12 November 2022 Meeting and Demo

 The Hiawatha Woodturner's Club meet at the Saint Ignace High School wood shop on 12 November 2022 with Show & Tell, Bring Backs and a Demonstration by Steve Promo.  

 The following were Show & Tell items.

 

A bow that looks like a basket with a brass top with a fly on it.  

 

Left a box of box elder with maple lid.   Right a box of zebra wood with a maple lid.

 

Top: A box turned on a cedar post with lid on.  Below with lid off.

 

A large waste basket.  

 

 To cut disks from leather or cardboard you take a hole cutter and grind the teeth off and sharpen the edges.   Remove the center drill and you can cut disks.

Bring Back items are shown below.     

A lot of raffle tickets were sold to increase chances of getting the bowl in the center.   In back is a slab of hard wood, four sections of 4x4 ash,  behind the bowl is a half cut tree fork with feathering grain.   Front is section of a tree with a small section of burl, then a small bowl.  

Tom Stawiarski had the winning ticket that allowed him to claim the bowl as his prize.  Good choice Tom. 

Shop Demonstration.

Steve promo was contracted to turn 150 spindles for a hotel on Mackinac Island.  In the video he talks about his approach to turning the spindles and then demonstrates how to turn a wood splitter handle.  

Video link:  https://youtu.be/vUSHbiaT2U0 

Thanks Steve for putting this together for the club.

8 Oct 22 Club Meeting

 The meeting was held at the St Ignace High School Wood Shop.  

At the start of the meeting the member describe the items they have brought in for the Show and Tell describing how they made it and any problems they encounterd. 

In this example the low right four items were brought in by Archie Patterson.  All are made from Box Elder.  The large item in the lower left blew up on Archie when he put rubber jaws on the outside of the thin lip and started to turn the bottom and there was a catch.  The stress broke the bowl and it flew apart.  The red item was Sam Steffen's vase that was to look like a pumkin and is made of resin and wood.  The small item center right is also from Sam and has a interior ring of contrasting wood for the lid to sit on. 

This item was made by Steve Promo from a block of wood brought in by Sam.  the walnut ring was added to a grove cut into the wood. 

The item on the left is from Jim Rutlidge and is the completed bowl he started at last months demo and looks like a basket.  The three items ont he right are from Steve Promo and illustrates that grouping items in sets of three to five will earn a larger price. 

 

Jim Rutlidge brought these items in.  On the left is a vase that looks like a basket weave, next in is a Spalted Ash bowl.  The boxed items Jim used in used talk. (see video belwo)

Steve Promo brought this in to illustrate how he used color to add character to his items.
 

 

This also a Bring Back time during the meeting where the club auctions off items brought in by member.   All proceeds go to the club treasury.

 

There was a large section of Walnut and a large section of hard maple that was auctioned off along with two of the Show and Tell finished items.  

 

During the meeting Jim Rutledge talked about how he did reversed center turning.  Below it a video of his comments.   View video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zopeGx3xs9Y

Steve Promo talked about the items he brought in to show the group.  View video here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac6aJNsdPbA

 

Steve Prom did a classroom talk about cutting and turning multiple items from a slab of wood and then demonstrated the process from cutting to turning in the wood shop.  View video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s81l97CZnMo 

 

It was a great meeting with many helpful insights from the members.    A good point to remember is Spalted Wood contains a fungus that creates the pretty lines in the wood.  Wear a mask and dispose of the mask filter and all shavings and unusable scrap wood to get the fungus out of your shop.  Be Safe.

 

 

Steve Promo and Honey Locust Bowls

HWC members,

Just a reminder that we will meet this coming Saturday at the School woodshop.  Don’t forget your SHOW AND TELL pieces and BRING BACKS if you won a bring back in September, or just want to donate something to benefit our treasury.  At this time I am planning to have a meeting on November 12th at the school as well.  I will not be able to lead a meeting after November until at least April of 2023.  Just a suggestion, but I hope some of you will get together by arrangement during the winter months as there is a lot to be gained by visiting one another shops.

Last BRING BACK I won a piece of HONEY LOCUST donated by Sam Staffan.  I thought about what to make out of the firewood chunk which was about 10” in diameter, green, and very heavy.  I thought about a natural edge bowl as Sam said the bark really stays on nicely.  I decided to get a LOT of small turnings out of the log and was so pleased with how it rough turned that I drove to Mackinac City to Sams shop and he gave me two more firewood chunks.  

The multiple small hollow forms I turned from Sam’s wood were inspired by a very wide and very thick piece of MESQUITE slab wood that I got at a sawmill in Texas many years ago.  I could have made one large platter or shallow bowl from it but decided to go for a dozen smaller pieces instead.  I was just getting into selling hollow forms then so I wanted to choose a shape that was easily hollowed out with a straight round nose scraper.   (Left photo shows their orientation within the slab and right photo the finished set of three which we kept)  

I did not have a large bandsaw in Texas so I cut the blanks into vertical square cylinders with a chainsaw.  Next I batch turned them into true cylinders with bark on top between centers.  Next I bored them out with forester bits on a drilll press and glued the bottoms onto faceplated scrap blocks.  I then trued up and refined the exteriors, hollow turned the interiors, sanded and seal coated them with shellac on the lathe.  After rough turning I kept them in a cardboard box to slow evaporation and prevent cracking as I hollowed them individually.   I recall getting a dozen pieces out of that slab.  When I tried to sell them individually I was disappointed.  I later learned that THINGS IN THREES sell really well.  Now I only sell them in sets of three.  A dremel with small sanding drum was used to make the wavy rim surface.

I will demonstrate how I cut these blanks, rough turn them, and hollow them out at our meeting this Saturday.  My BRING BACK will be a set of three in HONEY LOCUST, so raid the cookie jar $ for the raffle! 😁

It would be great if one of our members could volunteer for the demo at our November 12th Meeting.  I would very much appreciate this!

See you Saturday!

Steve Promo

Current President HWC

 

 

 

17 Sep 2022 Club Meeting

 The club met on 17 September, a week later than scheduled because a conflict in personal schedules.  There were some nice Bring Backs and Show & Tells in the classroom for the meeting.  After the classroom meeting Jim Rutledge show his technique for turning bowls that look like woven baskets.   Attached are some videos taken during the meeting.  

Steve Promo talks about the Bring Backs:

Sam Staffan talks about his Show & Tell items:

Steve Promo talks about his Show & Tell items:

Jim Rutledge classroom talk on how he makes bowls that look like woven baskets and then takes the group into the shop for a demonstration of his technique with samples of his finished work.  You can see the video at:  https://youtu.be/9d4FmV3kKBY

14 August Woodturner's Meeting

 The club met at the LaSalle High School for show and tells, bring back raffle and a demo on turning ornamental birdhouses.

There were many show and tell items on display and talked about.

 

Here are some of the show and tell items on display.

 

Three natural edged bowls.

 

Jim carved some birds on a branch.  Very realistic looking.  

 

More birds by Jim along with a carved orange for the birds.

 

More bows, a vase and a box.

 

Same brought so of his work.  One is a resin and wood vase and another is resin stabilized wood.

 

Another natural edge bowl.

 

This is the bring back section of wood raffled off  during the meeting.

 

This is a cross section of a hollow tree.  Note the cracks forming as it dries.

 

Jim explained that the cracking can be greatly reduced if the cross section is cut at a something like a 15 degree angle as this reduces the length of the each grain and fewer cracks as it shrinks and dries.   This example was cut at 90 degrees to the grain allowing each grain to run from outside to inside.

After a discussion of what people had made band brought for show and tell there was a discussion of the demo and then everyone moved to the shop to watch Steve make ornamental birdhouses.  The movie has been edited to remove pauses and sections have been speed up to reduce the overall size of the movie.  Here is the video of Steve Promo making ornamental birdhouses.

https://youtu.be/33QwcuwHn80 

Steve Promo Birdhouse Demo SD 480p1

Fractal Burning Wood Surfaces

At the 9 July 2022 Hiawatha Woodturners Club meeting Sam Staffan demonstrated Fractal Burning.  Sam ran a sign shop before retiring and used a transformer used in neon signs to generate the high voltage needed for fractal burning of wood.  Sam has a sign on his transformer to the effect that this will kill you to remind himself of the danger of working with up to 15,000 volts even in low current,   In this video Sam will explain how he mixes one table spoon of baking soda to one quart of water and then sprays the surface of the wood and then applies the probes to pass the current across the wood.  He uses insulated gloves and has insulated the wires he holds and a foot pedal swich to turn on the power.    

The YouTube link is:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQUNRUxKnYQ

Enjoy the video but should you try this yourself be safe.  - ajp2

 

9 July 2022 Club Meeting

The 9 July Club meeting was held at Sam Staffan's shop.  Sam used to have a sign shop and after retiring expanded his interests into working with glass and wood.  Sam has three lathes and does pen turning which expanded into larger turned items.  

At the club meeting there were some Show and Tell items that show the skill of the club members.  

Nice box with a mushroom on the lid.

 

Wood spoon and spatula turn from one piece of wood.  The handles are turned and the spoon and spatula are carved or ground to shape. 

 

Steve Promo turn this large vessel  with a hole in the side.  It also has some turquoise in a crack.  

 

Steve brought in some of his stone collection and showed how he crushed the stone using a pipe and a steel drop rod (shown on left).

 

 In addition, there were some Bring Backs raffled off.  

 

 Above are two large and thick slabs of walnut. 

 

 

A crouch was brought in along with several slices of aromatic cedar. 

 

Sam Staffan has a very nice shop and displayed around his shop are some very impressive products of his work considering he only started wood turning in June of 2021.  Here are some results of his skills:

Some of his wood has been stabilized and turned and other embedded in epoxy and turned.  He has added colors and other material to enhanced the look of the end product.

After a discussion by Steve Promo about he club Sam Staffan gave a demonstration of stabilizing wood using a special resin.  Here is an edited video of that process.  

 

link:  https://youtu.be/Xxeee2XLa_w

During the meeting I recorded several videos of Sam's process including turning wood embedded in epoxy resin.  I am working on putting these videos together in a understandable format so they will be posted later.  - ajp2

Sam sent a picture of a partially turned object that was stabilized with resin.  Interesting shavings or lack there of.

11 June 2022 Club Meeting Show and Tell Items

 Here are some pictures of a couple of items that were brought in to show the fellow members what we have been working on for the 11 June 2022 club meeting.

 

The inside has been sanding a painted for a nice contract.

  

Beautiful wood for this container.  

 

Turned the wood to provide another view of the variations in the wood. 

Please note the 9 July 2022 club meeting will be at Sam's shop in Mackinaw City where he will show some of the equipment he uses in his resin turning projects.  - ajp2

Students at LaSale High School turn rolling pins.

 Steve Promo has been mentoring kids at the LaSalle High School in Saint Ignace in the skills of turn on wood lathes.   Recently several have been turning rolling pins.  Here are some pictures.

 

Innovative  protective gear to keep the wood shavings out of and off your clothes.  Protective mask against the dust of turning and sanding.  Well done.

 

Putting the finishing touches on a rolling pin with strips of darker wood.  Looks great.

Keep learning and practicing kids.  Have fun.

Red Pine Table Legs by Steve Promo

 Steve had a recent project to make four red pine table legs.  Each table leg has a tenon opening so it can be fasten to the table tenons. 

 

Finished table legs   28" long with a 3" square top to connect to the table. Hard to believe each leg was turn separately and not on an automated machine.

 

Close up of the top showing the tenon opening used to fasten to the table.

 

Another great project by Steve Promo.  Beautiful work Steve.

Archie's Wood Box from heart of a burl

 I had a section of a burl and the outer sections had gone bad with lots of worm holes pulpy sections.  This box was made from the inner section.    

I used CA glue on the bark and was able to retain a small section of the bark.  The lid has lots of worm  holes and was a little pulpy.  I used CA glue on that area.  As I turned some additional worm holes appeared and they are lighter as the CA treated worm holes turned dark.  

This the box with the lid off.  You can see where a knot went thru the lid.

The finished bottom has some decoration.

The bottom of the inside has some interesting grain patterns.

the bottom of the lid shows some interesting grain pattern and a few worm holes.

To turn the lid I turned the lid using a mounting block and made lid so it would fit into the opening of the box.  I then used rubber jaws to hold the turned edge and turned the top of the lid.  The knob on the top is a different section of wood that was glued between the lid and the mounting block. 

14 May 2022 Club Meeting with Presentation

 At the 14 May 2022 Woodturners meeting Steve Promo showed a hard maple leg he turned for a butcher block he is currently refurbishing.  He explained the process he used and gave some other helpful hints on turning spindles from square stock.  The maple leg blanks are from laminated lumber and were lined up and the transitions marked so they all match.  He suggests mounting the first spindle turned behind the lathe next the new turning for a visual comparison, in addition to using layout lines on the wood and calipers for critical diameters he also  put the layout lines on the tool rest for reference.  Here are some pictures.

This is the butcher block he is restoring.  Lots of sanding.  Note the old legs under the butcher block that is setting on as steel frame.
 

Steve laid out all four leg blanks and added the layout lines across all four to all are marked the same.  

As Steve suggested he built a rig to hold his first finished leg behind the one he was currently working on so he could make them all the same.  Note the flat corners on the upper part of the leg.  Steve used a table saw blade set at 45 degrees to trip the corner off adding a beautiful touch to the legs.

Steve's work is so process that all four legs are identical.  Well done Steve.  Thanks for sharing.

Above are the finished legs for the butcher block.

The finished professional butcher's block of hard maple.  Wonderfully done Steve.   I would hate to actually cut meat on it being so pretty and all.

 

Also at the meeting Sam Staffan gave a talk on his work turning scrap and rejected wood using resin casting.   Here are two of his projects more are shown in the video.

Sam used to run a sign shop and developed many skills like etching glass.  Here is a etched vase mounted in a turned wood base.  Considering he has only been turning for about a year his work is as Steve calls it spectacular.  

Here Sam placed sea shells in a mold and filled it with resin and then turned a beautiful candle holder.

Watch the video of his presentation to see more of his work as he talks about how he works and what he has tried as he learns turning.