Revolutions - AWGB · 2015-12-01 · Craft Supplies hold FREE Demonstration Days at The Mill every...
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IssueNo72February2005THENEWSLETTEROFTHEASSOCIATIONOFWOODTURNERSOFGREATBRITAIN£1.95 Free to members Revolutions Photos: Anthony Bailey - GMC Winning entries from Tools 2004 Exhibitition
Transcript of Revolutions - AWGB · 2015-12-01 · Craft Supplies hold FREE Demonstration Days at The Mill every...
Issue No 72 February 2005THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF WOODTURNERS OF GREAT BRITAIN
£1.95 Free to members
Revolutions
Photos: Anthony Bailey - GMC
Winning entriesfrom Tools 2004
Exhibitition
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Demonstration Days Year 2005 at Craft Supplies LtdCraft Supplies hold FREE Demonstration Days at The Mill every first weekend of the Month
Saturday Demonstrations 10.00 am - 4.00 pmSunday Demonstrations 12.00 pm - 4.00 pm
Come along and see the following demonstrators
CraftSUPPLIES
The Mill, Millers DaleNr Buxton, DerbyshireSK17 8SNTel: (01298) 871636Fax: (01298) 872263Web Sitehttp://www.craft-supplies.co.uk
"The HomeOf
Woodturning"
Sunday 2nd JanuaryKEN ALLEN
Woodturning Demonstration
Saturday & Sunday 5th & 6th FebruaryMICK HANBURY
Woodturning Demonstration
Saturday & Sunday 2nd & 3rd AprilBOB NEILL
Pyrography Demonstration
Saturday & Sunday March 5th & 6thJAMIE WALLWIN, Woodturning
Demonstration
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AWGB LAPEL BADGES(Brass & Enamel)
£2.50 p&p inclusiveCLOTH BADGES
For sewing on Smocks etc£4.00 p&p inclusiveCAR STICKERS
£1 and sae (9"x6") or postage freewith badge orders
Send Cheque etc, to Tony Walton(Address Opposite)
MAKE ALL PAYMENTSTO AWGB
Copy deadline forthe next edition of
Revolutions
15thApril 2005
Articles, letters, tips, adverts etcfeatured in this Newsletter donot necessarily carry theendorsement of the Associationof Woodturners of Great Britain.
Executive Committeewww.woodturners.co.uk Chairmans notes
Front CoverWinning entries from
the Tools 2004Exhibition
Top left Peter MorganGold in Playtime
SectionTop right Paul Reeves
Gold in Wood ArtSection
Bottom LeftLuc de Roo Gold in
Open Gallery SectionBottom Left
Keith WoolacottGold in Ancient Times
Section
DATA PROTECTION ACTYour personal details are heldon a computer belonging tothe AWGB. Your details arepurely for the use of theAssociation and are notpassed on to any third party.If you object to your name,address and telephonenumber being held on acomputer belonging to theAWGB, then please write tothe Secretary. (AddressOpposite)
PresidentRay Key, The Firs, 53 Weston Road,Bretforton, Nr Evesham WR11 7HWTel/Fax: 01386 830142E-Mail: [email protected]
ChairmanTony Witham, 39 Horsey Road, Kirby-le-Soken, Frinton-on-Sea, Essex. CO13 0DZTel: 01255 671697E-Mail: [email protected]
TreasurerMike Morley, Lyncombe House, 7 DeepwellDrive, Camberley, Surrey. GU15 2HFTel/Fax: 01276 23424E-Mail: [email protected]
SecretaryLionel Pringle, Merrymead, 57 WestfieldLane, St Leonards on sea,East Sussex, TN37 7NE.,Tel: 01424 830170 01424 752452 (after 14/12/04)E-Mail: [email protected]
Membership SecretaryDerek Phillips, 15 Greens Road,Cambridge. CB4 3EFTel: 01223 312134E-Mail: [email protected]
Trade & Business LiaisonTony Walton, 7 Maple Leaf, Tiptree,Colchester, Essex, CO5 0NJTel: 01621 810949E-mail: [email protected]
Data Manager & Newsletter EditorMike Dennis, 72 Hawes Close, Northwood,Middlesex, HA6 1EWTel/Fax: 01923 829844E-Mail: [email protected]
Members DevelopmentRay Tunstall, 8 Ragoon Road,Solihull,West Midlands, B92 9DBTel: 01216 882777E-mail: [email protected] MasterBrian Partridge, Homeside, Lady Lane,Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 6AFTel: 01473 828489E-Mail: [email protected]
Insurance & Health & SafetyPeter Hockley, 6 Brook Croft, MarstonGreen Birmingham, B37 7EPTel: 0121 779 3220E-mail: [email protected]
Regional Representatives
Midlands & WalesRay Tunstall, 8 Ragoon Road,Solihull,West Midlands, B92 9DBTel: 01216 882777E-mail: [email protected]
North & ScotlandDavid Grainger, Laurel Bank, Kirby Thore,Nr Penrith. Cumbria, CA10 1XNTel: 01768 361744E-mail: [email protected]
SouthAdrian Needham, Brimbles, 114 SloughRoad, Datchet, Berkshire SL3 9AFTel: 01753 593771E-mail: [email protected]
Eastern CountiesBrian Partridge, Homeside, Lady Lane,Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 6AFTel: 01473 828489E-Mail: [email protected]
I cannot recall a yeargoing so fast as this one- where does the timego. It only seems acouple of weeks ago thatI was elected aschairman and here weare approaching the
next Annual General Meeting which is only oneweek later than last year.
I hope you all had a good Christmas and a happyNew Year.
RevolutionsJust as I thought that revolutions had hit its peakMike Dennis our editor along with all the articlecontributors has made it even better.I would like to thank those that make regularcontributions and also those that write theoccasional article. It is so interesting getting toknow what others are doing and I know turnersthat are new to the craft are always on the lookout for new ideas so please keep sending them into our editor.
SeminarYou all must have seen and read in the last issueof revolutions the full line up of the mainpresenters for the 2005 Seminar. We have tried toput together a wide and varied type ofwoodturning styles and techniques to cater for alltastes.
Also we have a wider choice of accommodationon offer this year.
At this time the one-slot presenters are still to beselected we will have some names in the nextissue of revolutions.
The Way ForwardBranch secretaries will already be aware of theimprovements to the demonstration grant and tothe fact that they can now be split to include twoevening demonstrations instead of the one wholedays demonstration. Your committee is strivingall the time to make improvements and savingsone of these is to cut down on the amount of timethat we hold committee meetings. This does notmean that we are doing any less but in this age ofelectronic mail a lot of work can be done by e-mails and so saving time and money on theamount of travel. As a committee we are foreverlooking at making ways to make savings.
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Editorial
Lionel Pringle - new addressHis new address isMerrymead, 57 Westfield Lane,St Leonards on sea,East Sussex, TN37 7NE.Telephone No: 01424 752452E-Mail:[email protected]
Ray Keynew e-mail and postcode
[email protected] now WR11 7HW
News in BriefCongratulations
Our heartiest congratulations toAWGB member Colin Simpsonon becoming editor ofWoodturning magazine. Colintook over the reins from MarkBaker on Monday 31st January.Colin has been a professionalwoodturners for the last fouryears or so and is also a memberof the Cheam Branch and on theRegister of Professional Turners.
BriMarc have movedNick Lowe HouseUnit 20a, Harriott Drive, HeathcoteIndustrial Estate, Warwick .CV346TJTel No: 01926884440Fax No: 01926884444E-mail: [email protected]
WOODEX 05Formerly known as the MidlandsWoodworking and WoodturningShow will be held this year on
April 22 -24 near Leamington Spa
I am organising an event calledNatural Homes and Gardens inpartnership with the HDRA atRyton Organic Gardens. As thename suggests the event focuseson natural products and artefactsfor the Home and Gardenincluding crafts, furniture andfurnishings. I wondered whetheryou could inform your membersabout the event in case any ofthem are interested inexhibition/demonstration space.(The cost of a standard 2.4 x1.8m pitch for the weekend is£120 with other pitch sizeoptions and outdoor space alsoavailable). Natural Homes andGardens takes place in a largeMarquee within the Gardens onJune 4/5th and is one of anumber of well publicised andwell attended events at RytonOrganic Gardens attractingseveral thousand visitors perweekend.Sally PackerCreativity [email protected] 81340701934 811840
Welcome to anothernew Branch
The ChestnutsWoodturning Club
The Secretary isTerry Roberts, 'Terlyns'Ipswich Road, Offton,Ipswich,Suffolk. IP8 4SFTelephone 01473 657064They meet on the thirdThursday of each month atThe Community Hall,Duke Street, Hadlieghat 7.30pm
A Happy New Year to you all and Ihope the holiday period went wellfor you. I hope Santa brought youlots of woodturning tools andequipment.
As I sat down at the computer towrite this editorial my copy ofReview arrived. A publication fromAxminster Power Tools which isobviously designed to sell tools andequipment but it is worth more thanthat. Not only does it tell you aboutthe latest tools and equipment but itis full of those little bits ofinformation that help to understandhow these things work and thoseodd tips to help improve your work.I must put this down now and get onwith my editorial.
There is not much to talk aboutreally as the Association isswimming along very nicely. Wehave a new branch (see opposite)and enquiries about starting up anew branch in Tavistock andBuckinghamshire. The Seminar isall on schedule with a steady streamof bookings and our existingbranches are all busy arrangingevents for the coming year.
With this issue of Revolutions youwill find the 2005 edition of yourmembers handbook which is slightlyearlier than previous years.
Hope to see many of you at the AGM
Mike Dennis
An exhibition entitled BRITISHWOODTURNING is beingorganised at The Rufford Galleryin Nottinghamshire inassociation with the AWGB. Itwill run from 12 JULY to 28AUGUST with a preview on theevening of MONDAY 11 JULY
A Masterclass workshop is to beheld over the weekend of 20/21AUGUST, and another aimed atbeginners is being organised to beheld over the weekend of 27/28AUGUST. We envisage bothworkshops being held in theWoodland Workshops with spacefor a maximum of eight people.
More details in the next issue ofRevolutions
Breaking News
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The Association of Woodturnersof Great Britain
The AGM will take place at Burcot Village Hall,Burcot, Worcestershire
Sunday 3rd April 2005 at 2.00pm prompt
AGENDA
1 Apologies for absence
2 Minutes of the AGM held at Braunston Village Hall, Braunston, Northampton,Sunday 28th March 2004
3 Honorary Chairman’s report.
4 Honorary Treasurer’s report and subscription recommendation for 2006.
5 Election of OfficersThere will be no postal voting for officers this year as only one person per executive
post has been proposed. Members will be elected as follows:-Chairman - Tony WithamVice Chairman - Lionel PringleTreasurer - Mike MorleySecretary - Lionel Pringle
6 Election of Executive Committee MemberThere being only one nomination Derek Phillips is
duly elected
7 Election of Regional Representatives tothe Executive Committee
As only one nomination for eachregion was received Adrian Needhamis elected as regional representativefor the Southern region and DavidGrainger is elected as regionalrepresentative for the Northern region
8 Discussion.
NB Only fully paid up members of theAssociation of Woodturners of Great Britainare entitled to attend the Annual GeneralMeeting.
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7 10mm basic fingernail gouge groundusing the Sorby jig at 30o ( the bottom ofeach pair) this is the main tool used fordetails on most spindle work. 10mmfingernail gouge ground at 25o ( the top ofeach pair) with smaller radius at the tip.This tool is ideal for very small detail, thetip is equivalent to that of much smallergouges but the tool has greater stabilityand is much less likely to vibrate.
1 The grinder showing both jigs.
2 The tools.
5 35 mm large roughing gouge groundstraight across at 30o, this can be used forremoving large amounts of wood fromspindles and also for finishing cuts onsmooth shallow curves. Not suitable forbowls or large diameter logs. 14 mm smallroughing gouge ground straight across at30o, used mainly on small spindles forshallow beads and coves.
6 13mm skew chisel ground at 15o on bothedges. Although larger skews are oftenfavoured, this is the one I use most often,particularly for fine detail. Note the sidesof the tool have been rounded slightly toprevent the tool rest getting ridges.
3 A skew chisel being sharpened using theO’Donnell jig set to 15o.
4 6mm round straight chisel ground at 15o
on both edges. This little tool is great forworking with small boxes and the like. Ifpointed slightly up it is ideal for giving agood finish at the bottom of a straight-sided box and it is great for cutting littlesteps and facing off rims of boxes.
Chisels and GougesBrian Partridge
May I wish you all a happy andprosperous 2005.
I did say that this edition I woulddo more advanced bowl turning,however I am always being askedabout my tools and how they aresharpened, so here goes.I guess most turners have far morechisels than they really need and Iam no exception, there are 52different gouges and chisels in myworkshop but I have a smallselection of these that arefavourites and I will run throughthese in detail.I must however point out that toolsand their profiles are a verypersonal thing and what suits meideally may not always be to otherpeoples liking. Having said thatmost of these are basic tools andwill enable most turning to becarried out, so if you have no fixedideas you might like to try myapproach.Whatever you use it needs to besharp and my solution to this is agrinder with two blue wheels (pinkwheels are perfectly adequate). Ihave a Sorby fingernail jig on onewheel and an O’Donnell grindingplatform on the other. There aremany jigs on the market place butit is best to either try them out ortalk to other more experiencedturners before spending money.The tools are treated in groups andusing pictures and I show mypreferred grinds. The angle givenis between the shaft and the bevel.Tool dimensions are externalexcept for the bowl gouges whichnormally are measured across theflute internally. Please understandthat these are my favourite basictools and they have been groundthe way I like them. You will seeother grinds and angles used byother turners but these workreally well for me, So here goes:-
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8 5mm general purpose diamond partingtool ground 30o on each edge. The diamondsection helps to prevent binding in thegroove created. It is better to start the cutwith the point going straight in at rightangles this will give a cleaner start, thehandle is then lowered to rub the bevelgiving nice peeling action untilcompletion. 1.5mm thin parting toolground at 20o on the long edge and 30o
short edge the bevel of the short edge is theone to rub on the material. This tool isideal where minimum wastage is requiredsuch parting off the lid of a small box.Both edges should be sharpened, this helpsto give a clean cut on the face of the item.
12 25mm straight scraper ground at 45o
although I do not use scrapers a great dealthis good sized tool is fine for finishing aflat surface on faceplate work, it should beused tilting slightly down with theminimum overhang. 25mm round scraperground at 45o. This is great for removinglittle ridges and tool marks inside bowls.To get the finest edge on a scraper take offthe burr produced by the grinder using aslip stone and remake the burr with onepass of the slip stone at right angle to theshaft. The scraper can be sharpened severaltimes this way before regrinding.Remember the burr is very fragile and willnot last long as a cutting edge. Make finecuts or you will get badly torn grain.
11 7mm bowl gouge ground straight across at30o ( the bottom of each pair) , for generaluse but particularly at the top of naturaledge bowls. Beware with 30o you mightfind that the bevel cannot rub at thebottom of the bowl. It is useful to have oneground at 45o this is a good general-purpose gouge for bowl work and willenable the bevel to rub at the bottom ofdeeper bowls. 10mm bowl gouge ground at45o (the top of each pair) with the wingscut back on the Sorby fingernail jig. Thisis a most effective tool for roughing downbowls using a pull cut which is morecomfortable and gives better control, itdoes not give a good finish unless used inshear mode as a final cut. Beware this toolbites if abused, it needs practice but is wellworth mastering.
9 The bowl gouge being ground in theSorby jig this enables the wing to beground back, make sure that it does not goto a point by grinding too much on thewings.
13 The diamond point tool is ground on itsface at 30o, it is very useful for rolling verysmall beads on the edge of bowls etc. It isalso useful for making decorative grooveson many items such as the bottom of smallboxes.
10 The Sorby small shear scraper is great forgiving a good finish inside small roundboxes. Rubbing its largest face on a fineceramic stone or equivalent sharpens thecutter.
14 The rectangular grinder dressing tool withmicro diamonds and the ceramic stone foruse on chisels.
15 A ceramic stone used to tidy up the insideof the flute on a spindle gouge, note theridges which need to be removed.
16 The dressing tool in use on the grindwheel. This should be done whenever thewheel becomes black and glazed withembedded metal particles to give a fastercleaner cut. If left too long the wheel willtend to burn the tools.
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TURNESSEX2005 will take place at the home ofFairlop Woodturners in Barkingside in the KingSolomon High School. On approximately 15,000square feet of floor area with all the necessaryfacilities. TURNESSEX2005 will have all theattributes to put on an event showing what is best inBritish woodturning today.
Club ParticipationAbout fourteen clubs from Essex, Herts, Sussex , Kentand EastAnglia will take part. Most of the clubs areAWGB affiliated but clubs not belonging to the AWGBare also welcome. The clubs will all haveapproximately 3m x 3m area to display what is bestabout their branch. The clubs best turnings will be onshow in the ‘Club Display’. Some clubs will also have aworking woodturning lathe to showoff their skills tovisitors. Members of the individual clubs present willchat with visitors about woodturning and club-life ingeneral.
AWGB involvement.The Association will be represented by the AreaRepresentative and other members. The chairman ofAWGB will also be present at the open day.
GMC PublicationsPublishers of the well known magazine 'Woodturning'will also be present offering advantageoussubscriptions and their other publications.
Woodturning tuitionOn hand tuition will take place in three differentcategories. These are:General Tuition: Woodturning for everybody.Ladies Tuition: Woodturning for ladies by ladies.
THE LEADING WOODTURNING EVENT IN THE SOUTH EAST OF ENGLANDTURNESSEX 2005
Sunday May 15th 2005Chelmer Valley Woodurners, East Herts Woodturners, Fairlop Woodturners and Thameside
Woodurners will be co-hosting TURNESSEX2005 which promises to be the greatestwoodturning event in the South-East.
Kids woodturning: Catch them early. A chance forchildren to try their hands at turning under expertsupervision. Luke Rance will demonstrate to visitorsthat woodturning can be practised from the cradle.
AWGB Instant GalleryThis well known mobile exhibition of the AWGB will beondisplay in full.
Best of Show GalleryEach club will enter their members best turnings to bejudged by Bert Marsh. The Club whose member turnedthe best of show item will receive the prestigious TURNESSEX SHIELD.
Best Stand of ShowGary Rance will judge which participating club presentsthe best stand.
Raffle GalleryEach club will donate turned wood prizes to be raffledto ticket holders. Before the raffle takes place all itemswill be displayed.
Sale ItemsTurned Products by members of participating clubs will beon sale on advantageous prizes to the public.
Other CraftsApart from the participating woodturning clubs pole-turners, woodcarvers, chair makers, pyrographers andbodgers will show off their craft.
RefreshmentsFood, coffee, tea and soft drinks will be available all day.
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Trade ParticipationAnything a woodturner can wish for will be on show by:
• Airpress Co• Australian Out Back Imports• AWGB• BHP timbers• Caroll Tools• Chestnut Products• Crown Tools• Engineering Chucks• GMC Publications• Hegner UKLtd• Speed Control Inverters• Jill Piers• JSP (Respirators)• Lovell Works Wear• Martin the Timber• Meantime Design• Peter Child• Robert Sorby• The Hot Spot (UK) Ltd• Vicmarc UK.
Turning machines and tools, Chucks and Jaws, Polishes,varnishes, sealers, Small Tools, Turning Timber in planks,blanks and squares, Highly specialised timber: burrs,spalted timber, exoticswill be available at very competitiveprices.
There will be no shortage of celebrities• Mark Baker• Roy Childs• Simon Hope• Phil Irons• Bill Jones• Stuart King• Bert Marsh• Stuart Mortimer• Gary Rance• Tony and Christine Witham
This line up will make sure that visitors can have all theirquestions answered by the most respectedprofessionals.
EntranceThere will be two types of tickets:Public ticket £2 per person, including programme
and guide£1 for OAPs.Children under 16 years of age arewelcome free of charge.
Master ticket includes demonstrations and lunch,£8 per person.
Master tickets will be offered to Clubs in bulk at a price of£100, with no limit on the number ofClub members whowish to attend.
IncomeTURNESSEX2005 will be a non profit making eventwith all proceeds to go to local charities.
Club competition 1
The Chelmer Valley Inter-Club Trophy for 2005 will goto the Club judged as exhibiting the best work againstthe following criteria:1. Not more than one turned item per Club member,
and all pieces to have been completed within thelast twelve months on the date of display.
2. Overall standard of spindle turning and face-platework, and any combination of both.
3. Appropriateness and overall standard of finishingmethods,
4. Appropriate use of the wood.5. Form, shape and proportion,6. Suitability for purpose (if any).
Each Club will be allowed a flat area of 6ft x 2ft, (nolights or stands), and will themselves determine howmany pieces to display. Club tables will be judged onboth quality of turning and of presentation.
Club competition 2
The best judged Club with a stand in the public areawill be awarded £100. Each Club will have an area of100 sq ft of space to display their work and oneoperating lathe.
Judging will be on presentation and quality.
Clubs will have a free hand to make the best display.
The judge’s decision will be final.
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Bob Neill and Alan Truman havebeen working together on a varietyof turned projects for over 10 years.They met originally at one of themany Craft Fairs which the twoused to do all over the country.
You may have seen some of Bob’swork in the CRAFTSMANMAGAZINE , featuring his travelsaround the globe - to places such asthe Falklands, the U.S.A., Belgium,Germany and on the WoodturningCruise to Norway.
Alan and Bob meetregularly to discussthe designs Bobcomes up with,before Alan retreatsto his workshop toturn the pieces. Itis quite a uniquecollaboration in thecreative worldsince mostcraftsmen prefer towork on their own.
COLLABORATION - TURN AND BURNBob Neill
Bob would love to have a centrewhere a whole spectrum of skilledpeople would work together ondifferent projects, just as they do inthe States and New Zealand.
When Alan has turned the platters,plates, bowls etc., it is time for Bobto burn his designs on to the wood,then add the colour, using acrylics,inks, felts and various other media.
In December 2004, Bob and Alanheld a ‘Two Man Show’ at theMansfield Art Gallery and Museumnear Nottingham. On one of theweekends, they demonstrated to
the public and attracted a goodaudience.
This is a very lively Gallery withan excellent programme ofchanging exhibitions andWorkshops. Recently, Bob led apyrography workshop with localschoolchildren. During January, healso had his work on a display atthe new Cathedral Centre inDerby. This Centre is very keen tosupport local crafts includingbuying local produce for its cafe.
You can see Bob demonstrating hiswork and running his workshop atThe International WoodturningShow at Alexandra Palace from the
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Reg Hawthorne
Turned Chessmenby Mike Darlow
Mike Darlow has now publishedthe fifth book in his series onwoodturning. This latest book on
turned chessmen isanother excellentproduction of interestto collectors, playersand of coursewoodturners.
With previous bookscovering fundamentals,methods, techniquesand design, this is thefirst project book withothers promised.Having said that, it ismore than a projectbook, starting off with ahistory of chess – withit’s origins in Indiaabout 550 AD and thenprogressing throughPersia and theMediterranean areaunder Islam and on
25th - 27th February and at theHobbycrafts Show at the N.E.C.from 17th - 20th March.
Anyone interested in learning thecrafts of Woodturning orPyrography can contact Bob on01332 792036, or Alan on 01623754893. Why not get started with aone day course? You never knowwhere it will take you - OuterMongolia ??
Bob’s Website-www.bobneillpyrography.co.uk - orcontact him on his E-mail atbob@burnerneill. freeserve.co.uk
P.S. Bob will be demonstrating atCraft Supplies, Miller’s Dale, nr.Buxton, on the weekend of April5th and 6th.
Bob Neill with some bottle stoppers made for a Eurostar commission
10th International Woodturning Seminar
12th to 14th AugustBook Now to avoid disappointment
Book Review
into Europe and North America.
The text is lavishly illustrated withreproductions, photographs anddrawings.
Chapter 2 is a short galleryshowing six sets turned by modernwoodturners.
There are excellent chapters onchess symbols, designing chesssets, drawings for chess sets beforea large final chapter on makingchessmen. This is again extremelywell illustrated covering everythingyou need to know from materialsthrough preparation, turning,carving and decoration.If you are at all interested in chessor looking for an interestingproject then this is the book foryou.
Published by Stuart Davies Ltd.ISBN 0-85442-115-7Price £19.95
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Having been associated, in someway with wood and woodworkingfor most of my life, it is notsurprising that I should take upwoodturning as a hobby, pursuingthe activity with a relentlesspassion.
Both my father and grandfatherwere essentially practical men andintroduced me to the world ofwoodworking and imparted manyskills in the manipulation of handtools that I still retain today. Aboveall I developed a love of trees andtimber that comes with a simplefascination of all things in theworld of nature.
Fate followed a more practicalroute and embarked on a career ingovernment service. This wasabruptly terminated by illness andsurgery that lead to permanentdisability. The despair of being castadrift without purpose or directionprovided the trigger, leading to thefulfilling and therapeutic activityof woodturning.
The newcomer is faced with anamazing array of techniques,projects, tools and people, all incompetition to relieve the unwaryof his hard earned cash. Havingroughly organised my turning life Ibegan to produce numerous articlesof mediocre quality aimed at thecraft market I enjoyed limitedsuccess. I joined clubs, became amember of the AWGB, attendeddemonstrations and shows,searching for that stimulus andinspiration that would provide thekey to a higher level of satisfactionand success. There is a glimmer ofa realisation that the quest forexcellence is unceasing in itsdemands.
At this crucial turning point I metJimmy Clewes who started to
influence the way Iapproached andthought about theart of woodturning.It is not just whathe produces thatmakes Jimmy aguru in the worldof woodturning butthe way he presentshimself to the task.His demeanour andalmostconspiratorial rolein engaging withhis audience ispivotal andimpressive whilst leading them toa successful conclusion of theprocess being demonstrated. Ibelieve that to achieve any lastingsuccess, there is a need to curtailthe rush to turn every possibleproject and adopt every style andtechnique. Wishing to find anaspect of the craft offering achallenge I have opted toconcentrate on wet wood turningwhich gives an almost endlessopportunity for design, decorationand artistic appeal. Jimmy Cleweswas the obvious choice as a tutorin this endeavour.
Without funding from the AWGB Iwould never have been able toundertake this course, (to theAWGB I will remain eternallygrateful.)
The 15th of December at 0600hrsfound me on the A1 heading northto the home and well-appointedworkshop of Jimmy Clewes. Onarrival I was made welcome with awarming cup of coffee. No timewas wasted in off loading my toolsfor a general discussion and advicefrom Jimmy on sharpening mytools. After passing a critical eyeover them, with particularemphasis on my bowl gouges,
which were central to the projectsin hand, the angle and shape of thefingernail profile on my ¾” bowlgouge was changed.
The course covered elements ofplanning and design, tooltechniques, colouring, wet woodturning and finishing. The firstproject called for a discus-shapedpiece with a central cup hollowedout and being coloured andbrought to a lustrous finish. Photo1:
Using a sycamore blank mountedon a screw chuck Jimmypainstakingly explained theconcept of seeing through theblank to obtain a perfect sweepingcurve. A rechucking spigot thatwas integral to the curve wasformed. Before rechecking, thepiece was finished to a highstandard working from 240 to 1200grit abrasive after raising the grainthe whole sanding process wasrepeated. Once satisfied with thefinish, three coats of very thincellulose sanding sealer wereapplied. Particular attention waspaid to sealing the outer rim of thepiece to prevent dye bleeding fromthe front.
A Lesson in PerfectionJohn Cunniffe
Photo 1 Unfortunately the black and white picture does not showthe vibrant blues and greens with a gold leaf centre
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Having reversed the piece thesame process was repeated on thefront omitting the sanding sealer.(Which with hindsight may havebeen a mistake. The complexity ofthe grain pattern creating a highlyfigured and porous surfaceabsorbed higher than expectedamounts of finish. A light coat ofsealer could have reduced this.)After a wonderful lunch providedby Jan Clewes we returned to theworkshop to finish the project.Three colours of spirit dye wereapplied by wiping with tissue.
Firstly under Jimmy’s supervisiona dark royal blue was evenly spreadover the whole piece. This wassprayed with meths and fired toboth raise the grain and dry thespirit dye. After sanding to revealthe lighter high spots these weretreated with a yellow dye andlightly sanded. The final coatingwas a light blue. A tissue padsprayed with meths was used tolightly blend the colours andremove surplus dye. After sandingwith 800 to 1200 grit the lightcolours were reaching out fromwithin the highly figured piece. Afinal seven coats (see above onabsorbency) of spray lacquer de-nibbing between coats wasfinished first with metal polish andthen Tee Cut to achieve a highgloss hard shell that showedchatoyancy in the piece.
After removing the project fromthe chuck it was remountedbetween centres, using a large foampad to protect the coloured surface,and the spigot removed the back
and after sanding was treatedfinished with oil.
On day two we assessed a piece ofwet hawthorn that I had broughtwith me. Having decided on shapeand design the piece was mountedbetween centres and roughed downafter taking a reference cut toretain the bark edge. See photo 2.
The exacting phase was to bringthe natural edge of this end grainvase to a uniform 2mm thickness.See Photo 3. In the background thesteady, calm and encouraging voiceof Jimmy Clewes guided methrough the whole process. To mysurprise I completed the projectmyself, being shown new toolingtechniques by Jimmy that madelife easier.
Until now I had been approachingthis type of project from the wrongangle. This was the cause of someof my more spectacular failures.Even at this stage I did produce adig in I now know to be caused bygreed, impatience and a lack ofattention to detail.
Having been successful in usingmy shop made hollowing tool theproject was brought to asatisfactory conclusion with a niceoil finished piece that is admiredby all. See Photo 4.
The afternoon was spent turning across-grained sycamore bowl fromtimber that hadbeen recentlyfelled. See Photo5. so fresh thatwet weather gearwould have beenappropriate. Thestreamer likeshavings andsweetness of thecut were apleasure toexperience.The most difficultaspect of wetwood turning is
to control the drying processavoiding distortion and cracking.The propensity to cracking appearsto deter most people from turningwet wood. Keeping newly turneditems in plastic bags, in a coolatmosphere for a few days largelysolves this problem.
Throughout the two days wereturned to the first projectapplying a steady build up oflacquer to achieve a lustrous shine.The end result was worth theeffort.
Overall, thanks to Jimmy Clewesand the AWGB I have enjoyed anexiting and rewarding course. Myconfidence and skill in turning wetwood has increased. Above allJimmy has reinforced the need fora methodical and painstakingapproach to my work, this couldmean the difference between theproduction of Craft and Galleryquality items. The rest is up to me.After being given the incentiveand the skill the coming year willbe spent on perfecting the process.
Photo 2 Photo 3
Photo 4
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10th International Woodturning Seminar
Loughborough UniversityInternationa lSeminar2005
Seminar Fees includeAccess to all demonstrations, trade stands and gallery of work
All meals & refreshmentsWelcome pack with all the information you will need to enjoy the weekend
All this for just £190All tickets must be prebooked - Accommodation can be provided as well
Package DealEnjoy a £5 discount on all places booked (including accommodation)
and paid for in full before 30th April 2005
Seminar UpdateWe are now into “Seminar Year” 2005, if you had forgotten that the Seminar Sub-committee certainly has not.The major demonstrators are now all “in place” and the arrangements for the trade stands are well in hand.Administrative details will be subject to minor “tweaking” to reflect what we all learnt in 2003 in order tomake 2005 even better.
The profiles of the demonstrators were pubblished in the November Revolutions.
What the presenters will be demonstrating is on page 18 and 19 of this issue of Revolutions
Booking forms went out with the November edition of Revolutions and they have been coming back to MikeMorley with good bookings so far. It is pleasing to see that a number of new members will be coming as wellas familiar returning faces. Keep it up, though, there is still room for more! If anyone has lost track of theform from the last issue a copy can be found on our website (www.woodturners.co.uk) click the “seminar”button to find the form and booking information.
We have had to make one change from the information that went out in November. Due to some changes inthe accommodation usage we no longer have the availability of en suite double rooms. The rooms providedwith the pull-out beds as doubles will have exclusive use of bathroom and toilet facilities just across thecorridor but no true en-suite double accommodation is available on campus.. If this is not satisfactory youmay wish to consider off-campus rooms. A special deal at £35 pp/pn is available at the Quality Hotel for adouble room. If you wish to consider this option you should book direct with the hotel stating that you areattending the AWGB seminar. Details may be found at http://www.hotels-loughborough.com/or by telephoneon 01509 21 1800.
So, dig out the form and book your place for August, we cannot guarantee the same record breakingtemperatures that we had last time but we can promise a memorable weekend.
If you are still not sure of the details or need any other information give Mike Morley a ring on 01276 23424 –he also responds well to e-mails on [email protected].
12-14 August 2005
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9. Bowl is now mounted in wooden jawswhich grip on the 4 ¾” x 1/8” lip of thebowl. ¼” Bowl gouge is then used toremove the rechucking spigot, leaving aconcave base so the bowl sits flat.
Spiky Australian Burr to finished winged bowl
1. First find the balance point of the burr bybalancing it on the top of a section of ½”dowel. Then hold the burr in place & markaround the dowel with a pencil.
2. Burr mounted on faceplate. My lathe is aMyford ML8 with a maximum swing overthe bed of 7 ½” Dia. All work will be onthe outboard side of the headstock.
3. Flat created on the burr, size and positionof rechucking spigot marked with pencil.
4. The completed spigot. This measures 37 x4mm (1 ½” x 5/32”) deep with a slightdovetail to suit my Axminster chucksO’Donnell spigot jaws.
5. Underside of bowl and wings turned readyfor finish sanding. Ensure sufficientmaterial is left to form the top side of thewing and the top rim of the bowl whichwill be used to hold the bowl whileturning off the base rechucking spigot.
6. Applying a coat of Danish oil to the base
7. Bowl rechucked in Axminster 38mmO’donnell jaws …
8. ….. ready for work to start on shaping thetop side of the wing and the inside of thebowl
12.Finished bowl is 210mm at it’s widestpoint and stands 40mm high.
10.Spigot removed and base finish sandeddown to 400 grit before applying a coat offriction polish
11.Due to the spiky edge of the burr it is muchsafer to finish polishing the top andunderside of the wings with a polishingmop mounted in a Dremel.
Trevor Cocks
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1. The central logs were to be the materialsused to produce the four soap dishes. Theoak was felled four months ago and hadremained outside exposed to the elementsthe surrounding logs are Cherry, Apple andEucalyptus.
2. Tools to cut the log into two pieces includethe chain saw, saw horse and of course thesafety visor gloves and ear defenders.
3. Logs ready for use nicely cut tomanageable size ready for the lathe. Thepiece to the right will be used for the soapdishes and the piece to the left is destined tobecome a hollow form
4. New oak log 4 months old next to a pieceof oak beam from a 14th century chapel.Note the dark rich brown of the 600 yearold oak. I actually used the beams to makekitchen unit doors and the material wasexceptionally hard but the finish wasbrilliant.
5. Tools to make the soap bowls Partingchisels, Deep and shallow fluted bowlgouge,Visor, safety glasses and gloves
7. Making the first cuts to remove the barkand start the basic sphere shape.Note the leather glove to prevent skinchaffing with the hard bark. Keeptightening the tailstock centre for addedsafety
6. Oak log mounted on the lathe ready tostart work removing the bark and gettinginto shape.Log is supported with the tail stock centreand the drive centre is a Morse taper threestebcentre
8. With all the bark removed and the firstsphere shaped the second sphere is nowshaped to match the first. I sharpen thebowl gouge frequently to remove the resinand keep a keen edge.The banjo is positioned so that the chiselrests in the middle of the tool rest formaximum support
9. Both spheres are shaped and the centre lineof each is marked with a pencil.An old parting tool picked up at a car bootsale for£1 is used to part the two spheres toa diameter of about 1inch or 25mm.The heart wood and sapwood are clearlydefined.
Soap DishesAndrew Hall
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10.Cut the material in half using a tenon sawThe heartwood and sapwood are clearlydefined.The spheres are 6 inch/150mm in diameter.The oak is still very wet despite beingfelled 4 months ago as it has remainedoutside exposed to the elements
11.The first sphere has been turned 90 degreesso that the pith is central to the bowl.Always work with the grain taking the cutfrom the tail to the centre pith line thenreverse the whole sphere and repeat theexercise.Using an old strong leather chisel part thetwo bowls to approx. 1 inch/25 mm core
12.Both spheres turned to the finished outsideshapes of the bowls.Note one sphere is larger than the otherthat was because of a dig in so it had to bereduced to clean the edge. “yes we all getthem” no matter how careful one lapse ofconcentration.
13.The soap dishes have now been cut in halfusing a pruning saw as the wood is stillwet and cuts better with this saw. Thebowls are positioned on the off cut of oakand the old oak beam. I made a bowl outof the old oak the grain was exceptional
15.The final sanding with the 320 grit astrodot abrasive paper. This was recommendedat a demonstration given by Mark Bakerat the Sunderland woodturners club notonly does it give a great finish but usedwith oil it has minimal dust which is goodfor the safety of any woodturner
16.I use large bowl jaws fitted to the Vicmark120 chuck to finish the bottom of the soapdish.The chucking point is removed but I haveadded a small amount of decoration.Notice the small amount of dust below thebowl that is the accumulation of dust fromthe four bowls in the form of slurry. Usingthe oil as lubricant also adds as a grainfiller
17.Another way of holding the bowls is theuse of the jam chuck made from a scrappiece of material to hold the bowl inposition
Completed soap dishes
14.The next stage is to hollow out the bowlusing a ½ inch bowl gouge and 1 inchround nosed scraper.
I then sand the interior and exterior 180through to 320 grit and use a mixture ofsunflower oil and lavender oil concentrateto both lubricate and finish the soap dishes
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In the last issue of Revolutions I told you that I would let you know what each of the presenters would bedemonstrating at this years seminar. Although these are the planned presentations at the moment the AWGB orthe presenter may alter these in the light of changing circumstances.
Bowl or vessel preparation forpiercing. Piercing tools selection,their availability on the marketImage transfer, drawing and designpossibilities. Piercing techniquesAirbrush and accessories selectionPreparation of turnings forairbrushing – sealing the woodapplying liquid mask etc.Colour selection – opaque versustransparent – dye versus colour –stained glasseffectAirbrushtechniques –specialeffects,transparentcolour mix,fadingtechniquesetc.
The making of a ‘Carambola’, asimple hollow form carved afterbeing turned. The accent is put onthe different aspects given to thewood (Heather Root). Parts of thewood are designed to be polishedand bark parts to be left rough.
Turning a vase in Heather Rootwith pewter inlays. The roughshaping in wet wood, after dryingthe final turning and the inlaying ofpewter
Finally the texturing, drying,inlaying, sanding, carving,colouring and polishing of the finalpiece taking into account theaesthetic appearance of the piece.
Seminar 2005 - More on the PresentersMike Dennis
Nick Cook
Christophe Nancey Bin Pho
Texture carve burn and brushTexture carve and paintUse of veneer in order to obtain atexture
Thierry Martenon
Architectural Turning - Timberselection, marking out, toolselection and their use.
Production turning - Nick willfocus on a wide range of quick,enjoyable and very practicalprojects you can go home andmake yourself. Nick willdemonstrate everything that goesinto making the production piecesthat have made him a highlysuccessful commercial turner fromtool selection and sharpening tospecific turning techniques. Hewill discuss the various jigs andfixtures along with shortcuts tomake his marketable products. He
will show you how to make bottlestoppers, baby rattles, honeydippers, tea-lights, Christmas treeornaments and boxes.
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Dave Reeks
David Springett
Mouse in a cheese based on theSingapore ball technique.Turning spheres, marking outspheres and a simple method ofproducing a hemispherical chuck tohold spheres.Turning a cube inside a cube insidea sphere.Making a solid wooden arrow fitthrough a glass apple.Lattice turning (in the flat) & a lookat offset lattice turning.Turning a spiked star in a cube.Streptohedrons. (turned twistedpolygons as boxes)
Michael O’Donnell
Peel, Slice and Scrape – Makingthose tools work for you, handlingthem so that they peel, slice orscrape their way through the wood,with long shavings flying offleaving that perfectly formed pieceon the lathe. Believe it or not thereis a bit of the Wild West in theprocess.
Seeing The Light - Take a treestraight from the garden or forestand immediately enjoy the fun ofbringing out its figure form andfinish. Coping with shrinking,splitting and spalting while turningit to extremes to see the light
Nick Agar
Julie Heryet
A wet natural topped vase with theemphasis on producing a welldesigned item with sensuous curvesand an overall balanced form.
Pepper and Salt shakers with handchased threads, with the emphasison functional but still sensuousforms.
The choice of timber, tools andsharpening, and finishing willcovered on each session
Stuart Batty
Bowls and platters with a rimdecorated by way of texture andcolour.
Multi axis work including wallplaques and bowls with Texture andcolour
A large platter turned, decoratedusing an Arbortech, Sorby texturingwheels and wire brushes. Colouringand finishing.
Timber conversion and preparationto turn a vase from a wet log verythin with the aid of a light. Timepermitting sanding to a finish andreverse chucking.
Tall narrow thin exotic bowlsOff centre square bowlsTimber selection, use of tools andsharpening,.
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Our native trees - Yew (Taxus Baccata)Guy Ravine
This article will be the longest inthis series on British Timbers andonly really touches the surface of atruly fascinating subject. Manybooks have been written about thistree, and many more will bewritten.
Yew is the longest-lived nativetree, and also the most steeped inmystery and legend. A familiarsight in churchyards nationwide, ithas often been associated withdeath, but it may well be therebecause the Yew itself was theobject of veneration, and thechurches were put next to the Yewsrather than the other way round.
The tree contains a poisonouschemical (taxin) and this may bereflected in its Botanical name.The name ‘Taxus’ may be relatedto the Greek words ‘toxon’ (bow)and ‘toxicon’ (the yew derivedpoison with which arrowheadswere dressed).
Names in other languages: If(French); Tejo (Spanish); Tasso(Italian); Idegran (Swedish); Taks(Danish); Eibe (German); Taxis(Dutch). Iúr (Irish); Iubhar(Scottish Gaelic); Euar (Manx);Ywen (Welsh); Ywenn (Cornish);Ivenenn (Breton) Hagina (Basque).
Yew grows widely across Britain,throughout Europe and into Asia,China and Japan. There is also anAmerican Yew, pacific Yew (TaxusBrevifolia).
Botanically a softwood, Yew is, infact, harder than almost all of ournative hardwoods; it is also one ofthe most attractive native timbers,in demand for both turning andcabinet making. When fresh cutthe heartwood is a bright orangecolour (often beautifully veined)and the sapwood bright white.With age the colour darkens to aruddy brown, with the sapwoodoften taking a duller yellow tinge.However the colour contrast willalways be there if sapwood ispresent .
Although related to the pines, Yewis unique in having a fruit, or aril,rather than a cone. It is alsounique amongst European“conifers” in its toxicity. Yew hasboth male and female forms andhas needle like leaves. The smallgreen female flowers are difficult tospot unless you get very close to thetree. The male flowers are a littlelarger, and are pale yellow. Theygrow underneath the previousyear’s shoots. The stamens whenripe, in February/March, shedclouds of pollen, which is
distributed by thewind. The fruit,or aril, ripens inthe autumn and islight red. The arilpartially enclosesa single palecoloured seed (ornut). The fruitsare mostlydistributed bybirds, and do notappear to be astoxic as thefoliage is
supposed to be, although the seedsthemselves are apparently evenmore toxic. I am puzzled about thistoxicity, as I look after goats whichfrequently escape (this being thenature of goats) and which like totaunt me by eating yew while I tryand catch them. Misguided peoplequite often give them yew foliage,and it doesn’t seem to hurt them. Ialso know of sheep that eat yew andcome to no harm. It is said to killcattle very quickly though; after ashort nibble sometimes. It may bethat the tree is more poisonous inwinter, when it may be the only bitof greenery around. It is also saidthat clipped and half-withered yewbranches are especially poisonousto cattle.
Although this mysterious evergreentree can live for millennia, it doesnot grow very tall and is rarelymore than 20 m (67ft) high. It canattain an enormous girth, but witha tendency to become hollow anddivide into a group of trunks ofsimilar size, all sharing one root.
In Britain, Yew was once muchmore common on the chalk downsin Southern England and onlimestone areas in the North. Itcan still look after itself in the wildand there are a number ofsurviving Yew woodlands, mostnotably Kingley Vale Woods inHampshire. . Yew has been widelyplanted in formal gardens, and isoften used as a subject for topiary.Indeed Yew, along with box, is oneof those plants that almost definesformal gardening. The trees arestately and have a certain dignity,so that when other plants are beingblown all over the place orchanging leaf colour, the yewsmaintain their composure.
While Yew displays an almostjaunty aspect in formal gardens, the
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general feel of the tree is one ofeeriness and gloom. Tennysonrefers to Yew a lot in “InMemoriam” and these lines areredolent of this feeling.
"The Seasons bring the flower againAnd bring the firstling of the flock.And in the dusk of thee, the clockBeats out the lives of little men.
O, not for thee the glow, the bloom,Who changest not in any gale.Nor branding summer suns availTo touch thy thousand years of gloom.”
Irish Yew. (Taxus BaccataFastigiata).
In 1760 a farmer named Willis inthe Cuilgeagh Mountains inNorthern Ireland found two Yewswith a “fastigiate”, (i.e. upwardgrowing) tendency. Both were dugup, and one replanted atFlorencecourt; and it is from thissource that millions of Irish yewsare descended. This tree survivesto this day, although it now looksrather sad. Its upright formrequires less room and it ispreferred for hedging and topiary.Most Irish Yews are female andtherefore bear berries. The woodis identical to ordinary Yew.
Sadly Mr Willis made nothing fromhis momentous discovery.
Ancient, Champion and NotableYew treesMore Yew trees in Britain comeinto these categories than anyother species, with the possibleexception of Oak. Indeed many ofthe individual trees are worthy of
an article in their own right.
The tallest Yew in Britain at 29m(c. 97ft) is at Belvoir Castle inLeicestershire, and in Eire there isa 25m (83 ft) specimen atLuttlestown Castle, County Dublin.
While Yew does not often growtall, old yews can attain amagnificent girth. Mightiest of allis the one at Ashbrittle church inSomerset, which measures 12.19 m(c. 40ft) at ground level.
The oldest Yew in the British Islesis reckoned to be the Fortingall.Located in Perthshire, almost inthe mouth of Glen Lyon, Fortingallis one of the most interesting andpicturesque villages in Scotland. Itis said that this was the birthplaceof one Pontius Pilate! This is thestory. His father, a Roman Officer,was sent on a mission of peace toPictish King Metellanus, whoseseat was at Dun Geal (Fortingall).Whether the envoy brought hiswife with him, or whether themother of the child was one ofMetallanus’s household, we do notknow. But here Pilate was supposedto have been born, and naturallyenough he played in the, alreadyold, tree.
The tree is reckoned to be aminimum of 3000 years of old, butthere are those, including the Yewexpert Alan Meredith, who think itmay be as old as 9,000 years oldwhich would make it Europe’soldest living thing. In 1769 thetree’s girth was 56ft (over 17metres). Standing in thechurchyard the two surviving partsof the trunk are enclosed by a wallbuilt in 1795 to deter souvenirhunters.
The usual scientific methods ofdating a tree,( counting the annualrings in the trunk or carbondating,) are not applicable when itcomes to Yew: because the trunk ofa yew usually hollows with age,whilst it continues to grow by
rooting its branches and forming agrove around itself. Sometime anaerial root will grow inside thehollow trunk further confusing theissue. So the tree can go onregenerating itself inside or outsideits original trunk, and is capable ofmaking a comeback long after itseems to have “had it”.
There is a vast Yew at Much Marclein Herefordshire with the hollowtrunk typical of such venerable trees.The difference with this one is thatit has been fitted with a benchinside its trunk, an appropriate placeto muse on the passing of the years,no doubt.
Wordsworth wrote a poem “YewTrees” which refers to stately Yewsat Lorton and Borrowdale in theLake District. The Lorton Yewsurvives, as do three of theBorrowdale four.
Here are some lines from “YewTrees”;
“There is a Yew, the pride of Lorton’svale.Which to this day stands single in themidstOf its own darkness as it stood of yore….Of vast circumference and gloomprofoundThis solitary tree! – a living thingProduced too slowly ever to decay;Of form and aspect too magnificentTo be destroyed.”
There are two remarkable Yewsframing the Church door at St.Edwards Stow-on-the Wold. Plantedthe 18th century, they have nowgrown way beyond what wasprobably intended, and have almostbecome part of the building. Pinktrunked and with gnarled rootsresembling strange animal feet, theyare probably on borrowed time, asthey must threaten the building.
Two sites at which Yew topiary canbe seen at its most spectacular areLeven’s Hall, Cumbria andMontacute in Somerset; both of
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them National Trust properties.The latter can be seen in the filmof Jane Austen’s “Sense andSensibility”.
UsesYew has always been a valuedmaterial. As fence posts it willoutlast Oak, and would last well inthe ancient wooden causeways thatwere laid in swampy ground. LikeOak it survives Bog conditions andis quite usable. Bog Yew isrecognisably Yew, it is just darkerand duller. I have used 5,000-year-old Bog yew from the fenlands.
A 150,000-year-old Yew spear foundin East Anglia is probably theworld’s oldest wooden artefact. Ithas always been used for bows, andthe mediaeval long bow is probablythe cause of the decline of Yewnumbers during that period, acasualty of an arms race. InEngland suitable Yew becamescarce. Yew from Spain or Italybecame the favoured material sinceit was straighter and less prone to“pin” (knots). The 137 Yew bowsrecovered from the Mary Rose areall from the same baulk of Yew; offoreign origin. The bows seem tohave been manufactured to astandard length of around 6ft(1.8m) and would then be adaptedto the individual archer’srequirements when issued. Trainedarchers could loose 10-12 arrowsper minute, and could put up afearsome barrage in either attackor defence. Armour piercingarrows were effective at up to 200yards (180m).
Why was yew such a superiorwood for bow making?
The stave was cut in a ‘D’-section,a layer of sapwood was left alongthe flattened back of the bow. Thisis vital to the function of the bow.
When the bow is drawn, the insideface of the arc undergoescompression while the outersurface is stretched. The
heartwood of yew is able towithstand the compression andthe sapwood is elastic by nature,and both return to their originalform when the bow is loosed.Making a bow took several years.Staves were cut in winter, roughedout and left to dry for at least ayear. After the bow was“seasoned”, it was worked instages into the final product.These stages would take place atintervals of a year for three or fouryears.
Yew was used for domestic turnerybut not extensively. Evidence ofonly one yew vessel was found inthe Coppergate excavations atYork/Jorvik, which perhapssuggests that it was not high onthe list of favourite timbers of preNorman conquest turners. Itspropensity to split may have beena factor. It has always been usedfor furniture, but again in alimited way because of thedifficulty of finding suitablematerial. It is probable that it wastoo important in weaponmanufacture to be used forturning.
TaxolThis is a substance taken from thecambium or inner bark of thePacific Yew, which has provedeffective in treating some cancers,particularly breast cancer. Ifinjected directly into tumours itcan significantly reduce them. Thedownside of this is that theexistence of the tree has beenthreatened, as the earliestextraction methods for thechemical required the destructionof numbers of trees. Fortunatelymore modern methods are lessdestructive.
There is a similar substance(Baccatin) that can be taken fromclippings of English yew. Theyhave to be taken from a hedge,which is trimmed annually, as theTaxol/Baccatin production isgreater in fresh growth. There are
companies that will collect Yewtrimmings if they are of sufficientquantity and if it is economic. Thisneeds to be arranged well inadvance, as the Taxol/Baccatinstarts to deteriorate if the clippingsare left more than 24 hours.Contact www.limehurst.com ofChichester tel. 01243 545455, orFriendship Estate of Doncaster01302 700 220.
FolklorePrior to the introduction ofChristianity Yew was a sacred treeof the Druids, who built theirtemples near these trees, or sacredgroves – which were replaced bythe early Christians. Theassociation of the tree withchurches survives to this day.There has been much discussion,and many opinions expressed as towhy the Yew is so often found inchurchyards. Some say it is thedeep-dark green, almost eerie andshady presence of the tree. Otherssay that it is the tree of death, (andtherefore appropriate to graveyards)due to its poisonous chemistry, orthat it was put in churchyards,(where it would not be accessible tolive-stock) to grow wood forlongbows. Christian scholars haveassociated it with Christ as ‘the treeof the cross’ or with the theme ofresurrection
Round the church at Painswick inGloucestershire, are many clippedyews, traditionally said to number99. It was alleged that there couldbe no more and that every attemptto plant a hundredth would fail—and it did! Eventually the mysterywas solved, when a lady wrote toThe Times in 1963, explaining thather father, a scientist and practicaljoker who lived beside thechurchyard, ‘used to pour acid orpoison on the roots of thehundredth yew tree whenever theyplanted a new one. It’s highly likelythat he started the legend himself.’
There is a tradition in East Angliathat if you bring yew into the house
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at Christmas, amongst the otherevergreens used to dress it, you willhave a death in the family beforethe end of the year. Many stillthink it unlucky to burn Yew.
A Somerset tradition is that “Ourforefathers were particularlycareful in preserving this funeraltree whose branches it was usualfor mourners to carry in solemnprocession to the grave, andafterwards to deposit therein underthe bodies of their departedfriends”Before it became possible toimport Palm leaves for PalmSunday ,Yew sprigs were used as asubstitute.
Turning CharacteristicsYew is one of the most beautifuland satisfying of woods to turn. Orat least it is when it is not beingone of the most frustrating. Analmost infinite variety of graincharacteristics is matched by anequal variety of faults. The definitetwo tone colour scheme allowed bythe different colours of heart andsapwood can be used to good effectwhen using branch wood. Theproblem is using it without itsplitting. Some people kiln dry thebranches fairly successfully. I
favour rough turning wet branchwood and leaving it to dry. I use aprecise method called the “InertiaPrinciple”. This means that Irough turn the wood, date it, thenput it bags or boxes or just in thegeneral workshop debris; thenhope that by the time I rediscoverit, the wood will be dry. Sometimesthis method only requires sixmonths, but has taken anything upto ten years. Visitors to myworkshop will understand how Icame to employ this method!
Dowels for spindle turning can berough turned and will dry rapidly, 3months will usually be enough formaterial up to 50mm (2”) thick. Ihaven’t had that much successwith material over 50mm.
In general Yew air dries fairlyquickly, but not especially well. It isprone to split, and the fresh cutwood will often show splits thatoccurred in the living wood. Thereis little that can be done about this,and the larger the log, the moreproblems that it tends to have. Cupshakes, star shakes, ingrown bark,hidden knots all make this adifficult wood to usefully convert.If it is hard going for Turners, pity
cabinetmakers, whose task is muchharder. They talk of 100% waste,which actually means that theydiscard as much as they use(shouldn’t that be 50% waste?).
I have made many bowls from Yewover the years, but it is not the bestwood for them. The main problemis in finding large fault free pieces,and fault free pieces often havelittle visual interest. If splits andother defects are acceptable thereis no problem, but few customersare willing to accept them. Manybeautiful hollow forms have beenmade from Yew; few are free offaults in the wood, but this style ofwork (particularly on end grain)usually has enough going for it forthe faults to be of littleconsequence. Tracy Owen and PhilIrons have produced somebeautiful hollow forms, and amagnificent large hollow piecemore than a metre high won aprize at Craft Supplies a couple ofyears ago but I haven’t been able tofind the makers name.
It is straightforward to wet turnend grain bowls and vases in Yew,but personally I have not had muchsuccess with them. Yew bark doesnot stay on natural edges very often(unlike Laburnum) and breakagesduring turning, or subsequentsplitting, are common.
Spindle turning is straightforwardif the woods is straight grained andknot free. It will respond well toboth skew and gouge. If it is wildgrained or knotty, this isn’t thecase and you may have to resort towhat my father refers to as “Bruteforce and ignorance”. Failing that,heavy-duty abrasives cansometimes save the day! It is bestto go easy on the abrasives on theend grain of Yew, as it is one ofthose timbers prone to heat shakes.
Great Yorkshire Show 2005Tuesday 12 - Thursday 14 July
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This article was extracted from theKent Branch newsletter 'CounterRevolutions'
Microwave drying wood is a goodtechnique to utilise where youneed something dried in a hurry.
EquipmentOf course you will need amicrowave oven. It is not reallyimportant whether it is a turntablemodel or not, and the power levelisn’t that important either. We willbe using very low power levels,(defrost) so that sort of limits itself.The only other factor is thephysical size, and that is selfexplanatory really. If the workpiece is too big it won’t go in thedoor.
You will also need some scales toweigh the article. This bit isdifficult because you need a set ofscales that allow you to measureaccurately to small amounts - 5gram steps or so. I have a set ofdigital scales that are in 5 gramssteps and they perform well. If youare drying any wood by othermethods, you will probably havescales anyway.
The only other things you need aretime, patience and some wood tomicrowave of course.
The TechniqueFirst, the piece needs to beprepared. Rough turn the pieceuntil the wall thickness is about10% of the total diameter. Thisallows you to remount it and finishit off when dry, with the benefit ofenough meat in the walls to allowfor any oval distortion that mayoccur. If the oval distortion is notimportant, turn it to the finish youwant. It is your choice. I am onlyexplaining the microwavetechnique here.
Speed is really important, as somewoods are prone to crack if left toair dry, so keep moving. If youneed to leave the piece for anylength of time, either cover it witha wet cloth or place it in a sealedplastic bag.
You are now ready to cook thepiece. Weigh it and record theweight. Place the piece centrally inthe oven, set the power level towhat ever you use for defrost.The following times give someindication depending on the sizeof the piece.
• Up to 200mm (8 inch)..... 1 minute
• 200mm (8 inch) to 300mm(12 inch) ....2 minutes
• over 3 00mm (12 inch)3 minutes
After setting the oven as described(defrost setting and time), start it.At the end of the cycle, remove thepiece from the oven and allow it tocool. Leave until cool, or at least 1Ahour. This is one cycle.
Replace the bowl in the oven andrepeat the cycle. At the end of the4th cycle, weigh the piece andrecord the weight. These 4 cyclesare one drying program.
If you are using a non turntable oven,turn the piece upside down and rotate90 degrees between cycles. This allowseven spread of warming.
At the end of one completeprogram, allow it to stand for anadditional % hour, then repeat theprogram. Keep repeating theprogram until the weight remainsconstant between two programs. Atthis time it is as dry as you will getit and the piece can then befinished.
Some Points of CautionDon’t try and rush things. Thetemptation is to crank up the heator the time. You will be verydisappointed with the results if youdo. The idea is to do this slowlyand deliberately. Just like too muchheat when sanding will cause heatcracks to appear, so will too muchheat when cooking. Take it slowly.
Check your settings before startingthe microwave. It is easy to switchthe oven on at the default powersetting (usually high) withoutrealising. The results are again toomuch heat, with the resultingovercooking
If you do not have a workshopmicrowave oven and have to usethe kitchen microwave oven, seekapproval first. If you follow theinstructions I have outlined here,you are barely warming the wood,so the possibility of damage to themicrowave is no more thancooking your bacon for breakfast.Overset the power or lengthen thetime, and you may well cause allsorts of problems. Gum pockets inthe wood will boil and may explodeand you will find they are veryhard to remove. Also, you cancause tainting of the oven if theheat is too great.
How it worksMicrowave ovens work byvibrating the molecules within amaterial, and this movementcreates heat. The microwavespenetrate deep within objects(organic articles). As youcan imagine, the molecules in aliquid (water and sap) are easier tovibrate than those in a solid (woodfibres). This is more so with waterborne sugars and cellulose such asthose in wet wood. As you gentlyirradiate the article, you warm
Microwave Drying WoodKeith Donald
25
those compound liquids whichexpand because the molecules needmore room to dance around(vibrate), thus forcing their wayalong the cellular structure of thewood. Upon exiting the cells at theoutside surface, the waterevaporates.
You now have a two-fold processunderway, heating/expansionmoving the liquid out from thecentre of the article, and also thesponge effect of the dry outersurface drawing the moisture outfrom the centre. This is why it isimportant to remove it from theoven and let it cool completely inthe room air. Now you can also seethat by giving it a really good cook,you will boil the liquid within thewood and, like any cooking, youwill soften the fibre and damagethe wood. This can manifest itselfin many ways, including increasetear out on the end grain,production of articles that aredifficult to sand to an acceptablefinish and articles that will nottake oils or waxes very well.
By following the method outlined,you are merely helping the naturalprocess with a little moderntechnology, and instead of takingabout 1 year per inch of boardthickness, you can achieve thesame results in a couple of days.
This will be yourlast newsletterunless you have
paid yoursubscription
Either pay throughyour branch or direct
toDerek Phillips -
details on page 3
SEMINAR AUCTION APPEALOne of the core aims of the Association is to provide guidance andsupport of the membership.
Considerable assistance is given to the setting up of affiliated branchesand helping in the running of these local centres for those wishing todevelop and foster interest in woodturning.
Clearly the support and development of members is of centralimportance to the long term future of the AWGB. Over the years theAssociation has provided assistance to individual members in terms ofmembership fees, loan of a lathe and tools, and awarding scholarships todeserving members. Historically this activity has been supported by theauction of work donated by members and demonstrators at the BiannualSeminar. This has now become a tradition at the Seminar Banquet.
The success of the auction relies heavily on the generosity of membersdonating pieces of work. Many members donate pieces of work on aregular basis. Are you yet to join this generous band? Maybe this is theyear that you can put this right by donating a piece of work.
An education and special projects fund exists that relies on revenuefrom the Seminar Auction and additional monies raised by othermeans.
This fund is used to assist members of the Association who are keen todevelop their interests in woodturning and would gain a real benefitfrom support in a particular area.
Grants from the fund will be awarded following approval by theCommittee and a committee member is responsible for administeringthe day-to-day running of the programme.
For those who have donated work in the past please do so again for thisyears seminar. For those who have never donated a piece of work now isthe time to start thinking about doing so. We need good qualitywoodturning and if it is out of the ordinary so much the better.
SEMINAR SCHOLARSHIPSOut of the Members Development Fund four seminar scholarships areoffered to desrving members.
Applications must be supported by a written brief, outlining themembers experience to date (2 years), future interests and the valueperceived in attending the Seminar.
Those receiving a Seminar Scholarship would be encouraged toreport on their time at the event for publication in Revolutionsor alternatively in a recognised Woodturning publication.
For futher information please see the details in your MembersHandbook that came with this issue of Revolutions.
26
27
Living Heritage Woodturning CompetitionsTo be held at
1. Open Class - Open to all Woodturners
PrizesThe prizes will be awarded on the following basis:
1. Open Class 1st Prize - £4002nd Prize - £2003rd Prize - £100
2. Visitors Award In these days of interactivity, we will be askingthe visitors to vote for their favourite competition piece. Aspecial prize of £100 will be awarded for the visitors’ choice.
The Festival of WoodBroadlands, Hampshire
June 17th/18th 2005
The Festival of WoodSandringham, Norfolk
September 16th/17th/18th
1. First Fill in the RegistrationForm (to arrive no later thanMay 1st for Broadlands andAugust 1st for Sandringham) tolet us know that you wish toenter the competition.
2. Send your finished pieces to:Living Heritage CraftShows LtdP O Box 36, Uttoxeter,StaffordshireST14 8PYRemember to include yourEntry Form.This must be received no laterthan June 10th for Broadlandsand September 9th forSandringham.
3. All entrants will receive twofree passes for the Sunday, toattend the prize giving and forcollection of their pieces.
1. The competition is open to allresidents of Great Britain
2. All entries must arrive beforethe closing date.
3. All entries will be displayed onJune 17th/18th/19th atBroadlands and September16th/17th/18th at Sandringham
4. The judges decision is final.
5. No entrant may win more thanone prize.
6. All pieces must be entrantsown work.
7. Photographs of entries may beused in promotional literatureby Living Heritage
8. Entries should not have beenfeatured in other woodworkingcompetitions.
All entries will be judged on thebasis of:
a. Execution of work:Craftsmanship, tooling andSharpness of detail.
b. Finish
c. Originality
d. Timber Choice
e. Technical Challenge
f. General Appeal
How to Enter Rules Judging Criteria
28
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30
Camvac advert here
31
T & J Tools Advertisementas last issue
Informative, good humoured, unbiased advice,practical guidance on all aspects, years of experience.
These are the ingredients of my demonstrations toclubs and society’s up and down the country
WOODTURNING COURSES IN KENTWITH DAVE REEKS
SET IN ONE OF THE MOST PICTURESQUE PARTS OF KENT
1-5 Day Courses.Individual Tuition only 2 Pupils max.
From beginners to the more experienced.Courses structured to suit individual needs.
In a friendly and fun loving environment.Unbiased advice on lathe, tools and wood purchases.
VB36 & Apollo Professional lathes available
On the register of theWorshipful Company of Turners.
Member of theAssociation of Woodturners of Great Britain.Good food and accommodation available at
Penang Lodge, Hassell St, Hastingleigh,Nr Ashford, Kent TN25 5JETelephone: 01233 750316
DEMONSTRATIONS
The complete range of honed ready-to-use carving tools and fullrange
of carbon and high speed steel turning tools are manufactured by timeserved craftsmen in our factory in Lincolnshire and are
unconditionally guaranteed for life.We undertake to regrind or rehone any tool returned to us,
which we have manufactured, free of charge.Any tool purchased from us that in any way gives
dissatisfaction we will exchange.Factory tours are available by appointment for groups of
about fifteen people, so come and see ‘How it’s done’.Send for our free mail order catalogue. 16 pages in colour.Please enclose two first class stamps for return postage.
QUALITY IS NOT EXPENSIVE, IT’S PRICELESS!
Ashley Iles (Edge Tools) Ltd.,East Kirkby, Spilsby, Lincolnshire PE23 4DD.
Tel: 01790 763372 Fax: 01790 763610Email: [email protected] Website: www.ashleyiles.co.uk
32
33
PepperMills
Sole Distributorof
COLE &MASONMechanisms
and parts
ConstableWoodcrafts
Tel/Fax : 01206 299400email : [email protected]
34
Easy to findEasy to parkOnly 2 mins
from Al
QUANTITYDISCOUNTSAVAILABLE
LincolnshireWoodcraftSupplies
ROBIN STOREYThe Old Saw Mill, Burghley Park, London Road, Stamford, Lincs. PE9 3JX
Tel: 01780 757825
For a fast and efficient Mail Order Service with Expert Advice contact.
Open 9.30am - 1.00pm – 2pm - 4.30pm Monday to FridayOpen 9.30am - 1.00pm – 2pm - 4.00pm Saturday
Over 60 Timbers in Stock, in Boards, Blocks, Discs, and Squares.In English and Imported Hardwoods.
Also available Vitex abrasive, Turning Tools and accessories.Catalogue available Send £1.50 inc. postage
35
New Boddys Advert - As lasttime
Open Gallery Section
Rosemary Wright - Silver award
Arthur Hickson - Silver award
Playtime Section
Harry Matthias - Silver award
Dave Kelly - Bronze award
Wood Art Section
Bryan Scott - Silver award
Yvonne Arlott -Bronze award
Ancient Times Section
Darrell Rushworth - Silver award
Bob Sawyer - Bronze award
Special Awards
David Ward
Tony Witham
Brian Stainton
Richard Pain
Adrian Jacobs
Marcel Van Berkel
Tools 2004 ExhibitionRunners up
All photos on this andthe front page courtesy
of Guild of MasterCraftsman (GMC)taken by Anthony
Bailey
