Threading Jig

Bonnie Klein has been a woodturner for many years. In 1986 she designed the Klein Lathe, a forerunner of today’s mini-lathes, which she sold for 20 years. In 1992 she introduced the Klein Threading Jig for cutting threads in wood.

If you were in attendance at the SPSW membership meeting in April 2011 you would have seen Bonnie Klein’s demonstration. Part of her demo was the use of the Klein Threading Jig. This simplified the process of cutting threads, but the jig is a bit pricey.

In this month’s newsletter from the Greater Vancouver Woodturning Guild is an article about GVWG member Robert Carlson who designed a shop built threading jig and created a presentation showing how it is used. If you have been contemplating buying, or attempting to build your own threading jig, you should check out the GVWG May Newsletter. In it is the article about Robert Carlson’s jig, with links to the plans and the presentation.

AAW / chapter profile / Jigs / newsletter / techniques

What’s Happening at Other Chapters

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The Northwest Woodturners in Beaverton, Oregon will be meeting on June 7th at the former Hollywood video store at the mall. The meeting will feature James Lynn demonstrating segmented turning. Also, kudos to the NWWT Library Committee for their great offerings. They reported that nearly 50 DVDs and books were checked out at their April meeting.

graeme priddle
Graeme Priddle
The Seattle Woodturners will be hosting Graeme Priddle at the VFW hall in Redmond for their monthly membership meeting on June 14th and for an all-day demo on the 16th. The subject of the demonstration on the 14th will be sculptural multi-center turnings. Saturday’s demo will be on Vessels of the South Pacific.

The Fraser Valley Woodturners Guild in Abbotsford, B.C. are holding their next meeting on June 7th. The meeting will feature a hands on session for members to build their skills turning gifts such as pens, bottle stoppers, letter openers, fridge magnets.

The Willamette Valley Woodturners in Salem, Oregon will be meeting June 14th. The presentation will be given by Doug Fisher from Vancouver, B.C.

The Beaver State Woodturners in Eugene, Oregon will be meeting June 27th. Dean Jordan will be demonstrating metal spinning.

The Northwest Washington Woodturners are meeting on June 21st. Their meeting will feature a presentation by Garrit Van Ness and Jim Christiansen regarding form and design. This is a program they have presented nationally.

The Cascade Woodturners membership meeting will be on June 21st At the Franklin High School wood shop. The meeting will feature Howard Borer on Woodturning Basics.

The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners are having their annual wood auction at their next membership meeting on June 27th.

The Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild in Vancouver, B.C. is meeting on June 27th. Larry Stevenson will demonstrate “on lathe finishes and oils”.

The Island Woodturners Guild on Vancouver Island will also be hosting a demonstration by Graeme Priddle on carving, embellishing, burning, inlaying and coloring. Graeme will have an all-day demo on Saturday the 23rd and a workshop on Monday the 25th.

chapter profile / Membership Meeting

May 2012 Wodturning Fundamentals

The latest issue of the Woodturning Fundamentals newsletter from the AAW has been delivered. This is an email publication that comes in the months opposite from the American Woodturner magazine. There is a lot of great information for new and intermediate turners.

The May issue has a lot of great information. Included this month are:

  • Kurt Herzog answers the question: “What tools should I buy?”
  • An article by Rob Wallace on Setting Up Your Woodturning Workstation
  • A skill building article by David Nittmann on creating Pleasing Profiles, putting together straight lines, coves and beads
  • Don Derry tells you to listen to your inner voice
  • Two video tips, one on holding small pieces with the headstock spindle and one on using rare earth magnets

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

SPSW Website Named Best

Every year since 2004 the AAW has held a contest for Best Chapter Website. Chapters that submit their site in the competition must also provide a volunteer reviewer who evaluates up to five other Chapter websites. The judging is based on the following criteria:

  • Layout/Graphic Design: visually appealing, easy to access
  • Ease of Navigation: easy to traverse pages, intuitive menu, links work
  • Use of Technology: appropriate use of scripting, styles, databases and search engines
  • Up to Date/Current Content: new info up front, archive material available
  • Website Content: contains useful woodturning technical and news-related information
  • Uniqueness/Personality: good blend of design with appropriate appeal to woodturning audience
  • Cross browser compatibility: site works with different browsers
  • Content that pertains to woodturning
  • Content that contributes to AAW’s mission statement
  • Useful woodturning news related information
  • Above all, website entries should be fun to view and provide useful information to members of the chapter it serves.

The judging process has completed and the AAW has announced that the South Puget Sound Woodturners website won 1st place. Our Chapter will be recognized on the AAW website, in the American Woodturner magazine and at the AAW Symposium in San Jose. We will also receive a commemorative plaque.

Congratulations to the other winners, 2nd place to the Great Plains Woodturners of Lincoln Nebraska and 3rd place to the Fraser Valley Woodturners Guild.

I want to thank SPSW Board Member Andy Firpo for volunteering to be a website reviewer.

AAW / chapter profile / Message

Turned for Use

In the not to distant past woodturning was used to create utilitarian items like chair legs and simple bowls. Once woodturning started to increase in popularity, and with the advent of the AAW, woodturning has become more of an art. If you look at recent work by well know turners you will find pieces that belong on a museum display rather than on the dining room table.

Lidded Container by Kip Christensen
In 1997 the AAW held their first themed and juried gallery with the theme of Turned for Use. There were many pieces that I would put in the “bowl” category. Not to say that they were not beautifully and skillfully crafted, but their primary purpose was to hold something.

Take the Plunge by Jim Burrowes
For 2008 the AAW returned to the same theme with “Turned for Use II”. Obviously there are bowls, but there are also several musical instruments (mandolin, bagpipes, udu and djembe), stools, eyeglasses and even toilet plungers! As is said in the introduction the jurors for Turned for Use II used an expansive interpretation of the word “use”, but still meet the intent of the gallery.

So check out these galleries and see the evolution in turning that has occurred in just a decade.

AAW / symposiums

Segmented Turners May Summary

The Segmented Woodturners virtual chapter of the AAW has released the May Club Summary. Here are some of the recent happenings:

Chapter Challenge

The Winter/Spring Chapter Challenge has ended. There were twenty-seven entries in this contest based on feature rings. First place ended in a tie between Ken Cowell and Bill Wyko:

Practice by Bill Wyko

 

 

 

First Place (tie) – Practice by Bill Wyko

 

 

 

Luna by Ken Cowell

 

 

 

First Place (tie) – Luna by Ken Cowell

 

 

 

NW Mass Ascension by David Grady

 

 

 

Second Place – NM Mass Ascension by David Grady

 

 

 

Bubbles by Larry Watson

 

 

 

Third Place (tie) – Bubbles by Larry Watson

 

 

 

stdaa by Russell Norman

 

 

 

Third Place (tie) – stdaa by Russell Norman

 

 

 

Membership

There are new members joining regularly and there are now over 500 members of the Segmented Woodturners.

Segmented Symposium

Registrations are looking good for the upcoming symposium in October. Registrations can be made online so get yours in as soon as possible if you are planning to attend. You can register until September 15th and receive a $50 discount. After that date the registration will be $300.

If you’re the spouse of a segmented turner attending the symposium and want to attend all the sessions, there is a new $150 spouse option available on the online registration form. This admission will offer all the same items of the full price admission including attendance at the Saturday night banquet.

Also, there are two scholarships available for Chapter members that may not have the resources to attend. See our prior post.

You can get all the information in the Symposium Brochure.

Upcoming Segmented Turning Classes

May 20 – 26, 2012
Easy Segmented Platters and Expressive Wall Art
Instructor: Linda Sutter
John C. Campbell Folk School

June 3 – 9, 2012
Turning in the Polychromatic Style: Staved Construction
Instructor: Don Russell
John C. Campbell Folk School

June 25 -‐ 29, 2012
Segmented Turning: pushing your skills to the next level
Instructor: Curt Theobald
Anderson Ranch

July 8 – 14, 2012
Segmented Turning
Instructor: Malcolm Tibbetts
Arrowmont

September 4 – 8, 2012
Segmented turning: Where Precision Partners with Turned Elegance
Instructor: Malcolm Tibbetts
The Mark Adams School of Woodworking

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Chapter Challenge / chapter profile / segmented / woodturning events