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Turn With Independence

October 2017

Offcuts from the Board
October 2017

As woodturners, we do not have much scrap, just smaller pieces that can be used together to make something larger in combination with other bits and pieces. That's what this little section attempts to produce. By adding the small parts of our activities and plans we have a combined bigger picture of opportunities to take part in within the club.

This month’s Open Shop is truly "open" to anything anyone desires to bring and work on. Bring your tools and project material and make something happen.
The program for this month’s meeting will consist of having our annual Creativity Contest. We will display and share our creations and see who is the luck winner of the Carter & Sons spindle gouge.
You have a chance to win an airbursh by purchasing a ticket for $2 each for the "special raffle". The funds raised will go into the equipment fund. We will do the drawing after we collect $100 dollars in ticket sales.
There are many ways you can contribute to the life of our club. A couple simple ways are to submit your answers to the "5 Woodturning Question" article. (See the article below for more details). Another similar way is to submit your woodturning tips also for the newsletter. (Refer to the article later.) Of course there are many other ways to put your enthusiasm into action. You can ask any officer for direction. There are many practical ways to be involved. A simple way to help is to come early to the meeting and help set up the room for the meeting and/or stay afterwards and help clean up. Either or both are appreciated.

Keep turning safely and we’ll see you at the meeting.

Monthly Open Shop

The Open Shop for the recent months have not had a specific focus so it's wide open to whatever you desire. So, bring your tools, project piece and safety equipment and join in the activity. There will be others there and we will try to help in whatever way we can. We will meet on Saturday, Oct 14 at 10 AM at our meeting place at Metro Hardwoods.
Keep turning and be safe.

Our Last Meeting

Last month Alex Garcia showed us how to turn a hollow Christmas ornament using the Bob Rosand method. Alex went through the steps of rounding a piece of persimmon into a spherical shape and hollowing it out through the small hole in the end. He then turned a tear-drop icicle finial for the bottom and a hanger finial for the top complete with a fish hook hanger.

Demo challenge note: Remember, the lucky member (by drawing) of the demo challenge takes home a gift certificate to Craft Supplies, USA.

The video of each meetings' demo are available in the library on DVD to be checked out by members. The video is also available on YouTube. It is in two parts and can be accessed by clicking here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.

Creativity Contest

This is the month we will have our annual Creativity Contest. That is where the participants were given a piece of wood and have used their creativity and skill in producing something from it.
Remember; the rules are simply; use only the wood you receive, do not use any hardware or kits. The wood may be dyed, painted, carved, wood burned, cut and re-glued or any other crafty treatment, but not added to.
Each member will be showing off and explaining their results, successes, challenges and failures. It is a fun, informative, interesting, educational and learning experience for us all. The winner will chosen by a vote of the membership and will receive a Carter & Son spindle gouge as the first prize.
Be sure to bring your creation to this months meeting. Bring it whether it's finished or not. The stories are varied and interesting to all. We're looking forward to yours.

Natural edged winged bowl by Ralph Benjamin

Logo pens turned by Gary Ellsworth

Natural edged bowl and "one last cut" by Don Bird

Scratch awl by Mike Jones

Small lidded box by Jim Tate

Demo challenge canteen by Mike Jones

Officers contact info

President

Don Bird
(816) 377-2752
dbonthepc@gmail.com

Vice President

Vaughn Bradley
(816) 589-1325

vrbradley@gmail.com

Secretary

Gary Gahm
(816) 313-5065
gahmgb@comcast.net

Treasurer

Mel Bryan
(816) 524-7767
mrwudb@gmail.com

Director at Large

Bill Baker
(816) 836-5656
twist-and-click@comcast.net

Where We Meet

Metro Hardwoods

4243 S. Noland Rd
Independence, Mo.

Click: http://mapq.st/1jjGqsW for a map

Upcoming Events

Oct 14
        Open Shop
  At Metro Hardwoods
From 10 AM to 12 Noon

Oct 17
        Monthly meeting
   Metro Hardwoods
         7 PM to 9 PM

Nov 18
        Open Shop
At Metro Hardwoods
From 10 AM to 12 Noon

Nov 21
        Monthly meeting
   Metro Hardwoods
         7 PM to 9 PM

Upcoming October Meeting

This month, we will be experiencing the creativity of all those that have entered the annual Creativity Contest. We will have the presentations of each members contest creation and vote on our favorite for which the winner will be presented with the Carter & Son spindle gouge.

5 Woodturning Questions

The following are the answers to the five questions as answered by member Michael Straughn.
The intention of this is for us to get to know each other and our passion for woodturning by answering five simple questions related to our woodturning desires. I’m sure that as you read through these questions, you will be able to relate to them

and will think of them as they refer to yourself. Therefore, you will be ready to take up the challenge at the end of this article.

1.         When did you start turning and why?
I have wanted to be a woodworker since I built an airplane out of scrap paneling from a house my parents remodeled when I was six. However, I never had a desire to spin chunks of wood at high rates of speed until I bought a cheap lathe at a garage sale about 12 years ago. I bought it because it was a tool and it was cheap. I turned a 4X4 into half a goblet and haven’t been able to stop since.

2.         What tools do you use the most?
I always have the 1” roughing gouge and the ½” bowl gouge close at hand. I use the 3/8” spindle gouge for small detail work. The skew is used more as a scraper but sometimes I do try to skew something up. Yes, I have roughing and finishing Easy Wood tools.

3.         What finish do you prefer?
I am still working on that. I usually have a bottle of BLO, denatured alcohol, and Shellac mixed up but I try other things. Still haven’t settled on one.

4.         What part of turning do you enjoy the most? What draws you to it?
I like the comments I get from non-woodworkers about the things I make. As long as they don’t see the artwork the rest of you make, they think I’m pretty good.

5.         What do you hope to achieve this year in your shop?
Recently I have circled the wagons with the lathe, bandsaw, table saw, grinder, and drill press around a perimeter and within easy reach. If I get comfortable with that setup, I will re-duct my vacuum system to make it more convenient to the layout. I consider the vacuum system to be one of the more important tools in the shop.

Now it's YOUR turn, Michael Straughn.

   Don’t wait to have your arm twisted to answer these five question. Simply write down your responses and submit them to indepwoodturners@gmail.com or give them to Mel Bryan at a meeting. As they are received, they will be put in the newsletter and we will be able to enjoy “your” story and get to know you a little better.

Treasurers Report

INDEPENDENCE WOODTURNERS

Treasurer's Report

As of September 30, 2017

September 30

YTD 2017

GENERAL Account

BEGINNING BALANCE

$3304.55

$1372.08

MONTH'S INCOME

$141.50

$3500.26

MONTH'S EXPENSES

$89.88

$1516.17

ENDING BALANCE

$3304.55

SUMMARY OF EXPENSES

Coffee & cookies

$64.88

Supplies & Misc

Lathe Fund
Available Funds

$25.00

$2238.95

$1117.22

Mel Bryan, Treasurer

Trusted Turning Tips

     Submit your tips for this column and win a $10 gift certificate from Craft Supplies, USA if it is published here in the newsletter. You may submit your tip to Mel Bryan at mrwudb@gmail.com or indepwoodturners@gmail.com

Now for this month's tip:
If you don't have an air compressor to blow out the chips from your hollow form you are turning or just don't want to bother with getting it out, or the repeated blowing through a straw makes you lightheaded, use this tip from Bill Corteville.  Just use one of those aerosol air cans used in computer repair. You can get them from computer stores, office supply stores/departments, or craft stores. (I got some at Cargo Largo.)
Submitted by Bill Corteville.

Turning to the Library.

As a reminder, be sure to take advantage of the fact that our monthly demonstrations are not only in our library on DVD discs, but are posted on You Tube. One advantage is that the most recent demo will be on You Tube faster than it shows up in our library. This is true for most of the demos done this year. Simply go to the You Tube site on your computer, tablet, iPad or smart phone and in the search box, search for “Indep Woodturners” and the topic in which you are interested. And usually, the first item in the search results will be our YouTube channel which when you click on it you will get our channel with all the videos. Not only will the video of our demo show up, but related videos will show on the screen for later viewing.
Don’t forget to check the inventory of our library as we are regularly adding new items.
--- John Thornton, Librarian

Why Do We Do It?

Why do we do it? Make stuff. Have you ever stopped to think about why we do what we do? Be it turning, scrolling, carving, and building. Wood, metal, glass, acrylic, paint or whatever our medium is, why do we do it?

None of us are getting rich doing it. Most of the time, we have to control ourselves so we still have money left to buy the necessities of life. We spend hours in spaces that are often too cold, too hot, too dark, too … We tweak our backs lifting and moving wood and tools, inhale too much dust and get our bodies into positions that they were never intended to get into trying to hold fifteen pieces of wood together with one hand, an arm and a leg while getting a clamp on it with the other hand, arm and leg before the glue sets up. We have all injured ourselves at least once, some of us seriously.

Why do we do it? Is it some internal need to create something? Is it to feed our ego? Is it to pass time? Make a few bucks? Is it to calm our internal demons? Is it all of this and more?

Bill Baker, Contributor

Segmented vase by Gale Markley

Demo challenge pieces by Gale Markley

Demo challenge canteen by David Rink

Demo challenge canteen by Jim Tate

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