May Demonstrator

Maui Koa Crotch Calabash
Emiliano Acheval
Our May meeting will be another Zoom-based remote demonstration; this time featuring Emiliano Achaval from Maui. Emiliano has demonstrated at the AAW Symposium and is a contributing writer for Woodturning Magazine. During this virtual meeting he will demonstrate how to turn a historically accurate “Hawaiian Calabash”, which is a round bottomed bowl with a pleasing curved form
that is slightly narrower at the top. When Captain Cook first sailed to Hawaii he found the people there already making these magnificent bowls at a level that was probably beyond what was being done in Europe at the time. In addition to turning the calabash, Emiliano will demonstrate how to make repairs and stabilize cracks in the side of a bowl using a butterfly-shaped inlay. This will be useful to many of us since the woods that we use here in the Pacific Northwest can often crack. The ability to use what Emiliano calls a “pewa” patch to repair such a crack can turn a disaster into a design opportunity that enhances the beauty of the bowl.