Words from the Chair

Nearly there!

I believe we are on the downhill run in; it hardly seems a month since I last sat down to write a few words.

And for the good news!

The club will be open for business on 15th September. I do hope you will make an effort and be there and just to keep you interested we will be having a mystery demonstrator!

Please remember to follow the rules for our use of the hall, committee were there recently to check our equipment and we found plenty of sanitiser etc for us to use.

And please, correct cash only if you can, to help us avoid too much handling of it.

Bring a piece of work with you then we can set up a show table, no pressure, no critique, just for pleasure.

We will try to make the evening as ‘normal’ as possible but there will not be a shop for the time being.

Well that’s it for this month. I hope you are all well and as keen as I am to get together again.

See you there.

Just a reminder that Committee have met and agreed we will continue to follow recommended protocols.

• Unless exempt, masks shall be worn in the hall.

• Sanitiser where provided should be used.

• Do not enter kitchen unless helping.

• Chairs will be spaced and should not be moved. In other words please do not sit next to your pal(s).

Newsletter

For those members who may have been due to attend the AWGB seminar in late September, we regret to inform you that the event has been cancelled this year in favour of a ‘virtual’ seminar. The AWGB hope to put on a physical seminar in 2022. The date for the AWGB Virtual Seminar will be the 13th and 14th August.

George Locker had an email from one of his American friends who posed the question. How hard can you hit a cricket ball? A woodturning quandary or a feat of strength?

Can you just….?

Ted Higgs

The Story of the Big Pepper Mill

One of our younger friends (CJ) came to visit a few weeks ago to collect a stopper I had made for a vase to stop dust getting in and I foolishly showed her the black and white salt and pepper mills I made last year. I could see her eyes light up and I sensed a “can you just” question coming. She always wanted a big one and it just so happened that I had a 20 inch crushgrind mechanism. Within seconds she was on the internet and found a design she liked and I said yes I could do it. But then came the second “can you just” question; ‘could you colour it to match my kitchen, white for the top third, red for the middle and black at the bottom’. Yes I said but then came the third “can you just”. Would it be possible to blend the colours? Well it just happens that for my birthday Ursula bought me an airbrush gun and mini compressor. 

I had two rescued mahogany table legs, but looking at the dimensions I realised that the deep cove on the leg would not allow the right shape so I cut a section out of one leg on the bandsaw and glued it into the other leg having got rid of the cove. Using a screw chuck and my homemade steady I was able to do initial shaping and remaking of the original beads with a skew and roughing gouge for the body. Then came the boring part starting with a forstner bit and then adding an extension to reach well over half way. The lathe steady came into its own and held the work rock steady.

I was then able to reverse into small jaws bound with masking tape to prevent damage to the inner tube and once again adding the lathe steady. You will see that I located the wheels of the steady in the valley between the beads and this minimised the risk of the piece coming out of the small jaws. I was then able to complete the three sizes of bore including the centre core. I wanted to get a better finish along the whole length of the internal bore so a bit of old curtain pole with a length of carbide paper wrapped around it and glued on with contact adhesive did a great job. Nothing worse than splinters in your peppercorns.

After completing the top knob and the final sanding down to 600 grit, I sprayed the exterior with cellulose sanding sealer. Armed with some airbrush paints I did a test piece and was very pleased with my new spray gun. I then thought “how am I going to get this even all round?”. I remembered I had an unused Lazy Susan bearing so a couple of MDF circles on the bandsaw and I had myself a turntable complete with a circle of polythene to catch the overspray at the bottom. A surplus piece of tile backing board scored and bent made a good spray booth.

Previous editions of Revolutions

by George Locker

We had a demonstrator at Sandon last Saturday making a segmented bracelet !

He was very good.

He had previously had his method published in REVOLUTION, the newsletter of the Association Of Woodturners of Great Britain.

It was in June 2019 Issue No 129

He had copies of his article for sale at £5.00 !!!

Now I thought I might get a copy from the AWGB cheaper than that so I tried !

They advised me that I could go on their archives and see and copy as necessary, for free !

In my ignorance I have never thought of things like that, but it works !

To get it on line go to the following :-

https://www.awgb.co.uk/revolutions-woodturners-newsletter-archive/

Woodturning Zoom - https://woodturningzoom.com/

Don’t forget to have a look and let us know what you think. It might just trigger a thought that you want to share about how we can do things to interest you.

If you decide to get involved, let us know your experience! - info@chelmerwood.co.uk

Show and tell - September’s Theme

The AWGB are now running a monthly competition called Show and Tell where you can enter to win a £50 voucher.

September’s Theme – The month of harvest

Apples, Onions, Potatoes, Tomatoes – we want to see an inedible feast! Use this month to practice your fruit turning skills, or develop them further and try to make a basket of veg. Try to push yourself to have a collection of items to show for your month of harvesting shavings.

Prize –  £100 total voucher from Classic Hand Tools Classic Hand Tools will kindly add £50 to the £50 AWGB voucher.

Deadline - Last day of September

See existing entries as the come in here - www.awgb.co.uk/show-tell/

See how to enter and the rules here - www.awgb.co.uk/show-tell/show-tell-rules/