We posted in late December about the AWGB sponsoring a collaboration of turners to celebrate the contributions of Ray Key to the art of woodturning. A total of 124 world-class turners agreed to take part in the project and so far 118 pieces have been returned. The AWGB have posted pictures of these and the results are absolutely stunning. If you are a fan of turned items you need to take a look the the Ray Key Collaboration page on the AWGB website.
Tool Swap and Bowl Blank Sale
Russell Neyman of The Woodturning Experience in Port Orchard and Steve Bartocci of The Board Hoarder in Kirkland are holding a two-day tool swap and bowl blank sale at Russell’s Port Orchard studio. The event is scheduled for June 1st and 2nd and is open to anyone that is interested. We have been told that there will be at least two lathes for sale. See the flyers for more information.
May Meeting Demonstrator
This month our own Roy Lane will demonstrate his system that could be called Hollowing for the frugal Woodturner. Roy makes his own tools and uses them to achieve remarkable results.
What’s Happening at Other Chapters
The Inland Northwest Woodturners are meeting May 2nd at the Woodcraft in Spokane Valley. Dan Chadwick will continue the 3 month, multi-demonstrator section on log to finished bowl. Dan will take a dried, rough-turned bowl and finish turning and sanding to a finishable product. BTW, the franchisee of the Woodcraft store where the chapter meets is trying to sell. If a buyer is not found the store will close permanently.
The Northwest Woodturners in Beaverton, Oregon are meeting on May 2nd. Jay Shepard will demonstrate making a blank into a high-gloss hollow form in 90 minutes.
The Willamette Valley Woodturners in Salem, Oregon will be meeting on May 9th. The program for the evening has not been announced.
The Frasier Valley Woodturners Guild are meeting on May 9th. Ed Pretty will present “Sharpening and Techniques for individual tools”.
The Seattle Woodturners are meeting May 9th. Andy Firpo will demonstrate “Pens from start to finish”.
The Mid-Columbia Woodturners are meeting on May 11th. Kristin LeVier will be presenting an all-day demo on “Things I wish I had known”.
The Woodturners of Olympia are meeting on May 14th. This is a turn and learn meeting with demonstrations on sharpening, skews, scrapers, gouges and hollowing tools.
The Northwest Washington Woodturners in Mt. Vernon are meeting on May 16th. The program for the evening has not been announced.
The Cascade Woodturners in Portland, OR are meeting on May 16th. Andi Wolfe will demonstrate texturing using both pyrography and carving/scorching, coloring techniques using acrylic paints, and creating a metal patina effect on a textured surface. Andi will provide and all-day demonstration on Friday and a hands-on class on Saturday.
The Southwest Washington Woodturners will be meeting on May 23rd at the Friends of the Carpenter. Dan Tilden will demonstrate natural edge hollow forms.
The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild in Vancouver, B.C. are meeting on May 23rd. Steve Hansen will demonstrate “Teach your chuck new tricks/three sided bowl” and Claudia Hayward will demonstrate “Skewing a spindle”.
The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island are meeting on May 25th at the Central Saanich Seniors Citizen Centre in Brentwood Bay, B.C. The program for the afternoon has not been announced.
The Strait Turners in Sequim are meeting on May 28th. The demonstrator for the evening has not been announced.
The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners holding will be meeting on May 29th at the Kitsap Adventist School Gymnasium. Stephen Hatcher will demonstrate “how do you do that?”.
This month Dave Best will complete his demonstration on video guided hollowing. British Woodturner of the Year
I’m not sure if there has been such a contest in the U.S., but the GMC Publications and the Woodworker’s Institute are holding a British Woodturner of the Year competition. There are three categories:
- Young Woodturners – open to turners aged 18 or younger
- Amateur Woodturners – open to turners who don’t make any money turning
- Professional Woodturners – open to turners who earn some of all of their living from turning.
The contest is designed to highlight, promote and showcase quality, finely-crafted woodwork of various kinds and to provide an interactive experience with demonstrations of traditional woodworking skills.
Entries are due by Sunday April 14th. Selected entries will be displayed at an upcoming exhibition, Celebrating British Craft, held at the Oxo Gallery in London. More information can be found at the British Woodturner of the Year page.
