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Guy Ravine entertained us for the day with an assortment of turned items. He kicked off with a colourful spinning top using a chatter tool to texture both sides before colouring them using paint pens he bought at Tescos. These are cheap and are non toxic and therefore child safe. His next item was to be a candlestick from yew and turned off centre. He only used two positions to produce an interesting design but he pointed out that this style would only be safe with a small candle. A dinner candle would need a bigger base to avoid it toppling over. Item three was to demonstrate various different types of tool he uses to produce his bowls, some tools seeming better than others. He part turned one bowl from a wet log that he would allow to dry out and finish at a later date. Sorry folks, no piccies of this piece. Guy followed this by making an ebony candle snuffer. He turned the bell first favouring a skewchigouge for most of the operations. The spindle he made using a spindle gouge. The hole in the bell to take the spindle had to be drilled at an angle which looked a bit dangerous. One slip and you would have a leaking digit and a tinge of red on yer snuffer!! The next project was to turn an egg from one of the alternative range of materials. This was not an ivory or horn alternative but a multi coloured stick made from the same type of compound. I have tried turning this stuff and found it chipped very easily when I used a parting tool to form a stepped collar on the item I was making. Guy turned a colourful egg with his piece which came out really nice and he finished it on a BEALL Buffing system, a series of three rag mops. On No 1 he used Tripoli wax. No 2 he applied white diamond compound, (the english equivalent is probably HI-FIN) and on No 3 he finished with carnauba wax which comes in either a light or dark colour. With a quarter of an hour to go guy filled in the time making a “Spindle turning reference piece” illustrating all the different shapes used in formal pieces of turned work. He actually went on till nearly four thirty before calling it a day. A long day for Guy. He had arrived at the hall at eight o’clock in the morning. Keen or what? That was the meeting for July and the next meeting will be on Saturday 8th August and it is a club members day. Ernie Frith will be entertaining us in the morning with a demonstration of a jig he has designed to use in conjunction with a router to create a form of ornamental work. The afternoon will see us competing in a speed turning contest. The subject will be a bud vase and the test will be to see who turns the best piece in 15 minutes. Pat Hughes will supply us with tulip wood blanks with a spigot already turned to fit the chuck and all you have to do is get stuck in. If you are going to enter it would be best if you brought your own tools. I think there will be three lathes on the go and if you have a tip you would like to pass on by demonstration then please do. Pat has a few ideas to show us after the speed turning is over. That’s about it for this one. See you all on the 8th. Ps. Don’t forget the hands on evening held every last Thursday of the month. Graham. |
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