This month’s meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association featured Dave Wilkins from the Nova Woodturners Guild with a woodturning demo. The theme of his presentation was projects to do with all those small pieces of scrap wood that we tend to accumulate.
For this presentation Dave took a 3 to 4 inch square of wood and turned it into a small winged bowl.
He started by gluing the piece of scrap to a plywood faceplate ensuring that it was centered. This was facilitated by using the tail stock. Then he turned the inside first, maintaining a proper wall thickness. Once the walls were at the desired thickness he reversed the wood and then finished the outside, creating a delightful small project.
Here are some photos:
Because of time constraints no finishing was applied at this time. However, here is a finished one that Dave brought in to show:
Here are some other items that Dave brought in to show the project possibilities for using scrap wood:
Here are a few more photos from the demo:
Throughout his demo Dave spoke on tool presentation; the angle of the tool to the wood, and how important this is. He also shared some great tips like leaving your glue gun to heat up longer since the hotter the glue gets the better it holds. He also offered some well received tips on spindle turning and demonstrated them with a special emphasis on turning coves.
As always, Dave gave a presentation that was both educational and entertaining. He peaked the interest of all who attended, even those that have lathes but never use them! 🙂 He definitely gave us a lot of more reasons to hang on to those small pieces of wood that we were already hesitant to throw out. Scrap wood? There’s no such thing! 🙂 Thanks, Dave!
The meeting continued with an announcement of an upcoming auction for a set of Sorby woodturning tools that will take place at the next meeting. These tools were donated, along with some books and magazines, by past AWA member, Mike Breen. Thanks, Mike!
There was also an excellent review and explanation of the proposed changes made to the by-laws that will be also voted on at the next meeting, as part of our Annual General Meeting.
An update on the Duck Nesting Box project was also given that included news that the plans had been approved by both the Department of Natural Resources and Ducks Unlimited. We were also informed that the wood was now available and it will be soon delivered to the participants in this project.
A short report was also given on the Habitat Humanity project, which is presently on hold while the committee’s suggestions are reviewed by Habitat Humanity.
For Show and Tell a member brought in an excellent example of glue strength. It was simply two boards that were glued edge to edge just by one sitting on top of the other with no clamping. It was actually surprising to see how strong this bond was, especially when one is reminded of how many clamps we tend to use and how tight we turn them when doing the same. 🙂
Another member, Phil Carter, brought in a pair of ‘donation boxes’ that he recently made. One is made of Maple and Walnut and the other is made of Maple and Jatoba. Both feature corner splines made from their respective alternating wood. These will be used to collect donations for a church fundraiser.
The meeting concluded with an auction for a LaserLine tool.
This was another fantastic meeting of The Atlantic Woodworkers Association, with 24 members and 2 guests attending. I’m looking forward to the next one!
Back to the shop…