AWA NOVEMBER NEWS LETTER
The 3 November
AWA meeting was held at Don Fall’s shop with about 37
members in attendance. Discussions centered around some
tool and equipment purchases to upgrade the club’s
lathes so that the turning 301 (off-centered tool
handle) and turning 302 (turned cylinder box) could be
accomplished in December and January. The 16 members
taking the beginning—intermediate master classes in
March will take the classes in December and January
before classes are offered to the general membership.
Turning 101, 102, 201, and 202 will be offered each
successive Tuesday in November at Don Fall’s shop. The
classes are full presently but more will be offered
after January ’08 for interested members. Please
contact Bill Bowers (turningsbb@gmail.com)
for more information or sign up at the 1 December
meeting.
There are still
2 Dick Sing advanced class openings and 1 Soren Berger
advanced class opening for the March master classes.
Contact Bill Bowers (turningsbb@gmail.com)
if you are interested in taking these classes. A 50%
non-refundable deposit is required to hold your spot.
Amy at Hardware
Specialties has dyed wood for sale as well as many
assorted exotic hardwoods. Stop by and pick out some
wood for those Christmas projects or the Artistry in
Wood competition for February ‘08. Amy also has a
substantial Jet outboard stand for sale. Check with her
for pricing.
Don’t forget to
make several pieces for the January ’08 instant gallery
for the 5 January meeting. Whatever pieces you make for
the instant gallery may then be entered into the
Artistry in Wood competition during the February Rondy
show. Please take time over the next 2 months to turn
some special projects.
The demos at
the 3 November meeting were presented by Larry Berry and
Bill Bowers showing how to make wine caddies. Larry
demonstrated his new airbrush in coloring and staining
the projects. Randy Farris demonstrated how to turn,
color, stain, and decorate wine bottle stoppers.
The 1 December
meeting will have demos by Don Bladow (how to turn a
cylinder box) and Bill Bowers (how to turn a clam shell
box). These are nifty projects to make for Christmas
gifts and are presented early enough for members to
utilize their skills before Christmas mailing deadlines.
Bill Bowers has
his 2 new turning books, “10 Easy Turning Projects for
the Smaller Lathe”, and “7 Great Turning Projects for
the Smaller Lathe”, available for purchase at the
monthly meetings, Hardware Specialties, and via email (turningsbb@gmail.com).
Don’t forget to mark the 5 January meeting on
your calendars. It will be the innovative rose engine
lathe demonstration in turning ornamental pieces by
Arnie
AWA DECEMBER NEWS LETTER
The December meeting of
Alaska Woodturners Association was held at Don Fall’s
shop with 70 members and guests in attendance. Several
items of business were discussed including naming Burt
Biss as the official AWA Alaska State Fair coordinator
for the next 4 years. Burt plans to obtain more space
for the demonstrators at the ’08 Fair. His efforts in
the past have made the demos at the Fair a memorable
experience for volunteers and observers alike.
Larry Berry
obtained enough support to place 2 orders of the Vitex
sandpaper—a great twistable paper that is no longer
available from standard outlets. John Magee was back
from Skagway and will place an order for Anchorseal
($15/gal) upon having enough people sign up. If you
need any green wood sealer please sign up for some at
the next meeting or contact John.
Amy and Terry
at Hardware Specialties have donated a Jet wet stone
sharpening system with all attachments. This is a nifty
sharpening system to use not only with turning tools but
also any tool one might be able to sharpen in the shop
including scissors or knives. It has been through their
most unselfish support and donations that AWA has been
able to have great equipment to use for teaching and
demonstrating. Amy and Terry also have dyed wood and
exotics for turning. The exotics have been marked down
for quick sale so don’t miss out on the bargains.
Hardware Specialties also has a new shipment of turning
tools of all sorts as well as chucks, jigs, and other
accessories. If they don’t have what you need just ask
and it will be ordered. They soon plan to have walnut
oil for sale to use on turnings. Please inquire with
them about its availability.
If you have
forgotten to pay your dues Don Bladow will be sending a
reminder in the mail or email. Please send in your
remittance to the AWA’s official address listed on the
web site.
Bill Bowers continues to
have copies of his 3 books for sale at monthly meetings,
at his home, or at Hardware Specialties. If you wish to
purchase one of his books email him at
turningsbb@gmail.com. His 4th
book on making boxes will be released in the late fall
of ’08.
The master classes still
have 1 opening in Dick Sing’s and Soren Berger’s
advanced classes. If you are interested contact Bill
Bowers at
turningsbb@gmail.com to
reserve a spot with a 50% non-refundable deposit. The
master classes as well as the symposium will once again
be excellent in March ’08. Mark your calendars for
March 8th & 9th so you don’t miss
the symposium which will be held at Alaska Wood Moulding
on Whitney Rd. Detail directions will be on the web
site in February. The $100 fee may be paid at the door
upon entry.
Turning 301 and
302 classes will be held in December and January. All
the classes are full but should you wish to take the
classes there will be another series the 1st
part of February. After all these classes are completed
AWA will start beginning classes again (the last 2
Tuesdays in February) and continue them in April after
the symposium. Please contact Bill Bowers or sign up
for the classes at the January meeting.
The 5 January
meeting should be quite interesting with Bill Bowers
demonstrating the use and techniques of using the rose
engine lathe in ornamental turning. Bill and Arnie
Geiger built their rose engine lathes from scratch and
have many tips to give to those wishing to embark on
such an endeavor.
JANUARY AWA NEWS LETTER
The January meeting of AWA attended by over 60
individuals hosted a fantastic instant gallery with many
entries from the members and a high quality of turnings
from beginner to expert. There should be lovely pieces
entered in the Artistry in Wood at the Northway Mall
during February. If you haven’t made anything yet
please get busy to have something completed by the
February entry date.
The demo was a demonstration of the rose
engine lathe which Arnie Geiger and Bill Bowers built.
The program demonstrated how to make face plate designs
as well as spindle embellishments. Hopefully there will
be enough enthusiasm stimulated for individuals to built
their own and enter projects in competition. If you are
interested in seeing more ornamental turnings or if you
are just curious check out
www.ornamentalturners.org/forum/index.php.
If you desire to make an ornamental rose engine lathe go
to the AAW web site and scroll down to American
Woodturner on the left margin. Click on it and scroll
down to rose engine lathe to see information to download
including plans and text. Jon McGill,
jon@whidbeyworks.com is the
individual who made up the plans and is a delightful
individual with whom to deal. He answers all his emails
and has the kits to construct the lathe.
Turning 301 and 302 classes will be held the
first two Tuesdays in January and February. If you are
interested in taking the classes (January is full)
please contact Bill Bowers at
turningsbb@gmail.com to sign
up. Turning 101 and 102 classes will be held the last
two Tuesdays in January and then 201 & 202 classes will
be held the last two Tuesdays in February prior to the
Master Classes in March. There will be no classes in
March other than the Master Classes. There is still one
opening in Dick Sing’s advanced class. Beginning
classes will continue in April on the first four
Tuesdays.
Make sure you mark your calendar for March 8th
& 9th for the annual symposium to be held at
Alaska Wood Moulding 8:30 AM—5:30 PM each day. It will
be another exciting display of wood turning with many
tips and secrets. New wide screen HDTVs will be
available for viewers to see minute details.
Don’t miss the February meeting (Feb 2nd)
where Bill Bowers and Arnie Geiger will demonstrate the
use of the McNaughton and Oneway coring systems in bowl
construction.
March News Letter
The fourth annual AWA woodturning
symposium was a smashing success with the 59 attendees
enjoying the impressive skills of Dick Sing, Soren
Berger, Randy Farris, and Richard Acuff. Dick turned 7
different pieces including an egg, pocket watch,
miniature birdhouse ornament, Christmas ornament,
off-centered calculator, pen, and off-centered inlays.
Soren turned multiple spheres with his new sphere
caliper not yet released on the market (the participants
in his master classes were privy to purchase these),
scoops, canisters, lamp shades, and vases all out of
Alaska birch. Randy turned some nifty vases and Richard
turned some AK birch bowls.
The instant
gallery had many entries of impressive quality. Dick
and Soren judged the competition and picked the first
place winner by Pat Bookey of Fairbanks. It was a 2 mm
thin 12 inch diameter AK birch bowl with fine piercing
of its rim that gave a rose pattern. Arnie Geiger won
second place with his Alaska birch lidded grass
container. It had a dyed stained pattern similar to
David Nittman’s famous basket type turnings. Third
place went to Randy Farris for his small madrone burl
bowl with ebonized interior and piercing. Seven other
pieces were selected as honorable mention. They were a
beautiful madrone burl bowl and lidded box by Jeff
Trotter, a stained rim carved platter by Bill Bowers,
another piece (pierced natural edged chokecherry vase)
by Pat Bookey, a miniature birdhouse ornament by Heather
Ashley, a maple bowl by Don Bladow, and an Alaska birch
burl wenge vase by Bill Poole. Both Dick and Soren were
impressed with the quality of the entries. Out of the
10 winners’ pieces 5 will be selected by AAW to be
displayed in their “Rounding Four Corners” exhibition in
the St. Paul museum along with pieces from the Hawaii,
New York, and Florida symposiums’ instant galleries.
This is a great honor for the Alaskan woodturners.
The master
classes of both Dick and Soren gave the participants
more than ample opportunity to learn an incredible
amount of skills in wood turning. Every one enjoyed
themselves and left with a deeper understanding and
appreciation of wood turning. As the year goes by and
more instant galleries are scheduled there will no doubt
be more and better pieces entered from what the students
learned. (The next instant gallery is scheduled for 10
May at the annual picnic.)
Many thanks go
to Don Fall for the use of his shop not only for the
master classes but also for the meeting place of AWA
throughout the year. The board also wishes to thank
those who unselfishly loaned their lathes for the master
classes as well as those who picked-up and returned the
lathes.
The April
meeting will be on the 5th and consist of a
demonstration by Trudy Carlson and Heather Ashley. They
will discuss what they learned in the master classes and
how to make many of the lovely articles. This is a
meeting that has been most popular in the past and one
members should not miss.
The last
meeting of the year will be at Jeff Trotter’s estates
and is the annual picnic (see the web site for a map to
his home). Once again we will have a roast pig, Marji
Campbell’s delicious beans and a demo by Burt Biss on
the mini-lathe. Please plan to attend with your
significant other. Please bring turned pieces for the
instant gallery.
The club has
many turning blocks and stock for sale at below retail
prices. Please contact Don Fall via phone or email if
you wish to purchase any. Profit from the sales goes to
support AWA’s activities.
Amy and Terry
from Hardware Specialties have some exotics in stock for
turning, many turning tools, Oneway supplies, walnut oil
for finishing, and several lathes for sales. Both of
these fine people have been most generous in the support
of AWA. If you need something they can get it for you.
April
May
The
last scheduled ’07—’08 season meeting of AWA was held 10
May at Jeff Trotter’s in Wasilla. The atmosphere was
magnificently beautiful with a warm sunshine short
sleeve weather day that gave a memorable glow to all who
attended. The plans for the ’09 March Symposium (7th
& 8th) and the master classes the week before
(March 2—6) were discussed. The Alaska 5 (actually 6)
instructors were named and they are: Arnie Geiger, Jeff
Trotter, Wayne Boden, Pat and Peggy Bookey, and Bill
Bowers. By the time fall rolls around and registering
begins there will be a detailed explanation of what will
be offered in each class. The classes will be geared to
the beginning—intermediate turner except for Pat and
Peggy’s classes which will be more for the advanced
intermediate individual. Pat and Peggy Bookey will teach
turning ultra thin pieces and then embellishing them
with pierced through techniques (Peggy’s forte). Wayne
Boden will probably teach how to make pens and Arnie
Geiger will probably show how to properly sharpen tools
and then turn peppermills. The present plan is that
each of the 5 instructors will teach a one day class
with the other 4 functioning as helpers and then each
instructor will have their own presentations Saturday
and Sunday at the Symposium. Members may sign up for
only one class or all 5. The tuition will be the same
for each day’s classes, probably in the neighborhood of
$50. There may be a small surcharge for materials
depending on what the individual instructors choose to
teach. The classes and Symposium should be another
memorable event. As in other years the participants of
the master classes will be required to have taken or
take the turning classes taught by AWA so that a greater
degree of knowledge, technique, and experience may be
had from the master classes.
Some suggestions for the 2010 Symposium and
master classes were discussed as well. The board will
try to schedule both Stuart Batty and Mike Mahoney for a
most exciting event.
Burt Biss gave an excellent demo of projects
on the mini lathe turning bud vases. All those in
attendance enjoyed his exhibition and skills. After
Burt’s demo the annual picnic with a fine roasted pig
ensued at noon. All 55 people in attendance enjoyed the
delicious fare and many individuals brought surprises
from home. Marji Campbell made her famous beans and the
recipe has been included on this web site. Dan Keane
and Bill Bowers carved the pig with their usual skill.
The new Jet 16-44 lathe ordered through
Hardware Specialties has arrived and is set up in Don
Fall’s shop. It will be used for club demos and at the
Alaska State Fair for demonstrations along with a mini
Jet lathe. If anyone should like to volunteer to demo
or greet people at the Fair please contact Burt Biss via
email at his home in Wasilla up to the 18th
of May (bissbp@mtaonline.net) and thereafter at his
Oakland, OR email address (bbiss@rosenet.net).
We need many more volunteers for this year’s event. One
doesn’t need to be an expert turner to demo at the
fair. It is a lot of fun and many interesting
individuals wander through making the experience most
memorable.
Plans for the monthly demos have been decided
and a complete listing will be posted on the events page
this summer as Randy Farris, our web master, reformats
the web site for the ‘08—’09 season.
Turning classes will begin in September
running through the ’08—’09 season each Tuesday
evening. Sign up sheets will be at the September 6th
meeting. We are hoping to teach all those interested in
learning how to turn. There will be 6 or 7 different
classes available. Those individuals registering for
the March master classes will take precedence over
others wishing to learn how to turn.
AWA still has a goodly amount of turning stock
for sale at Don Fall’s shop. Should anyone need any
please call Don at 346-1845 to make arrangements to
purchase some. AWA also plans to have some Alaska birch
4 X 4 turning stock for sale this fall. The prices will
be announced at the fall meetings.
As some may know Don Fall had a terrible
accident in April crushing his right foot and then in
May a vascular episode requiring surgery. He is home
now doing well but always enjoys someone stopping by to
chat with him in his shop.
Amy and Terry at Hardware Specialties have
many turning supplies including wood, tools, lathes, and
sundry sorts of substances. Both of these fine
individuals have donated much to AWA and we should
return the favor by supporting them as well.
The AWA board would like to thank all who
participated in this season’s events and hopefully see
everyone back for the ’08—’09 season as well. Have a
wonderful summer!
