Club member Ian George gave a demo this evening and found himself dealing with a number of issues beyond his control but still managed to get through a varied selection of pieces with a smile on his face.
Mushroom
Ian started off with a piece of boxwood about 75mm diameter x 75mm long, complete with eccentric shape and a split!
He mounted it between centres, formed a chucking tenon and mounted it in the chuck where he turned it to shape, removing the split in the process.
As this only comprised the base and stalk of the mushroom he put a tenon on the narrow end of the stalk, leaving the base as a natural edge.
After checking the fit of a banksia seed pod offcut as the top of the mushroom, he buffed the mushroom with wood shavings and then waxed and polished it before parting it off and assembling it with the banksia seed pod.
Bowl
Ian mounted a piece of gnarly spalted beech about 125mm diameter x 65mm thick between centres and put a tenon on one side before mounting it in the chuck.
He started shaping it put a chucking recess in it before reversing it on the chuck.
Whilst hollowing out the bowl, though, it kept coming off the chuck for reasons that were not entirely clear.
As time was pressing, Ian gave up on the bowl, leaving it to be sorted out later.
He moved on to….
Candlestick Holder
A piece of walnut about 175mm long x 65mm square was mounted between centres and a chucking tenon put on one end.
Mounted in the chuck with tailstock support, it was turned round, being careful to leave the chuck end square to serve as the base.
Next, he bored out the end to accept a brass cup which will hold the candle.
Shaping the outside of the candlestick holder, Ian started having problems getting a smooth cut of the wood. Upon investigation this turned out to be because the chuck insert had come loose and the tool was digging in as the chuck wobbled around. Something else to be sorted out later!
A quick chuck change sorted this problem and he continued shaping, imparting a nice flowing line to the neck.
That was as much as time allowed so Ian finished there, having done very well dealing with the unexpected challenges.
The competition table entries this month were quite a mix as usual.
1st place went to a cup and saucer by Viv Harvey – perhaps getting up to speed for the Daventry Woodworks challenge.
2nd place was for a set of candlestick holders by Steve Marsh.
3rd place was for a nice little vase by Gerry Coles.
