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May Demonstrator – Ken Conte
Ken took up woodturning in 2008 and has been a member of the AAW and the Woodturners of Olympia since then. He has served on the Board of the Woodturners of Olympia since he started turning and served as Club President from January 2014 through June 2018. Ken has lived and worked in Olympia most of his life. He retired in 2013 after a 35-year career in Washington State government.
In addition to general turning, Ken has always enjoyed finding ways to displays spheres. A few years ago, he took on the challenge of developing a method to make a sphere float in air. This led to him writing an article for the August 2022 edition of American Woodturner titled Levitating Spheres. Ken’s demonstration will show how he uses electromagnets and dipole magnets embedded in his turnings to make a sphere float in air. Due to time constraints, he won’t actually turn a sphere but, instead, will focus mostly on the steps he takes to prepare a sphere blank, dividing it in two and embedding a magnet in what will become the bottom of a sphere. He will discuss making the base that holds the electromagnet but, in less detail as it requires only basic woodturning skills.
April Sawdust Session
Even though our demo was on the 1st this month we are still holding our Sawdust Session on it’s normal date, April 22nd.
April Demonstrator – Note Meeting Date and Time
For April we are excited to present Glenn Lucas live from his Woodturning Study Center. Please note:
From Glenn’s website:
I’ve been turning wood since 1990. Starting as a production turner I worked to produce both classic-functional and one-off artistic pieces for homes and collections. Over the years I have been fortunate to learn from some of the most respected masters of my craft and I’m privileged to be able to pass that knowledge on.
At my Woodturning Study Centre in Co. Carlow, Ireland I teach all levels of ability in group classes and one-to-one tuition. Travelling the world for demonstrations and classes in woodturning, you can also watch me turn in your own workshop with my ‘Mastering Woodturning’ series of DVDs and downloadable videos. My website can be used to book classes, buy woodturning tools and DVDs, or purchases of my bowls. Send me your email and I will add you to my newsy ezine and we will keep in touch!
Newsletter e-Delivery
If you are signed up to receive our monthly newsletter, the Chips and Shavings, and you are using a Comcast email address we have been having issues for some time with delivery. This is the response from the email system when the newsletter goes out:
“all hosts for ‘comcast.net’ have been failing for a long time (and retry time not reached)”.
We also have issues with any email provided by Microsoft – hotmail, MSN, etc. as their spam filters are extremely tight.
If you are signed up for the newsletter with any of these providers you may want to try gmail as we seem to have the best delivery success there.
Remembering John Jordan
To the Woodturning Community,
It is with profound sadness that we share the news that John Jordan passed away Tuesday following an extended illness. John’s life-long contributions to the field of woodturning were foundational and deeply personal to us and everyone who knew him. John has been an integral part of AAW from the beginning and a voice in the original vision for an association of woodturners bound together around the ideals of openly sharing ideas, freely exchanging our methods and techniques, and learning by example. He lived those ideals. He was respected throughout his career and served on the AAW’s Board of Advisors, through which he excelled as a valued source of advice, ideas, and inspiration.
John’s turned and carved vessels are featured in numerous private and corporate collections, as well as the Public Collections of more than thirty museums. In 2012 he was given the honor as a Lifetime AAW Honorary Member. He was one of only two members present at every AAW International Woodturning Symposium.
In this moment, we cannot express with our words the wealth of what John left behind on our hearts. Always one of the first to seek out at an in-person woodturning event, his charm and good-natured sensibilities are legendary. We will miss him dearly. On behalf of the AAW family we express our deepest condolences to John’s family and loved ones in this difficult time.
Respectfully Yours,
Mike Summerer, AAW Board President
Phil McDonald, AAW Executive Director
February Membership Meeting
KND Woodworking is a small business operated out of the home of Dan and his wife Kate. They live along the Puyallup River in unincorporated Pierce County just off the Bonney Lake plateau. They started their business in 2007 and over the past 15+ years they have sold Dan’s work primarily at area farmers markets and local art and craft shows. The Neyens’ have both been involved with wood and wood products most of their working careers. Dan majored in Forestry and Wood Technology in college and then spent his working years in the structural wood products field. Kate worked in accounting and information technology her entire career for two of the nation’s largest wood products and structural wood products manufacturers.
Over the years Dan has made and sold a variety of home furnishings but now primarily focuses his efforts on making wooden cutting boards and a variety of kitchen furnishings/utensils. Today, most of their sales come through annual participation in five area juried art and craft shows.
