(click for close up view)
January 2026 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves
With wet & windy adverse weather for this Club Night resulting in a low turnout, we only had two Members bringing work forward.
(click for close up view)
Following his last month's Saueracker Shells, John had turned another 2
examples to help improve his technique. The blanks had been salvaged from the
plywood deck of a disused skateboard.
Al had turned this 20" platter but while sorting out its foot, he
discovered that the platter's centre had become slightly too thin for comfort,
so rather than throwing many hours of work on a significant piece in the
log-fire basket, he partially filled in the foot with clear resin which resulted
in a stronger feeling piece, (as shown in the close up view).
December 2025 - Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves
Ian's group of mushrooms on a Lime wood base that was
recently cut down in his garden. The stalks were different lengths of a ring
turned out of waste wood that one might have from sawing out a bowl blank.
Merls' Christmas ornaments of a Snowman and a rather novel Robin
Redbreast both displayed on a pierced earring holder; the top & base of which
were of Ebony, salvaged from a guitar fretboard.
Al's sphere was turned using a Jam Chuck rather than any bespoke tool.
Paul encouraged us to trust our feel of a sphere in our hands as they are
remarkably sensitive to flat spots and out-of-true curves. Despite being a wood
of varying densities, Al hadn't over sanded and thus avoided the likelihood of
removing more of the softer areas than the harder parts.
(click for close up view)
Andy's two elegant Ladies with parasols & hats are fixed on a
spike set into their feet to lift the dress section clear of the ground so that
they have a sense of
movement. Hats have elaborate veneers and Ornamental lathe work is evident in
much of the decoration with a spiral skirt particularly evoking a twisting
action of the lady. His reclining Hedgehog is reminiscent of a traditional
Danish wooden toy but his has a novel spiny coat effect.
Cedric had brought very pleasing pieces - a roll-along Reindeer toy with
a rotating Santa figure held in place by its wheels; a Skiing Reindeer in the
style of Seiffen Toy Turners who produce cameos of animals & people but
these days include more attitude and stance like this example; the third is a
crazy action automaton with reindeers and Elf driver bobbing in different
directions while Santa spins in the chimney. The latter is worked by turning a
handle to rotate cams
(click for close up view)
This is Mike's 2
nd Hollowing from Bottom in another piece of Oak turned soon after his previous competition entry. As is often when duplicating in short order, the later piece benefits from experience, mistakes and your consequent thoughts on a possible better way of proceeding; One of his box lids had a knot, which many would choose to avoid but in this instance, it runs true across the top and adds interest.(click for close up view)
To have 17 Members put pieces on the
two tables is the most there has been for several years.
Clearly, the Competition was met with enthusiasm, which manifested itself by
fabulous examples of concealed joins by everyone.
TABLE A
(click for close up view)
♦
Paul commented that carving and shaping the spout took as long as the time he
did the shaping and hollowing the rest. However, he felt it was still too heavy,
but because he had glued the base back in his demonstration, the only way to
reduce weight was to trim back the outer surface after re-mounting.
♦
Cedric had managed a thin shapely stem
aided by the spiral side slots allowing a precise view of its thickness while
hollowing from underneath. He still managed his signature feature of captured
rings and leaving a sphere within the stem.
♦
John had selected a good quality plywood with very few voids within but is
difficult to turn with all the direction changes of grain which quickly remove
the sharp edge off a gouge.
♦
Andy had found his offset Steamed Pear spout difficult to reverse precisely in
order to finish the bottom as well as he would like. Suggestions from the floor
were to turn a wide tube of spare wood long enough to support
the sides of the base when mounted in the chuck.
♦
Phil's was not only light in colour but also in weight.
♦
Bob's Christmas Tree even had a removable fairy although it would need gluing in before hanging on the tree!
(click for close up view)
♦
Bill's beautiful flowing form following the Demo's format had no
flat spots in the curves.
♦
Trevor's was made with a great eye for the overall shape and surprisingly, raised on a
stem yet still hollowed from the bottom of the body.
♦
Al had a nicely turned matched bottle & stopper with the stopper's shape
complimenting the bottle elegantly.
♦
Rhob had chosen an extremely light wood which was hollowed very nicely and
considering the crumbly nature of this wood in such thin sections, he did an
outstanding job with base join.
♦
David's pieces were beautifully turned (as is his normal standard) with a perfect
fitting bottom join.
(click for close up view)
TABLE B
(click for close up view)
♦
Joe's entry was of an ideal light weight and had a superb bottom joint with its
grain lining up perfectly, which just shows that if you disguise the bottom
well, you can't help but to impress.
♦
The tiny hole on top of Merls' piece was reminiscent of American turner, David
Ellsworth, who was renown for thin walled hollow pieces, some of which were
worked through a hole as big as this rather than resorting to a hidden bottom.
Regrettably, David passed away in June of this year.
♦
Mike's large carafe-shape form was much nibbled by woodworm but had been
painstakingly treated with glued Oak wood dust. Another good bottom join.
♦
Next was a trio of pieces from Jayne which came about because after finishing
one, she felt she could do better. She said these were, in fact, her 2nd,
3rd & 4th attempts.
Paul remarked that repeating a design in a single work session was an
excellent way to improve one's technique, particularly for those new to our pastime.
♦
Mark's entry was finished during the late afternoon of the meeting as he had
experienced a slight problem when his swan neck hollowing tool inadvertently
blew out the side of his first masterpiece. Considering the time pressure he was
under, he did well to finish a second to put into the competition.
♦
Phil had a markedly different cross grain bottom apparently due to his first
attempt's fit being too loose and had to be replaced. Paul suggested that if a
match can't be subtle, then consider a boldly different colour/pattern which
could be complimented with a similar appearance at the other end.
(click for close up view)
November 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves
(click for close up view)
Recently, three of our Members had put up some of their pieces for
sale at a local fair and curiously, more was spent buying Kururins & Spinning
Tops than bowls, platters etc. Paul's Candle Holder is slightly oval, which was
the way it dried while in the rough but it had shrunk so evenly that it was
turned without the need to be trued round. He had also turned some Urn
samples for Dying Arts of Boscombe including these; one of Walnut from Sutton Scotney
that had spalted (its volume
suitable for the remains of an 18 stone Client) and although was hard enough to take a thread onto the base, needed an
insert for the lid. The other was of Coastal Redwood (for a 12 stone
Client).
It's normal for Monkey Puzzle bowls to be turned end-grain which can
highlight the knots/eyes in a horizontal line but Alan's example was cross
grained with its eyes showing up in the bottom of the bowl. Paul was particularly impressed
with the way it had been sanded carefully to preserve all crisp cut edges and
even the slight undercut had no evidence of tear-out. All the more remarkable
for a slight yellowness, which normally indicates the wood is close to rotting
into pieces on the shelf.
(click for close up view)
Andy's Love Birds are especially sweetly shaped while his uncertain tree
crotch was believed to be Sumac due to the prominent yellow areas within the
grain.
Rhob's penguins have presumably come out this month due to the current near zero
temperatures! His blackened hollow form had some difficult issues to deal with its
bottom while the other had been beautifully turned although he was anticipating
more distortion as it completely dried out. Paul commented that sapwood does shrink more in proportion than does heartwood.
(click for close up view)
Rhob's Walnut bowl had been meticulously finished with sharp edges and 'nuttily'
enough, its food safety treatment was with Walnut oil. His Banded Holly box (shaped like an urn) and his resin pieces were eye-catching; the resin Torus is a
box and well worth clicking the photo for a closer view.
Cedric had treated his captive ring with a Tile File to produce his rope
effect. Paul thought personally, he would opt to create the spirals while the
ring area was still attached and kept motionless before turning it 'captive'.
(click for close up view)
October 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves
(click for close up view)
Rhob's raised platter in
Mulberry and Robinia; elegant design, well turned; stem attaches to top with
magnets.
▪
He has been playing with eye-catching and effective paint effects on sample
boards, wide rimmed bowls and a clock. Acrylics are applied and then moved
around eg by blowing with straw or spinning, then treated with an activator.
▪
His wig stand with painted female figure stem and broad hat on which to place
the wig. Rhob has previously made wig stands but this is his most refined so
far. He only makes them available to those in need of such.
▪
A Walnut bowl (unfinished) as he was not satisfied with the finish obtained.
Advice was to wet sand with some Walnut oil (a very good finish for Walnut)
▪
A hollowed vase in local Olive embellished with a spherical burr and colouring –
very effective.
(click for close up view)
Paul's two lamp shades were
made some time ago and found in workshop tidy. Left : thin turned but
thought too shallow; right : a forerunner for several bowls on this
theme. Coated in Luminous paint which glows after the lights are out - as
demonstrated by turning out the meeting hall lights!
David had turned two beautiful acorn boxes - you can’t go wrong with
acorns as there is such a variety of patterns and shapes. He had decorated bases
and a secure fit when put together.
Ian had made a pepper pot and spoon from a piece of Blue Pine rescued from
a tree which was being cut down outside his house.
(click for close up view)
Phil had brought in a Hornbeam
decorated bowl in the style of his demo piece.
▪ Slender stem vase in Purpleheart and ebonised Sycamore (stem and finial).
Elegant, skilfully turned piece with Phil’s trademark Dremel router cuts on
inside and outside giving a perforated geometric effect to offset the slender
stem and finial.
▪ Ash vase. Interesting shape, well hollowed and then decorated with dimpled
effect before being treated with a reactive metal finish - a two part paint with
activator to achieve the level of discolouration desired.
▪ Birch Burr platter. A beautiful piece of wood but Phil found random soft
patches which complicated the finishing. A gradual approach from the outer rim
inwards, plenty of sealer to stabilise it and finally a coat of Hampshire Sheen.
Some radial lines from the sanding and finishing remained and Phil intends to
buff it to rectify this. Paul commented that it can happen with an over reliance
on sanding and applying finishes whilst the lathe is turning and suggested some
hand sanding may have helped.
Alan's bell shaped Salt Shakers and a multi coloured spoon to show solidarity
with the last demo. The shakers were very well turned with an inward facing cone
in the base to retain the salt until the bell was shaken. He had used a threaded
section to attach the handle to the bell - just for practice! Refillable through
the small hole in the base, but presumably could also have been designed to make
use of the screw handle to fill from the top.
(click for close up view)
▪ Joe's sphere based tea light holder in Wenge which had been partly bleached and
filled with Milliput to achieve the decorative effect - very effective,
good looking piece
▪ Joe had been clearing out his loft and found some previously turned
bowls in Padauk, Walnut, Zebrano, and Sycamore which encouraged discussion and ideas.
Always nice to go back to stuff you have turned to see how accomplished you once
were & how
much you have progressed.
▪ Sphere in Yew with natural edge defect which Joe decided he liked and therefore
did not reduce the size of the sphere further - set off with a little stand
underneath.
Lace Bobbins by 'the Master' Merls were beautifully finished - one pair was made from
Lilac which had a stunning purple vein running through it.
Meanwhile, Lace Bobbins by 'Apprentice' Mike had demonstrated a delicate, controlled
touch with these very good examples.
(click for close up view)
Cedric certainly likes different and puzzling pieces. Hence his interest in
these money boxes with insect locking mechanisms on top to open the box before
retrieving your savings. Great one for the grandchildren.
Andy's Cherry Cat had frustrated him that such a piece of wood which he had been carefully drying for years, still split after turning and assembling.
Q. What should you expect when turning even apparently dry branch wood spindle fashion?
A. Let it do its thing and then fill it!
Andy also had Ornamental lathe turned pieces :
▪ Box in Garrya Elliptica and Hornbeam. Both took the ornamental cuts very nicely
and Andy said he would certainly look out for more Garrya Elliptica (aka Silk Tassel
Bush).
▪ Tazza (shallow, ornamental bowl on a stem) in Knob Thorn and Box. The
Knob Thorn (a variety of Acacia) was a delight to work with but Andy
decided his first intended finished piece looked and felt too heavy. So at great time & cost, he
retrospectively hollowed the stem and halved the size of the base to give the
piece as shown. 3 days work with no mistakes!
▪ Tazza in Robinia and Box. The Robinia turned and decorated very well, the box
stem was very delicate and the central piece of the stem needed to be left in place to
keep it structurally viable.
(click for close up view)
(photos by Andy Ogilvie & Paul Reeves)
September 2025 -
Comp 3
DOUBLE BOX
TABLE A
The entries forward were widely considered as one of the most complex and skilfully conceived pieces presented for quite a while. Please click individual photos to reveal their interiors.
(click for close up view)
Andy's 'Arc' design made similar to as described in the
Competition webpage for a Torus box with templates for inside and outside
curves, although the wings do make the latter tricky. To create the 2 boxes, a
divider had been inserted before the two hollow half arcs were glued together.
Lids were of spalted Boxwood.
Paul's was a refined version of his demonstration example of a Double Ended box
with some Ornamental Lathe work on its stand.
Rhob's 'Sauracker Shell' design had his customary well decorated
underneath and an involved action of spindles and hidden pins to reveal 3 boxes
swinging out from under the lid; a complex mechanism skilful enacted.
Alan's 'Interior Second' had a good contrast of woods from dark outer to
light Boxwood inner and cunningly, so deep and dark internally that one couldn't see or feel
the finish at the bottom. The inner lid had a dark decoration to tie in with the
outer while the outer complemented with a thin light decoration to tie in with
the inner.
(click for close up view)
Rob's innovatively 'Plank' designed cube of tree trunk
with its drop-in hinge opened to reveal a bowl hollow and a second box of
toothpicks.
David's sweet little 'Interior Second' design was elegantly finished in
spalted wood, which is normally uncooperative for such precision turning.
Nigel's Yew box with a Walnut top had an interior box lid that pulled up
a tray, which had acted as the cover to a small space below.
Cedric's 'Interior Second' design was a different concept by the outer
box's space being around the inner, which sat on the outer's lip, (much like the
old fashioned ink well in my old school desk. I hasten to add I never used it
but it was there at the top right of the desktop with its empty glass insert).
Bill's 'Double Ended' design with pop-on lids was well executed with a
good choice of woods despite Bill complaining that they were an even better fit
the day before. All drill marks at the bottom of both hollows were cleverly
masked by a circle of leather.
(click for close up view)
TABLE B
The four entries were considered a great effort
with a time consuming challenge. Beside one ingenious eye-catching concept
winning, the remaining three scored virtually identical points.
(click for close up view)
Joe's inventive mind for a 'Double Ended' was a design
he'd conceived himself making use of Simon Hope's Threading Jig to ensure that all
threads were identical. There was space within the bolt area, another within the
protruding bolt thread while the nut had an ornamental division produced
by a Jeweller's Cup Burr.
Gavin's 'Interior Second' design had a cracking piece of Yew outer with
care taken to get the grain meeting up quite realistically bearing in mind about
8mm of outside edge had been turned away to form the lip/tenon; a solution to
reducing this outer edge loss is to make a separate insert to form the lip and
then the lost outer surface is only a narrow Parting Tool's width. Unfortunately, he found
himself rushing to finish the inside box which didn't come to the same standard,
so probably well worth turning a replacement inner to really show the piece off.
For a Member who hasn't been turning long, Mike's done well to have a
'piston fit' for the inner box of his 'Interior Second' design for his first
competition piece.
Merls 'Interior Second' design had its inner box seemingly coming to
rest against a tapered side but the outer lid fitted precisely to hold the inner
box's threaded lid in place without any movement.
(Click for close up view)
September 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves
(click for close up view)
Rhob's bowl made of Griselinia (NZ hedging shrub that is salt and wind tolerant) looks a little like Robinia but this Heartwood smells antiseptic and is often pinkish for a few years after turning. His natural edge Elm bowl had been sand blasted which gives a different tactile finish but would probably benefit blasted at a higher pressure. The next natural edged Walnut bowl was clearly from a large trunk and must have been difficult to hollow out accurately to its deep bottom. One box was of Judas Tree wood which has various contrasting colours within its grain as well as capable to have flowers growing out of its trunk. The other box is turned from a Spheroid, which is a wart-like woody growth usually stimulated in response to an injury caused by insects, fungi or bacteria. Oak Apple Galls and Marble Galls are common but Paul currently has some in his workshop off a Holly Tree.
(click for close up view)
Following our demonstration of thin
turning, Phil has done a fine job of turning some thin green Maple cups and
saucer in Japanese style. Sanding was perfect but as often happens, one's
fingertip can sense a tiny ridge in the final finish on an inside surface which
probably happened when applied with the lathe running. This can be easily
resolved by gentle use of some '0000' wire wool. He had turned a wany-edged
platter with a small diameter foot, which has the disadvantage of any offset
weight being liable to rock the platter over; steeper side walls would alleviate
the problem as any contents would naturally fall into the centre of the piece
and provide stability. The foot of any piece should not be dictated by the
diameter of your chuck jaws - one can always use jaws in expansion or else leave
wood outside the jaws to be turned into a foot when reverse mounted at the end
of the job.
Alan's double box has features worth highlighting. His hollowing with a drill
has been masked with a wafer disc of wood covering the bottom of the recesses,
which are ideal to remove evidence of the point of a drill/Forstner bits.
Another is his use of 3D printed thread inserts, although having tried with this
piece, Alan said he would only use them again if the box wouldn't readily take
its own thread.
Cedric's Kendama (traditional Japanese 'Skills' toy) of Elm was turned from a
1930's table leg.
Jayne's other pastime is Bowls, at which she competes with considerable success.
Consequently, she had access to a supply of Lignum Vitae so had turned an old
bowling ball into a clock. 'Shakes' are a common fault with such dense wood as Lignum but are
not necessarily caused by collision of the bowls. This example has shattered
grain but is more likely to have been caused by it having been taken from a
large trunk which has no pliability for shrinkage or else just from the
stress of felling. Although a relative Newbie Member, she has had a good attempt
at a threaded box and a couple of spinning tops now that she has discovered the
thinner the hand part, the better they spin!
After years of turning only minute pieces like lace-making bobbins, Merls
has expanded into threading. Below is a first attempt.
(click for close up view)
Jim Coakes was a regular winner of Table A back in the 90's; this is his
double box for
storing pierced earrings. Jim tended to make all his tools out of old chisels
and screwdrivers but was known as 'Brasso' Jim from the metal polish wadding,
which was
his preferred method of buffing because wet & dry abrasive paper only extended to
about 400 grit in those days. There are many parts to his box but the main wood
is of Desert Ironwood whose heartwood can vary between dark brown and bright
orange.
(Click to see the innards)
Paul had finished off his
demonstration double box with a new inner box having a better fitting lid plus
other improvements since last month's demo. Also a threaded box which he decided
to drill a hole in the lid and convert it into a salt shaker. Next was his
example of a Double-Ended box but now with a finer stand. An acorn box turned
from a 500 year old Oak Beam from a house on Mudeford Quay, yet without the provenance, one could easily mistake it as out of
modern oak - the decoration is with a pyrograph wire pen.
When
Andy bought some new pen accessories at a recent show, he treated himself to a
couple of exotic wood blanks resulting in this
fountain pen of Namibean Rosewood, which interestingly has recently been flagged as heavily
threatened due to unsustainable logging - primarily to meet demand from China
for its durability and natural resistance to insects and rot .
His conical tree was a disguised box of toothpicks.
(click for close up view)
Past member & demonstrator, Ed Walker, was visiting us from 'up north' and brought a variety of Streptohedrons with his best tip - accurate turning is paramount for the pieces to fit precisely when they are turned through their required angle. Ed's most memorable competition piece from 2019 was creating something turned from a 3" cube of wood; he had bandsawed the cube into 60 rectangular blocks and glued them into a bowl shape by reducing the overlaps for each layer as the diameter increased and then protected the joints & wood with black sealant. Before he could shape the outside and inside surfaces, he stabilized the structure by placing it in water and popped it in his deep freeze so that once frozen, he could then use a Bowl Gouge to finish.
August 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie & Paul Reeves
Andy had been challenged to work out how to replicate one of Hans
Weissflog’s pieces consisting of a spherical box halfway down a square pyramid.
Andy's solution is
available from downloading <HERE> but suffice to say that after hollowing out the
box while his Hornbeam blank was still in rectangular form, he discovered an
inclusion. He had intended to use this part of the box as the base, which
would only need a comparatively small amount of the blank turned away. He had
hoped that this would avoid the inclusion becoming visible from outside.
Unfortunately, with the two hollowed parts hot glued together, he forgot which
end was to become the base and inadvertently arranged it the wrong way in the
frame holder, 1st photo above which resulted in the 2nd photo.
Paul had 4 threaded boxes to display :- Purpleheart with a
spectacular rippled Yew inlay; an apple-shaped
box of compressed coloured Maple Spectraply obtained from a jewellery maker who
was about to retire. This cuts and sands well in all directions and holds up to
being turned thin, also it is easy to thread and to see when lined up when tight
shut; Rosewood from a selection of small blanks from Stuart
Mortimer which took a thread readily and grain lined up beautifully when shut;
TOP TIP
:
Lining Up Grain on a Threaded Box is achieved while the lid is held in the
chuck. The base is screwed most of the way in but you stop when the grain
matches and lines up and a straight line pencil mark is made across both at this
point. Now, screwing the parts fully together will reveal how much further
the pencil mark has to go until it lines up when the box is
screwed up tight. This is done by removing very small amounts of wood from
the adjoining face of the lid until the pencil marks & grain line up when the
base is screwed back in. It is better to turn/cut it off as sanding may
produce an uneven edge, particularly if the density of the wood varies around the
circumference.
If the Chaser is for example a "16" then one complete turn would be one
sixteenth of an inch and if you need to twist the lid by (say) 270º to return to
close tight, you will need to remove 270/360
(i.e. ¾) of 1/16th (i.e.
cut away approximately 1.2mm).
Jayne's third-ever bowl was of green thinly-turned Maple with a smooth
even inside curve although its bottom had extended towards the spigot and well
into the foot area, which prevented the option of a fine foot just lifting the piece
off the ground. After discussion, the consensus was to leave the foot long and
near vertical giving a Japanese look to the piece and because it was thin and
end-grain turned, abrasives
would have quickly 'dried' the piece so unlikely to move/crack.
David's box was of Steamed Pear, Laburnum and yellow Ash.
Rhob's thin natural edge
banana bowl had been stained with Jacobean Dark Oak trying to emphasize its
figured grain while still achieving a sharp even-thickness edge. Paul commented
that it is difficult to work on endgrain parts of the inside surface which
always need more sanding than the cross-grain sides. Many try to achieve this
with powered driven abrasives, which tend to spoil the rim edges but Rhob had
obviously persevered by hand and a curved block; the other natural edge bowl
next to this had a round bottom without a foot, which was a pleasing shape to
hold. Rhob had done well to retain the bark. Both these bowls had his trade mark
decoration underneath, which for this bowl was accomplished between the
tailstock in the centre of the spigot used for hollowing and the chuck jaws
driving a wooden pin with some grip-mat going through the opening to the bowl's
finished inside bottom; the tall hollow form is of English Olive which is
renown for twisting or splitting and for rust staining a lathe's rails although
this blank appears to have behaved more reasonably; his Copper Beach banana bowl
originally had striking copper coloured areas but these soon disappointingly
faded - Paul commented that in his experience, the only wood that holds a
striking colour for a reasonable length of time was Orange Alder; his 'Tannoy speaker'
is of a spectacular Birch Burr and purple resin.
Cedric's wine table had an inlaid top and his trademark 'captured ball'
within the centre column.
Following some demonstration work at the recent Ellingham Show that Alan
had done with acorn boxes, he had continued at home with Boxwood & African
Blackwood lid, which both cut leaving a shiny finish from the tool; an elegant
project from "The Tiny Turner," (Emma Cook).
Merls' castle was using a cheap pyrography kit from Temu for his first
attempt at pyrography. It looked as good as if he had used a Peter Child
top-of-the range kit. Now just needs one more castle before a king, queen,
bishops etc!
Terry Rae, our roving supporter from Stoke (aka the Treasurer's Father)
presented a box with chatoyance but was urged to finish the underneath please.
Surprisingly, the finial had been taken from a broken paintbrush handle , turned
and stained - them Northern folk most certainly are careful, aren't they.
July 2025 -
Comp 2
THIN TURNED / PIERCED
TABLE A
(click for close up view)
Andy's separate cup & saucer weighed in at 17 grams (half an
ounce!)
Paul's demonstration piece was worked on at home afterwards to hollow it out as
an added feature; the piercing was with his Dremel, which is only 32,000RPM
rather than the 400,000 of precision milling tools, so more time consuming and
not so easy to keep the lattice walls with equal thickness - he would have had
to spend a similar amount of time fettling for it to be good enough
for gallery work.
Bob's extremely thin hat was about 100mm diameter - his first attempt had blown
apart under his gouge but this attempt was still translucent and his brim was
more stable.
Cedric's goblet within the stem of a thin goblet plus captured rings was tied
with Rhob's intricate coloured and pierced petal shapes - the wavy inner petals
were from the double walled hollow form principle of sawing away to leave what
you see.
(click for close up view)
Nigel's thin bowl has superbly thin sides but the thick base does leave it in
danger of self destruction as it shrinks around the pith and creates a
star-shaped crack in the bottom. This had been turned 5 weeks before but the
secret of competitions like today's is to start & finish your piece yesterday!
John's 30cm 'Bowl from a single Plank' (as demonstrated in May 2023 <HERE>)
was amazingly thin for such a size.
Al's small bowl of rippled White Maple was evenly thin all round while for the
size of his wide bowl, thickness was as thin as ideal to still leave a pleasing
weight in one's hands.
The bronze colour of aged Mulberry lets slip that Rick's thin pierced bowl
wasn't turned recently.
Glued up worktops are renown for gaps and spaces below their top surface so
Phil's shallow platter was arguably a brave project to take on, but it has
worked out very well for such a thin piece; His small Natural Edge Banana bowl
is always a good challenge and when it has thin sides, it leaves it difficult to
rely on abrasives to remove all tool marks.
(click for close up view)
TABLE B
(click for close up view)
Joe's Lantern in Sequoia was a challenging choice of wood for
thin work but has turned very successfully with small lights within.
Merls' Laburnum goblet with Apple stem were fine on the day of turning but now,
a few days later, a crack had appeared in the cup, which Paul suggested might
have been avoided if he hadn't left the bottom of the cup thicker than the walls
- the walls would dry evenly whereas the thicker bottom couldn't; undercutting
the endgrain branch wood base is a good method of avoiding the edge curling
inward when drying out - as the cup is thin and light, the base will still be
weighty enough for stability.
Jayne is new to turning and as her second ever bowl turned, a fine effort to
turn so thin a blank of Sequoia.
July 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie & Paul Reeves
Cedric had come prepared to demonstrate his wooden
version of Macchu Pichu ceramic 'Pisco' vessels - when turned upside down and
filled with liquid of choice through the hole within the base, the innards
allows the liquid to collect in a reservoir so that it remains inside when
returned to its base, but can still be poured out of the spouts; the design was
entirely out of Cedric's head and experimentation with waterproofing before
fitting the parts together.
Al has been turning fruit, which were supposed to all be apples but some
needed to be rescued by ending up as pears; his Redwood bowl had a marked
chatoyance.
Andy had been given some 80 years old Lancewood that had been used as a
shaft for a horse drawn carriage due to its toughness and elasticity, so he was
expecting it to be well suited to take a thread but had in fact chipped away
when applied to a Chaser - consequently, the design had to be adapted by
incorporating some Beech Burr which resulted in an over-weighted lid; his hollow
form was a project from the recent Westwood Fair where 3 different coloured
planks had been beautifully planed & squared off, which allowed perfect glue
joints to produce this herringbone effect.
Rick's practice plate of piercing demonstrated how striking the effect is
when the width of the wood one leaves is similar to that which is cut out;
whereas his Crab Apple vase is too thick for accurate piercing and the remaining
wood has ended up far wider than the gaps within.
Bill reported that his winged platter had been a nightmare to keep the
feet so clean-cut; it was suggested to glue sacrificial panels to the prepared
squared off blank for an easier production.
Paul's small snack bowl is unusual because it's of
spalted Ash; the Beech platter is unusual due to it being cut down, planked and
subsequently cut into blanks more than 10 years ago, yet it has moved since
being turned quite recently - which shows that even if you think your wood is
dry, there is often tension left to be released.
Phil's Fairy House piece of treen is one of many in his garden for the
benefit of grandchildren.
Rhob's Stewart Furini inspired platter was decorated with Red Maple
leaves with veins cleverly enhanced with a V-chisel; his evenly thinned bowl was
meticulously decorated with the aid of an indexed drive centre and 3 differently
sized Ball Burr drill bits.
John's ultra thin natural edges were typical in the 2010's following the
influence of renown British Woodturner, Bert Marsh.
June 2025 -
Comp 1
COLOURING inspired by FURINI
TABLE A
(click for close up view)
Phil's mixed media hollow form incorporated air brushed spirit stains, hand
carving and metallic paints.
Andy had used kitchen roll to produce a painted picture of a field of wild
flowers rather than something abstract.
Rhob had been inspired by the Torn Cardboard air brush method - Paul noted that
the wood grain was quite prominent and wondered whether the effect might have
appeared differently with the 'cardboard' lines being parallel to the grain.
John's Centrifugal Colouring was remarkable with how crisp, perpendicular and
straight were the colours.
Having won last year's Table B, this was Nigel's initiatory Table A entry.
Al appeared to have blocked out his colour areas with a router and skilfully
kept the black within the grooves.
Trevor's method was starting out with dabbing and then mix brushing them across
the surface with a wide flat brush.
(click for close up view)
Paul's blue 3-legged stool was named, "Where have all the fish gone?" referring
to his inability to get ahold of fish stencils in less than 3 weeks.
Bob had also suffered time critical issues with paint taking far longer to dry
than expected and had to be wiped clean before starting again. The surface got
further 'distressed' on the way in to Club Night by precautions to protect his
upholstery from tacky paint.
TABLE B
(click for close up view)
Joe had entered 2 entries of totally different methods. The
static Dabbing example had a particularly eye-catching jungle camouflage look
with the aid of old newspaper finished with scratches over the top.
Merls had coincidently entered 2 pieces as well; the Ribbon Masking example was
inspired by a design on an electric guitar he had painted.
June 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Andy Ogilvie
(Click for close up view)
Past Member Jakki, who had moved out of the area but
passing our way tonight, has been trying her hand at turning resin salt & pepper
mills. She had fashioned a square tower out of gluing 4 lined sheets of
Perspex/Plywood and placed a square of wood at the top to support a heavy weight
to hold everything down while it set and for subsequently receiving a Pronged
Drive Centre. She had also brought along her next prepared resin blank.
The Jason Breach style Pagoda Boxes of Phil's were turned from ready made
blocks of laminated wood while the bullet shaped boxes were of Maple; Andy was
taken with the added interest of the finial finished with an unexpected angle.
Rick's Tooth Fairy Mushroom box in Coast Redwood was his contribution to
reducing national inflation by turning a box that couldn't accommodate anything
larger than a £1 coin being substituted overnight for a loose tooth by a
hard-pressed parent! His Maraca (with dried split peas within) was suppose to be
out of an Ironwood variety with very thin walls but an absent-minded
presentation of his Skew after checking its thickness resulted in it catching a
hole and needing a Pear wood replacement.
Al's bowls of Rosewood and the other of Kiatt (aka African Teak or Mukwa).
(click for close up view)
(Click for close up view)
David's boxes have a cunning trick with their lids - once removed and the box base turned upside down to reveal a concave surface, the lids are spinning tops with finials as thumb twists; a Duck Call and a 'Sticky Ramrod' from our Archives' Puzzles & Tricks <
HERE>(click for close up view)
May 2025 -
Appraisal Table
with Paul Reeves
The distinctive shape from fat to thin of each piece
shouts out that these were turned by Trevor, a past Cabinet Maker with an
instinctive eye for such. It's not difficult to make pieces all the same height
but when one does, small differences in turned shapes can't help but look
obvious; so making three candlesticks of different heights can help disguise
such imperfections; and Trevor has taken advantage of turning these sets of
reducing size candlesticks and a pair of condiment
grinders in perfect proportion.
Al's shallow bowl is out of ancient Maple with spectacular grain and fine
ornamental finish underneath.
(click for close up view)
(click for close up view)
David's pair of emerging bowls were from 2 square blanks
joined one above the other with glue and paper to turn an emerging ball. Then
split apart and jigged up individually to hollow out.
Nigel had been inspired by April's Inside Out demonstration; here were
his ornamental hanging pieces done many years ago and his mark 2 version of a
captured ball after his first attempt got the walls too thin and the weight of
the ball broke through.
Rhob's tall hollow form was of Holly, which had a load more colour than
regularly seen; he had avoided incorporating the pith so it shouldn't later
shrink into a rugby ball shape. The natural edge hollow form was of Sycamore.
Two pieces had been decorated with Montana Crackle paint spray which he had
found vital to spray it on a still wet base coat for the crackle paint to
readily slide apart.
Andy is not one for wasting many remnants of previous work. He had
several Monkey Puzzle knots/eyes off-cuts laid in a deep wooden tray to be
covered with resin. However, he had finished the evening with too much,
which by the following morning had started to cure but was malleable enough to
be pressed into a shallow curve; the lid of his coloured bowl below was then
made from this.
The tray of knots reminded Paul of an age old technique of cutting ‘oysters‘
done with slices of laburnum branch wood to give contrast between sap and
heartwood. These would be fitted together by trimming the edges until there were
only small spaces or none at all as there was no resin to fill the gaps in the
1700s. Another prudent choice of Andy's was to make use of a small piece of burr
he had and inset it in the lid of a box.
(click for close up view)
(click for close up view)
Phil's thin walled hollow form with overlapping slots was
an impressive piece of work. He had taken care to get the wall thickness as even
as he could - Paul thought that if he had marked the outside first for where the
slots would be, he could have drilled several indicator holes around the body to
get a direct view of the current achieved thickness all over. A 'fid' is a
nautical term for a conical pin or spike used in splicing rope and here were 3
boxes to store them, each appropriately decorated with 2 contrasting braided
webs spliced on the outside.
Paul had brought in a selection to compliment this evening's Colouring
Demonstration; a platter with Ebonised Spray base coat decorated with the stalks
done by a power carver, the leaves & petals with 2 water based Acrylic paints
from Jo Sonja range and the flower heads with a spiky burr driven by his Dremel.
A box out of Spectraply (coloured laminated wood). Hollow
form with an African Black Wood rim after Decorating Elf's magic filled with
gold Gilt Cream finish; Paul was particularly happy that the weight of the piece
was very light helped by its thin walls. A Ripple Oak bowl decorated by
lightly flashing over with a pencil blow torch to imitate Brown Oak; this is an
old technique typically used with Flame Walnut to scorch away the annual ring
lines to highlight interesting grain shapes. And finally something not
coloured, a set of 5 'Russian Doll' style Laburnum boxes .
(click for close up view)
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 white spray paint 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.
(click for close up view)
(click for close up view)
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.
(click for close up view)
(click for close up view)
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.
(click for close up view)
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!
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