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Our July meeting saw us being entertained by Garry Rance who has a wide variety of projects to demonstrate and he managed to cover seven on this occasion. We worked out that it is ten years since we last saw him when we were still at Poolewood. Garry started the day by telling us a little about himself and how he got into woodturning and then went into a simple demonstration of spindle turning, mostly with a skew chisel, forming beads and coves, pommels and curves and everything in between. Garry makes the odd puzzle now and again and his next item was to turn the ring that is part of one of them. With the timber turned to a cylinder he formed the outside using a beading tool and followed the curve with a spindle gouge as far as he could before parting off. By having his parting tool facing slightly towards the centre the ring stays captive when the cut is complete and therefore does not go walkabout round the workshop. To finish the ring he fitted it to a jam chuck and used a spindle gouge for the final cuts. You would also use this type of ring when making fob stands etc. Item three was to be a hand mirror and for this you really need to choose a nicely figured piece of wood. Garry held the disc he was to use on a screw chuck after first drilling a hole in the edge that will take the handle, and turned it to the required diameter forming a rounded edge keeping the hole for the handle nicely centred. The diameter of the recess to accept the mirror had been marked out and this was turned to a couple of millimetres over size to allow for it to go slightly out of shape (as it does) and the depth was roughly twice the thickness of the mirror so that the profile of the outer edge could follow round to meet the mirror. Finally he turned a recess so that he could reverse chuck it and decorate the back with small beads. The hole for the screw chuck was hidden behind a button made from a contrasting wood. The handle was turned and as Garry makes a lot of these he has a scratch jig (a template with pins protruding to give the pitch of the beads and coves that will be the shape of the handle) that highlights the peaks and troughs he wants to form. When turning a handle that has to fit into a radius never leave it with a shoulder, always turn the end with a curve running in to the straight peg that fits the hole. Item number four was to be an earring stand. The top and bottom made from holly and the spindle and finial from cocobola. Another item that Garry makes a lot of so he had an indexing plate that he uses on the pillar drill to drill the holes that the earrings hang from. When finished, the distance from the outer edge to the holes must not be too big or the earrings would be stretched out of shape. Sheila suggested that the base should be dished to take studs. The fifth item on the agenda was a light pull. Here Garry used a tool of his own design that drills the holes and acts as a drive centre as well. Number six and we were on to one of his “idiot items”. This one is a propeller that spins left or right depending on which leg you stand on when you strike the handle! I Believe that and you spent too long in the pub!! The handle is square and the end is turned to a cylinder into which is inserted a pin to take the prop. The square handle is sanded smooth and notches are filed along one corner along which a striker is rubbed. The prop is turned from a flat piece of wood to form a hub and the blades, these being finally shaped on a drum sander. The prop is placed on the pin and an end cap turned and fitted on the end of the pin. Now then. The bit about the leg in the air and your trouser leg rolled up. What a load of ~*~? When the striker is passed over the notches you have your finger rubbing on the flat beside the notches . The friction causes the prop to turn either left or right. Run your finger or thumb on the other side and it turns the other way. The last piece of the day was a letter opener handle using a very nice piece of masur birch. Somewhere in the middle of all this we found time to judge the entries for turning of the month. Howard Overton took the prize for turning of the month with his three part oval dish and Arthur Clatworthy received the highly commended certificate for his traction engine and tender. Our next meeting is on the 9th August and we are not having a demonstrator. Just come along and chat among yourselves and maybe join in the fun bit for the day. We are holding a speed turning competition where the object is to turn the best ever porridge spurtle in just 12 minutes!! We will have four small lathes on the go and we will have a few tools available but if you would prefer it please bring your own tools with you. A spindle gouge, skew chisel, parting tool and even a beading tool could come in handy. See you all on the 9th. Graham |
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