As The Wood Turns Internet Version

November 2002

Location: Woodcraft Supply Store, 1280 E. Dundee Rd, Palatine IL
847-774-1186

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In this Issue
> Curls from the President
> Dan Anderson and the Art of Turning Boxes
> Gloss Finish by Jim Brooks
> Demonstrators Schedule
   for meeting nights & weekends
> November Meeting Note’s
> Dan Anderson's Instructions for Turning Boxes
> November Gallery — See Gallery section of web site

You will notice that the “Curls”column is no longer on the front page of the newsletter. I asked your Editor, Don McCloskey to make this change because my thoughts and ramblings are not the most important items in your newsletter. Happenings at your club, both past and present are the most important , so here I am, somewhere in the back. I hope you still read it, even if it’s not "front page".

By the time you receive this newsletter, we’ll be coming up on our annual Holiday Party. Your intrepid club Secretary, Marie Hunter (whose meeting minutes are generally more amusing than my scribblings) has generously offered to organize the event. All of you are cordially invited to attend, and bring your spouses, significant others (choose from one of the above), and your kids, grandchildren, and anyone else whom you feel would enjoy meeting the rest of us. There’s no cover charge this month, not even a raffle. We will have some door prizes, though, and plenty to eat. Marie will have more information on the party elsewhere in this issue.

I hope all of you attend in December, as in addition to the party, we will be electing a new Vice-President and reelecting our Treasurer. There’s always business to be dealt with, isn’t there?

Thanks are due to the folks who have recently volunteered to head some of our committees. Andy Kuby will be taking care of Membership Services. Keeping track of 180 plus members, with new guests and members at every meeting is a daunting task, and vitally important to our club. Harris Barbier has expertly taken care of Membership for quite a while, and we thank him for his service. Binh Pho will be recruiting and scheduling our Guest Demonstrators for the coming year. My wife and significant other, Janice, will be providing some administrative assistance. Carole Floate (with at least a little help from Bill), has done a tremendous job with Demos in the past, and deserves our thanks for bringing the best teachers the turning world has to offer to our club. Volunteerism is alive and well at the CWT, and we all benefit from it. Can I interest you in volunteering?

Since I mentioned my wife, Jan, I have to pass on a little story. Jan receives about 300 mail order catalogs a day (as compared to my 250 daily wood working catalogs), and her favorites are companies that sell personalized stuff, like doormats with your name on them, or shirts for grandchildren we don’t yet have that say things like:
“I love my Grandma”. A recent mailing featured a mailbox sign that said: “An old fisherman and his favorite catch live here”. She suggested to me that I make a sign (I’ll need to buy more tools for that, you know) that reads: “An old woodturner and his favorite dish live here”. Since she caught me at an uncharacteristically sarcastic moment, I replied that it should read: “An old woodturner and his biggest catch live here”. She didn’t get it, and anyone who fills her in is on setup and cleanup duty for a year.

Till December, turn lots, thank your volunteers, and turn safely.

Email address: p.shotola@attbi.com

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December 10
All members Holiday Party

See Paul Prycik to sign up to
be a demonstrator

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This is the conclusion to the article on my sanding and finishing demo. To obtain a gallery quality gloss finish is a procedure, not just a finish.
First you have to have the piece sanded to at least 600 grit with all of the sanding marks removed. The finish is a mixture of MINWAX-HELMSMAN-SPAR URETHANE-CLEAR GLOSS and PARKS-PAINT THINNER (this is the green can not the blue one). The Parks and Minwax are mixed 50/50. Mix in a bottle that is about 10 oz. size and leave a small air gap at the top. The air gap will help with the mixing.

Before you start applying the finish remove all of the sawdust from the piece. Start by applying a heavy coat of finish, this coat will soon start to soak in. Keep applying finish until you stop seeing dull spots. During this procedure keep the piece turning on the lathe at a slow speed. Let the piece dry overnight and repeat the procedure. After the piece stops soaking up the finish you are ready to start obtaining a gloss finish.

If you are doing hollow forms be sure to do this to the inside of the piece. The easy way to do this is to pour the finish inside and coat the entire surface. Next sand the surface with 1500 grit. You are only trying to level the finish not sand the piece. Keep applying coats until all defects in the finish are gone. The best way to apply the finish is with a paper towel. Bounty paper towels are the best for this procedure because they leave no lint. Fold the towel into a small pad and soak with finish, unfold the towel and use like a chamois on the hood of a car. Between coats sand with 1500 wet or dry lubricated with mineral spirits. When you are ready to apply the final coat you need to clean the work area. This is important to keep dust from settling on the wet finish. The procedure described here was not worked out by me but by Steve Sinner. Steve developed this procedure by much trial and error and is still refining it.

1. Mount the blank between centers and turn it round
2. Turn shoulders on each end of blank to fit your chuck
3. Separate the top and bottom with parting tool (use of narrow parting tool will help grain match)
4. Mount each section in the chuck and rough hollow to 3/8" thickness or so
   (if a chuck is not available turn recess in waste block mounted on faceplate to fit shoulders cut in step 2 and glue blank to waste block)
5. Mark blanks with date and # if doing multiples
6. Set blanks aside and let dry for a minimum of 3 months, longer is better
7. Mount the dried top blank and reround the outside and finish hollow the inside, taking special care to make sure that the lid flange is parallel to the lathe axis.
8. True lid rim
9. Sand and apply finish of choice (do not sand lid flange)
10. Note the lid depth and inside diameter write it down
11. Mount the bottom blank and turn outside to true
12. Start final hollowing, make a starting parting cut to define bottom
13. Fit top to the bottom with a relatively tight fit
14. With top mounted to bottom finish turn exterior complete, note use the internal measurements of the top which you made in step 10 to guide you (if adding an insert to the top now is the time) Sand and finish exterior
15. Remove the now completed top and finish hollow the bottom
16. Refine the fit now. True the rim surface, sand and finish the inside of the bottom (do not sand the tenon surface)
17. Part the bottom from waste (note the bottom depth)
18. Reverse on a jamb chuck to finish turn the bottom of the bottom
19. Sand, finish and sign your completed box

Suggested reading: Turning Boxes with Richard Raffan; Taunton Press @ 1998
February 13, 2001

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