Woodbury Woodturners Club
Encouraging, developing and promoting the art and science of woodturning
Learn MoreFebruary 2020 Club Night and Competition Monday 24th February 2020
February 20th dawned DRY in Woodbury and was DRY at the end of the Club Night. Not many days recently you could say that about!
The evening itself was really well supported with in excess of 70 members in attendance.
Peter Johnson ably demonstrated ways in which he achieves the excellent finishes on his pieces and held the interest of a large audience throughout.
Tony Bennett and John Haxell demystified the dreaded skew chisel and loads of people got to experience success with it. Apparently it's all about rubbing your bevel.
John was very generously and ably assisted by relative newcomer to our club, Paul Loseby. It is clear that he is not only a superb turner but also an accomplished coach and that people appreciated this combination of skills.
John Lacey was seen up to his ears in DVDs and books on turning and seemed to be doing a brisk trade. Keith Wilson was as abrasive as ever, displaying recently added products on his table. Michael Merrett (you may know him as 'Mike') managed the raffle superbly, as usual, and I only managed to win back one of the items I donated this time. Thank you Mike.
At this point it is worth saying that his raffling skills are only of benefit to the club if members donate the prizes. So why not try to bring something for the next raffle on 19th March. It will be gratefully received, especially if, where relevant, it is unused and 'in date'.
John Guilfoyle, Jim Bailey, Peter Banks and others ran the 'canteen', successfully dispensing tea, coffee, biscuits and bonhomie to the masses.
So to the competition - 'Open' this time. In the absence of Competitions Officer, Stewart Leach, Aubrey Dean and Graham Drury handled the most popular contest of the year with aplomb, which was later eaten with custard. The logging of items was immeasurably aided by the use of a mobile phone to scan entrants' membership cards. So modern technology IS useful after all!
In all, a total of 26 entries was recorded, half of them in the Advanced category. Intermediates raised 8 items and Beginners 5 and the standard throughout was impressively high. The winners, runners-up and third placers were presented with their certificates by our Chairman, Stephen Long, and pictures of all may be seen in the night's gallery whose photos have been taken and uploaded by Graham Drury, for which many thanks.
Also in the Gallery are pictures of the various other activities in the Hall on the night.
The next competition is for a 'Bud Vase' at the Club Night on April 16th so get designing, drilling, hollowing, decorating and finishing in readiness.
AWGB International Woodturning Biennial Seminar 2020 Monday 6th January 2020
This is a 'heads up'!
At the December 2019 Club Night our Chairman, Stephen Long, said
'I attended the 2018 event and found it extremely interesting and instructive. I would recommend any of our members to go. You don't have to be a member of the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain to attend. Check out the costs listed below and try to make it there in October.' How about sharing transport?
Just look at the names of the top ten demonstrators, including our own Colwin Way and Richard Raffan. (Richard is worth the ticket price on his own!)
Further updates will be posted here nearer the date.
December Club Night Report Thursday 26th December 2019
A very pleasant and entertaining evening was enjoyed by some forty members on Thursday 19th December. The atrocious weather during the day clearly put off many from attending but those who did scoffed mince pies and consumed quantities of highly quaffable mulled wine with gusto.
Thanks go to John Guilfoyle, Graham Drury, Tony Bennett and the others who organised the kitchen work.
The main competition of the evening for a Wee Willie Winky candle holder attracted a surprisingly large number of entrants and showed a range of skills and ingenuity in all three classes.
The Beginners class was won by Stewart Leach with Roger Upchurch and Jim Bailey coming 2nd and 3rd respectively.
In the Intermediates, John Lacey was triumphant, followed by Ray Shaw and Trevor Yates at 2 and 3.
The Advanced section demonstrated an interestingly wide range of competence. The deserved winner was Peter Johnson with runner-up, Roger Hutton and Richard Pegler in 3rd.
The fun event of the evening involved various bodies attempting to turn a natural edged snowman in a limited time of ten minutes.
There were ten entrants - the first three who braved the contest were Peter Gradon, Roger Hutton and Peter Johnson followed by Jim Bailey, Bruce Crisp and Tony Bennett. After the tea break Susan Vincent, Chris Pomeroy and, last but not least, John Haxell and Stephen Long turned their version of a snowman - materials supplied by Peter Banks. All entries were judged by our President, Cyril Rowsell.
Thanks go to Stephen Long for overseeing the mayhem!
The winner was Tony Bennett, who was presented with a bottle of wine, 2nd place was taken by John Haxell, 3rd place Stephen Long
Graham Drury's photos of the evening may be found in the Club Galleries
Here's a note for your diary:
Club Subscriptions for 2020 are due now, payable by cheque or cash. The Club Night in January (16th) is the usual time to pay up but if you're not able to attend that, please send your subs to our Treasurer, Richard Pegler, as soon as you like. If you do not intend to renew for 2020, please let Richard know so that someone from the waiting list may take your place. Thank you.
£25.00 single membership £30.00 joint membership
Richard's address is: 1 Longmeadow Cottages, Oil Mill Lane, Clyst St Mary EX5 1AE
2020 Competitions Friday 6th December 2019
The following is a list of all 8 competitions in 2020. Those of you who have already seen the list on our website will notice some changes in the final programme below.
Thursday 20th February 2020 - FEBRUARY CLUB NIGHT:
Open
Anything you have turned, recently or in the past.
The only proviso is that it must not have been entered into any WWTC Competition before.
Thursday 16th April 2020 - APRIL CLUB NIGHT:
A Bud Vase
Defined as a relatively tall, slender vase, often footed, for holding a single, stemmed flower.
Here are some design pointers:
Saturday 29th August 2020 - ANNUAL SHOW:
Open (O)
Usual Rules Apply: Anything you have turned, provided it has never before been entered into a WWTC Annual Show competition.
Saturday 29th August 2020 - ANNUAL SHOW:
A Box (X)
A box is a box is a box, Well, no, not really!
The possibilities are actually endless. Round, three cornered, square, offset; pop, loose or screw fitting lid; pagoda, finial or no. Decoration to suit - the world is your oyster.
You might find inspiration in the GMC book helpfully entitled ‘Turned Boxes, 40 inspiring boxes by expert makers’. Or perhaps Richard Raffan’s video ‘Turning Boxes’
The Club Library also holds 2 copies of the book 'Turned boxes, 50 designs' by Chris Scott, 2 of 'Turned boxes' by Richard Raffan and 2 copies of the DVD 'Making and decorating boxes' by Mick Hanbury.
There have also been some 27 articles on box making in WTM since 2007! No excuses about lack of encouragement there, then.
From the Sublime to the Gorblimey!
Saturday 29th August 2020 - ANNUAL SHOW:
A Bowl or Platter (B)
Well, it's a bowl, innit? Or a platter!
Maximum diameter in any direction to be 305mm (= 1 ft)
Saturday 29th August 2020 - ANNUAL SHOW:
Two Pieces of Jewellery - A Two-Piece Set (J)
(Perm any 2 from 5: 1. Necklace, 2. Brooch, 3. Pendant, 4. Ring, 5. Pair of Earrings)
A ‘Set’ usually implies some sort of match between the constituent parts - e.g. shape, wood, decoration and so on.
Another subject overflowing with options. What about lamination or segmentation? (What about them, indeed. I hear you cry.) Offset turning again a possibility.
Haven’t seen a wood-turned necklace for a while! Why not have a go?
The GMC book ‘Woodturning Jewellery’ by Hilary Bowen contains a host of ideas and examples. The Club Library holds a copy for you to browse through.
Note: Since they were a separate subject in 2019, Bracelets or Bangles will not be accepted.
Thursday 15th October 2020 - OCTOBER CLUB NIGHT:
A Rice Bowl with Lid
The classic shape for a Japanese Rice Bowl is ‘an upside-down bell’ that fits comfortably in the hand, with the lid sitting inside the rim. Dimensions of the bowl itself are usually 100 to 150 mm diameter by 75 to 100 mm high. The finish may be natural wood or decorated. You choose.
Try these for inspiration:
Thursday 17th December 2020 - DECEMBER CLUB NIGHT:
A Party Popper Cannon
This is a fun item but it will require some thought in the making.
Design it to fit the small individual poppers, not the giant ones used for wedding confetti.
See Colwin Way's article in Wood Turning Magazine Issue 332 of July 2019 for ideas.
Colwin's version
Be aware, when using the cannon, that these popper things can cause serious injury to eyes, for example, and should never be pointed at close range directly at people or pets.
Late News Wednesday 27th November 2019
It is with considerable sadness that the committee has learned of the death of Jack Major at the end of October. His funeral was held on Friday 8th November 2019 in East Devon.
Jack was a charming gentleman and lived in Knowle Village, Budleigh Salterton for many years. A keen beekeeper, he regularly sold his honey at our annual shows.
He was a longstanding club member and only resigned his membership in January this year, citing health reasons.
Jack leaves a widow, Ros, and family in the area. We wish them all well at this distressing time.
