Cedar stool was an example of 'Shou Sugi Ban' style. The more torching the piece, the more the softer grains are burnt away leaving deeper ripples. This was a tall stool which accentuated how flared outwards were the legs. Paul advised that 15º is about the limit to reduce the chance of a leg breaking at their tenon.
Paul's Burr Oak stool was smaller (but then he's not as tall as Rhob!) and the top was purposely left flat so it could double as a side table. He also highlighted that he prefers to hollow out the underside of the seat to reduce the weight of the piece and not have the legs coming through the seat top in order to be wedged into place.   His Rippled Ash hollow form was turned more than 10 years ago and even the woodworms had moved on. He has eventually finished with Walnut foot & lips, decorated, oiled and then buffed. He finds the matt interior and glossy outside particularly pleasing.
His spalted bowl has regular tool ridge marks on the inside which Paul deliberately left as he felt they added to the appearance and have the extra property of a "tat-tat-tat" noise as one spoons the milk out of the bowl. His other items are all utility boxes with a little surprise within; 2 Paraná Pine needle cases, a rippled Yew box and a screw-lidded acorn. Paul commented that he only uses a short number of threads so that the lid removes comfortably quickly before he forgets what he wanted to open it for.

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TABLE  A

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Rick's Mobular Ray (aka Devil Fish) was taken from a damaged flitch of Yew with another piece of Yew sapwood glued on for its tail.  The other solid media was a rod of clear Acrylic with purposely captured bubbles to represent the seawater. The curve was accomplished within boiling water.
Rhob's bowl had pieces of New Zealand Paua shell embedded in clear resin with matching decoration using a Decorating Elf in and under the bowl.
David's Egg-timer was about 12" high with its ends finished with carefully matched decoration.
Andy's Boxwood box was part of his demonstration showcasing multicoloured Milliput.
Al's Iced Bun has real bread as its other media. During lockdown, his Wife had experimented making bread rolls but an early attempt presumably got an awry mix of yeast which he has now bravely(?) incorporated into his competition piece.
Paul's tall cake stand was originally made for a commercial kitchen and designed so that the plates threaded down the central spine for ease of storage. The alternative media (looking a little like Corian) were turned and sanded from a experimental piece of research for a light-weight composite material suitable for an aircraft galley; but it never got off the ground due to it failing a non-flammable test. The cake cup finial is inedible.

TABLE  B

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Allan had created a T-shaped cross section mould for his molten Pewter which subsequently fitted into a matching slot turned into the wooden rim top.
Nigel's piece started off as a Lignum Vitae bowling ball, which had been clearly well used judging by the many shakes within from smashes into opponents' woods. The other media was Milliput decoration. The internal cream band was an experiment of Milliput mixed with Copper powder; he was hoping for slightly more metallic finish but will try with more powder next time.
Joe's unusual media was coloured string around the belly of a nicely proportioned bud vase of Coastal Redwood.

July 2024 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves

(some of these can be clicked for close up view)

  Andy's Boxwood box was the finished piece for his first mixed media demonstration with single coloured Milliput and soft metal alloy while the glitter laden resin bowl was his second demonstration as finished after taken home for final abrasives and a gloss lacquer. The 3 spindle worked pieces were turned without the need of centre-steady by using Pin or Pen chuck jaws to secure the dowel coming through the head stock and just working a short distance from the jaws; eventually the turned areas needed support while wrapped with safety cloth and threaded through the tail stock.
  Paul had produced 6 examples of branch wood he had turned to complement his demo.  His 4-legged stool is a scaled up version of tonight's demonstration with a banana shaped seat out of Leylandii, put to Laburnum legs carefully angled diagonally to maintain their strength.  He has also been building up stock of Kururin Fidget Sticks for Club Sales at forthcoming events; these have been decorated with aluminium nails that he had found perfect for turning and sanding to a fine finish, particularly with a dark coloured wood.  Next was an example of traditional Japanese scorched wood technique known as 'Shou Sugi Ban' often used as cladding for barns which are then treated with Tung Oil to make them rot, weather and waterproof; the Japanese commonly use Cedar but this stool of Coast Sequoia works just as well; Paul recounted a tale of a scorched plank lining a compost heap that was still there 20 years later proving the technique indeed works.

  Alan's burr bowl was a mystery grey uninspiring wood blank won in a raffle which dazzled upon turning; the consensus was that it was probably a Birch burr; just goes to prove not all 'gift horses' are Trojan.
  Paul's footless burr bowl is of rarely seen Nothofagus (southern hemisphere Beech) which had a lot of dead wood on the outside that Paul wire brushed to a lower layer leaving the sound wood polished.  His candlestick bookends are another example of branch turning; the branch was cut in half, hot glued back together in order for the lower main body turned leaving space above and below the base; then divided and remounted individually to turn a spigot on the bottom and the candle cup on the top; the spigot was held to hollow for the candle insert.

  Rhob's Cherry bowl had truly random carving on its side and a wavy insert all accomplished with a rotary band saw, Dremel and a lot of time and care.  His Birch bowl had striking parallel angled carvings achieved with a router while the piece still mounted on the lathe; finished with dark oak stain.  His hollow form was of Continus (aka Smoke Tree/Bush) and about 4" tall which Paul described as the ideal size to perfect one's hollowing skills.

  What Rhob had intended to be a table top was remodelled to a skilfully flat platter with a simple bead highlighting the opening and an unexpected decoration in the foot.
  David's 12" high inside-out vase was another dedicated laborious turned piece with impressive results that reflect his joinery workshop background.
  Nick's two-tone platter was taking advantage of an old piece of brown furniture plank which he subsequently considered a little dull, so inserted Beech as a contrasting colour; his main regret was that he didn't think of aligning the two grains until it was too late.

(photos by Andy Ogilvie, Rick Patrick & Paul Reeves)

TABLE  A

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TABLE  B

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(photos by Dick Bugg)

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