November 2007 Program

"Turning a Snowman" presented by Marion McDaniel

 

Wood craftsman Marion McDaniel is a native of Georgia who has resided in Dallas for the past thirty-five years. He currently lives near White rock Lake.

What makes Mr. McDaniel’s talent and artistry so amazing is that he only began his work with wood a few short years ago. After an on-the-job accident seriously injured his back, he was forced to retire after twenty-one years with Kroger Foods.

While recovering, he decided to whittle a cane for himself since he now needed one to aid him in walking. Prior to carving that first cane, he had never carved drawn, painted, nor even doodled on paper. That cane, however, was the beginning of a consuming pastime, and he now spends his time crafting other beautiful works in wood. Marion has turned and carved beautiful bowls, bottles, canes, snowmen, and walking sticks from a variety of fine woods, some with intricate inlay.

The holiday season keeps him busy creating his special wooden snowmen, which are each carved from a single piece of native Texas wood. At the November meeting, he will be demonstrating his techniques for turning these unique creations.

 


August 2007 Program

"Tools for End Grain Hollowing" presented by John Horn
Most of us know that a bowl gouge is the preferred tool for most cross-grain bowl turning where the grain direction is perpendicular to the length of the lathe bed. End-grain turning, defined as the case in which the grain of the wood is parallel to the length of the lathe bed, presents a completely different challenge in both turning techniques and tools used.
If you peruse the woodturning tool catalogs, you will find that there are a wide variety of tools for sale to solve all of the various difficulties encountered in end grain turning. Some of these tools are complete systems of components that are quite pricey to say the least. 

When faced with this overwhelming variety of tools, how is a person to decide which tool or system to select in order to perform the task at hand? Is it necessary to get a large loan at the bank just to turn a few end grain vessels? Obviously, there are a large number of options, some are relatively inexpensive and others are very expensive. 

By understanding the theory of how end grain wants to be cut without  tearing out chunks of wood, both the tools and technique choices become  much more manageable. The August program will include information about the features and limitations of most of the end grain hollowing tools on the market and which of those tools and techniques would be best suited for different projects. 

Educated as an instructor of high school musicians, John spent a major portion of his life teaching a variety of subjects from high school band and choir to adult computer applications. Now he teaches regular classes at the Woodcraft store in Addison and one-on-one sessions on woodturning topics in his shop for beginning to intermediate turners. When he is not teaching and attending woodturning meetings, he stays busy turning contract jobs for corporations and individuals on one or more of his three wood lathes.

John is a member of the AAW and is active in both the Woodturners of North Texas and the Golden Triangle Woodturners. 


June 2007 Program

"Ribbon Turning" presented by Steve Ott

Our demonstrator for the June, 2007 program will be our very own Steve Ott who became seriously interested in ribbon turning when he attended demonstrations by Malcolm Tibbetts during SWAT 2005 in Wichita Falls. He attended every one of Malcolm’s demonstrations and became fascinated with what he saw. Here is his story about the June program and his fascination with ribbon turning.

Malcolm’s ribbon turnings were spectacular. Now I do not pretend to be as talented as he is, but my demonstration will introduce you to the world of ribbon turning. 

In Malcolm Tibbetts words, “All you do is turn bottomless bowls, cut them in half, and glue them back together.” Well it may be a bit more complicated than that, but not too much more complicated. If you are new to segmented turning, an accomplished segmented turner, or just have an interest in segmented turning, this will open up entirely new avenues for you.

In “normal” segmented turning, you make flat segments, which are glued together into a ring, and the rings are stacked on top of each other into your desired shape. In this “ribbon turning”, you add another element - a slope. This then becomes stave construction for segmented turning. 
Although you can do this in the “normal” manner, it might be harder to ensure the design matches in your final construction.

I will attempt to show you how to make these turnings, and just some of the shapes you can make by doing this. I will be using just one example - a 45 degree slope. By using different degrees for the slope of your bowls, you will come up with entirely new shapes. I will also describe some tips and tricks that I learned the hard way.

You start with a lamination that you have determined for your design, cut this into compound segments, glue segments together into a bowl shape, turn to final shape, cut apart, reposition, and glue back together. See how easy that was! Just seven easy steps!! Ha, Ha, Ha. Seriously, it is not that difficult to do this, if I can do it anyone else can also.

In the latest issue of American Woodturner, Malcolm has written an article that describes this procedure in detail. With his book, this article, and my demo, you will have all the information you need to construct and complete a one of a kind ribbon turning. 

After my demo, I hope you will attempt this type of turning. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Steve Ott

 


May 2007 Program

"Road Kill for Woodturners" presented by Kevin Bassett

Our May 2007 program was presented by Kevin Bassett, a local certified arborist with over thirty years of experience. Kevin made a PowerPoint presentation about common north Texas trees suitable for turning and how to identify them in either tree form or as “road kill” for scavengers of wood. Kevin also brought along one of his natural edge mesquite bowls chosen for the June 18, 2006 “Photo of the Day” on the AAW website: www.woodturner.org.

Kevin’s program presented a lot of information and tips concerning what to look for in identifying various trees by their bark and leaf structure. Questions from the floor were answered with the expertise that amazed us casual woodturners. His program also covered a number of things to consider when selecting wood to turn, since he is not only an arborist, but an accomplished woodturner.

 


April 2007 Program

"Tips on Turning Eggs" presented by Fred Denke

The April program will consist of the following two segments: a review of the WNT entry in the 2000 AAW Collaborative Project and a demonstration on turning an egg.

Fred Denke retired seven years ago from an engineering career in the aircraft industry. He grew up on a farm in central Texas near Waco. As a farmer’s son working with wood was part of farm chores. This work let him use woodworking tools at an early age. In his adult years he continued woodworking using hand tools and a nine-inch table saw. This woodworking led to the curiosity of woodturning, so after retirement and buying a medium size lathe he was a woodturner.

He has attended several “Texas-Turn-or-Two”, SWAT and AAW symposia. He has spent a week at Arrowmont with David Ellsworth as the instructor. He also has attended all day hands on with Lyle Jamison, Stuart Batty, Michael Hosaluk, Dick Sing, and Jacques Vesery.

Fred has led two AAW Collaborative Projects. The Coffee Grinder at the 2005 Symposium in Kansas City, KS and the Dirigible presented at the 2000 AAW Symposium in Charlotte, NC.

The Dirigible has been selected for permanent display at the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas. As part of the April program, a review of the Dirigible project will be presented.

For our April Demonstration, Fred Denke will talk about his process in learning to turn an egg. The demo will include turning a egg using a template as a guide and a holding jig for finishing the ends.


howard2March 2007 Program

"Finishing for the Home Shop" presented by Howard Hale

Howard Hale, of Dallas, will present a very informative and entertaining presentation on "Finishing for the Home Shop" for our March meeting. Howard brings 22 years of professional woodworking experience to the Dallas Woodcraft store. He was a student of the great Danishwoodworking master, Tage Frid, and brings a unique style of teaching that everyone enjoys.

His hands-on approach helps students learn everything from power tools to hand tools to applying fine finishes.

 

His classes include: Raised Panel Doors, Mortise and Tenon Joinery, Hand-cut Dovetails, Hand-tool Basics, Building a Smoothing Plane, and his premier class; Finishing for the Home Shop is a must take by everyone.

 

Along with his own classroom activities, Howard is in charge of the Education Program at the Dallas Woodcraft store. He schedules all classes and sets up the Second Saturday Free Demo Days.

 

January 2007 Program

"Turning a Covered Dish" presented by Tom Crosby

C. Tom Crosby is a multi-talented woodturner as one can readily tell by visiting his personal gallery space on the East Texas Woodturners website to see the diversity in his turnings. Tom will be the demonstrator for our January 2007 program and the topic will be "Turning a Covered Dish".

Tom Crosby was born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Tom retired from the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, in 1995 after forty years of service. He and his wife Marjorie relocated to Van Zandt County near the small town of Canton, Texas.

Tom has been working with wood since he was a youngster making boxes, furniture, cabinets, and has built two houses. His interest in woodturning began in 1999 when he got his first lathe and fell in love with woodturning. He makes segmented bowls, hollow vessels, pierced vessels, vases, boxes, urns, platters, cups, inlaid bowls and various other pieces. Two of his pieces were featured in the Members’ Gallery of the Winter 2003 edition of the American Woodturner. His pieces have won several awards, including the top award in the 2004 Rockler’s National Turning Contest. In the Spring 2005 (Issue No. 5) of Woodturning Design, there is an article by Tom on a method developed by him for turning a One Piece Cup with a Handle.

Tom and Marjorie serve as librarians for the East Texas Woodturners in Tyler, Texas. Tom served as the 2003 -2004 President of the East Texas Woodturners Club. He is a demonstrator and mentor and has demonstrated at numerous other clubs and the 2004 and 2005 South West Association of Turners Symposium. He is also a member of the Dallas Area Woodturners and the American Association of Woodturners.

Tom says that woodturning gives him a chance to explore his artistic side and that when he picks up a piece of wood he can’t wait to see what is hidden within. He is an avid conservationist and feels that this is a way of recycling by using wood from trees that have been cut or must be cut because of disease or some other reason.

For a handout of this program in Adobe PDF format, select the following link (left-click to view online or right-click to download): Turning a Covered Dish.