1

The city of Costa Mesa in the months of July, and August was the Mecca of deep fried food, farm yard animals, and scary carnival rides as the Orange County Fair was in full bloom, and it was also the site of the fourteenth edition of the Fine Art Woodworking Show.

There were more than two hundred entries in the show this year, and as usual, the OC Fair staff did a fantastic job in creating a wonderful gallery atmosphere.

I want to thank all of the OCWA members who donated their time, and talents to manning the OCWA Booth at the Show. You did a great job, and our booth was a big hit.

I also want to thank Dan Stephens, Barbara Thompson, and Sarah Breucop for their hospitality, and making us feel most welcome. We had a great time.

Special Edition of the Newsletter Not only did our Newsletter editor, Mr. David Tilson, spearhead our special project in our booth at the Fair, but he is also planning a special Fair issue of the Newsletter for September, which will have plenty of photos of this year’s show, and all of the statistics of who won what. It will hearken back to our extravaganza Fair issues of the past, so you can guess that it will be quite large. Maybe there will even be a photo of the Ol’ Prez some-where in it too.

Maloof Tour On June 29th, not only was it my thirty-ninth birthday, again, but I also had the privilege to tag along with twenty-two intrepid OCWA members as they braved their way to the rugged foothills of Cucamonga California to visit the true Mecca of woodworking, Sam Maloof’s house.

It was a bit odd and a bit emotional for me not having Sam there, but the Docents were great, and we got to spend some time in the shop with Mike Johnson who is one of the three artisans carrying on Sam’s tradition of fine furniture, so it was a real treat to talk with him, and share some stories about Sam. I think it’s safe to say that everyone enjoyed themselves.

If you’ve never been there it is well worth the trip as there is so much to see. Sam and Freda were quite the collectors of object d’art, and a beautiful collec-tion it is, so if you get the chance to go, take it. You’ll be glad you did.

Show and Tell After being around all of the beautiful woodworking that was being exhibited at the Fair I’m finding that I just can’t get enough, so if you’ve been holding out on bringing your fantastic pieces to our Show and Tell table, well, hold out no more.

C’mon bring those pieces in, and let us see what you’ve been working on in your shop. I’m dying to see what you folks have been up to, so long as its woodworking of course.

(Continued on page 2)

Volume 30Volume 30 Issue 8Issue 8 August 2013August 2013

I N T H I S I S S U E

President’s Message 1

Woodworkers’ Sawdust 2

Woodturners’ Shavings 3

Calendar of Events 3

Show and Tell 4

Toy Story 5

Freedom Pen Project 6

The O.C. Fair 7

Meeting Dates 8

President’s MessagePresident’s Message James SanthonJames Santhon

2

The OCWA’s August presentation will feature Larry McCutcheon of Huntington Beach Uku-lele Company talking about how ukuleles are made. Since most people want to know how the sides are bent, he plans to bend a couple of sides in real time. The H.B. Ukelele Co. aspires to be a production shop, so he’ll also bring a few fixtures and jigs to show how the process proceeds, as well as discussing a bit about how they got dovetail joinery to work for them as a quick, accurate and sound joint. As always, there will be plenty of woodworking and finishing tips, with a Q & A session to follow.

- Greg Madrigal

Push Sticks You have heard me extol the virtues of using push sticks rather than your fingers many times, but I have made the startling discovery that push sticks can be very dangerous too.

The other day while at work I was thirty feet behind our main table saw looking through the plywood bin when my helper, who was using a push stick to remove a piece of wood riding next to the blade, launched the push stick like a missile right at me.

Of course my back was to the saw, so I didn’t see it coming, but I heard it as it crashed into the plywood next to me missing me by a couple of inches. Had his aim been true you would probably have a new Prez, but he missed, so you’re still stuck with me.

It’s always a good idea not to be directly behind a table saw when someone is working there, because you never know what’s going to be coming at you at any given moment.

- James Santhon

(Continued from page 1)

Welcome Welcome -- New Members!New Members!

Jeff Hall Cypress

Interest: Woodturning

Steven Jackson Bellflower

• C L U B O F F I C E R S & C O M M I T T E E S •

Board of Directors Club Committees Woodturners Committees

President James Santhon 949-481-2821 Badges Len Musgrave 714-532-4778 Outside Programs Bill Haskell 714-528-4783

Vice President Greg Madrigal 714-539-1818 Mentor Chairman Fred Wilmott 949-367-6671 Challenge Dick Foreman 714-637-6175

Treasurer Ralph Crowther 949-588-2922 Webmaster Larry Marley 949-412-6710 Special Projects Jerry Nininger 949-631-7530

Secretary Jerry Nininger 949-631-7530 Toy Program Bill Rogers 714-637-2912 Pen Projects John Marshall 949-582-2997

Turners President Robin Hoff 714-505-2688 Refreshments Jim Steinmetz 714-842-8793 Audio/Video Ralph Alder 714-614-4461

Public Affairs Larry Marley 949-412-6710 Resources George Plummer 714-540-4527 50/50 Drawing Al Whitcomb 714-931-0555

Director at Large John Marshall 949-582-2997 Library Ollie Vaughan 949-278-5939 50/50 Drawing Bill Rogers 714-637-2912

2nd Director at Large Ollie Vaughn 949-278-5939 Welcome Art Dunbar 714-536-4568 Refreshments Jim Steinmetz 714-842-8793

Director at Large Al Missbrenner 562-866-2873 Newsletter David Tilson 714-330-4786 Wood Supplies Jeanette Gonzales 562-417-7750

Property Master Ralph Alder 714-614-4461

Woodworkers’ SawdustWoodworkers’ Sawdust Greg MadrigalGreg Madrigal

3

Not a great deal to comment on for this month’s newsletter. As many of you already know our own Bob Gibbs is now a guest pen columnist in the Woodturning Design Magazine. He tells me it is a one year commitment. Way to go Bob.

The July meeting was a lot of fun and somewhat different. Those of you that brought your fa-vorite tools, jigs and what not certainly contributed to a most interesting evening. This should be an annual event.

Hal Metlitsky’s really big ribbon as the People’s Choice winner at the recently concluded AAW symposium in Tampa FL was not only recognition of his superior turning ability but also a feather in our cap for having him as a member of our club.

The OC fair marches on. Our newsletter editor says next month’s issue will be a Fair omnibus edition. I do hope some of you that have not signed up for a slot will take a look at the club website and get on the list. We have quite a few vacant slots just waiting for you.

I have had mixed reports on the condition of the Nova lathe. Is it getting past its “sell by” date? Also, I un-derstand that we might need an additional tool rest or two. What sizes? What happened to the tail stock quill handle? A machine nut is a field expedient at best. You really don’t need to tighten it, the handle, so hard that the 3”x 12” Oak spindle starts to bow.

I think we need a “Member Resource” page on our web site. I offer the following initial entries for your con-sideration and as also as responses to member questions over the past few months.

Where can you get plastic products and material? • Paragon Plastics, 1908 E McFadden Ave, Santa Ana 92705 (714) 835-8181

Name two local OC metal suppliers for aluminum and steel in small or modest quantities. • Schorr Metals, 837 S Kramer Bl., Placentia 92780 (714) 630-1962 • Industrial Metal Supply Co, 2481 Alton Parkway, Irvine 92606 (949) 250-3343

Name two excellent lathe tool makers that do NOT sell through traditional outlets or stores. • D-Way Tools, Dave Schweitzer, (360) 432-9509. Dave is a great guy and a super turner and teacher. Call him with any questions. See his web site for lots of good information. • Thompson Lathe Tools, Doug Thompson, (440) 241-6360. Call Doug in Ohio. He is always happy to answer questions about his tools.

Besides the chain stores where can one find a variety of art supplies? • Art Supply Warehouse, 6672 Westminster Bl., Westminster (714) 891-3626 You really need to walk the aisles in this place. Amazing!

Turn safely!

- ROBIN

Woodturners’ ShavingsWoodturners’ Shavings Robin HoffRobin Hoff

• M A R K Y O U R C A L E N D A R •

Monthly Toy Workshop Bill Rogers’ House Aug. 3, 9:00-Noon

Last Day of the OC Fair Costa Mesa Aug. 11

Pick-Up of OC Fair Entries Costa Mesa Aug. 12, Noon to 7 PM

Old Tool Swap Meet at Anderson Plywood (Culver City) Culver City Aug. 17

Old Tool Swap Meet at Arroyo Hardwoods Pasadena Sept. 14

Frank Klausz at S. D. Fine Woodworkers’ Fall Seminar San Diego Sept. 20-22

Jimmy Clewes Woodturning Demo Laguna Tools, Irvine Oct. 26

4

Show & Tell PhotosShow & Tell Photos

5

The July Toy Workshop had the usual group of yel-low hats on a beautiful sunny day. We had a great group of very energetic workers who were ready to work. Ed Smet had his usual 40 or so parts for the keepsake boxes with the nice veneered tops to as-semble. The sanding group was busy sanding legs and paws for the pull toys made by Allen. The finishing group was busy spraying the keepsake boxes, legs, arms and the duck bodies and wheels. Roger Balling had the guys making parts for his seal pull toy. George Beach brought about 200 heart boxes for the spraying group to finish. I must say that after making over 2,000 heart boxes over the years I think George has finally reached perfection.

Every heart box was flawless and finish was a pleasure to apply. George put on a coat of shellac at home and that sealed the wood and it took only one coat of Deft to do the job. We also had Debbie Scott, Mag Musgrave, Rachel Kalman and Mrs. Carr making handkerchief dolls for the baby cradles. If your wife or significant other is interested in making some dolls for the cradles please feel free to attend the workshop. We will have material and supplies and the expertise to teach you how to make them. We have about 200 cradles and dolls so far and we hope to have many more by years end. Harvey Carr was back this month after a two month absence for by pass surgery. That’s a real trooper taking only two months to get back into shape. We also had several new members attend the workshop and they had a great time and will be back in August.

See you all again on August 3rd from 9 AM 'til noon.

- Bill Rogers

Toy StoryToy Story Bill RogersBill Rogers

6

“Come And Get It”

This Orange County Fair motto also applies to our pen program, so come and get some pen kits and blanks, finish them so we can show our support for our military personnel. To date we have 1711 finished pens turned in and Eric Thorson is still in the lead. Again we would like to thank Jim Anderson, Joe Kaufman and his daughter, LCR Kendra Kaufman, for all of their help in distributing the pens.

Congratulations to our “pen-man” Bob Gibbs for his Seed Pod Blanks, and associated article in the August issue Woodturning Design.

We have had numerous e-mails from our troops abroad as well from the Wounded Warrior Program thank-ing us for our pens and for thinking of them. In closing, I have attached an e-mail that was quite interest-ing. After you read it, I am sure you will have a great appreciation for our Pen Program and that it is well worth while and we hope for your continued support.

Stay Healthy and Keep Turning

- John Marshall

Hi there, I know you don't know me but I wanted to email you to say thank you very much for my pen. I imagine it must seem a small thing for you but it really is something large for me. Part of being in wounded warrior is learning how to interview and preparing to leave active service and I'll admit I've not been the best at these two things... Actually, I might be the worst. I always felt like a high schooler, immature and unprepared for the real world but this pen, this beautiful hand crafted jem gives me confidence that I may just be the right woman to one day work in an actual office. I carry it with me everywhere, a small reminder that someone, somewhere thinks I'm special enough to make something for. I absolutely love it. Thank you so so much for it and please tell Mr. Seldon Warner that his gift has truly helped me on the way to finding a new, non military version of my-self.

Thank you again! Sincerely, Katrina Thulin

Freedom Pen ProjectFreedom Pen Project John MarshallJohn Marshall

7

Graeme came to us all the way from New Zealand to do an all day demon-stration on July 27th, hosted at Rockler of Orange by Guy Willacker. New Zealand is composed of two islands, the North Island and the South Island. They call Australia the West Island. Much of Graeme's work is inspired by the land-scapes and wild life in New Zealand along with fish-ing, surfing and sailing. Much of his work is made as a boat form or a shell form, but he doesn't do a 100% representation because he doesn't want it to be immediately recognizable; he wants you to have to imagine it. Much of New Zealand culture, stories and history have been passed down through carv-ing and woodworking, which is much more reliable than the spoken word.

Graeme passed around several magazines and tourist information about New Zealand so that we could see what the place looked like. He also passed around a book that he recommends called Thinking Visually by Robert H. McKim that gives some good ways to think about design. I think I am going to have to get that book, looks like a good one.

After telling us that there are no rules in woodturn-ing - there are guidelines - but no rules, Graeme emphasized that there are only three rules for woodturning (yes, he had a sense of humor). By the way, he has a thing about the number 3. If you ask him any question referring to math or a formula, his answer will always be 3 or number 3. How fast is the lathe turning? 3. What size gouge are you using? #3. Anyway, back to the 3 rules … wood grain, sharp edge and bevel.

You have to know about the wood grain. Are you turning end grain or long grain? You need to know because you will cut each differently. Are there fea-tures or defects in the wood (which he calls timber) that you want to hide or enhance? Are you using a species of timber that will do what you want it to do? Wood is a lifetime study.

You have to turn with a sharp edge. Graeme be-lieves that you should be able to sharpen your own

tools before you are allowed to own a lathe. Graeme says that a 120 grit white stone is sufficient to sharpen your tools and no buffing is required. For safety, always ring test your stones before installing them on your grinder (that checks for fractured stones) and never stand in front of the grinder when you turn it on.

Graeme's favorite tools are from Glaser, D-Way and Thompson because they hold an edge longer and better than other brands. He says you don't want to be semi-good with a lot of tools, but you should be really good with a few basic tools. Many people that have a lot of tools end up only using a few of them anyway. If you practice and get good enough with a few tools, then you don't have to think about how to hold them or how to stand, etc. Your mind is free to create.

The last rule is the bevel. You have all heard to "rub the bevel." The bevel must engage and rub the wood to control the cut. What bevel is best?

#3 of course. A sharper bevel angle will allow heat and friction to dull the tool faster and make it more difficult to properly cut the bottom of a bowl. A flat-ter bevel will hold an edge longer.

Never forget safety. There have been several acci-dents in the last few years where people were killed or seriously injured from woodturning. Always con-sider how the wood is mounted, where you are standing, what the lathe speed is and what are your personal responsibilities. Correct lathe speed de-pends on the wood, the size and the balance. What speed is best? #3 of course. Don't forget to wear a dust mask when sanding. Graeme likes the Dust-B-Gone mask because he can wash it and reuse it. When it is hot, he can use it while it is wet where it cools him down and even works better at catching dust.

To be good at woodturning, you need to hold the tool with your arms locked against your body and let the movement from your hips, knees and feet control the movement of the tool. One of Graeme's favorite pastimes, Salsa dancing, will give you good

Graeme Priddle Demonstration Don ScottDon Scott

8

practice for being a woodturner.

Graeme has been able to make a liv-ing as a wood-turner in a country that has more woodturners per capita than any-where else in the world. New Zealand has a population of about 4 million people, yet there are over 50 woodturning clubs. That makes it very difficult to make a living doing woodturning there.

For design, you want to have smooth curves and don't let the base of the bowl be any larger than 1/3 the diameter of the bowl. Five years of craft shows has allowed Graeme to watch people come into his booth and see which bowl they go to first. Which ones they pick up and handle and which ones they don't bother with. You don't want a bowl with a large base, trust him on this. The form of the bowl is the most important element, even more important than the quality of the wood or the quality of the workmanship. If people aren't interested enough to look at the bowl, how will they ever decide to buy it?

To get the best workmanship, you need to practice, practice, practice. When you are making rough cuts on your bowl, make each cut a practice for the final finish cut. By the time you get to the finish cut, you will be ready for it and be better at it. Always touch up your tool on the grinder before the finish cut to make it as clean as possible. If you ever have to remove a piece from the lathe that you think you might want to put back on later, make sure you mark where the #3 jaw lines up so you can get it as close as possible back to the original position.

When you are sanding your projects, Graeme warns to keep your sandpaper grits, steel wool, fin-ishes and oil separated so they don't get contami-nated with larger grits. Nothing worse than sanding with 600 grit paper and getting 180 grit scratches in your surface from particles left on your finer sand-paper. Now that you are done turning, you are ready for surface enhancement through grinding or

burning. Graeme has done some extensive wood burning on his artwork and has developed many of his own burning tips (that he calls brands, like in branding a cow) and techniques.

First, after looking at all the professional wood burn-ing machines available on the market, he hasn't found any that will supply him with the power that he needs, so he built his own from a car battery charger. A wood burner is just a transformer with a way to control the input or output voltage. That is exactly what a battery charger is. He placed a Lu-tron D-600-PH-DK Single Pole 600 watt Rotary Dimmer Switch on the 110v side of the charger to vary the input voltage which creates a variable out-put voltage. Then he created his own handles with PVC pipe using extra heavy wire (Monster Speaker wire) to better transfer the power. He then pur-chases Ni-Chrome wire of different gages (16 to 18 gage is good to start) to make his own brands to create textures on the surface of his turnings. When you are forming the Ni-Chrome wire, you have one shot at forming it cold. After that, you

need to heat it up with the charger to get it to be cherry red to be able to reform it without work-hardening and breaking the wire.

When you start burning, you need to constantly clean your brand to keep the carbon from building up and distorting the pattern. A small wire brush works well for this. Graeme doesn't use wood burning in the traditional sense. He uses it to cre-ate texture on the piece. Since the burning process leaves charred areas, he will frequently use carbon-black artist quality paint (Graeme likes Golden paints) and a toothbrush to blacken the whole area, providing a consistent matte black surface with tex-ture. Sometimes he will use other colors to fill in the brand texture with color. Paint can be applied as a wash or several layers can be applied until you like it. You also want to use textures on the top and bottom of your pieces to give balance. You can use many different items as brands. Just wrap a loop of Ni-Chrome wire that will hold various items such as burrs, nails (grind the heads to your shape), small tubing, etc. to create these custom brands.

Graeme signs all his pieces on the bottom with ar-chival quality ink pens. He doesn't use a Sharpie

9

because it will fade over time and it is not truly black. Include the timbers used, date, any special circumstances and of course your name.

Another method for applying texture to your project is to use rotary grinders. Air tools work the best, but they are air hogs and you need a compressor that will keep up with the requirements of the tool. Some air tools use up to 16 CFM and it takes a hefty three stage compressor to maintain that rate. You can also look into a compressor with a con-stant run facility to prevent the constant start/stop cycle which is not good for the motor. Make sure you use sufficient water traps to keep moisture from accumulating in the lines and being sprayed on your work. Another option is the electric type of rotary grinders, but these are more expensive. It is easier to have several air tools, each with a differ-ent bit when working on a large project. In the ro-tary grinders, you can use many assorted burrs (available at www.riogrande.com. Go to the site and search for burrs). Graeme uses high speed steel burrs because even though they don't last as long as carbide, they cut cleaner and are cheaper. You can clean the excess carbon from the wood burning and wood fuzz from the grinding with a ro-tary bristle brush available in various grits (available from Harvey Klein at woodturner2@hotmail.com). The bristle brush can also be used to expose some wood through the burned areas. You can use cup cutters or ball cutters or any other shape that will give you the texture you are looking for.

Another method is to use masking techniques to con-trol where paint is applied. Self heal-ing cutting boards (found in fabric shops) are helpful

for making masks. You can use leather punches to make assorted sized circles to apply to your project. Auto-detailing tape works quite well for narrow lines.

When applying textures, you want them to be ran-dom, but not true random. Organized random is better as it is pleasing to the eye. Use a strong cross light to make the texture more visible while you are working on it.

Another method for textures is to use acrylic mold-ing paste (available at Michael's or Hobby Lobby) to

apply bumps on the surface of your turnings. Buy the extra heavy gel and you can thin it to the con-sistency that you want instead of stocking several different consistencies. You can mix the paste with various acrylic colors or paint the entire surface af-ter applying the bumps. You can even apply the paste as a coating and then scribble through it with some type of stylus to make a different texture.

Now that you have been exposed to many methods to make textures on your work, use variations and combinations to make something different.

Graeme then proceeded to turn another bowl in the afternoon and everyone was adamant to let him know that the lathe was running in reverse. He just simply placed the gouge under the tool rest and started removing wood. He did this to demonstrate that if you understand the three rules of wood turn-ing - wood grain, sharp edge and bevel that you can do anything. What a great demonstration! Those that were fortunate enough to attend have certainly had the bar raised for them. THANK YOU Graeme!

Friends of OCWA — Please Support Our Sponsors

P.O. Box 1038 Fullerton CA 92836-8038

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Anderson International Trading

(800) 454-6270 www.AITWood.com

Deft, Inc.

www.DeftFinishes.com

Laguna Tools

(800) 234-1976 www.LagunaTools.com

Rockler Woodworking & Hardware (714) 282-1157

www.Rockler20.com

Austin Hardwood & Hardware

(714) 953-4000 AustinHardwoodsOnline.com

Exotic Woods USA

(631) 651-8651 www.ExoticWoodsUSA.com

Reel Lumber Service

(714) 632-1988 www.ReelLumber.com

Festool

www.FestoolUSA.com

Craft Supplies, USA

(800)551-8876 www.WoodturnersCatalog.com

Industrial Blade & Products Co.

www.IndustrialBlade.net

Renaissance Doors & Windows

(888) 283-0722

RenaissanceDoorsAndWindows.com

Woodcraft Supply

(714) 899-1422 www.Woodcraft.com

WHERE?

Tustin Senior Center 200 S. “C” Street Tustin, CA 92680

WHEN?

Woodworkers’ Meeting Thursday August 1, 7:00 PM

Woodturners’ Meeting Thursday August 15, 6:30 PM

Board Meeting Thursday August 1, 6:00 PM

Sawdust &

Shavings

Is The Monthly Newsletter of

The Orange County

Woodworkers Association

Visit us on the Web at: OCWoodWorkers.com

Sawdust & Shavings is pub-lished monthly before the Woodworkers Meeting. The deadline for submissions is the Monday after the Turner’s meeting.

Do you have an idea for an article, shop tip, or tool review? Please contact the editor at:

library@davidtilson.com