The West Virginia Woodturners Association provides woodturners in southeastern West Virginia and western Virginia with an opportunity to meet other turners, enhance their skills, and share their skills and interests in woodturning. Send an email to info@wvwoodturners.com to request additional information about the club and its activities.
Next Meeting - March 28
The March meeting will begin at 9:30 AM at The Fort in Lewisburg. Harry Newman will demonstrate how to rechuck a bowl that had been rough turned from green wood and then left to dry for several months. During the drying process, the bowl distorts since the wood fibers shrink in width but not in length. This makes it difficult to chuck the bowl safely and minimize the amount of wood that must be removed when turning the final profile of the bowl. Members should also bring the inside-out turnings that they created for the February challenge.
February 28 Meeting Highlights
Twenty eight members and two guests attended the Club's first meeting in our new venue, The Fort in Lewisburg. Harry Newman reminded Club members that 2015 dues must be paid by the end of March if they wish to continue their membership throughout 2015. Annual dues are $25 and checks made out to WVWA should be mailed to Gerald Chandler at P O Box 157, Rupert, WV 25984. Harry also announced that although the January meeting was cancelled and the inside-out demonstration postponed until February, members should bring their inside-out creations to the March meeting according to the original schedule.
The meeting included Harry Newman's demonstration of inside-out turnings and three approaches to sharpening presented by David Vehrs, John Gregory, and Harry Newman. Members displayed a wide variety of turnings for Show and Tell and 9 goblets were submitted from the November challenge.
Show and Tell
Show and Tell Submittals
Show and Tell: Another View
Bob Nickell's pierced hollow form
David Vehrs turned this teapot on multiple axes.
John Gregory with his pierced hollow turning "Butterfly Catcher"
Goblet Club Challenge
Nine members participated in the Goblet Challenge
First Place: Charlie Meyers turned his goblet from butternut.
Second Place: Cliff Baker turned this fluted goblet from cherry and curly maple.
Harry Newman: Inside-Out Turning
Harry sketchs the major features of a Christmas tree ornament. The 4 blocks must be perfectly square and identical.
Taking very light cuts lesssens the chance for the tape to fail and the blocks flying apart. But wear a safety shield just in case!
Reinforced filament tape holds the blocks together and a pilot hole for the centers to avoid separating the blocks. This is the last chance to sand and finish the inside.
The blocks are taken apart, rotated 180 degres, and glued back together. The blocks must be carefully aligned so the points of the cutout match properly.
After the details on the top and bottom are turned, the piece is ready for sanding and finishing.
The inside-out turned ornament is complete and ready for hanging on the Christmas tree.
Three Approaches to Sharpening
The most popular sharpening system is the Wolverine system. David Vehrs shows how it is used to sharpen a parting tool.
Almost any bowl gouge profile can be easily sharpened by adjusting the tool protrusion, the length of the support arm, and the angle of the jig.
John Gregory describes the use of the Tormek system. It features a slow speed, water cooled grinding wheel that prevents the tool from overheating.
Tormek uses a special adjusting gauge that contacts the grinding wheel in 2 places to set the desired bevel angle on a gouge.
Harry Newman prefers not to use a sharpening jig. Setting up the jig and mounting the tool takes too much time when he is turning.
He uses the tool rest to anchor his left hand and raises or lowers his right hand to get the proper angle. The hard part is learning how to coordinate the hand, wrist, and arm motions to get achieve a consistent profile.
Turner's Shop
The Turner's Shop this month featuresGerald Chandler. While we have all visited his shop when he hosted the monthly meetings, his equipment and projects have been relegated to the backgound. With this feature, Gerald shows off his his turnings and his tools.
Lathes and Lasagna
Lathes and Lasagna sessions are temporarily suspended since Bill is in the process of moving his shop.
General Club Information
For further information about any WVWA activity, call Bill Sproul at (304) 497-2319.
Supporting Companies
We would like to thank these companies for the support they have provided to the Club during the past year. Check out their websites when you are ready to purchase products that they stock.
Craft Supplies USA is a one-stop shopping site for everything a wood turner might need or want - lathes, tools, accessories, project supplies, materials, and more.
Woodcraft offers a 10% discount at the Roanoke store to WVWA members when they show a current membership card.
by WVWA, a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners