HANDS-0N WORKSHOP

My hands-on workshop, though quite flexible, is focused on helping participants make an end grain lidded container from dry 12/4 or 16/4 lumber. An end grain box is a great learning project for beginners and offers a challenge for more advanced turners. Beginners learn how to cut wood with the four basic spindle turning toolsas well as simple, safe techniques for end grain hollowing; scraping, shear scraping and cutting. More advanced turners will be encouraged to sketch out their designs on paper, use the spindle gouge and skew chisel to create crisp, clean details and minimize sanding inside and out with the use of cutting tools and shear scrapers. The cutting tools I use for hollowing end grain are the Termite tool, the Berger tool, and the eliminator, but all the end grain cutting tools utilize the same principle: rub a bevel and cut. I use both texture and color extensively in my work and will, during the course of the workshop, discuss and demonstrate different methods of surface decoration that I have experimented with. These include: wood burning with custom tips, we can make some, carving with a reciprocating carver and hand gouges, carving with a rotary tool and burrs and texturing with an engraving tool. Altering a surface with color involves the use of dye stains, glazes and paint, often used in combination with a texture. We will look at applying dye stains with a spray gun as well as the application of a top coat such as laquer or shellac. The beauty of a hands-on workshop is that people can, within the general framework of the workshop project, go in the direction that interests them and, hopefully, discover something new. I always do.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS FOR HANDS-ON WORKSHOP

For the hands on workshop, participants should bring roughing gouge, detail gouge, parting tool, skew chisel, 1/2 inch round nose scraper ( I'll bring some that I make that participants will be welcome to try or buy), tools for cutting end grain ( I use a termite tool, a berger tool and an eliminator), carving gouges and or reciprocating carver( optional). I will bring three soldering irons. If someone wants to bring their own, the cheapest one that is adequate for the task is a Weller 80 watt for $30.00. The best wood for the hands on would be a kiln or air dried hardwood that is light in color. Cherry, maple, birch, poplar, would all be good choices. The club will need to supply a small compressor, a power strip or two, dye stains ( I use Transtint), a quart or so of the following solvents; mineral spirits, denatured alcohol and laquer thinner, a table for setting samples on, a surface that can be used for applying finishes

DEMO TOPICS

My favorite object to turn is a lidded container and thats how I'll start my demo. At a fairly brisk pace I'll cover all of the steps involved in making an end grain box with special attention given to those techniques used to minimize torn end grain. These include making a shoulder cut with the skew chisel, using a cutting tool for end grain hollowing and shear scraping to make finishing cuts. I'll also demonstrate using the spindle gouge to add texture and detail to your work. We'll end the morning with a short power point presentation that focuses on various techniques I use to add texture and color to my work After lunch and a short nap I'll demonstrate some of the texturing methods shown in the power point and exemplified in the samples I have brought. Burning with a soldering iron is one technique I over employ and I'll show the irons I use and also how to make custom tips by turning, grinding and silver soldering. This is a very simple technique that offers almost limitless possibilities. I'll also demonstrate how I use a reciprocating carver and hand held gouges to add surface decoration and I'll throw in a cheap texturing trick that doesn't take the better part of one's life to complete. For me, color and texture work hand and hand and so the afternoon, after coffee and cookies, will be focused on various ways to add color to one's work. I will talk about the spray guns that I use and demonstrate shooting dye stains on a piece utilizing multiple colors. Glazes are essentially a stain applied over a sealed surface and we'll look at using glazes to achieve a variety of effects. We'll also look at some interesting uses of Japan colors. Hopefully the day will have something of interest for everyone and I am looking forward to seeing and meeting you all.