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Greg Morton was last with us in 2006 and again at our February 2010 meeting!!! He was in to large bowls turned from monkey puzzle then but this time his theme was about much smaller work. His first piece of the day was a boat shaped laburnum bowl. After splitting the log down the middle the bark side would be the inside and the flat the outside. The log was held between centres and the outside shaped with a small foot for it to stand on. This gives the bowl a lift and improves its appearance. Once the outside was finished the log was reversed and held in a chuck and hollowed out. To save wrecking his fingers Greg power sands his work with the sanding disc held in a pistol drill ( I dunno, there’s no fun in life anymore!!). The sanding disc is held in the lathe to finish the foot. Next he showed us what can be done with an old fence post. Cut in to the shape of a house brick the piece is trapped two large discs held on a shaft locked in to the head stock with counter balance weights on the back. The log is set off centre and through a central hole in the jig a dish is turned and polished. The log is then repositioned and another dish turned and polished and there you have it. A bit of polish applied to the rest of the log and you have a thing to sell at only the finest of craft fairs. Pictures in the February gallery. Greg’s next piece of the day was to turn a sphere from a piece of yew. Starting between centres he “roughed it out!!” Most of us would call it perfect. He turned the spigots as small as he dared and then broke them off in order to mount the piece between a pair of cup centres. As the sphere is rotating a shadow can be seen and this is what guides you as you continue turning down to solid wood. By stopping the lathe and turning the sphere to a different position gives you another set of shadows to follow till you have the perfect shape. Final sanding is carried out in similar manor. With a little time left Greg’s final item was a pencil pot made from another piece of fence post. Sometimes he will leave an old piece of barbed wire, made safe of course, as a small feature to show its origins. Our next meeting is on Saturday 13th March and Tony Walton will be our demonstrator. I have had a look at the register but Tony doesn’t have a gallery on the site but then Pat told me about a website www.woodturners.co.uk and they are all there including Tony. His repertoire is quite varied and his work looks as though it is up there with the best so it looks as though we are in for a good day. One that shouldn’t be missed. Graham. More events for 2010 10th April Coach trip to Yandles. 18th April Shorne Woodfair at Shorne woods country park. 11th & 12th June Styles and Bates show. 22nd and 23rd October Axminster Power Tools. “Strickly Woodturnin’” Sunday 31st October Surrey Association of Woodturners. Mytchett Are we going to grab the first prize trophy again? |
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