What’s Happening at Other Chapters

The Northwest Washington Woodturners are having their annual picnic in place of the August membership meeting. They are, however, turning tops for the Bellingham Parks Kid’s Festival on August 6th.

The Olympic Peninsula Woodturners are also having their annual picnic in place of the August membership meeting. The picnic will be held on August 6th.

The Seattle Woodturners meeting on August 11th will be a mini-symposium with Les Dawson (ornaments), Hal Johnson (bowl coring system) and David Lippincott demonstrating. The chapter is also having their annual BBQ picnic on August 20th.

The Cascade Woodturners meet on August 18th with a demonstration of sculptured vessels by Graeme Priddle followed by hands on workshops.

The Inland Northwest Woodturners have no meeting in August, but will meet again on September 1st.

woodturning events

Want to Turn Better?

Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. – proverb

turn betterIt’s all about skills transfer

This article came out of a chat at a recent SPSW board meeting – we were talking about the various ways that being in the club has helped all of us be better turners. Mostly this is what we learn from other members – or what we learn by teaching. Here’s a brief look at some of the ways being in the club can help YOU turn better!

1 – Sawdust Sessions

SPSW is very fortunate to have use of Nancy Sweazey’s shop for the monthly Sawdust Sessions. Every third Saturday these sessions run from 9am to midafternoon – a great place to get hands-on help in a friendly, open atmosphere where everyone there is focused on better turning. If you’ve not been to Nancy’s shop, ask Jim Cotter or Pat for a map at the next meeting..

turn better2 – Club mentors

The club has a tremendous wealth of woodturning experience, from world-class/professional turners to right new stars with a passion for the craft – and everything in between. Eleven of the best skilled in our club have volunteered to help anyone who asks. Pictures on this page are a few of our mentors in action – if you don’t recognize them, ask at the next meeting!

3 – Teach something yourself

The best way I know to “put some polish” on one of your own skills is to teach it to somebody else. When they ask “Why?” you have to stop and think about it instead of just doing it that way – a great chance to learn something yourself! And we always need demonstrators for the mini symposiums…

Better turning is just that easy!

Try any or all of these options – I guarantee you’ll see a difference, the very next time you turn on your lathe!

– Andy Firpo, SPSW Board Member

members / woodturning events

Rubber Chucky

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rubber chucky vacuum chuck sealVacuum chucking is becoming more common. From home built systems to more expensive commercial systems, they all have some common issues. One of those is getting a good seal between the chuck and the bowl.

The editor of the Segmented Woodturners newsletter recently tested out a new rubber chuck gasket specifically made for the OneWay™ Vacuum Drum Chuck and the Hold Fast™ Drum Chuck. He reports that the OneWay™ version fits his chuck perfectly, is robust and that he has seen good results. This is a reusable seal that does not require any adhesive. You can check them out at rubberchucky.com

techniques / tools

Segmented Woodturners July Chapter Summary

tempestuous (adj) frequently turbulent and giving rise to many emotions
"tempestuous (adj) frequently turbulent and giving rise to many emotions" by Robin Costelle
The Segmented Woodturners virtual chapter of the AAW has released the July Club Summary. Here are some of the goings on:

June was membership month and although over 700 people have paid to become members, only 260 have renewed so far. In a few weeks the membership level of those who do not renew will be downgraded and they will no longer have full access to the site. If you are a member and have not renewed, or would like to become a member, go to the Segmented Woodturners website.

The chapter met at the AAW Symposium in St. Paul and had a good turnout. There was a discussion about “Chapter Challenges” and it was agreed that this was something that could be done as a virtual chapter. Look for more information to come.

revealings
"Revealings" by Al Fox
Planning for the next segmented symposium is going on. The date has been set (subject to change) for Oct. 19-21, 2012 at South Lake Tahoe, CA. Still looking for suggestions for demonstrators.

Board elections were held and the new board members are:

  • Bill Kandler – member-at-large
  • Dennis Keeling –member-at-large
  • Phil Miller – member-at-large
  • Jim Rodgers- Secretary
  • Ron Sieloff – Treasurer
  • Harvey Crouch – Vice President
  • Malcolm Tibbetts – President

Here is a link to the new board photos and bios:
http://segmentedwoodturners.org/about_us.php

meatballs
"You Gets No Bread With One Meatball" by Malcolm Tibbetts
Some of the current forum discussions include:

  • different ways that people use both turning scrapers for shaping and cabinet scrapers for finishing
  • opinions on the best 12” disk sander
  • choice for finish and how they apply it
  • detailed conversation about vacuum pumps

The forum also had a discussion about stave construction using a router and ended up with a tutorial and additional resources.

The chapter website received 5,016 unique visitors in June and 255,355 page views.

segmented

Website Updates – July 20

There are a couple of updates to the site today.

Pictures – Pictures from the June mini-symposium have been added to the club events gallery.

Newsletter – The June issue of Chips and Shavings has been added to the newsletter archive.

Speaking of the newsletter, our intrepid newsletter editor, Bill Wood, is looking for SPSW members who would be willing to write up a short profile of themselves and how they got into woodturning. If you want to submit your profile send it from our contact form.

Membership Meeting / Message / newsletter

July Demonstrator – Don Nelson

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don nelsonDon Nelsen has been involved in both the power tool and the abrasives business for all of his 40 year career in the industry. While going to school in the 60’s Don worked variously as an auto bodyman, a welder, an auto painter and a tool operator among other things. Starting in Jan. of 1972 Don was an outside salesman in both the automotive and industrial markets covering most of Oregon and Washington. Don first started with Mirka abrasives as an independent rep in 1988 and made the transition to territory sales as an employee of Mirka in 1998.

Born in Portland in 1947, Don is a lifelong NW resident residing in Vancouver, WA for the past 22 years.

demonstrator / Membership Meeting