Four presentations and one two day clinic.
When Good Wood Cracks – Demonstration # 1
It's a curse, and an opportunity, when wood cracks. The demonstration presents a series of techniques that take the curse of a crack and turn it into an artistic opportunity. This presentation flows from the article I wrote for the AAW's American Woodturner in the August 2015 edition. The article was a survey of techniques used by woodturners across the country to deal with a crack.
This demonstration appeals to woodturners of all skill levels.
There are two key themes in the demonstration. The first theme is to demonstrate a safe way to use each technique. The second is unleashing the creativity of each turner to resolve cracks in their own unique way.
Topics:
Art Theory. - How you can use a repair to make your pieces look more appealing. The point of turning a flaw into a design element is illustrated with simple vase that has a zipper in it and some white board time.
Dutchman and Butterflies – How to safely create a butterfly patch in a bowl. There is a discussion of stabilizing the wall with the repair, and the use of contrasting colors.
Splines - This is a repair technique suitable for wider flaws than the Dutchman technique. The creation of a custom spline with matching slot across the flaw will be shown. The safe use of a biscuit cutter in creating the slot is stressed.
Lacing – It sounds simple, but it is not. I will discuss the technical issues and how to solve walking drill bits, misaligned holes and other problems. The three key decisions in lacing will be illustrated with a sample board show a variety of lacing materials, lacing patterns and the key question of what to do with the ends. I will also talk about my favorite tools.
Staples – An alternative to lacing is the use of staples. I will show how to create a staple and to put it into the wood so that it is secure. A separate segment will show how to form hand forged copper staples for my work. Again, the tools that I use will be shown and discussed.
Cut it Out – This is the third choice for flaws. We can leave it, highlight it, or cut it out. I will show how to create a mountain range rim, a wave rim and the wrapped vase. The idea of using common items as inserts will be demonstrated.
Brass Plating – I will show silver plating on wooden bowl from 1562. Demonstration will include making the template, cutting the plate, and forming the plate to the curved surface, and creating hand formed rivets. Generally there is insufficient time to cover this topic in a typical club meeting. It is included in a clinic. This section requires an air compressor.
Dealing with a Torn Nub – I will discuss and demonstrate several methods to turn a torn nub into an artistic statement.
Drying Techniques – A short description of how I dry blanks.
Rope it Up – This technique uses actual rope to bind the crack in a unique way.
Cable it Together - Holding things together with steel cable and springs.
Group Discussion – The demonstration concludes with discussion of how to repair flaws on pieces that have been brought in. Each individual’s creativity is encouraged.
This presentation in its entirety will run approximately 2 hours of speaking time. The length can be shortened by removing topics or lengthened by adding techniques.
Handouts for the demonstration can be found under the “Demonstrations” Tab on my website. Step by step instructions for each of the techniques and a copy of my article “When Good Wood Cracks” from the American Woodturner, August 2015 can be downloaded from the site.
MultiAxis Flower Disc – Demonstration # 2
This presentation is more than just a how to make a vertical disc functioning as a flower vase. There are several key themes woven into the presentation.
Once the disc is completed, I walk the audience through a variety of textures, coloring techniques, and carvings that can be used to embellish the basic form. The demonstration can vary in length from 1-1/2 to 3 hours depending upon how many embellishment techniques are shown. For longer club meetings, I will show the creation of an 8” inch flower vase from one inch boards.
The primary handout is my article from the June 2017 issue of the American Woodturner which can be downloaded from DennisBelcher.com, the Demonstrations Tab. This is supplemented with a Sequence of Operations Handout and information on the coloring techniques that I use.
This presentation was given as the North Carolina Woodturning symposium in 2017. The Tidewater Turners videoed my demonstration and it can be viewed on my website, SeaBreezeWoodworks.com under the Woodturning Articles Tab.
Board to a Vase - Demonstration #3
I need to improve the quality of the images. Compressed too much.
All woodturners have limitations. Those constraints can be equipment or our body. An attraction of this project is that it does not require a chain saw, heavy lifting, an extensive shop, deep hollowing tools, a truck, or a strong back. Only a lathe and a basic set of turning tools are required.
The idea is to glue up a vase blank rather than turning it from a solid block of wood. A glass tube insert allows you to use the vase with water. No need to hollow.
While the completed vase will be 8”, this technique permits scale up or down. Regardless of the size, no hollowing is required.
Instructions will be given on the proper use of a spindle roughing gouge, a bowl gouge, and drilling in a safe manner. The group will also be exposed to variation in design, and we will work on training the eye to see good form.
Variations in finishing techniques will be explored.
Most woodturners start life as wood workers. This is an excellent transition project for the change.
Turning Till Age 90 -Demonstration #4
The goal of the presentation is to increase the audience's awareness of the mental attitudes required to be a safe woodturner over a long period of time. I start by walking the audience through my loss of a finger and tell them about the things I learned from my accident.
I describe to the audience the practices and devices in my studio that I have put in place to guard my health so that I can still be at my lathe at age 90. These include such things as dust collection, air filtration, hoists, hearing protection, awareness of my body clock, etc. I will share with the audience my shop rules that flowed from my loss of a finger.
A section on body mechanics has been added. This segment focuses on those movements specific to woodturning that put the body at high risk. Slight changes to our turning style can mitigate this risk.
Being safe over long periods of time requires a change of attitudes and habits. My struggles to change my natural behavior to safe behavior will be shared with the audience.
The first half of the presentation will utilize Power Point.
The second part of the presentation is one of audience participation. I elicit stories from the audience. Each experience is written on the board and a summary of the audience's tales become the conclusion of the session.
There is a follow-up test that will given to the audience. The hand out test is a safety quiz I put together for my club and was later published in the American Woodworker and has been reprinted in the AAW publication “Safety for Woodturners”.
Of all the presentations to clubs I have given over the years, this is the one that turners talk to me about years later.
Turning until Age 90 will run from 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Drilling on the Lathe – Demonstration #5
Drilling on the lathe is a basic operation that is ignored in woodturning training. Much has been written about the use of a bowl gouge or a spindle gouge, but little information is available about how to drill safely.
This demonstration covers why turners experience “nasties” when drilling and what steps need to be taken to prevent them. Information about a Morse-Taper is presented, how to repair a damaged arbor, how to change out an arbor for a new one, the importance of cleaning the quills, and how to repair a damaged quill. Once the groundwork is laid, various drilling techniques are demonstrated with a discussion of the pros and cons of each.
Drilling to set depth of a turning, drilling small diameter pilot holes and using a chip clear gun drill round out the discussion of drilling.
Hand out is the article I wrote, “A Primer for Drilling on the Lathe” published in the August Edition of the American Woodturner.
The typical comment I hear from people who have heard this demonstration is “I wish I had heard this years back”.
Drilling On the Lathe demonstration runs about 45 minutes.
Tuning your Lathe - Demonstration #6
Your lathe should be a tool that supports your creations, not be something that causes stumbles. The demonstration walks the audience through each component of a lathe and explains how they should be maintain for smooth running.
The demonstration will address:
This topic is one of the black holes of woodturning. It is of critical importance, but one that is never talked about.
Demonstration takes 35 minutes.
It's a curse, and an opportunity, when wood cracks. The demonstration presents a series of techniques that take the curse of a crack and turn it into an artistic opportunity. This presentation flows from the article I wrote for the AAW's American Woodturner in the August 2015 edition. The article was a survey of techniques used by woodturners across the country to deal with a crack.
This demonstration appeals to woodturners of all skill levels.
There are two key themes in the demonstration. The first theme is to demonstrate a safe way to use each technique. The second is unleashing the creativity of each turner to resolve cracks in their own unique way.
Topics:
Art Theory. - How you can use a repair to make your pieces look more appealing. The point of turning a flaw into a design element is illustrated with simple vase that has a zipper in it and some white board time.
Dutchman and Butterflies – How to safely create a butterfly patch in a bowl. There is a discussion of stabilizing the wall with the repair, and the use of contrasting colors.
Splines - This is a repair technique suitable for wider flaws than the Dutchman technique. The creation of a custom spline with matching slot across the flaw will be shown. The safe use of a biscuit cutter in creating the slot is stressed.
Lacing – It sounds simple, but it is not. I will discuss the technical issues and how to solve walking drill bits, misaligned holes and other problems. The three key decisions in lacing will be illustrated with a sample board show a variety of lacing materials, lacing patterns and the key question of what to do with the ends. I will also talk about my favorite tools.
Staples – An alternative to lacing is the use of staples. I will show how to create a staple and to put it into the wood so that it is secure. A separate segment will show how to form hand forged copper staples for my work. Again, the tools that I use will be shown and discussed.
Cut it Out – This is the third choice for flaws. We can leave it, highlight it, or cut it out. I will show how to create a mountain range rim, a wave rim and the wrapped vase. The idea of using common items as inserts will be demonstrated.
Brass Plating – I will show silver plating on wooden bowl from 1562. Demonstration will include making the template, cutting the plate, and forming the plate to the curved surface, and creating hand formed rivets. Generally there is insufficient time to cover this topic in a typical club meeting. It is included in a clinic. This section requires an air compressor.
Dealing with a Torn Nub – I will discuss and demonstrate several methods to turn a torn nub into an artistic statement.
Drying Techniques – A short description of how I dry blanks.
Rope it Up – This technique uses actual rope to bind the crack in a unique way.
Cable it Together - Holding things together with steel cable and springs.
Group Discussion – The demonstration concludes with discussion of how to repair flaws on pieces that have been brought in. Each individual’s creativity is encouraged.
This presentation in its entirety will run approximately 2 hours of speaking time. The length can be shortened by removing topics or lengthened by adding techniques.
Handouts for the demonstration can be found under the “Demonstrations” Tab on my website. Step by step instructions for each of the techniques and a copy of my article “When Good Wood Cracks” from the American Woodturner, August 2015 can be downloaded from the site.
MultiAxis Flower Disc – Demonstration # 2
This presentation is more than just a how to make a vertical disc functioning as a flower vase. There are several key themes woven into the presentation.
- Woodturning is a journey, not just making a thing.
- The journey starts with a simple horizontal disc then progresses to a vertical disc that becomes a canvas for a multitude of coloring, texturing, and carving techniques.
- The advantage of picking a form and mastering it rather than jumping from boxes, to platter, to bowls, to pens, to hollow forms. Doing them all, but not mastering any of them.
- The importance of working out the sequence of operations before you start is stressed.
- And oh yes, the bulk of the time is spent actually making a multi-axis, vertical flower disc.
Once the disc is completed, I walk the audience through a variety of textures, coloring techniques, and carvings that can be used to embellish the basic form. The demonstration can vary in length from 1-1/2 to 3 hours depending upon how many embellishment techniques are shown. For longer club meetings, I will show the creation of an 8” inch flower vase from one inch boards.
The primary handout is my article from the June 2017 issue of the American Woodturner which can be downloaded from DennisBelcher.com, the Demonstrations Tab. This is supplemented with a Sequence of Operations Handout and information on the coloring techniques that I use.
This presentation was given as the North Carolina Woodturning symposium in 2017. The Tidewater Turners videoed my demonstration and it can be viewed on my website, SeaBreezeWoodworks.com under the Woodturning Articles Tab.
Board to a Vase - Demonstration #3
I need to improve the quality of the images. Compressed too much.
All woodturners have limitations. Those constraints can be equipment or our body. An attraction of this project is that it does not require a chain saw, heavy lifting, an extensive shop, deep hollowing tools, a truck, or a strong back. Only a lathe and a basic set of turning tools are required.
The idea is to glue up a vase blank rather than turning it from a solid block of wood. A glass tube insert allows you to use the vase with water. No need to hollow.
While the completed vase will be 8”, this technique permits scale up or down. Regardless of the size, no hollowing is required.
Instructions will be given on the proper use of a spindle roughing gouge, a bowl gouge, and drilling in a safe manner. The group will also be exposed to variation in design, and we will work on training the eye to see good form.
Variations in finishing techniques will be explored.
Most woodturners start life as wood workers. This is an excellent transition project for the change.
Turning Till Age 90 -Demonstration #4
The goal of the presentation is to increase the audience's awareness of the mental attitudes required to be a safe woodturner over a long period of time. I start by walking the audience through my loss of a finger and tell them about the things I learned from my accident.
I describe to the audience the practices and devices in my studio that I have put in place to guard my health so that I can still be at my lathe at age 90. These include such things as dust collection, air filtration, hoists, hearing protection, awareness of my body clock, etc. I will share with the audience my shop rules that flowed from my loss of a finger.
A section on body mechanics has been added. This segment focuses on those movements specific to woodturning that put the body at high risk. Slight changes to our turning style can mitigate this risk.
Being safe over long periods of time requires a change of attitudes and habits. My struggles to change my natural behavior to safe behavior will be shared with the audience.
The first half of the presentation will utilize Power Point.
The second part of the presentation is one of audience participation. I elicit stories from the audience. Each experience is written on the board and a summary of the audience's tales become the conclusion of the session.
There is a follow-up test that will given to the audience. The hand out test is a safety quiz I put together for my club and was later published in the American Woodworker and has been reprinted in the AAW publication “Safety for Woodturners”.
Of all the presentations to clubs I have given over the years, this is the one that turners talk to me about years later.
Turning until Age 90 will run from 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Drilling on the Lathe – Demonstration #5
Drilling on the lathe is a basic operation that is ignored in woodturning training. Much has been written about the use of a bowl gouge or a spindle gouge, but little information is available about how to drill safely.
This demonstration covers why turners experience “nasties” when drilling and what steps need to be taken to prevent them. Information about a Morse-Taper is presented, how to repair a damaged arbor, how to change out an arbor for a new one, the importance of cleaning the quills, and how to repair a damaged quill. Once the groundwork is laid, various drilling techniques are demonstrated with a discussion of the pros and cons of each.
Drilling to set depth of a turning, drilling small diameter pilot holes and using a chip clear gun drill round out the discussion of drilling.
Hand out is the article I wrote, “A Primer for Drilling on the Lathe” published in the August Edition of the American Woodturner.
The typical comment I hear from people who have heard this demonstration is “I wish I had heard this years back”.
Drilling On the Lathe demonstration runs about 45 minutes.
Tuning your Lathe - Demonstration #6
Your lathe should be a tool that supports your creations, not be something that causes stumbles. The demonstration walks the audience through each component of a lathe and explains how they should be maintain for smooth running.
The demonstration will address:
- Which portions of the ways should not be lubricated?
- What is a dry lubricant and where should it be used?
- What to do if your tailstock slips.
- How to care for your quill.
- What is galling and why do we care.
- What you should do if your drill chuck slips in the tailstock
- How to have your banjo strum musically (just joking really it is the proper care of a banjo).
- Why is the locking plate so important.
- Sources of vibration and wobble and their cure.
This topic is one of the black holes of woodturning. It is of critical importance, but one that is never talked about.
Demonstration takes 35 minutes.