As The Wood Turns Internet Version

February 2005

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

In this Issue
> Curls from the President
> Demonstrators Schedule
   for meeting nights & weekend Master Demos
> January 2005 Gallery
> Lathe Survey Results
> Bottle Stopper Contest
> Club Meeting Minutes
> “Pretty Bottoms” Demo
> Jigs for Finishing Bowl Bottoms By Tom Jesionowski

“I wonder how good I can get at this?”

Since our last meeting, I have been performing an interesting task: Copying some our CWT Library tapes onto DVD. As the copies are made in “real time”, I set up the recorder in my shop (no, it’s still not a studio, just a shop), and as I worked on projects, I watched and listened to some of the great teachers who have demonstrated in Chicago. Five hours of Steve Sinner. Five hours of Dick Sing. Four hours of Stuart Batty (who has missed his calling in stand up comedy), and a host of others. All of them great teachers, all of the tapes informative. But my favorite is by the Canadian “philosopher king” of turning, Frank Sudol.

The tape was made six years ago at a CWT demo, and Frank fills every minute of his presentation with opinions (!), techniques, his personal history, politics, and his personal philosophy. He even turns a bit. In explaining how he came to be a turner, Frank, telling us about his early lathe work, asks himself: “I wonder how good I can get at this?” That stopped me right in my tracks. How good can a person get at their chosen task? Is there an upper limit?

Realistically, I suppose there is, but most of those limits are caused by external circumstances, not self-imposed ones. Time to practice and study can be limited by work, family, and other interests. Classes, seminars and equipment cost money, and well, most of us have an upper limit on that. The most important limiting factor, however, is ourselves. Settling for a good shape, when a great one is in the next log; sanding out most of the scratches, but not all of them; leaving that bottom a “little heavy” in fear of a blow out; all of these things limit us.

Eliminate the limitations. Get the shape right before you sand and then sand through all of the grits, even if you start at 60. Get the bottom the right thickness, and then finish it just like the top. But before you start, ask yourself that first question.

“I wonder how good I can get at this?” The answer is: “better than you think”.

Until February, turn lots, ask that key question, and please turn safely.

Paul Shotola
Email address:

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Meeting Demonstrators 2005

January—
Dan & Marie Anderson
Turned Bottoms

February—
Darrel Rader
Woodturning 101

See Phil Brooks to sign up to be a demonstrator.

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Lathe Survey Results

At the January meeting a survey was circulated enquiring about the lathe(s) owned by the membership. This data has been added to the Yahoo group site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChiWT/. Click on “databases” to see the results. You are encouraged to add your own information. Lathe purchases are substantial investments, and your experiences can help others make informed choices.

One other note about the Yahoo group. When you apply, please state your real name in the comments section, as email addresses can be hard to match up with real people. That will help eliminate confusion and errors in allowing membership. If you were denied membership, please reapply, and if you are a CWT member, access will be granted.

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Minutes of the Chicago Woodturners Club Meeting on January 11, 2005
By Paul Cavanagh

President Paul Shotola opened the meeting at 7 pm and explained the usual house and safety rules.

Paul Sholola introduced Phil Brooks as the new Vice President and Tom Sashko as the new Treasurer.

He also announced that the 10% discount that CWT members currently get from Woodcraft on meeting nights is now effective everyday and at both Woodcraft Stores!  Thank you, Woodcraft!

Also, he announced that Turning Days at Woodcraft will be May 21 and Oct 15, 2005. All members are encouraged to come down and make some curls and friends on those days. Teach someone to turn.

A new year brings the need for new set-up/clean-up volunteers, so a sign-up was passed and you all responded very well.

Andy Kuby reminded everyone that CWT dues for 2005 are due in December.
We had 1 new member and several visitors at the meeting.

Library News — John Crissman stated that he has started to convert old videos to DVDs.

Anyone who is interested in doing a demonstration of any aspect of woodturning or related areas, such as carving, finishing, decorating, etc., please contact VP Phil Brooks. No experience necessary.

Raffle included some burls, tools, books, and gift certificates.

The gallery was then reviewed by Wayne Bernhahl. His insightful comments were appreciated by all.

The demonstration was performed by Dan and Marie Anderson entitled “Pretty Bottoms”. It covered techniques for turning the bottom side of bowls, boxes, and hollow forms, including several clever inexpensive “turner-made” jigs and fixtures in addition to the purchased chucks and jaws. As usual, a thorough and comprehensive demo from the Andersons!

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Introduction - No, this is not about butts!

Why turn the bottom?
We never, want to leave screw holes or any indication of how we held this bowl / piece onto the lathe. So, in order to remove most, if not all traces of your methods, we reverse it and turn the bottom. It’s always fun to see someone try and figure out how you did that!

Safety- Number #1
Safety glasses, face shield, dust protection, common sense

Reversing—no, we're not talking about turning the clock back a few years!
How? Several methods are used and each has it’s own application. You will have to experiment and find which is best for you. We are going to attempt to give you a few ideas where to start (or continue) on your “reverse journey”.

Low Cost Methods

• Jamb chuck—used with bowls, boxes, jewelry (almost anything)
• Donut jig—used with bowls mostly and vessels
• Styrofoam—used for items that need to be remounted to either re-finish or re-fit
• Various shop made jigs—used when you have a unique situation - like a deep hollow with a small opening or a chute for a collaborative piece.
• Weed Pot peg - reversing weed pots onto a dowel or piece of metal rod the same diameter of the drilled hole.

More High Tech

• Commercial four jaw chuck w/ cole jaws—mostly used with bowls with flat rims
• Four jaw chuck with “inside jig” —used with the tailstock supporting the bottom of the piece. This is used when you have a natural edged bowl or an uneven edged piece
• Vacuum Chucks -used on flat rimmed pieces so the vacuum can work
• Off center decorative jig—a great way to add decoration to the bottom of your pieces—a little extra layout time necessary

Accessories That Can Help

• Masking tape, double stick tape, flat tape
• Kleenex, paper towels, blue paper shop towels
• Calipers—very important to know how thin the bottom is when you start!
• Carving gouge

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