April Meeting

Wednesday April 20, 7:00 pm
        In person...vacination required
Show & Tell
President's challenge:
Make a piece using the catenary curve technique.
Program:
Turn like a Batty with Tom Gaston
(See 'President's Words' below for more information about the challenge and program)

Bridges Church map
As always - guests are welcome

Upcoming Meetings

Wednesday May 18, 7:00 pm
Program: Design Fun(damentals) -
The good, the bad and the ugly, part 2

August demonstration by Kirk DeHeer
• Live Demo-August 21 Sunday at The Santa Clara High School. 9 AM -4 PM
• Hands on August 22, Monday. Enrollment to start soon. Final Cost TBD. ~ $90 per person.
• Private classes August 23 and 24- Interested parties let Bob Bley know. $100/ hour.
• Need a volunteer for the hands on…
• Kirk DeHeer is a professional woodturner
   He is a full time member of the Product Development Team at Craft Supplies USA.
   He is a lead instructor in Craft Supplies 101 and 201 Workshops

Wednesday March 16 2022
Design Fun(damentals)

Laura Uden and Claude Godcharles led a discussion of woodturning design. Much was to be learned as we found out. Just following a few basic guidlines creates an environment leading to pleasant shapes.
See the design considerations presentation
See Show & Tell

President's Words - Claude Godcharles

I hope this finds you well, as days get longer and warmer, and our shops are more welcoming! You might even think about visiting another turner's shop, or inviting one over for a tour of yours. There's always something to be learned when seeing how someone sets up their tools, their work area, etc.

There is still time for you to try shaping a piece using the catenary curve / hanging chain technique that was presented at the last meeting. It can be a challenge (actually, it's this month's president challenge!), but well worth it to get a feel for progressive curves.

This month's meeting is a presentation by Tom Gaston on the teachings of Stuart Batty. Stuart has developed great turning techniques to deal with grain direction and minimize tearout. This should be very informative, with slides and live demo.

Stay well and keep making shavings,
Claude G.

"As the Wood Turns" Organize your Shop - by Dave Vannier

3 topics this month, a thank you, and a couple of questions/comments. First, let me say Thank You to everyone for sharing some of the pieces you made from Dave Plemons’s wood stash. I is good to know all the work we put into doing this is resulting in some beauty that can be enjoyed.

Some of you know I like turning big things. I started my journey in the turning world on a shopsmith. While this is a good tool, it has its limitations. The biggest was speed. You can’t slow it down below 500rpm. At that speed, a block of wood that was not balanced would end up with me trying to hold it down and chase the equipment around while I was turning. Not exactly ideal. I upgraded to a Powermatic 20” lathe. Much heavier and a lot more power.

For several years I loved the lathe. Then, I mounted a block that weighed over 80lbs and the corners hit the lathe bed. I took an angle grinder with an Excalibur cutter and started working on the corners. Short story, I lost control, it took a chunk out of my pants, the floor, and the wall before I could get it shut off. It has never had power again, I was lucky. This motivated me move to a bigger lathe.

I shopped around at the AAW symposium trying out 6 or 7 different lathes, settling in on a Oneway 2436, 3hp. No lathe is perfect, but I’m quite happy with my decision. Well, my piece of carob presented another issue. The block turned, but I could not get the banjo under the block. So, the question...do I need a bigger lathe, or a bigger brain? I’m leaning towards a bigger brain. Turning pieces that large is a lot of work, and in this case, the wood had a bark inclusion, so we went from a 20” piece down to about 17”. A better choice would have been to cut it down in the first place.

Dave
www.daves-turned-art.com

It is time to pay dues

The club needs money to operate. For $30 ($31 if paid online) you receive more than your money's worth. Send Jon Bishop a check made out to the order of WBW.
Or bring check or cash to the next meeting.
Or you can pay online by clicking pay dues and pay with PayPal or credit card.

2021 WBW board members and committee chairs

President: Claude Godcharles
Vice President: Tom Gaston
Treasurer: Jon Bishop
Secretary: Roman Chernikov
Member at Large: Fred Colman
Meeting Program Coordinator: TBD
Visiting artist Coordinator: TBD
Anchor seal: Dennis Lillis
CA Glue: Tom Kenyon
Craft Supply:TBD
Coffee & Cookies: Phil Feiner
Librarian: Kelly Smith
Audio Visual: Curtis Vose
Website & Newsletter: Tom Haines

click here for contact information on the above

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.