Serving Southeastern West Virginia
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.
Turning Center at Lee Street Studios
All members can work in the Turning Center any time, any day of the week and use any of the Club lathes, tools, or specialized equipment such as the deep hollowing system and the coring system. Members will pay $2.00 per hour to use the Center. They will sign in and sign out, leave the area neat and clean, take their trash and shavings with them, and pay for their time at the next Club meeting.
The Turning Center will be open to the general public on First Fridays and Second Saturdays when the Lee Street Studio complex is open. A small gallery will be set up where Club members will be able to display and sell their turnings with the Club retaining a 10% commission.
2019 Club Officers
- President: Bruce Brenneman
- Vice President: Anna Stables
- Secretary: Bill Sproul
- Treasurer: Gary DeGraff
- Director: Wayne Aliff
- Director: Cliff Baker
- Director: John Marshall
- Director: Bob Nickell
- Director: John Pauley
Next Meeting: February 23
The Club will meet next on February 23 at Montwell Commons. Bruce Brenneman and Cliff Baker will explain how to harvest, process, and turn green wood and how to successfully dry green turnings.
January 26 Meeting Highlights
Twenty five members and three guests attended the January meeting and participated in the door prize and raffle drawings. Members displayed nine recent turnings for Show and Tell pieces. Harry Newman explained how to design a platter or chip and dip tray to make best use of the figure in the blank. He then demonstrated how he uses his favorite scraper to turn a platter. While he was turning, he offered many suggestions to safely and efficiently turn a platter. Club members are challenged to design and turn a platter or chip and dip tray to be shown at the March 23 meeting.
Show and Tell
The Show and Tell judges selected three turnings for recognition:.
Gerald Chandler's 12" shallow cherry bowl was ranked #1 because the profile curves are very smooth with no noticeable transitions, there are no tool or sanding marks on any surface, and the finish feels very soft.
Jerald Carter turned this attractive set of earrings and pendants from both wood and alabaster. The designs make effective use of the grains and colors of the materials.
Ron Manning's 7" winged saucer was the third turning that was recognized. The design is very pleasing and was well executed. The curves are smooth and the piece shows no tool or sanding marks.
Additional Show and Tell Entries
Bruce Brenneman turned this 9" spalted maple bowl.
He also created this very nice 8" walnut bowl.
Charlie Meyers turned this pair of pens.
James Johnson turned this 12" natural edge locust bowl and applied several coats of shellac.
Charlie Meyers turned this 9" bowl from black walnut.
Anna Stables used a variety of materials and styles to create this set of five pens.
Demonstration: Turn a Platter
Harry made this scraper from knife steel, a pipe coupling, and a shovel handle and it was originally about 4" longer.
The profile is laid out to show off grain of the wood and a faceplate is screwed to the face of the platter.
The tailstock provides extra stability while the faces and edge are trued to minimize vibration.
First the profile for the rim is turned . . .
and then the profile is completed. A shallow tenon is turned for reverse mounting. This would be the best time to sand the bottom of the platter.
The tailstock provides critical stability, a bead is turned on the rim, and hollowing begins.
The platter could be a "chip and dip" if the center were recessed to hold a small bowl of dip.
As much wood as possible is removed before the tailstock is withdrawn and the remaining nub is removed. The bottom should be flat or slightly concave with no ridges.
The interior should be sanded before the platter is reverse mounted again to remove the tenon and finalize the lower profile.
Additional Tips and Comments
- The platter should be laid out to take advantage of the grain patterns.
- Harry likes to use 1 1/4" #12 wood screws to attach the faceplate - never use sheetrock or other brittle screws.
- Predrill holes so the screws won't cause cracks.
- Always use the tailstock, especially when truing the blank and gripping a large piece with a small tenon.
- Use the gouge or scraper that lets you be most confident while turning.
New Demonstrations Page
The Demonstrations page has been completely redesigned so individual demonstration topics can be easily found in the categories of Tools, Basic Techniques, and Projects.
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.
TurnTex supplies acrylic casting resin, solutions for stabilizing and hardening punky and spalted wood, and associated equipment.
by WVWA, a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners