Tony Walton was our demonstrator for the June meeting and it was probably the quietest meeting we had ever had.
Tony’s work was very interesting but he doesn't say much while he is working and there was little or no joking or taking the you know what from us. You would have thought we were asleep at times!!

All todays items were made from a burr of one kind or another and Tony’s first project was to be a decorated bowl from a poplar burr. The design that he started out with got changed slightly when a fairly large split appeared, not noticeable before he started cutting in to it. Yea. We’ve done that haven’t we although sometimes we create it ourselves, with a dig in. Whoops.

The back finally being finished he then started to colour it. At first we thought it a shame to colour a burr but the end result was good. He used Chestnut stains and started with purple, going over the whole area but then sanded it back quite a lot with 120 grit sand paper.
Next he used royal blue all over and sanded that back with 120. Next he went over it with light blue and sanded that with 180 grit.
Next he dabbed red in places and finally some yellow dabs which he sanded with 240 grit. To blend the colours he caused them to run into each other just slightly by spraying it with a light coating of methylated spirits.
To seal it all Tony sprayed it with an acrylic sanding sealer, don’t use a cellulose sealer because this will cause it all to run and look a mess.
The final finish was a coat of finishing oil.
The front face was coloured using just the three blues giving the base a darker look than the front . Then the bowl was hollowed out just leaving the rim coloured. This was also finished with finishing oil

Tony’s second project of the day was to be a hollow form which ended up being a nicely shaped pot with a lid having a tall finial attached.
The pot was made from a london plane burr which he had had for some years.

At a show some years back one of the demonstrators asked him what wood he was using and when he said plane burr he was told it was as rare as hens teeth to which he replied that he had a whole tree, all burr and no, he would not sell it!!

Any way , back to his pot. He turned the outside shape first and then hollowed it out first using a spindle gouge and following on with a Rolly Munro deep hollowing tool. He used long leg callipers to check the wall thickness as he went to get it the same all through. Satisfied with this he took it off the lathe and turned a neat collar to fit in the neck of the pot.
Normally, as a hollow form this would be the end but Tony went on to turn another piece to fit in to the collar with a small hole bored in to it using the gouge. Lastly, using the only piece of wood that was not a burr today he turned a long ebony finial to fit in to the last piece turned to create a very nice lid to fit the pot.
A very nice looking piece and when he was asked what he thought it would sell for he said around £80. He donated it to the club as a charity raffle prize!! And the other two pieces as well

Tony’s final item today was a box made from a really nice piece of brown oak burr with a lot of figuring. He followed the standard two thirds one third proportions of lid to base. After turning the blank to round he turned a spigot at either end for chucking, He mounted it in the chuck on one of the spigots and marked off his cutting line to get the box and the lid and parted off in to two pieces.
The lid was the first part to turn which he dished the inside and turned a spigot that will fit in to a recess on the base when they go together. The inside was sanded and a coat of soft wax applied and polished.
A tip he gave here was that if you have a problem getting that really fine last cut with the tool, apply a little wax polish to the surface and then turn it. Quite often it will give you a very nice finishing cut.
He took the lid off the lathe and mounted the base which he hollowed out with a gouge and formed the spigot to fit the lid on leaving it fairly tight to put the two together to finish the outer shape and the top of the lid. Where they join he turned a small groove to high light the join rather than leave a thin line which to him never looks right.
To finish the bottom of the base he formed a jam chuck which he forced the base on to so that he could turn it slightly concaved. The final finish was to be a couple of coats finishing oil.

Our next meeting is on Saturday 11th July and our demonstrator will be Richard Findley.
Richard covers all aspects of woodturning and travels the length and breadth of the UK and also abroad giving demonstrations suitable for beginners and skilled turners alike.
Sounds like we have a good day to look forward to and looking at his picture on his website he doesn't look to be the quiet one, rather more the flamboyant showman.

(I wonder if he will pay me for that build up?)
Let’s have lots of bums on seats We need yer munney!!

Our August meeting will be a club day. Howard will be showing us his method of segment turning, Fred will be making pens, Paul will no doubt do what Paul does and there will be one or two other exciting things to amuse you!! In the afternoon we want to do a speed turning competition so if you would like to come up with an idea of what to turn please let us know at the next meeting. If you want to make a sample to be copied that would be good but of course you won’t be allowed to compete. Goes without saying really doesn’t it. Don’t know why I did.

See you all on the 11th

Graham.

Notice Board Just the one reminder for July.
Don’t forget the BBQ on Sunday 19th. If you still haven’t booked your tickets have a word with Dawn to see if there is still time to add your name to the list. Rather than leave it until the meeting on the 11th try phoning her on 01634 719898. The pub will want to know final figures before the day.