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.
***Future Meetings Canceled***
The WVWA Board has decided that the regular monthly meetings will be cancelled until the pandemic health and safety challenges have been resolved.
Members are encouraged to stay active by participating in the Turning Tuesday sessions at the Lee Street studio, continue turning in their own shops, and sharing photos of their turnings so they can be included in the monthly website Show and Tell page.
Virtual Demonstrations
Since regular meetings are on hold for the next few months, members who were scheduled to present demonstrations are encouraged to create virtual video demonstrations. Cliff Baker and Jerald Carter are available to provide guidance in the production of virtual demonstrations.
September Show and Tell
Club members continue to spend time in their shops and the Lee Street Studio to create new turnings. They are sharing images of those turnings by email and Show and Tell will be updated throughout the month as new images are shared.
Gary DeGraff: 10" spalted maple bowl with a Danish oil finish. The wood had punky sections and needed a lot of sanding.
Romie Hughart turned this table lamp with a nice, thin shade from red cedar.
George Boxwell: 11 1/2" x 1 1/2" padauk platter finished with Watco Danish oil.
George Boxwell: 12"x1 1/2" curly maple platter with Blue Ridge Inlace inlay in a 1/8"x1/2" groove on the rim, Danish oil finish.
Gary DeGraff: 8" Pearl Buck mulberry bowl finished with shine juice. The bowl will be donated to the Pearl Buck gift shop.
Jerald Carter: 9 1/2" bradford pear bowl. It was turned green in June and the weight finally stabilized in mid-September.
Gary DeGraff: 9"birch bowl finished with shine juice and wax. With slow cuts with a 3/8" 55 degree bowl gouge, he cut the wall down to 3/16".
Gary DeGraff: Very thin8" maple plate finished with friction polish.
Phillip Wright recently joined the Club and turned this 8" bowl with a nicely detailed rim from an ornamental cherry log.
Turning Tips
This new section is intended to give the Club members an opportunity to share some of their tips that help them create high quality turnings. Tips can refer to turning techniques, methods of finishing, specialized tools and jigs, or anything else that might help another person become a better turner.
Gary DeGraff has offered this description of how he produces a flawless finish. "My finishing procedure includes cleaning the bowl with denatured alcohol between sanding grits. This removes any dust and grit remaining from the sanding. Once I have completed sanding with 400 grit, I apply a coat of sanding sealer. When dry I sand with 400g again and apply another coat of sanding sealer. I continue this procedure with 600 grit and stop when the surface looks and feels the way I want it. I then apply Shine Juice, which is a friction polish. I apply 2 or 3 coats with a soft paper towel until I get the finish I like."
Gary makes his "Shine Juice" by mixing equal parts of clear shellac, boiled linseed oil, and denatured alcohol.
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