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IWG News The Newsletter of the Island Woodturners Guild September, 2017

About the IWG : The Island Woodturners Guild

meets from 1:00 - 4:00 PM on the 4th Saturday of each

month (except for July and August) at the Central Saanich Senior Citizens’

Centre, 1229 Clarke Road, Brentwood Bay, BC. Visitors are welcome. Executive Committee President: Steve Werner Vice President: Phil Cottell Secretary: Michael McEwan Treasurer: Peter Pardee Member at Large: Tim Karpiak Member at Large: Bill Munden Member at Large: (Vacant) Past President: Gord Kifiak Newsletter Editor: John Kilcoyne The IWG gratefully

acknowledges the support of

the following companies:

Bow River Woods Craft Supplies USA KMS Tools Richelieu Hardware

The President’s Turn

Welcome to the first meeting of the New Year of the Guild. Technically it’s the second meeting, but it never really feels that way after a two-month hiatus. In any event your Executive has planned a great series of meetings for you and this will be a great year. Many thanks to Phil and Peter for doing most of the organising, and of course many, many thanks to those members who will be providing the bulk of the demonstrations. Without these people volunteering their time and effort to pass on and share their knowledge and skills our meeting would not be anywhere near as interesting. Certainly, they would be a lot shorter. Woodturning 101 is happening again this year and a big thank you to the dedicated members who provide this very worthwhile instruction. And thanks to John Bastedo who has put a lot of time and effort into the organising thereof. Organising these functions is like herding kittens or (closer to home) a series of Dixie Biggs workshops. These workshops are coming together now and in future emails will not be sent to the entire Guild, but only to those who are signed up for one or more days. Our friends in the Fraser Valley Guild are having Trent Bosch in as a demonstrator. Trent was with us too recently for us to have him in again as a guest demonstrator, however he is very entertaining and a few of us are going to Chilliwack. There is a workshop available, but unfortunately it is the same day as out Guild meeting so we won’t be attending that. If you would like more information on this demonstration, just drop me an email. Saturday will be a full day of fun. Remember to bring a piece for the Show and Tell and anything for the Sale Table that you no longer use (or possibly never did use.) Let someone else store it for a while. I’m looking forward to Neil Turner’s demonstration; his website has some amazing examples of his work and is well worth checking out. www.neilturnerartisan.com.au.

Steve ____________________________________________________________

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TURN UP: 2017

Turn Up 2017 was an outstanding success attracting over 850 visitors during the show. (The first day attendance of 137 people was the highest number that the Tulista site has ever recorded!) Many people are responsible for this achievement.

Firstly, thanks to those members who shared their turnings at this exhibition. It was great to see some of their most treasured turnings. Thanks also to those who staffed the show and served as salespersons.

Thanks are also due to those who conducted turning demonstrations throughout the week (Graeme, Andre, Bruce H, Wayne, Lin, Phil, Jim T, Rob D and Ron G).

Finally, and most importantly, thanks to the members of the Organizing Committee: Donna Cottell, Phil Cottell, Andre Robin, Cheryl Samuels, Jan Soutar and Tim Soutar.

Members of the Committee report that there are 3 people who deserve special mention. Phil and Donna invested an extraordinary amount of time and energy in the planning and administration of the event and Cheryl did an outstanding job as “artistic director” in arranging the configuration of the turnings. The Committee is preparing an outline of their efforts so that future show committee can learn from, and improve, on it. PS. You can see more pictures of the event on the website courtesy of Stu and Virginia. ______________________________________________________________________________

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JUNE RECAP

The June meeting featured an all-day presentation by Island woodturner, Jason Marlow. A turner for over 40 years, Jason provided a wide range of turning tips during an informative and entertaining day. The following sets out the highlights of his presentation.

1. Inspiration Throughout the day, Jason explained the range of inspirational sources that he relies upon. While noting that early in his career he found inspiration in the works of other turners, as he matured as a turner, his primary sources shifted to the following. a. Ceramics While he finds inspiration from a wide array of potters, it is not surprising that the pottery by his spouse and studio partner, Anne-Marie Veale, figures prominently. Note: In her presentation in Feburary, 2016, Cathi Jefferson also suggested viewing ceramics for inspiration and recommended the following books as a good starting point: Dillington, Acoma and Laguna Pottery

Brody, Mimbres Pottery: Ancient Art of the American Southwest Lane, Ceramic Form: Design and Decoration

b. Celtic Art and History

Given his ancestry, Jason has also been inspired by Celtic art and history, which is perhaps most evident in his signature “helmets”.

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c. Nature Finally, the influence of nature – mountains, rivers, oceans, animals and fish - is obvious in Jason’s recent body of work.

2. Wood Body Jason noted that unlike potters’ clay, there is tremendous variation in wood including its density, colour and figure. It is essential that these characteristics be considered at the design stage. Examples from his own experiences include the unique demands of red cedar and the fact that purples on cherry does not work!

3. Turning System a. Flute Jason prefers gouges with an elliptical (aka parabolic) flute. Unlike the more common U-shape, the wing on this tool never transitions to a flat – it remains curved. However, he noted that the Oneway Vari-Grind should not be used on this flute as it will result in a duller bevel angle on the nose and a sharper one on the wings which makes it more difficult to control. b. Grinder Height To promote “muscle memory”, Jason recommended that the grinder be placed at the same height as the lathe. c. Bevel Grind

While he does have some bowl gouges with an Irish grind (left), generally he finds that this means that the handle is too low for comfort. Accordingly, he prefers a shorter traditional bevel (right).

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d. Lathe Height While Jason finds that the conventional advice of locating the lathe centre at the elbow works well for him, it will vary from person-to-person or the type of turning. Don’t be afraid to experiment. e. Hand Position + Ergonomics

Jason prefers an underhand grip (left) when using a bowl gouge. He finds that this grip serves to relax his shoulders and bring his arms into his body which enhances stability. By contrast, he finds that an overhand grip (right) adds tension to his upper body and moves his arms away from the body.

f. Pressure He strongly encouraged members to use very light pressure when using a gouge as captured by oft-used phrase “Let the wood come to the tool”.

4. Sharpening System a. Jig

Jason uses the Vector Grind Fixture from JoHannes Michelsen (US$177). https://hannestool.com/product-category/vector-grind-fixture/ It enables him to maintain the grind all the way to the outside flute edge which results in a consistent curve on the bevel.

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b. CBN Wheels Cubic Boron Nitride is an abrasive material that is second only to diamond in hardness and is well suited to HSS tools as there is very little heat generated which means a long life for the wheel. Typically, the material is electroplated to a steel or aluminum hub. Jason is extremely enthusiastic about these wheels and encouraged everyone to consider purchasing one if they can afford it. Advantages (The following comments by Jason are augmented with information taken from an excellent article by Reed Gray which can be found at: http://www.robohippy.net/featured-article/)

i. Cost Effective While the initial cost of CBN wheels (CA$200-225) is relatively high compared with aluminium oxide ($70), their longevity means that in the long run they are the least expensive. One production turner reports no change in performance after 3 years of use. ii. Balanced The hubs are machined which means that they are perfectly balanced. Major manufacturers provide a machined bushing to fit the grinder shaft as opposed to plastic bushings. (Any run out or wobble will be caused by either a bent shaft or an unbalanced wheel on the other side.) iii. Safety Jason also noted that CBN wheels do not create any dust which is a major health concern. Conventional aluminum oxide wheels are friable which means that you are constantly exposed to potentially dangerous levels of wheel dust when sharpening or truing a wheel. Note: You still need to be concerned with “steel dust”. A 1” rare earth magnet placed on your sharpening jig will capture some – but not all – of the metal filings. As Michael Hosaluk noted during his demonstration, you should keep a dust mask near the grinder to protect your lungs from inhaling the metal filings.

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Grinder Issues There are two potential problems concerning your grinder if you opt for a CBN wheel. The first is the power of the grinder since the wheels are considerably heavier than aluminum oxide. While they will work on a ½ hp grinder, the slow ramp up does place a strain on the motor which MAY lead to premature failure of the machine. The second issue is the length of the shaft on your grinder. Many grinders only have a 2” shaft which may pose a problem if you opt for a 1.5” wheel. If so, you many want to consider special counter-bored bushings from DWay tools. (US$13) While these are designed so that the counter bore will fit over an inner shoulder, you should check that this will work on your grinder. If you opt for a 1.5” wheel you should also be aware that many wheel guards will not fit over these wheels. Many users report that they simply remove the guard since, unlike an aluminium oxide wheel, there is no danger of the wheel exploding. However, this does mean that you will be exposed to more steel dust which can be quite substantial. A better solution is to modify the guard using longer bolts with spacers and then cover the gap in between. Which Grit? While Jason initially purchased 80x and 180x wheels, he finds that he now prefers the grind that he gets with a 600x wheel. This preference for a high grit wheel is shared by some other professional turners who note that they provide an edge that is comparable to honing. They do note however, that the edge will not last that long. For “non-professional turners”, the majority of turners and manufacturers recommend a wheel between 180X and 320X wheel coupled with an 80X or 120X aluminum oxide wheel on the other side. The CBN will provide an excellent edge and allow some light shaping while the other wheel can be used for more aggressive shaping of tools.

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Maintenance While they never need to be dressed, CBN wheels should be periodically cleaned to remove resin, CA glues and other materials transferred from turning tools. The most commonly recommended process is to soak the wheel in kerosene and then clean with a bristle brush. Others report good results with Simple Green which is non-toxic and biodegradable. Carbon/Soft Steel Most manufacturers recommend that you not grind carbon steel or other softer steels since they will load up the wheel. Having said that, Dave Schweitzer (and others) report if you do, it is a simple matter to clean the wheel using a HSS scraper.

5. Design Considerations a. Jason generally uses the “One third – two thirds” standard when designing his pieces. b. He likes to add a “surprise” to his turnings by applying a different finish to the back (underside) of his pieces. This may be visual or tactile or both as illustrated by the fluting that he applied to his demonstration piece. c. Jason mounts a chalkboard close to the lathe which he uses for sketches, measurements, etc.

6. Turning Techniques

a. He generally uses a push cut followed by a pull shearing cut (photo left) with the gouge.

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b. Before doing the shearing cut, he applies a light coat of danish oil which serves to raise the grain enabling a better-turned finish. (The oil also serves to partially seal the wood which minimizes the absorption of paint during the colouring stage.)

c. He uses a homemade inertia sander for sanding. For instructions on how to build a double-ended sander (in-line and 45 degrees), see the following article by John Halstad of the Fraser Valley Woodturners Guild. http://fvwg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Inertia-Sander-HOW-TO.pdf

d. Jason uses both conventional sandpaper and mesh (Abranet) and generally finishes to 320x.

7. Embellishment Techniques a. Pyrography

Jason uses this extensively for his nature figures (animals, birds, fish, mountains).

To apply the figures to his work, Jason uses Stick and Burn Transfer Sheets. Using a laser printer, his patterns are copied onto the sheets which have an adhesive backing for application to a piece. (10 sheets: US$11.95) http://www.welburngourdfarm.com/Sticknburn.aspx

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Note: A much cheaper option is to use Pyro Paper from Razertip which can also be used in a laser or inkjet printer. (50 Sheets: CA$10.50)

While it does not have an adhesive backing, a LIGHT coat of spray adhesive works quite well. If you overuse the adhesive, the paper can be easily removed with a small amount of adhesive solvent (usually paint thinner). https://store.razertip.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PYROPAPER50 b. Gilding

Jason also makes use of gilding – specifically gold leaf. He noted that he prefers real gold leaf over imitation leaf.

Note: When purchasing gold leaf, ensure that you deal with a reputable supplier. For example, while there is a vendor on Amazon that claims to sell “Gold Leaf Sheets 999/1000 Real Gold”, reviewers, one of whom is a chemist, report that this is not real gold. The following are more reputable sources: Opus: 23K Gold: 25 sheets (3.25 x 3.25): CA$122 (https://store.opusartsupplies.com/sagro/storefront/store.php?mode=showproductdetail&product=48393 Gilded Planet: 24K Gold Leaf: 25 sheets (3.25 x 3.25): US$72 (http://www.gildedplanet.com/24ktb.html) Note: Given the cost, many turners (and gilders) rely upon less expensive imitation gold leaf. Opus: 25 Sheets (5.5” x 5.5”): CA$13.70 c. Colouring As is obvious from his works, Jason also makes considerable use of colourants. While he occasionally uses dyes, most of his colouring is done with opaque artist’s acrylic paints. _____________________________________________________________________________

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UPCOMING EVENTS

SEPTEMBER MEETING: NEIL TURNER The September 23rd meeting will feature a day-long demonstration by Australian Neil Turner from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The fee is $20 (paid-up members) and $30 (non-members). All are welcome. Victoria is Neil’s first stop in a cross-Canada tour. Neil hails from the west coast down-under where he has been turning and sculpting for over 35 years. He was awarded a residency at the International Turning Exchange (The Center for Art in Wood) in 2013 and has been an invited demonstrator at numerous AAW annual symposia and guilds throughout North America.

He has won the Best of Show at the Australian Woodturning Exhibition and his work was included in the famous 500 Bowls book. To see more of his work, visit his website at: http://www.neilturnerartisan.com.au/

Note: While there are no Guild workshops associated with Neil’s visit, he is giving a workshop at the local Lee Valley store on Sunday September 24th. The session is limited to 6 persons and the fee is $250. For more information, see: http://www.leevalley.com/en/home/SeminarDetails.aspx?p=8650&rs=75

Acknowledgement: The fee for this session is much lower than normal. This is because Lee Valley has stepped in and agreed to pay a portion of Neil’s expenses. The Guild would like to thank Art Liestman for his many hours of work organizing this visit by Neil and to Lee Valley for their financial assistance. ______________________________________________________________________________

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OCTOBER MEETING: ORNAMENTS AND BRACELETS

Rob Dunlop will lead off by offering a demonstration on turning ornaments. This will be followed by a demonstration by Gil Heise on how he creates bracelets using custom jigs he has designed.

New Event: Open Forum Prior to the Show and Tell, the Executive thought that it might be useful to have a short Open Forum session (maximum 10 minutes) in which members could raise issues of interest. This could be a request for information concerning tools or techniques, a significant “turning” experience (good or bad) or simply to brag about their newest tool purchase. This is intended to be an informal opportunity to share information, experiences and ideas. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

2017 DUES REMINDER There are a number of members who have not paid their 2017 dues. If you wish to attend the September demonstration by Neil Turner, please ensure that you pay your dues prior to the meeting.

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LICHTENBERG PATTERNS: UPDATE In the June newsletter, there was a short note on Lichtenberg Patterns (aka Fractal Burning). As indicated in the note, for those not experienced in working with high voltage electricity, it is essential that you obtain professional assistance. Failure to do so, might result in serious injury or death. In response to a second reported death of a woodturner using this technique, the AAW has adopted the following policy:

It is the policy of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW) that the process known as Fractal Burning is prohibited from being used in any AAW-sponsored events, including regional and national symposia, and that AAW-chartered chapters are strongly urged to refrain from demonstrating or featuring the process in chapter events. Further, the process of Fractal Burning shall not be featured in any written or online AAW publication, except for within articles that warn against its use. AAW publications will not accept advertisements for any products or supplies directly related to the process.

In announcing this policy, the Board of Directors noted that while the use of fractal burning has been growing, knowledge of its dangers has not. These include the use of under-rated components, improper insulation, absence of properly rated personal protection equipment and lack of training in handling high-voltage units. The danger is exacerbated by the presence of many online videos and building instructions which are either deficient and/or extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the AAW strongly recommends that woodturners refrain from using this technique. Your Executive endorses the concerns of the AAW regarding the dangers of this technique. _____________________________________________________________________________________________

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GREEN TURNING WOODEN BOWLS Dale Larson

(Dale Larson, who was our demonstrator last spring, kindly agreed to let us reprint this note in the newsletter.)

“Green turning” a wooden bowl starts with a piece of wet wood. I rough out a bowl, let the piece dry, then remount the bowl and finish turn it. Here are a few tips that will help you through the process.

The process starts at the tree. I want to get the wood as soon as the tree is cut. If you wait, especially in the summer, the tree will end check and radially check. And bugs will move in and start eating the wood. So, the first rule is to get the tree as soon as it is cut. The wood never gets better over time (except for spaulting in some species). As soon as you cut the block, put end sealer on the end grain (Anchorseal, Sealtite 60). If you wait very long micro cracks will start and the sealer will not work as good.

The next step is to rough out the bowl as soon as you can. A big block of wood will want to split and crack as it starts to dry. A roughed-out bowl can “move” to relieve the stress and is less likely to crack as it dries.

After the bowl is roughed out, mark the date and source of the wood on the bottom of the bowl. This will allow you to track all the bowls from a given tree over time. When one bowl is ready to turn, generally all the bowls from the same tree are.

How thick to leave the bowl when you rough it out? That answer depends on the wood. The general rule is that the larger the diameter the bowl the thicker to leave it. A 16" bowl maybe 1 ¼” to 1 ½". A smaller bowl would be less. But the answer also depends on the species. Stable woods like Black Walnut can be left thinner. Generally walnut doesn’t move much. Madrone burl and Apple move a lot. You need to leave it thick enough that when it dries there will still be a “round” in it. The problem with leaving it too thick is that it may not let the bowl “move” and the piece will crack.

After I rough out the bowl I use cheap paste wax on the end grain on both the inside and the outside of the bowl. I don’t use Sealtite liquid wax at this stage because it soaks into the end grain. When the bowl dries the wood that the Sealtite has soaked into will have to be turned off. Paste wax does just as good but doesn’t penetrate.

The drying process starts by stacking the bowls on dry stickers in the coolest place in my shop, the floor. If you stack wet bowls touching each other they will mold and spault. Separate them with dry wood stickers. For the first couple of weeks I might check the bowls every day or two. It I find small cracks in the end grain or on the foot I immediately use thin CA glue to seal up the crack. (Bill Luce uses thick CA glue and sawdust to build a “scab” over the crack. The advantage here is that the thick CA glue doesn’t soak into the end grain of the wood which will have to be turned off later.) The cracks tell me the bowls are drying too fast. I then put them in garbage

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bags with dry chips. This slows the drying process and lets the wood re-equalize its moisture content. The blank cracks because the wood on the outside of the blank is drier than the wood further inside the blank. The dry chips will absorb the moisture from the blanks.

Every couple of days I’ll take out the damp chips and put in dry chips. The bowls may go in and out of the bags several times before they are stable. I leave them in the bags 3 to 4 days then put them back on the stickers on the floor.

If the bowl starts to mold it is drying too slowly. I move the blanks into the heated part of my shop. I want to get the surface moisture off the blanks. But be careful because too long in a warm dry location can crack the blank at this stage. I also spray the blanks with a mixture of 50% household bleach and 50% water. This kills the surface mold. Mold is the first step of spaulting and I generally don’t like the effect at this stage. The bleach doesn’t penetrate enough to affect the wood color.

As time goes on I check the bowls less often. Generally, after six weeks the bowls are stable and won’t crack after that. They are not dry at this time and will continue to move. I then move the bowls up on the racks around my shop and forget about them.

How long does it take to dry the blanks? Depends. Depends on the time of the year. Depends on the species of wood. Madrone burl (that has been boiled) and Big Leaf Maple dry in as little as 4-6 months in the summer. Oregon White Oak and California Black Oak take 18 months to two years.

Time of year to green turn. I like to do my green turning during the cool damp part of the year (late October to early May). This allows the blanks to dry slowly while it is cool. They are stable before it gets hot. I will rough out bowls in the summer time if that is when the wood is available but it is a lot more work to successfully dry them without cracking.

In this area (Western Oregon) roughed out wooden bowls will dry down to 13%-15% moisture content in the unheated part of my shop. Once they reach this point I can move them into my drying room. I keep it at 70 degrees f. and 60% humidity year round. The bowls will dry down to 6% - 8% in there.

The bowl is then ready to remount on the lathe. Remember that the bowl has “moved” during the drying process. The old center that the bowl was roughed out on may not be the new center. A quarter-sawn bowl will move more on the sapwood side as it dries. A flat-sawn bowl will end up longer with the grain and shorter across the grain as it dries. Burl and some woods like Apple will move in all kinds of directions. I measure across two points and locate the new center. I put the faceplate on and slowly rotate the bowl on the lathe. This will tell you if it is centered or you need to move it a little. And you may want to adjust the faceplate depending on how the grain pattern is in the bowl or to remove flaws on one side of the blank.

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Because the center can change during the drying process I rarely use chucks to hold the bowl on the lathe for finish turning. I use face plates and screws. When I rough out the piece I try and leave an extra ½ to ¾ inch extra scrap on the bottom to hold the screws. I generally use a chuck during the green turning. If you put screws into the wet wood during green turning the tannic acid in the wood and the iron in the screws will react and leave a black spot in the wood that will have to be removed when you finish turn the bowl. After the bowl is dry I can move the faceplate around on the scrap part until I find the new center or where I want the center of the bowl to be. A chuck prevents adjusting for the new center. I also find that most chucks are too big and get in the way when I am turning the bowl down around the foot. A faceplate allows for more clearance down around the foot of the bowl.

You are now ready to remount and finish your bowl.

Green turning has some major advantages over turning dry wood. 1. It is easier to turn wet wood. 2. There is less dust. 3. Finding large pieces of dry wood free of defects and flaws would be hard. 4. I can use wood species and sizes of wood that are not found on the commercial market.

There is a final reason and probably the most important reason to use green wood: I get to control the wood blank. If I go out and buy bowl blanks I’ve let someone else make all the artistic decisions. Michael Elkan’s book “Reading the Wood” says it all. How I cut the bowl blank out of the tree determines what the finished bowl will look like. If someone else cuts the bowl blank out of the tree, they make the artistic decisions. I want to make these decisions on my bowls. I want to “Read the Tree” and cut my blanks out. I am then responsible for what the finished bowl looks like. I want to cut for the prettiest bowls not the most bowls out of a given tree.

How much water is in green wood? I wanted to see how much water was in a block of wood. So I took a fresh cut blank of Black Oak and weighed it at every step of the process. The block was 8” thick and 18” square. Fresh from the tree it weighed 99 lbs. I band sawed it round. It weighed 69 lbs. I roughed it out the same day. It weighed 21 lbs. It took about 2 ½ years to dry. The dry roughed out blank weighed 10 lbs. Note that more than 50% of the weight of the blank was water. The finished bowl weighed about 3 lbs. Simply roughing out the solid blank got rid of nearly 80% of the weight and water the first day and it allowed the blank to move and dry successfully without cracking.

I encourage you to join the American Association of Woodturners. It is an organization dedicated to the education of woodturning. It is a great resource for skills, tools and mentors. Learning how to read and work wood has been a good path in life. I encourage you to walk down this path. Besides, everyone can turn a bowl.

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2017 FALL CHALLENGE

The challenge this fall is to produce a turning which is inspired by Neil Turner, our demonstrator at the September meeting.

You may choose to copy one of his works (so long as you never sell it!) or produce your own interpretation of one of his pieces. Alternatively, you might produce a turning which incorporates one of Neil’s turning or carving techniques or one which is inspired by a comment he makes during his demonstration.

As should be clear, this challenge is deliberately open-ended. Feel free to let loose! The results will be presented at the November meeting.

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EMBELLISHMENT & COLOURING WORKSHOPS: ART LIESTMAN

Art Liestman is offering day-long workshops in Vancouver on a wide range of embellishment and colouring techniques that he has developed over the past decade. These include texturing by burning, pyrography, creating patterns with rotary tools and various colouring practices using acrylic paints

Five Guild members attended one of these workshops in August and all report that it was an extremely informative and inspirational day. The next classes will take place in late October or November. If you are interested in organizing a group to attend one of these workshops, contact Art at artliestman@shaw.ca.

For those who are not familiar with him, Art is an internationally renowned turner. A frequent demonstrator at AAW and Regional symposia, he has also taught at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and, most recently, at the Escoulen School in France where he delivered a course for professional woodturners. For more information on Art (and his art), see his website at http://www.artliestman.com/.

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PARTING OFF

Thanks to all those who contribute their time and expertise to the Guild and especially to those

who serve on the Executive who bring it all together.

And a special thanks to Steve W for his thankless work in organizing Dixie Biggs visit and his

immense skill at herding cats!

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CONCLUDING THOT

The next time someone wants to borrow your truck to get some wood………………………..

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