As The Wood Turns Internet Version

March 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
> February 2005 Gallery
> Club Meeting Minutes
> Bottle Stopper Contest
> February Mentoring Session

Where are your safety glasses? Oh, they're on the bridge of your nose? Good.

End of column. See you in March, have a nice day, turn lots, so on and so forth.

Don’t lie to me, I know those glasses and face shields are on the shelf just a step away. They are not on the bridge of your nose. I know this because sometimes MY safety glasses are on that shelf. We’re all guilty, and we all get a little lazy, especially because turning is a relatively safe form of woodworking.

At the last mentoring session, I was demonstrating roughing out a bowl blank, and one of the members expressed concern about the speed the blank was turning. The blank was securely between centers, well balanced, and a sound piece of wood. Most of our experienced turners will agree that lathe speed should be as fast as the conditions (mounting, balance and blank integrity) allow. What was the greatest risk to me and my audience? The risk wasn’t that my blank would remove itself from the lathe and poke a hole in the ceiling. Not even fly off and break my flapping jaw. There was little risk of the tool snapping and doing untold damage to flesh and bone. A little, tiny chip of wood, with almost no mass was the greatest risk. So insignificant, that laying on the floor, your “significant other” wouldn’t even stoop to pick it up. The greatest risk was to my eyes, and my student’s eyes.

These risks are so easily overcome, and the actual occurrence of an accident so infrequent, that we tend to put this risk aside. Complacency is not the same as prevention. Complacency is gambling, and as the Casino owners know, if you gamble long enough, the house wins.

Our late, great friend, Jack Turley, who suffered from macular degeneration of his eyes, once said: ’This is the most hazardous thing—I have no depth perception. I could shove a tool straight into the work and experience the most exciting nano-second of my life”. No one needs that much excitement in their life.

If you need excitement, pay $100.00 for a piece of Buckeye Burl, chuck it up and make that first cut. That certainly gives me sweaty palms. But if you’re in my shop, those safety glasses will be on the bridge of your nose, and mine will be, too.

Until March, turn lots, don't bet against the Casino, and please turn safely.

Paul Shotola
Email address:

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Meeting Demonstrators 2005

March
Guilding & Patina — Steve Sinner

April
Identifying Wood — Grant Barlow

May
Turning Thin Bowls — Binh Pho

June
Designing & Building Your Own Tools — Francisco Bauer

July
Segmented Bowls Using the Ring Turner — Duard Oxford

August (tentative)
From Log to Bowl — Dan Anderson

September (tentative)
Marbling — Carole Floate

October (tentative)
Power Carving for the Woodturner — Pixie Eslinger

November (tentative)
Threaded Lid Boxes — Fran Islin

Other identified topics not yet scheduled are:
Texturing Methods, Choosing and Applying the Right Finish, Turning Platters, Selecting the Right Turning Tools, Mastering the Skew Chisel, Fitted Lid Boxes, Turning a Chess Set, Salt and Pepper Grinders, Using the High Speed Mini-Grinder and Techniques in Using the Air Brush.

If one or more of these topics is something that you would like to present, please e-mail Phil Brooks at brooksphil@sbcglobal.net. Hurry before someone else gets the topic that you wanted to give.

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Minutes of the Chicago Woodturners Club Meeting on February 2005
 By Paul Cavanagh

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

Copies of the Demonstration Survey ballot were available from VP Phil Brooks. Everyone please fill out a ballot and express your opinion on what type of demonstration you would like see done at our meetings.

The next guest demonstrator will be Ray Key on Sunday March 13. Makes plans to attend and watch a very skilled turner in action.

Paul Shotola reiterated that the 10% discount that CWT members currently get from Woodcraft on meeting nights is now effective everyday and at both Woodcraft Stores!

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.

The Craft Supply promotions are now listed on their website, www.woodworkerssupply.com

The CWT Board volunteered CWT to supply all turning assistants to Bonnie Klein at the 2005 AAW Symposium. A sign-up sheet was passed around for volunteers. Bonnie will be teaching woodturning to all juniors who attend the Symposium.

Andy Kuby welcomed new members and visitors. Membership is now over 200.

Library News: John Crissman described the bottle stopper turning contest.

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 CWT T-shirts, a scraper, gift certificates and week 1 of 2 for an Ellsworth bowl turned at the CWT demo (real collectors item).

The gallery was then reviewed by Binh Pho. His insightful comments were appreciated by all.

The unique demonstration was performed by Darrell Rader entitled Woodturning 101. It covered techniques and tools never before shown before a live CWT audience. Can you spell Rutabaga?

Cleanup Volunteers for March
Mr. Howard
Bob Flanerty
Don Pioch
Tom Sashko

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