While perusing back issues of the SPSW newsletter, the Chips & Shavings, I came upon a great tutorial written by SPSW Vice-President Eric Lofstrom on the proper use of the Spear Point Scraper.
"Do your drool over fine curves? Are you sanding out ridges & transitions in your Turnings?
Many turners have ...
[note]Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” – proverb[/note]
It’s all about skills transfer
This article came out of a chat at a recent SPSW board meeting – we were talking about the various ways that being in the club has helped all of ...
Yesterday’s post was about a woodturner who lost most of her vision but was able to adapt her tools and processes to allow her to continue turning.
Coincidently, the AAW website has a feature on how the 25th Anniversary Symposium included the first showing of woodturnings to visually impaired people. Andi ...
While cruising the web looking at woodturning sites I came across Ron Kent's website. Ron is a woodturning artist from Hawaii, and a member of the Honolulu Woodturners chapter of the AAW. Those of you who have been turning for some time are probably familiar with Ron's work. This was ...
The South Puget Sound Woodturners is in the top 10 clubs in the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). Why is that? Because we have a large and diverse membership.
Our members range from beginner to internationally acclaimed professionals. Our interests range from penmaking to bowls, turned ornaments to hollow vessels, spindles ...
The AAW has kicked off a new opt-in program called Woodturning Fundamentals. The intent is to provide a source for basic skills and techniques in the months when the American Woodturner magazine is not published. This new program is available to any AAW member.
The first issue was recently delivered to the subscribers and there is some good information included. There is a tutorial on sharpening the skew, an article by Nick Cook on Twenty Ways Not to Turn a Bowl, a video tip by Beth Ireland on a quick trick to find the center of your turning stock, Q&A from an AAW member on food safe finishes and a link to a safety video series created by the Mid-South Woodturners Guild. Here is one of their safety videos:
The Woodturning Fundamentals are another benefit of membership in the AAW. The cost of membership in the AAW is very reasonable. You can get more information on Woodturning Fundamentals and AAW membership here.
SPSW President Dan Stromstad informed us earlier this month that our chapter had submitted the required paperwork to the IRS to become a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. This took quite a bit of effort by many people.
The AAW has sent out a message to all AAW members regarding the AAW’s 501(c)(3) status and needs your vote. Here is the message:
January 25, 2012
Dear AAW member,
Last October, the AAW Board discovered that we needed to file new paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service in order to bring our organization into full compliance with our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Over the last three months, we have worked closely with our attorney to complete this process.
Let me explain why we are doing this by starting with a little history. AAW was originally incorporated in Texas. The Texas AAW corporation applied for and received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS. In 1990, the AAW moved to Minnesota and incorporated there. In October of 2011, we learned that the IRS designation didn’t automatically transfer from Texas to the new Minnesota corporation in 1990. IRS rules do not allow the current AAW to go back now and transfer our original tax-exempt designation to the current AAW.
I am happy to report that the AAW has been granted new 501(c)(3) status as a new corporation in the state of Minnesota. The IRS expedited our request and on January 13, 2012, approved the new corporation’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status dating from November 14, 2011.
Now we need your help. Minnesota requires that our membership vote to approve a merger of the existing AAW into the new AAW corporation. In order to complete this process, we will be asking all AAW members to vote in favor of this action no later than February 23rd, 2012.
The Board is asking for your yes vote because Minnesota requires that at least at least 10 percent of our membership vote and that a majority of those voters vote to approve for the merger to go forward. Our 501(c)(3) status allows us to receive tax-deductible donations from individuals, as well as certain corporation, foundation and government funding, and to qualify for exemptions from some taxes and fees that AAW would otherwise have to pay. Please take the time to vote yes. You can view the merger plan here.
Please follow the link below to vote. The voting period will be 30 days starting January 25th, 2012. We have sent out paper ballots to our members who do not have e-mail addresses.
If anyone has further questions about this issue, please feel free to contact me or another member of the Board.
Thank you for your continued support of AAW as we make this transition.
Ballot to Approve a Merger of American Association of Woodturners, Inc., a Minnesota nonprofit corporation, into American Association of Woodturners, a Minnesota nonprofit corporation
Please indicate below whether you approve the proposed merger of the current corporation, American Association of Woodturners, Inc., into a newly-formed Minnesota nonprofit corporation, American Association of Woodturners. This merger is being undertaken to correct a legal error that occurred at the time of incorporation in Minnesota, in 1990. The merger will correct the error, but should not affect the membership,operations or programs of AAW.
Please vote by clicking on the link below. Ballots must be received by February 24, 2012, in order to be counted. Mailed or e-mailed ballots may not be revoked.
AAW must receive 10% of the membership’s completed ballots in order to meet the quorum requirements for a membership vote. Since there were10,912 number of voting members, as of January 1, 2012, AAW must receive 1091 completed ballots in order for the quorum requirement to be met. In order for the amendment to be approved, fifty-one percent (51%) of members returning ballots (assuming that the total number of ballots returned meets the quorum requirement) must vote”Yes”.
The following message is from Communications Director Bill Wood
OK Folks, Here we go again.
The good Lord willing and the crick don’t rise, and we don’t have snow, ice, and high winds, we will have a meeting this month on Thursday, January 26th.
The doors will open at 6:00 and the festivities will begin at 7:00, at the Fife Community Center. Stephen Hatcher will be the main attraction. Be there or be left out.
President Dan has promised that this will be a very fun evening.
The Southwest Idaho Woodturners Association is co-sponsoring the 2012 Idaho Artistry in Wood Show will be held Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26 at the Boise Hotel and Conference Center, 3300 Vista Ave., Boise, Idaho. This is a juried show with classifications for skill levels from beginner to expert. Participants can win cash prizes for their work. There will also be vendors, a banquet and auction. Registration will take place on Friday, February 24, 2012 from 12-6 p.m. at the Conference center. You can find more detailed information at the Artistry in Wood website.
The cost of participation in the show is $3 per entry for pieces pre-registered by February 15, 2012 and $5 for registrations at the door. Youth 16 and under may compete without cost.
Southern States Woodturning Symposium
Several AAW chapters are collaborating to host the 12th Annual Southern States Woodturning Symposium April 27–29, 2012 at the Georgia Mountains Conference Center in Gainesville, GA. Featured demonstrators include Kimberly Winkle, Jimmy Clewes, Bill Grumbine and Mark St. Leger. Activities include: an instant gallery, and for those who choose, a critique by two of the featured demonstrators, banquet, auction, and vendor displays. More detailed information can be found at the Southern States Woodturning Symposium website.
Utah Woodturning Symposium
One of the most well known symposiums, the Utah Woodturning Symposium is scheduled for May 17–19 in Orem, Utah. Demonstrators include: Nick Agar, Trent Bosch, Rex Burningham, Brian Gisi, Kurt Hertzog, Mike Mahoney, Johannes Michelson, Dale Nish, Binh Pho, Richard Raffan, Malcolm Tibbetts, and Tom Wirsing. In addition to the more than 80 demonstrations there will be many other activities including an instant gallery, banquet, live and silent auctions, swap meet and vendor displays. There will also be a penturners rendezvous. Early registration for the three day event is $275 which includes the Friday banquet. Get more information at the Utah Woodturning Symposium website.
This message is from Communication Director Bill Wood
The Fife School District is closed tomorrow (Thursday, January 19th) so our meeting is cancelled.
Remember there is no Sawdust Session this month.
The Saturday sessions with Stephen Hatcher will go on as scheduled. I believe that there are still some slots available for these sessions. If you are interested in attending please contact Eric Lofstrom …
Stephen Hatcher, past President of the South Puget Sound Woodturners chapter of the AAW, has demonstrated widely including 8 symposiums. Stephen has taught numerous week-long classes on woodturning at Arrowmont, Canyon Studios, John C. Campbell, and The Marc Adams School. This month Stephen will present an overview of techniques he uses in the shop to solve many problems including mold, punky wood, filling voids, reducing tear-out, selecting adhesives, using mini-magnets, improving finishes, getting good photographs, as well as promoting yourself and finding good galleries. Please bring your questions and a note pad. Several handouts are available in the Learning Center under Tutorials / Stephen Hatcher.
From Newsletter editor Bill Wood – This is a meeting you will not want to miss. Stephen Hatcher is a world class turner. You will find photos of his work in turning publications as well as in several supplier catalogs. His work is displayed in galleries and exhibitions all over the United States. We are extremely fortunate to have a presenter of this caliber, especially one who has close connections to our club.
The Segmented Woodturners virtual chapter of the AAW has released the January Club Summary. Here are some of the goings on:
Chapter Challenge
Chapter President Malcolm Tibbetts has announced the Winter 2012 Chapter Challenge which will focus on feature rings. Here are the rules:
Post a photo of just a “feature ring” – any feature ring. Most of us have learned that it’s usually easier to first construct “the feature ring” before doing a final design and construction of the “body”. There are so many techniques and styles to explore; push yourself and “wow” your fellow segmenters. Anything goes – the ring can be embellished in any way (carving, piercing, coloring, etc). There is no restriction on size. The only restriction is, the entry needs to be “only the feature ring”; do not post a completed turning. An additional “close up” photo is encouraged and may be posted.
Submissions will be kept anonymous until after members have cast their votes for their favorite. A nice prize for first place will be awarded.
Deadline for submission is April 15th (Americans should have no problem remembering that date.)
New Segmented Woodturning Book
SWT member and current officer, Dennis Keeling has written a new book on Segmented Woodturning. It will be available from Amazon here in the US on February 7th and can be pre-ordered now. For more info or to purchase, click this link: Segmented Turning – Design*Techniques*Projects (UK buyers can get it from GMC in March.)
The pre-order price from Amazon is $16.47 (plus shipping unless sale > $25) which is a savings of $8.48 off the cover price.
Dennis will be at our October Symposium and would be happy to sign your copy.
Forum Discussions
The education you get from the forum is more than worth the annual dues. Here are some recent topics:
Segments on End Grain – This forum thread asked about techniques in adding collars to segmented vessels made from staves. There was a good discussion on the best ways to build this type of vessel.
Table Saw Recommendations – This was an interesting thread with lots of inputs. Most people like their table saws and there are wide range in use including the new Stop Saw machines. Cast iron tables seem to help accuracy as well as good blades. I recommend reading this thread if you want to learn more about table saw choices by our members.
Walnut Source Recommendation – Where do you get your walnut? Several excellent ideas were shared here.
First Feature Ring – If you’ve had problems with the sandpaper on your Performax 16-‐32, then you should check out this thread.
Tap and Die set for 1 1/4 x 8 – spindle In this thread, you can find some good recommendations for purchasing spindle sized tap and die sets for your lathe spindle.
Recent Photos
There are really masterful pieces being created by the members of this chapter. Here are a few:
Interleaving Bands By Ad Gouwerok
Ad did an amazing job executing this segmentation. Here’s his description of the process:
Bowl made from alowood ebony, alowood walnut and I believe aspen. 80 segments per ring, less at the base. Total number of segments 2391. The bowl is 10.75″ wide, 4.75″ high. Segments were made with Byrnes table saw and a protractor accurate to .05 degrees. Method of construction per Bill Smith for open segmenting. The high accuracy of the segments allowed me to construct it this way.
Assembly: William Smiths jig for open segmented turnings. Used byrnes table saw and digital protractor. Went further. Made test pieces and made the angle exactly 2.25 degrees. After that, nobody so much as sneezes around that machine. Installed the first segment and waited 5 minutes. Then I pushed one segment against that one, forcing it against the steel platform of the jig. I used aspen, which has a low mod of elasticity. That helped. The last 10 pieces I put in at the same time pushing them in hard, causing high ring pressure because of the arching that way closing any gap that may still have been there.
Finish: 2 coats of Bullseye seal coat, 6 thin layers of wipe on poly. Alowood is manufactured wood, excellent to work with, however, economy forced them to stop production.
12” Mahogany Bowl By Rick Lawrence
This bowl was made from mahogany and mahogany ply drops from a kitchen cabinet job. The weave is created by cutting the plywood on edge instead of flat.
Open Segment Bowl By Malcolm F Douglas
Malcolm’s description:
This bowl is 8 inches diameter at the top and five inches high. It is made from 1176 segments of maple, mahogany. padauk, wenge, amarello and purple heart. The base is floating and is veneered (both sides) MDF. I chose this type of base because a a separation of solid segments on a similar vessel I had made previously.
Upcoming woodturning classes:
May 20 – 26, 2012 Easy Segmented Platters and Expressive Wall Art
Instructor: Linda Sutter
John C. Campbell Folk School
June 3 – 9, 2012 Turning in the Polychromatic Style: Staved Construction
Instructor: Don Russell
John C. Campbell Folk School
June 25 – 29, 2012 Segmented Turning: pushing your skills to the next level
Instructor: Curt Theobald
Anderson Ranch
September 4 – 8, 2012 Segmented Turning: Where Precision Partners with Turned Elegance
Instructor: Malcolm Tibbetts
The Mark Adams School of Woodworking
Chapter web stats:
The chapter website received 5,281 unique visitors in October and 274,488 page views.
The following message was sent by the AAW on behalf of the NWWWT
Northwest Washington Woodturners is pleased to announce A DAY WITH AL STIRT on March 10 in Anacortes, WA. We invite you to join us and share in this informative day. Al will be discussing and demonstrating the details of how he creates his unique turned bowls and platters as well as presenting a slide show of his work and inspirations. Registration is only $40 and includes snacks, beverages and lunch.
Please click here to find all the relevant information. If you are unable to open the attachment or have further questions please feel free to contact me.
The Anacortes area is a wonderful place to spend a weekend. If you will be staying in our area overnight, a list of accommodations including hotel/motel, B&B and RV is available upon request.
We look forward to seeing you on March 10th!
Rick Anderson President
Northwest Washington Woodturners
360-319-7600
There are two books widely recognized as essential in the library of a segmented woodturner. The first is Woodturning with Ray Allen by Dale Nish. The second is The Art of Segmented Woodturning by Malcolm Tibbetts.
Segmented woodturning has been around for a long time, but Ray Allen took the art to the next level. After retiring from a 30 year career in the construction industry Ray found his passion in turning. Allen was inspired by Southwestern art and incorporated that into the design of his vessels. His pieces are in major collections throughout the world.
Woodturning with Ray Allen was written by Dale Nish to share Allen’s creativity; not only in the design of the vessels he turned, but also the solutions he developed to create his turnings. This book details many of Allen’s techniques for choice of material, preparation of segments, glue up and turning. There are color photos of many of Allen’s pieces and also a section that details exactly how many of the feature ring designs are created.
There are many great tips in this book and you won’t go wrong by picking up a copy. And good news for SPSW members, we have a copy in our chapter library. Just send a note to our Librarian, Keith Palmer, to check out this book.
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