October Demonstration and Club Challenge "Top Turning Results"
During the October Demonstration everyone brought their entries
for the Top Turning Competition. We had three catagories that entries could be submitted in. The catagories are
as follows:
1. A top constructed from a single peice of wood.
2. A segmented top made from two or more peices of wood.
3. A contest to see which top could turn the longest on a
single spin. Each contestant was given two opportunities
to spin their entry. Only one entry was allowed in each category.
The picture below shows the tops that were entered into the first
category being turned from a single peice of wood.
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| ENTRIES TURNED FROM A SINGLE PEICE OF WOOD DISPLAYED ON A PLATTER TURNED BY HARRY NEWMAN |
The winners in the 1st Category turned from a single peice of wood
are shown below. The top on the left placed 1st and was turned from Cocobolo by Harry Newman. The top on the right
placed second and was turned by Curt Pitsonbarger.
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| Harry Newman's Cocobolo 1st place top and Curt Pitsonbarger 2nd place top on the right |
In the segmented category we had the four entries seen below.
1st place went to James Cox for his Black Walnut and Cherry segmented top and 2nd place to Gerald Chandler for his segmented
top. The picture below shows all of the segmented entries.
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| SEGMENTED TOPS DISPLAYED ON A PLATTER TURNED BY JIM MYER |
The picture below shows the winners in the segmented category.
The top on the right was awarded 1st place turned by James Cox and the top on the left was turned by Gerald Chandler taking
second place. Gerald Chandlers segmented top also took 1st place in the longest spin competiton with a time of 75 seconds.
Congratulation to everyone for participating in our first club challenge.
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| SEGMENTED 1ST PLACE ON THE RIGHT BY JAMES COX AND 2ND PLACE ON THE LEFT BY GERALD CHANDLER |
This month's demonstration presented by Rodney Lehrbass showed club
members how to turn a bottle stopper. Bottle stoppers make perfect gifts and are a great way to use some of the smaller
peices of wood left over from larger turning projects.
The picture above shows Rodney beginning to turn the bottle stopper.
First the wood must have a hole drilled into one end that is the same size as the wooden dowel that will be placed into
it later. Once you have drilled the hole you need to mount the wood on a jacob's chuck with a set of pin jaws.
The predrilled hole will slide onto the pin jaws and then be turned to lock it into place.
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| Bottle stopper blank being rounded off and cut to the desired design |
In the above photo Rodney checks the bottle stopper with calipers
to insure that the end receiving the cork is the correct size. Once the correct size is acheived he will finish
shaping the wood blank and then use his parting tool to cut decorative grooves into the design as seen in the
photo below.
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| Using a parting tool to cut decorative grooves into the top of the bottle stopper |
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| Rodney uses wire to burn the grooves made by the parting tool for a decorative effect |
After the grooves have been cut into the stopper Rodney uses wire
to create a decorative look by burning the grooves with the wire while the lathe is running. This helps to accent the
grove marks and adds to the stopper's appearance.
Once the grooves have been burnt he will finish sanding the peice
and use the Beal Buffing System to apply the finish as seen below.
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| Applying the finish using the Beal Buffing System |
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| Rodney glues the dowel and cork on to the stopper and now it is complete |
Now that the dowel and cork have been added to the stopper we have
the completed project as shown in the photo below. There are many different types of bottle stoppers kits and many different
designs that can be used. You want the bottle stopper to be shaped in a manner that is easy to place into the bottle
and also easy to remove. This design meets both of those standards. We hope that you will turn one on your lathe
soon.
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| Finished bottle stopper |
We also had a demonstration showing how to sharpen your tools using
the Wolverine Sharpening System. Rodney sharpened several bowl gouges and demonstration how to properly use the
gouge attachment as well as the basic tool rest used to sharpen the roughing gouge shown above. Having sharp tools
will reduce the amount of time turning an item and will also result in cleaner cuts that will require less sanding time.
It is always important to keep a good edge on all tools. There are numerous sharpening systems that can help you achieve
the pertect grind every time.
