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.
Are You Safe?
All turners are concerned about safety in the shop, but how safe are you? Take this assessment and it will probably include several topics you may not have considered. Additional articles about woodturner safety are included in the new Safety page.
Turning Tuesdays
Club members gather at at Lee Street Studios at 4:00 PM every Tuesday to work on projects, exchange tips and techniques, learn from each other, and socialize. Around 6:30, everyone heads to Hill and Holler for dinner together
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 $5.00 per hour or $30 per month to use the Center.
Turning Display at Allegheny Highlands Craft Center
Eleven Club members are showing 50 of their turnings at the Allegheny Highlands Craft Center which is located at 439 E. Ridgeway St in Clifton Forge. The show runs until March 22.
Next Meeting: March 28
The Club will meet next on March 28 at Montwell Commons. Cliff Baker will demonstrate how he turns a natural edge bowl from green wood. He will also discuss safety considerations, mounting techniques, and tool selection. Members will be challenged to design and turn a natural edge bowl and show it at the May 16 meeting.
February 22 Meeting Highlights
19 members and 2 guests met at Montwell to enjoy coffee, donuts, and bagels before the meeting and participate in the drawings for the door prize and raffle items. Six members displayed their recent turnings during the Show and Tell period after which Gary DeGraff lead a discussion on workshop safety and offered a number of pointers for successfully and safely turning a bowl.
Show and Tell
The Show and Tell judges selected three turnings for recognition:
#1: Gerald Chandler turned this 12" bowl from a sassafras burl for a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation auction.
#2: This "chip and dip" bowl was turned from a weathered mulberry log by Bruce Brenneman.
#3: Ron Manning used the offset center technique to create this 6" bowl from red oak. After turning the rim, he moved the centers by 1/2" and completed the bowl.
Additional Show and Tell Entries
Gary DeGraff turned this 12" cherry bowl, an 8" mulberry dish, and is turning a 3-cornered bowl from a cube blank.
This 14" charcuterie tray was turned by Jerald Carter from a laminated cherry and hickory blank and finished with a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax.
Bruce turned another "chip and dip" from a walnut crotch .
When Anne Turner discovered that the tenon on a large red cedar blank is not very strong, she redesigned her project and turned this attractive 6" bowl.
Gary DeGraff
General Workshop Safety
- Only use power tools when you are alert, rested, and feel confident. Avoid wearing loose fitting clothing or jewelry that might get caught in the tool.
- General - Always turn the tool off between operations, transitions and distractions are always potentially dangerous.
- Chainsaw - Always use a face mask and ear protectors, keep the workpiece well supported, always consider the possibility of a kickback.
- Bandsaw - The most dangerous tool in the shop, butchers use it to cut meat. Keep the blade guard as low as possible, always use a push stick when cutting small or narrow pieces,
Bowl Turning
- Attaching the workpiece to the lathe - Faceplates are the safest, place a screw in every hole, sheet metal screws are very good, never use drywall screws. Spur centers are convenient and a center on the tailstock allows the workpiece position to be adjusted. Worm or screw centers can be used for smaller turnings.
- Position the toolrest as close to the workpiece as possible and adjust the height so the tool tip is at the height of the turning axis.
- Always rotate the workpiece by hand to be sure it doesn't hit the toolrest.
- Start the lathe at the lowest possible speed, then increase the speed until the lathe begins to vibrate.
- The product of the RPMs times the workpiece diameter in inches should be between 6000 and 9000
- Never stand in the line of fire! If there is a catch and the workpiece breaks free of the lathe, it almost always comes towards the turner.
- Remember ABC - Anchor the tool, rub the Bevel, Cut
- For the cleanest cut, turn the outside of the bowl from the foot to the rim and turn the inside from the rim to the foot. This allows the wood fibers to be supported as they are cut.
- Be careful of defects such as cracks, knots, and rotted spots. While these defects can add character to the finished turning, they can be dangerous while turning.
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