Sunday 1st October saw a visit from professional woodturner Les Thorne.

   

The first project from Les was a pointed finialed box in apple with the finial in walnut.

With this project Les was able to demonstrate spindle turning, hollowing, jam chucking and texturing.

He showed the tool in its ‘Happy Place’ on the tool rest to prevent catches.  The scraper was used for fine finishing, beads and coves by lifting and rolling the spindle gauge, jam chucking, leaving a shoulder for the piece to sit on. Additional safety by using masking tape to tape the jam chuck and work together, and finished by texturing the body with a thread chaser.

 

The second project was a ‘mood’ finialed pedestal box. Again the same techniques were used but various hollowing tools were used and explained ie; round carbide tipped tools, 6mm & 8mm, crank tools to produce an undercut and the correct way to use it, and internal scrapers.

He used a hollow form of jam chuck to reverse turn both ends of the finial, the wood used was Sycamore for all three parts, other wood that could be used is English Cherry, Maple and Holly.

 

       

 

The third project was a captive ringed bowl, the bowl was oak and the ring was padauk. Les went into tool technique when using a pull or push cut, with the bowl gauge. He used the shoulder he turned in the bowl as the jam chuck to finish off the shape of the ring.

   

 

 

Les’s demos are always instructive from start to finish, showing tool technique, safe handling, good design, with a helping of humour.

By the end of the day everyone should have gone home, more knowledgeable, inspired, and enthused to pick up that gauge to turn the project they keep on putting off.

Members brought in some of their own work which was shown on a display table.

A special thanks must also go to Jan Bowen, daughter Helen and Heather who supplied us with an excellent lunch and cakes in the afternoon.

Brian Ford – Chairman