Turn With Independence

    Just a reminder of the monthly meeting, on May 18^th, Ben Simmons will be demonstrating Hollowing. In July we will have another outside demonstrator. The last one was very interesting and we learned a lot from Craig. The next one is professional woodturner Emiliano Achaval demonstrating turning traditional Hawaiian round-bottom calabash bowls on Tuesday, July 20th, 7:00pm-9:30pm. The same as the last one, it is only $10.00. Even if you cannot watch on the 20th you can watch at your convenience if you sign up. Emails will be going out and info will be in the newsletter.
     Another topic is live monthly meetings. I know many of you are wondering when this will happen again. With the current improvements going on around currently, we are eyeing September for the first live meeting. This will also be shown as a zoom meeting. This will also be determined if we can find a live demonstrator for this date. A more concrete determination will be made later based on conditions.
      I hate to bring this subject up again for members, but we have not had a great response to members renewing dues. I understand members not attending Zoom meetings feel they should not have to pay dues. The Officers of the club decided early on in 2020 not to drop members for not paying dues. But now we are in 2021 and we still have bills and needs as a club. This ranges from AAW insurance, Zoom subscription and virtual equipment cost (which we need to update). Currently most virtual equipment is being provided by Mel Bryan. The cost is minimal compared with other club costs and other activities.
Everyone be safe and will see everyone on May 18^th for a great demo by one of our own members.

• Please note that all public meetings of the club are on hold because of the COVID-19 self-quarantine restrictions. We are having our meeting virtually on line. Please refer to the information in other sections of the newsletter on how to prepare and participate in those meetings.
• Be sure to check on our website for the current status and information on club activities.  The address is; independencewoodturners.org   (Ref. the following article about the website.). 
• Members, please join us on Facebook where you can see what others are doing and you can post your own projects and artwork. 
• As a reminder, the membership dues became $20 a year beginning January 2020, and only emailed newsletters will be sent. Dues payments being collected now will go for the 2021 year's dues. They may be paid by either; sending a check to Mel Bryan, Treasurer with the check made out to "Independence Woodturners" at; 204 NW Redwing Dr., Lee's Summit, Mo. 64063. Or you may pay by PayPal by either one of two options. You may pay by going to the web address, PayPal.me/indepwoodturners or via our website. To pay, using the website, as a member, sign in to our website, Independencewoodturners.org, using the userid you were given when you joined. Once you sign in, go to the "Members Only" tab and click on "Financial". If you've misplaced your id or have trouble, please contact either Ron Bruno or Mel Bryan for assistance.
• Want to help out? Check out the "Want Ad" below. 
• The officers would very much like to hear from you, the members, any thoughts and ideas you might have as to what you would like to see from the club within the abilities, guidelines and purposes of the club. Therefore, feel free to contact any officer with your input. You can use any of the officers' email addresses listed above or the club email address; indepwoodturners@gmail.com 
• There are many ways you can contribute to the life of our club. A really good way is to partake in the Open Shop by bringing a project or turning and get a lathe going. Another  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. 

Our Last Meeting

      As we continue to follow the self quarantine restrictions, instead of physically meeting, we have been holding our meetings virtually online.  Our meeting last month was the first time we used the services of a paid professional that did a "live interactive remote demonstration". We had invited and worked with the other woodturning clubs in the Metro area and had 30-some attendees. Our presenter was Craig Timmerman and he demonstrated how he turns one of his signature items, the torus vase. Following is a short summary of what he shared with us. You can get more information on how to do them on his website; armadillowoodworks.com 
       (Photos by permission of the demonstrator.)

  

  

   
    

Following  the demonstration there was a time for questions and recap. 

 Since this demonstration was a paid professional demonstration, there is not a public recorded video available except for the people that had paid. 

    This was the first one of these demonstrations.  The second is tentatively scheduled for the June meeting, coming from the professional Emiliano Achaval in Hawaii. Then the third will be David Ellsworth later toward the fall. We hope you will be able join in with us. 

Help Wanted
A Plea for Demonstrators

      Because of the quarantine situation, we find ourselves in the awkward position of not being able to schedule a variety of demonstrators. Many are not able to present from their own shops or make videos that we can share. Therefore, we are asking our members to consider and step up to give a demonstration. What we are willing to do is video your demo at our club site at Metro Hardwoods then present it in our online meetings. If you have been on the borderline of giving a demo, this is an excellent opporturnity (misspelling intentional). You can share your skill and techniques without the fear of people throwing stones and we can edit the oopses. If you are willing to give it a try, please contact one of the officers. (Names, emails, phone numbers above).  
    And a big thank you to all of the members that have come forward thus far and made videos already for the rest of the club. This is what the club is about; sharing and helping each other.