As The Wood Turns Internet Version

March 2006

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 2006 Gallery
> Book Review
> Stuck? Just ask yourself the Right question

Something for everyone. Every level of experience, every interest, every technique. Every turning discipline, every method, every style. And it’s all free. Free, as in no charge. No kidding. It’s all there in the club library.

At last count, your Librarian, Grant Barlow, had catalogued nearly 300 video titles, both VHS and DVD. Subjects range from air brush techniques to off-center turning. Gallery videos from the AAW symposiums, beginning bowl turning, the dreaded skew chisel and more are there for you to check out. If there’s a turning subject you are interested in, we’ve got it. Did I mention it’s free?

Need a little inspiration? We have club demonstration videos from many moons ago. Want to see what David Ellsworth was doing in 1992? Got it. Dick Sing demonstrating in the early 90’s? Mark Sfirri, Frank Sudol, Stuart Batty? Got ’em. These older videos are great fun, if for no other reason than to see Harris looking about 19 years old and to check out Wayne’s jet black hair. Ellsworth, however, looked exactly the same then as he does now! The techniques were sound then, and they are sound now, and I guarantee you will learn something from each video. Oh yes, there is no charge, the library is free.

If you are not using the library, you’re missing out on a great resource. Books, videos, magazines and even tools and equipment are there for you. Your club has made a huge investment in the library because you have asked for it, and you deserve it. One note, however: If you have library materials at home, and they are maybe a little overdue, say 6 months or so, be kind to your fellow club members and return them. Rentals are one month at a time, so bring that Sorby texturing tool back. Bring back the HVLP paint guns. And return that issue of American Woodturner that's been on your coffee table since the Carter administration. There are no late fees, no fines, because it’s free.

We are adding new titles every month, so if you haven’t used your library in a while, now’s the time. Phil Brooks has developed a great system for organizing and tracking the material, so if you have a special request, we can find it for you. And it’s free.

Until March, read up, watch a video, learn something new. It will inspire you, and help move your work to the next level. Please turn safely, and remember, the library is free.

Paul Shotola
Email address:

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Meeting Demonstrators 2006

March 2006
Basket Illusion Turning —
Fred Gscheidle

April 2006
Surface Design  — Binh Pho

May 2006
Surface Treatments — (Tentative) Chuck Young

June 2006
High Speed Air Turbine Carving Tom Waicekauskas

Book Review
By Paul Shotola

Learn to Turn, by Barry Gross — Fox Chapel Publishing, 2005
David Springett

This is a fine guide to getting started at the lathe. Safety, lathes, tools, sharpening and basic cuts are covered, along with a sections on converting logs to turning blanks, finishing and sanding, and even marketing your work.

The photos are clear, and the text accurate and easy to read. Eight turning projects are covered, with step-by-step instructions. These projects cover a broad range of skills, and are clearly explained. A new turner attempting these projects has an excellent chance of success.

There are a few shortcomings to this book as it applies to new turners. The section on basic turning exercises is only five pages long, and only covers the four spindle tools. No guide to the use of the bowl gouge is included. Mike Darlow’s The Fundamentals of Woodturning, also from Chapel Hill, covers tool handling in much more depth and is recommended reading for all turners, novice to expert. Sanding and finishing also deserve more in-depth discussion, as does chucking and work holding, but the basics are covered.

Aside from these areas, Learn to Turn is a good primer on woodturning, and will help the novice get started safely and efficiently. Working through the projects in the book is a great way to experience many different techniques, and should leave the new turner anxious to advance their skills. Another recommended book for turners both new and seasoned is Bonnie Klein’s Classic Woodturning Projects.

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Don Derry is a Washington State woodturner who, some would assume, is obsessed with color. Certainly his brightly colored, shiny vessels, which are often mistaken for blown glass, could leave one with that impression. But after talking to Don and taking his class, one quickly finds out that form is just as important in Don’s work.

Recently Don spent three days demonstrating for and leading a hands-on class for members of the Chicago Woodturners organization. During that period, he spent a lot of time talking about form and very little talking about color. Don readily admits that he knows very little about color theory. In fact, Don does not even demonstrate coloring techniques in his sessions. Aside from the health dangers of spraying solvents in an enclosed environment, Don allows that he simply doesn’t have an easy to understand way to demonstrate what he does. In his work, he counts on an intrinsic knowledge about what looks good on his vessels. This is not something that translates well to the demonstration format. While he will readily address the technical questions as to HOW he produces his work (what products he uses, etc), he highly recommends those interested in color to hire an art teacher to explain color theory. One would never suspect this based on the end result of his efforts.

Day 1 of the hands-on class was spent turning “form models”. Don asked the class of four to turn various forms from a mental template. Forms included a sphere, an egg, a pear, a preg (a form which, to most people, is recognized as pear-like even though it’s more obvious features are far more egg-like in proportion; think avocado), a football, a Coke bottle, and a bowling pin. We all carry with us mental templates of these objects which are as individual as we are. As Don expected, we ended up with four variations of each. Was one variation better than the other? It all depends on your own perception and mental template. Don explained that there are certain features that make these objects what they are; the right curve, the frumpy bottom, tangential contact at only one point. Getting these features “right” can make a big difference in the form and our appreciation of it. In an effort to learn from each other, we spent a lot of time critiquing each other’s forms. Throughout the day, Don would periodically gather us around one of the lathes and ask a question of the in-progress work; “Where is the high spot?” In our class, that opinion sometimes differed among the attendees. This goes back to our individual perception of the forms and is perfectly acceptable.

This idea of the high spot is foremost in Don’s turning and teaching as it directly relates to good form. If a shape is not quite right but one is not sure why, asking this question often gets us going again. The answer tells us where to make the next cut and leads to a better shape. It can also make the difference between a good form and a great form.

Don was not always a wood turner. He spent time working in tooling and process design, as a cabinet maker, and even spent time playing the guitar in a rock band. In 1994, he saw the instant gallery at the American Association of Woodturner's Fort Collins, Colorado symposium and thinking “I can make that”, embarked on his first efforts in turning. Time spent as a production turner selling Christmas ornaments on the craft fair circuit influenced Don to make more arty pieces. What he had noticed at that first symposium was the lack of color in the instant gallery. He decided that use of color in his own work would set him apart from other turners. It did and not always in a positive way. Collectors were initially taken aback that color was being used to obscure the wood. Other woodturners who pioneered the use of color report a similar early reaction.

Day 2 of the hands-on was spent reviewing the form models from the day before and using Don’s hollowing rig to make Christmas ornaments and hollow forms. The lessons learned with the models really helped with the shape and line of the hollow forms.

Don believes that turning needs to be intentioned. Turners have to have something in mind when they go in the shop. “Today I want to turn a…”. If there is no intention, often we get stuck and quit after only a few minutes. This is a shame since, for most of us, turning is such a joy and something we look forward to doing.

Like with many subjects, practice is important. Don advocates turning only one shape for a period of time; both to work on form, but also to develop muscle memory. When it becomes easy to turn that form, move on to another form and turn only that one for a period of time. If you get stuck, always ask yourself “where is the high spot?”

Don agrees that there is always more than one solution to making a great form or resolving a curve. While Nature is a great source of inspiration and design, (Don picks up river rocks from a beach near his home and tries to capture the uniqueness of each stone, in wood, as his own form of practice), soliciting and accepting honest critique is another great way to improve our “eye”. A little shorter here, a little less curve there can greatly improve or degrade an object. Getting several opinions of our progress is an important tool to our growth as turners. Over time, this methodology will greatly increase our skill and enjoyment of the craft.

Lessons taken away from Don include; Have an intention when going into the shop, practice good form, ask yourself “where is the high spot?”. Oh, and hire an art teacher if you want to learn about color .

Dave Forney is a member of the Chicago Woodturners and the AAW.
He has been turning for about 4 years.

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