That's it. 2006 is well under way with the quietest AGM I think we have ever had. Too quiet perhaps because it was hard work filling the vacant gaps on the committee but we got there in the end. In appreciation of Bill Bassant's hard work to put the club where it is today he was made an Honorary Member. Congratulations Bill.
The line up for your committee for this year is as follows.
He had a block of pink ivory that he thought cost around £16. From this he could get a couple of vases that would possibly sell for £20 each or a long stem goblet that would sell for £30 or 90 lace bobbins at £3 to £4 each!! He then put the pink ivory away and turned his first bobbin from a piece of pine! There are several types of chuck that can be used, one he had was American and looked expensive. The designs of bobbins are unlimited and you can use all kinds of materials to produce some quite stunning effects. He did get round to using a piece of bone. He used to buy it from his local butcher but discovered later that you can buy it already in dowel form. As with several materials we use, bone gives off a harmful dust and a respirator is advised. The risk however is not related to mad cow disease. He reckons that that is what he suffers from his wife when he drags wood dust in from the shed!! For anyone wanting to find out more about making lace bobbins and their history there is an interesting book by David Springett on the subject. (That's if it still available. If was first published in 1995) After lunch Alan went on to other things and first turned a piece of yew to take a clock. He would cut a slightly inclined flat on the side to form the base for it to rest on. One he had made earlier had a nice skeleton clock mechanism in if (available from Meantime). His next project was to turn a waney edge bowl from a sycamore log. He likened it to turning a spitfire propeller but he hadn't had one take off yet. If did today!!! But instead of whizzing round the room if just plopped on to the lathe bed. His final piece for the day was a square edge bowl, which yours truly failed to take a picture of. It's square with a dug out bit in the middle. Our next meeting is on February 11th and we have Mark Baker paying us a return visit. We had a full house when he came to us last year and he treated us to a really interesting day so hopefully we will have a lot of bums on seats this time. Important notice re trip to Alexander Palace. We have heard that the show at Alexander Palace might not take place due to problems they are experiencing. Because of the doubts the events organising team have decided to cancel the trip because the coach company needs a positive booking immediately. Any money paid in already will be reimbursed in full. Whilst on the subject of outside events, if you plan to bring a guest would you please give the organisers a contact phone number as well as their name so that in the event of something like this happening again they can be kept informed. Bert has had a problem with this and not knowing whose guest they are. So far the trip to Yandles on the 7th of April is still on provided we get enough people to fill the coach. That's it from me for this month. See you all on the 11th at the Mark Baker show!! Graham |
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