AAW Message

Note -The following message is from the AAW

The Rocky Mountain Woodturners are happy to announce our annual woodturning symposium to be held on September 8th and 9th, 2012. It will once again be at The Ranch/Larimer County Fairgrounds, Loveland, Colorado.

This year we have expanded the event to have early registration on Friday, September 7th, from 2 until 6 PM. Meet and greet the demonstrators on Friday, 6-8 PM, at the Loveland Woodcraft store. There will be a total of 42 excellent demonstrations during Saturday and Sunday. Featured demonstrators include J. Paul Fennell, John Jordan, Johannes Michelsen, Trent Bosch, Cindy Drozda, Steve Worcester, Rex Burningham, Robert Boettcher, Gordon Dekrey and Doug Schneiter. Also included is a large trade show, instant gallery, banquet, and live auction Saturday evening conducted by a professional auctioneer. A lunch package is also available. Please check the website for up-to-date information.

Registration is now open, with a discount if postmarked by September 1st. We hope you can join us. It is a great opportunity to meet fellow woodturners in a relaxing environment while you learn the latest techniques from some of the best woodturners in the field. Visit the website for more details and instructions regarding registration. It will be continually updated as details are finalized.

Dale Bonertz
Rocky Mountain Woodturning Symposium
September 8th and 9th, 2012
The Ranch/Larimer County Fairgrounds
Loveland, Colorado
Rmwoodturningsymposium.com

AAW / chapter profile / Message / symposiums / woodturning events

July 2012 Woodturning Fundamentals

The latest edition of the AAW Woodturning Fundamentals recently came out and here is a summary of what you will find:

  • A question from Ferdinand about what he really needs to buy in order to be able to turn. Kurt Hertzog’s reply indicates that beyond access to a lathe, one can start pretty simply
  • A question from Charles about turning an end-grain bowl from the entire width of a branch. Kurt replies with potential consequences and ways to deal with them
  • Part II of Dealing with Green Wood by Joe Herrmann. In this article Joe explains the steps for turning a log into lathe ready blanks
  • Part II of Setting Up Your Workstation by Rob Wallace. Rob covers adjusting the lathe itself and the area around it to match your body to your technique
  • A couple of quick video tips – How to turn a Straight Cylinder & How to turn a Tapered Cylinder

Woodturning Fundamentals is a nice compliment to the bi-monthly American Woodturner, especially for those of us who are newer turners. This is just one more benefit of membership in the AAW.
You can sign up for Woodturning Fundamentals here.

AAW / newsletter / techniques / tools

Annual Picnic and Wood Auction

Here we go again. The sun is out. The weather is beautiful. (Finally.) And, it is PICNIC AND WOOD AUCTION TIME.

The picnic will again be held at the North Lake Improvement Club. It is located at 33228 38th Ave South, Federal Way (actually Auburn).

Remember, this is a family event and it is also a Potluck affair. It is also a wood auction. So bring your favorite dish(es) and join us for a day of fun.

Directions to Picnic:

From the South on I-5: Take Exit 142A, WA18-Auburn, take the Weyerhaeuser Way S exit. Turn left on Weyerhaeuser Way S (go 0.4 mi). Turn right on 33rd Pl S (go 0.3 mi). Continue on 334th St (go 0.1 mi). Bear left on 38th Ave S (go 0.1 mi). You have arrived.

From the North on I-5: Take Exit 142A, WA18-Auburn, take the Weyerhaeuser Way S exit. Turn left on Weyerhaeuser Way S (go 0.4 mi). Turn right on 33rd Pl S (go 0.3 mi). Continue on 334th St (go 0.1 mi). Bear left on 38th Ave S (go 0.1 mi). You have arrived.

From SR167: Take WA18 West (go 3.1 mi). Take the Weyerhaeuser Way S exit. Turn right on Weyerhaeuser Way S (go 0.3 mi). Turn right on 33rd Pl S (go 0.3 mi). Continue on 334th St (go 0.1 mi). Bear left on 38th Ave S (go 0.1 mi). You have arrived.

Better yet, type this address into your GPS: 33228 38th Ave S, Federal Way, WA. Looking forward to seeing all of you there. Bring your family and lots of food. It should be a great time with lots to eat and plenty of people to visit.

[mappress mapid=”4″]

Membership / woodturning events

Pen Turners Chapter Meeting

The local chapter of the International Association of Penturners is holding their next meeting on July 8th from 1 to 3, at Woodcraft in Seattle.

At this meeting there will be a demonstration on making a mandrel to hold a closed end pen. The mandrel will be for a Navigator style pen but the technique can be used for other styles of pen also.

As usual bring any pens you’ve made for show and tell, and any pen blanks you may want to trade.

Woodcraft is located at:
5963 Corson Ave S # 120
Seattle, WA 98108
(206) 767-6394

[mappress mapid=”3″]

chapter profile / demonstrator / techniques

What’s Happening at Other Chapters

The Northwest Woodturners in Beaverton, Oregon will be meeting on July 5th at the former Hollywood video store at the mall. The meeting will feature Terry Gerros demonstrating salt shakers.

The Inland Northwest Woodturners in Spokane Valley are taking July off but will meet again in August.

The Seattle Woodturners next meeting on July 12th will feature a tool swap.

The Fraser Valley Woodturners Guild in Abbotsford, B.C. is on their summer break and will meet again in September.

Elling Hoem
The Willamette Valley Woodturners in Salem, Oregon will be meeting July 12th. WVW’s own Elling Hoem will give a presentation about Safety on the Lathe.

The Beaver State Woodturners in Eugene, Oregon will be meeting July 26th. The program for the evening has not yet been announced.

The Northwest Washington Woodturners are hosting their second annual Camping and Outdoor Woodturning Rendezvous on July 16th – 18th at the Ellensburg, Rodeo grounds North RV lot [Kittitas Valley Event Center]. Join in for an unstructured camping and turning get together. Bring your mini lathe. Come early and stay late. Plan to be entertained by Don Derry on the 17th.

Eli Evisera
The Cascade Woodturners will hold their next meeting on July 19th with a demonstration by Eli Evisera at the Franklin High School wood shop. There will also be and all-day demonstration by Eli at Dale Larson’s shop.

The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners are meeting on July 25th and will also be hosting a demonstration by Eli Evisera. They will also have a two-day turning class with Eli on the 26th and 27th.

The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild in Vancouver, B.C. is also on their summer break and will meet again in September.

The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island is also on their summer break and will meet again in September.

chapter profile / Membership Meeting

Going in Reverse

If you have had the opportunity to turn on a lathe that has reverse capability you may have discovered how the sanding process can be improved in reverse. Some of you can get a beautiful finish with just your skew (Eric!) but most of us still have to sand. There are a few folks who also do part of their turning in reverse. There is a discussion on the Sawmill Creek forum about this.

I had the opportunity to use a lathe with reverse during a woodturning class I took from SPSW member Ed Quesnell at Ted Bartholomew’s shop. I have a Jet 1014VSI mini-lathe which does not have reverse. However, there are some instructions on the web for installing a reverse switch on this lathe. The Front Range Woodturners has a file written by Brandon Mackie based on instructions written by Bruce Perry. The Gulf Coast Woodturners has one written by Mack DeBose. There may be others, but these are the most common.

One thing I noticed on these instructions is that they appear to bypass the breaker switch. I’m not sure if this would potentially cause damage, but I know from experience that that breaker does go off when there is strain on the motor. So I decided to look for an alternative.

As it happens, the American Woodturner issue in December 2011 had an article titled “Add Reverse to a Mini Lathe”. The directions here do not get into the controller box to add the switch, but cuts into the line from the controller box to the motor and adds a switch. This appeared to be more straight forward to me and I could always rebuild, or replace, the motor cable.

So off I went in pursuit of the materials and will say that I have experienced success. My mini lathe now rotates in both directions!

Now for the disclaimers, or more accurately, the AAW disclaimers. In the February 2012 issue of American Woodturner there was a follow on article: “Warning On: ‘Add Reverse to a Mini Lathe’”. These include

  1. A warning NOT to change the reversing switch while the lathe is running. Use the main power switch to turn off the motor before changing the direction.
  2. Use precautions to secure the chuck or faceplate to the spindle before using the lathe in reverse.
  3. Make sure that the handwheel grub screw is tight or the handwheel could come loose and potentially cause damage to the bearings.

If you are wanting to try reversing your mini lathe and are somewhat adventurous, check out these resources and you too can go backwards.

Lathes / reviews / safety