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May Meeting


Two meetings are planned in May, both virtual via Zoom.

Wednesday, May 6, 6:30 log on, 7 pm call to order
Hosted by Silicon Valley Woodturners
Program: Show and Tell

Monday, May 11, 6:30 log on, 7 pm call to order
Hosted by West Bay Woodturners
Program: Stone Inlay by Bob Bley

Bob Bley has already sent Zoom notices to members.
Check your email for these and more.

COVID-19

Upcoming Events

June 4 -7
AAW Symposium Loisville KY
Due to the seriousness of COVID-19, and adhering to international, federal, and state advisories and legal impossibility mandates, the AAW Board of Directors unanimously approved the cancellation of the 2020 AAW Symposium on March 30, 2020.

August 28-30
Southwest Association of Woodturners
SWAT main page

September 18-20
Rocky Mountain Woodturning Symposium
Rocky Mountain main page

AAW

April Meeting - Virtual Show & Tell of members turnings

Jon S

Blackwood puzzle box by Jon S


Jon B

Jon B...beautiful Walnut


Tom G

Olive lidded bowl on a Walnut trivet by Tom G

Tom G

Tom G's Covid19 series is growing


Kelly S

Apricot mushroom by Kelly S

Claude

Claude's planting dibbers


Jon S

Ziig Zag box by Jon S

The President's Message from Tom Gaston

Greetings.

I hope you and your family/friends are safe and doing well. I also hope that woodturning has provided an outlet and distraction from these times. It is an activity well suited for shelter-in-place.

Unfortunately, the in-person May meeting will be been canceled, but Bob Bley has organized virtual meetings using the Zoom platform. The next Zoom meetings will be May 6th (SVW) and May 11 (WBW). If you would like to participate and have not received an emailed invitation, let us know. Also, as we do not know when there will be another in-person meeting, we are looking for additional topics and/or demonstrators for the virtual meetings. If there is someone who can help with program selection, contact one of the board members.

We hope to still have a summer BBQ with Silicon Valley Woodturners. Because of the Covid-19 issue, we are looking at dates later in the summer or fall.

Tom

"As the Wood Turns" - by Dave Vannier

Other than going stir crazy, I'm starting to realize there is an upside to this jail sentence. I've been out of the house for a few Doctor appointments, some have been cancelled, but really nothing else. I miss our club meetings. The friendship and inspiration is tough to replace. Being retired, I'm not trying to figure out how to pay my bills, or if I have enough money to feed my family. Others are paying a heavy price. Remember them, help where you can, and thank all the essential workers.

I've felt like I have time to spare, so I've taken on projects that take time without feeling like I need to get an end product. It has also really turned my shop into a studio, spending more time burning, carving, and painting than turning. Frankly, I'm really enjoying it!

Andi Wolfe showed us her carving station when she was here. I was motivated to make something similar but didn't really use it much. It has a down draft work surface, which really is nice when I'm burning and carving. It has gone through a few iterations, with a few more that I'm thinking about. I spent a little over an hour turning a small thin bowl, then about a week drawing, piercing, and painting. I had never tried leaving handles on a bowl, too much carving time. But now, took the time to carve handles and feet. Then, I decided I was going to try a turning with several offset "bowls". As I turned it, I saw something, and the piece became "ode to Pluto". Next, I tried my hand at a Hans Weissflog piece. It was a failure, I won't share any pictures. Noodling on how to do it, I got a couple of ideas last night that I'm going to try.

This past week was spent watching a couple of YouTube videos of Dixie Biggs, a few times. Then I tried my hand at it. I'm going to try a little more painting, but enjoyed the experiment. Her videos make it look so easy, but it isn't! Looking forward to the day things return to normal and she comes out.

Bob has been trying to get some video meetings going and I heard positive things from people that have attended. We could be doing this for a while. So, join, share, stay in touch. I would love to hear/see the projects you are trying! Stay safe.

Dave
www.daves-turned-art.com

As the Wood turns As the Wood turns As the Wood turns

What is a Burl ?


Reprinted in part from Don Pettit (Mister Don) of the Wine Country Woodturners

The word Burl comes from England where growths on trees were referred to as a Burr. Like a burr on an animal that was picked up on their fur from vegetation (a spiky seed pod, or perhaps a spiky sprout) . Burrs were considered a blemish or a bad growth and something was wrong with the tree. The American version of a Burr was turned into Burl, most likely because when Scotsmen like John Muir talked with that certain flowing accent the people listening heard the L sound in lieu of the double R that Scottish accent elongates. Or perhaps it developed some other way, the American version of English is quite different than the Kings English.

Generally there are growths on trunks and limbs and then at the base of the tree where it meets the ground. Growths on the trunk and limbs can be either a burr or a Gall or just plain self-healing like covering up the stump of a cut-off limb. Galls are created either by insects or some flavor of bacteria, or a damaged part of the tree causing swelling of the wood fibers and bark. Quite often these are identified as Burr's, they are not and are no fun turning.

I have always viewed a Burr on the trunks and limbs as the tree trying to grow another sprout or limb. I have no scientific proof of this but have seen Burr growths during a short period of time in the spring with extremely tiny leaves (size of a pin head) sprouting at each tiny bump on the Burr on Big leaf Maples in Oregon. The guide that I was with said that these tiny leaves fall off at the smallest breeze or frost so they never become limbs. The poor tree attempts this process every year and that's how the Burrs gets larger, the trees try and start more buds. Perhaps now when you cross cut a Burr you understand that "Birdseye " pattern. Each eye is a cross cut bud or sprout trying to become a limb but never makes it. Over time more buds/sprouts try and grow and perhaps more one at a time. When you cut into a Burr through a different plain you may see what look like lengths of straws or sprouts with the eye being at the end near the bark of course. Why does this happen ? No one knows , However they may be frustrated Tubers. TUBERS you say?

I have heard a lot of people talk about "Root Burls" Yet again any growth on a tree is identified as a Burl. The Crown that is expanded at the base of a tree where it meets the ground and even under the ground is call a Lignotuber. Studies were done on this by the University of California in 1984 (Suzanne James), but the term was coined in 1924 (Leslie R. Kerr)

The Lignotuber , Ligno = woody part, Tuber = thick or swollen underground part of a stem or rhizome, e.g. like a potato, tuber serving as a food reserve and bearing buds for new growth.

The following definition was taken from the U.C. study;

A Lignotuber is a woody swelling found at the root crown and below of some plants. It provides protection/insurance against destruction of the plant, especially by fire. The outside and crown of this Tuber contains epicormic buds from which new epicormic (growing from dormant buds , often under the bark) shoots sprout. The tuber also contains stores of starchy nutrient that supports initial growth until photosynthesis from foliage growth takes over its role.

Once I read this I realized the different smells I got when I brought back a limb/trunk Burr and a root Burr from Oregon in 2009 from a single Big leaf Maple tree. Wood was still wet and i was pre-turning a couple of bowls. Turning the limb burr was normal , but when I turned the root burr it had a strong smell and the Oder was quite different. Perhaps it was that extra starch??? I just thought it was different because it was growing under ground.

Perhaps since limb and trunk Burrs look similar to the Lignotubers I might say that the ones up high are wanta-be's? Perhaps since the trees DNA already has this magic re-growth potential (i'll call it Magic Burr Juice) the tree mimics the potential lignotuber up high? But doesn't do a very good job? Maybe because it lacks enough starch do start the pre-photosynthesis process and that tiny leaf dies? Couldn't find any articles about that idea.
Hmmmm , Maybe I look farther in to English terminology? maybe they called sprouts Burrs? and Lignotubers Burrs? Oh no ......more research

Apparently there are thousands of trees and shrubs all over the world that grow Lignotubers. So please when you find a Shrub Lignotuber don't call it a Shrub root burl. It just doesn't flow well off the tongue.

I don't believe I will be able to change the favorite and easy Identification of "Root Burls" as it has become an Identification word sort of like the "Car". Look at all those cars!! Mister Don looks and sees, Oh I see a Rolls Royce and a Cadillac and a.......

So Lets identify the Burrs correctly? I prefer Lignotuber (Rolls Royce) and the limb/trunk Burr (Ferrari) and the Gall (The Yugo or VW bug?)

OK OK ........... I get out voted they are all "Burls"

Never mind,
Maybe a lot of you knew about this Lignotuber thing, I sure didn't

Why do burls/lignotubers grow on some trees and not others on the same species of tree, in the same neighborhood? It depends on the trees water source. The Lignotubers seem to be safety precautions for the trees survival. There seems to be an abundance of lignotubers in Australia in the dry areas of the country. Currently there are studies going on in that country about re-growth after the fires we will have to stay tuned to see what happens with all those Lignotubers.

So I am curious, if a tree has a Lignotuber does it have the potential to grow Burls? The "dormant bud" DNA is already there . All just theory now but I know now I am going to look at the trees that have burls and pay attention to see if any "Root Burls/Lignotubers" exist.

Mister Don

Burl

2020 WBW board members and committee chairs

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

Board

click here for contact information on the above

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.