Ed Oliver was our demonstrator for the day, well known to most members as he is local and the proprietor of Olivers Woodturning.

Ed started the day with a lump of freshly defrosted Sycamore!
When wrapped in black plastic, then stored in the freezer, freshly felled sycamore can be kept for a long time. Once defrosted it turns like the day it was cut!
Ed was using this fresh sycamore to make an end grain hollow form. Using the rule of thirds, the piece will be turned in a Vase shape, with a small base. A chucking point was formed on the bottom and a basic outside shape created. The piece was then turned around and mounted in the chucking before drilling to depth with a large Forstner bit.
This was the hollowed using the Simon Hope 6mm carbide hollowing tool.
As this tool cuts the wood very efficiently, it’s important to clear the shavings regularly to stop the tool binding. Once down to a reasonable thickness, Ed showed how to get very thin walls using a small LED light mounted in the tailstock.
Once the walls were thin, Ed used a small micromotor and a burr to remove a few shapes in the side wall of the piece. This allowed him to see how thick the walls are, whilst creating the design.
Once even thinner, further decoration was done using the micromotor to remove more shapes. A carbon filter fan was used to draw the fumes away.
In addition to the burrs used to cut shapes out, Ed also used Cup Cutters, and ball burrs to create different sized shapes burnt into the surface.
The dark burnt shapes were then coloured using Golden Pearlescent Iridescent paints, a paint which only shows on the dark parts of the wood.
A mixture of Blue, Blue/Green and Green was used on the piece.

The next project started with a sycamore Bowl Blank with a 50mm recess pre-drilled in it for mounting on the chuck.
The rear was shaped to an Ogee using a variety of cuts. Ed even broke the rules by cutting up-hill. He said access was easier this way, but cuts have to be light to avoid torn grain!
With the bowl reversed in the Chuck, Ed showed how turning the head stock can make a huge difference when hollowing a bowl, as the tail stock and bed bars no longer get in the way of the tool.
Ed faced off the bowl and turned a wide rim. The rim was then decorated with a wide band of burnt shapes using the Micromotor again. The band was then framed using a beading tool to outline the patterned area. The piece was sanded, then finished with Tru-Grit (A Yorkshire Grit replacement) and Wood Wax 22.

The next piece was an Ash bowl blank prepared in the same way as the previous. The rear was shaped into a basic bowl shape and a chucking point created. This was then reversed, faced off and sanded to 180 all over.
At this point, Ed would then blow torch the piece heavily, making sure that the softer growth rings are well charred. To save time (and our ears from the smoke alarm) Ed had a Blue Peter special that he had prepared earlier. He showed how brushing with a brass brush removes the softer charred growth, leaving a nice texture.
Chestnut Rainbow Waxes were then used to cover the piece, ensuring that they were well worked into the texture of the wood. A brush was used to take the wax off of the top, leaving the wax in the rings behind. It was important to brush across the grain to avoid pulling all the wax out.
(Ed said it was worth letting it dry for 10-15 minutes first.).
Once the wax was completed, it was back on the lathe to remove the centre of the bowl and again a sand and polish using Tru-Grit and Wood Wax 22.

The last piece was a 6 inch bowl blank used to create a good size Tealight holder with a textured & coloured finish.
The blank was mounted on the lathe using the pre-drilled hole and a basic bowl shape created, with a chucking point on the bottom. This was then reversed onto the chuck and a band marked on the side and top of the piece. A texturing tool was used to apply texture in the bands, and also in the area where the Tea-light holder would be fixed.
Once completed, the base was then sprayed with Ebonizing lacquer before being dried off with Mrs Oliver’s hair dryer.
Gilt cream was applied to the various textured areas before the bands of texture were framed with beads again. Finally, the recess was made to mount a glass tealight holder.

That took us to the end of the day and the inevitable tidying up.

Paul.

The next meeting will be March 11th.
This will be a Club Demo day. The demonstrators will be Keith Leonard and Chris Withall. One will do the morning shift and the other will do the afternoon shift. The order will be decided on the day. Be there or be square.