Jason Lee Smith was the demonstrator for our February meeting and it was his first time with us so a new experience for us all.
His work leans towards the artistic finish which he showed in his projects today.

Because what he wanted to show us was all on the front face of his work he had come with some blanks already with the backs finished.
He leaves the smallest of spigots to hold on to and it’s a wonder things don’t come flying off when facing the front face but they didn’t.
(even though he had left his chuck key at home and had manage with a near fit allen key!!)

His first project was a maple “Flame Platter” which involved carving and staining.
First he faced it off and power sanded it to a fine finish and finished off with NYWEB abrasive pads treated with “sanding butter”, a mix of bees wax and liquid paraffin that he makes up himself.
It also helps to keep the dust down.

Next he applied some black wood stain to the edge using a spray diffuser that you blow through. (Take a deep breath before you blow, not half way through. Yea!)
Next he carved the flame effect using a small vee shaped cutter fitted to a dremel carver and then applied some red stain.
Next he enhanced the carving with an arbotec cutter and then scorched the surface with a small blowtorch before applying a final coat of yellow stain.
Finally he turned the centre out and cut a couple of defining rings to help emphasize the pattern. The photos in the gallery help follow the sequence.

Jason’s second piece was a cherry platter that was to be textured and then coloured..
First he faced the platter off and then sprayed it with ebonising lacquer.
Once this was dry he textured the surface using a Robert Sorby texturing tool and the inner and outer edges had a contrasting texture using an engineers knurling tool.
This was lightly sanded and then a generous coating of gilt cream applied. This was then put aside for a while so that the cream could dry so Jason moved on to his next project which was to be tea light holders.

These are really quite basic bits of turning with a drilled hole in the centre to hold the glass holder for the light.
The attraction is in the finish on the face.
First he faced off the pre-prepared blank with a curved surface and drilled the hole. Then he sprayed it with ebonising spray and allowed this to dry.
Then comes the decorating for which he used Jo Sonja acrylic paints.
These can be applied in a variety of ways from finger painting to dabbing with sponges or brushes or, well you get the idea.
You can also use other types of colouring agents. Jason has used nail varnish or glitter paint to mention just a couple. Again, you can make it up as you go along.
A couple of photos in the gallery show you what he did.

When this was done Jason moved back to the second piece just to polish off the excess gilt cream and gave it a coat of finishing oil.

The last piece of the day was another textured platter which was again ebonised and then wood stains applied with a diffuser (blow, don’t suck) and also brushes.
This time the lathe was run slowly so that the stain was thrown across the surface by centrifugal force giving yet another dimension to the finish.
The centres of both of these platters was hollowed out and sanded. A coat of acrylic gloss spray was applied to finish off. He also used this on his tea lights over the painted finish.

He is a good demonstrator and we all enjoyed the day.

Our next meeting is on 12th March and it is a club day. The usual sort of thing with a few lathes in use and no doubt Paul will have something big to hack in to.

We have one date for you to put in your diaries. The Garden party "BBQ" (OK Pat) has been arranged with the Fruiterers Arms for Sunday 17th July. Time to meet up and how much it’s going to cost will come nearer the date.

That’s about it for now so see you all on the 12th.

Graham.