Most of us got there early to get a bit of shopping in before the meeting, and shopping we did! And no wonder! Darryl Vallis and Cheryl Borden, brother and sister owner/operator of Halifax Specialty Hardwoods, have done a fine job on their shop. They offer a great selection of both local and exotic quality hardwoods. They also offer burls, pen blanks and bowl blanks in a variety of species. This, combined with the reasonable prices and their helpful and friendly service, makes their shop a favorite among local woodworkers.
The fact that everyone was there early also gave the opportunity to do a lot of chatting. Like the shopping, there was a lot of it! The air was filled with great conversation and laughter.
The meeting began with a Show and Tell of some of the beautiful works of several members. There were bowls in a variety of sizes, Christmas ornaments, hollow vessels and pens. Here are a few photos:
The pens above were turned by member Darrel Eisner from Scotian Pens. Though these ones are not made of wood they are certainly beautiful and unique. They are turned from embedded epoxy resin. From left to right you’ll see bits of bowling balls, money and computer mother board in them!
After Show and Tell we moved to the work shop area and we were entertained with an excellent demonstration by David Wilkins on how to mount bowl blanks that may require special considerations and the variety of options available, of which there are a lot! This was followed by a short question and answer session.
Afterwards we enjoyed a short break with tea, coffee and snacks while we shopped some more and chatted.
Blocks of Ash were given to each member for our annual Fun Turn Contest. The pieces are 6″X6″X3″. The object is to just have fun and turn something from this block of wood. This year the contest close date is not until March so there is plenty of time to get this one done.
The meeting finished with a drawing for a 4 hour session with Don Moore. To enter the drawing you had to have participated in the Woodturning Exhibition held this past summer at ‘The Place Near and Far Art Gallery’ in Kennetcook. The winner of the draw was Stuart Taylor.
Special thanks to Cheryl and Darrell for once again hosting such a great meeting and allowing us to ‘play’ in their backyard! It was a wonderful time!
Back to the shop…