Welcome to South Downs Woodturners

The first meeting of the year was very well attended and there was great interest in the bud vase demonstrations from Anna Cates, Barry Chidlow and Andy Heath. They all showed different approaches not just in shape and colour, but also design with off-centre turning and multi-holed vases.

It was also competition time with the Open Competition and there were plenty of entries this time round. It would be great to have as many or more for the bud vase competition to be judged in April.

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Anna Cates adding liming wax

Barry Chidlow getting a multi-axis ready

Andy Heath starting out on bud vase

Dave Smith registering competition entries

Plenty of entries to judge...

...and plenty of debate

Casting votes for the final competition of the year - Turned Fruit

We had planned to have a talk from our Chairman, Norman Billingham, about tool-making. However, this was not to be as Norman was unwell. We wish him a speedy recovery.

We did have our final competition of the year though, and our Chairman's Challenge was Christmas decorations...definitely a festive feel!

There will be no meeting in January, but we return in February with our Open Competition. Remember that subs are due in February.

We wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Les using a pull cut to shape the outside of his bowl

Les is a regular professional demonstrator to visit us, and he never disappoints. His demo this time was bowl turning and he took us through the whole process of shaping and hollowing the bowl, adding texture and colour, and covering the full range of cuts that are needed. There was something for everyone in his demo, from beginner to seasoned turner. As well as covering the basics, he also went through push and pull cuts in detail, focusing on different bowl gouge grinds, how to scrape and shear scrape with a long-grind bowl gouge, and then showed how to bead the outside of the bowl with a spindle gouge, how to put an undercut on the rim using a small bowl gouge, and how to finish off the bottom of the bowl. There was even some advice on sharpening. A great evening!

Gordon keeping his audience entertained as well as showing us how to turn a peppermill and what different designs were possible.

Gordon took to the lathe again this year for his second club demo and treated us to a session on making pepper mills using a Crushgrind mechanism. He showed us the two different versions available - shafted and shaftless. This is a great project for turners of all abilities, and a good one for novices to put a range of different turning skills into practice. A copy of the drilling and dimensions has been emailed to all club members. As well as educating us with his turning, he amused us with his humour, as always...and left us with the probing question of 'What was the best thing before sliced bread?'  

A selection of Gordon's peppermills, complete with a festive Santa mill...

Chairman's Challenge for October - Miniatures.....and some were really tiny!

Snowmen and mushrooms...the numbers grow....for donation to the local nursery for decorating for Christmas gifts

Autumn is the season of 'mellow fruitfulness' so it was fitting that this month's meeting was about turning fruit. We were fortunate to have three members demonstrating their approaches to turning, colouring and finishing fruit. Jim Young showed us how to turn apples and pears with a natural wood finish, waxed to show the wood's beauty, Peter Brown showed us how to turn acorns and texture them, and Anna Cates showed us her painted and bitten fruit - her colouring is so realistic you could be forgiven for taking a real bite from one of her pieces! All this to help inspire members for the next club competition: turned fruit for December.

Peter Brown putting texture on an acorn cup

Jim Young turning a pear

Anna Cates taking bites out of her pear

Peter's acorns and some blanks ready for turning

Jim's fruit

Anna's coloured fruit

Chairman's Challenge - Branch

Member turnings

Turn a snowman or mushroom for the Nursery children to deocorate for Christmas - bring yours to the next meeting

July Meeting

David Hare was our member demonstrator for the evening. He showed how to create a multi-part column by joining shorter pieces of spindle turning with turned pegs or tenons to fit holes drilled with a blacksmith's bit. He also showed us how to turn an acorn to fit on top of a newel post.

We also had a competition - something turned from a 4" cube.

We need more members to demonstrate turning fruit at the September meeting - let the Chairman know if you can help.

Finally, turn a snowman...I know it's a bit early in the year, but we will be donating plain, undecorated snowmen to the nursery that uses the hall for the children to paint for Christmas presents for their families.

Dave's cradle for holding square stock for drilling

Turning an acorn to go on the top of a newel post

Shaping the column with beads at each end and a tapering curve