WAVERLEY WOODWORKERS INC.
Clubrooms: 2 Windsor
Ave.,
Mount Waverley, Vic
3149
Telephone: 9807 9648
Website: www.waverleywoodworkers.org.au
E-mail: phug8047@bigpond.net.au
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NEWSLETTER
MAY 2005 Volume
12 Issue 4 |
Office bearers 2004/2005
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Our
intrepid president is now in Nepal and is currently walking over the snowy
slopes of the Himalayas. The rumour that he has been recruited by a Tibetan
monastery to turn knobs for prayer wheels is certainly false.
Also absent is another valued member of the club, Helene Longton, who is on a
visit to Israel. We hope that she will return to us safely in the near future.
We are having trouble in disposing of our old table saw. Any suggestions would
be welcome.
The committee has become aware that some members may be using club facilities
and club material to make articles which they sell for their own profit. As
this is forbidden by club rules, the committee will be obliged to take action
on this matter if any further evidence comes to light.
The thicknesser has recently been subjected to some abuse. Only three days
after George Perry had replaced blunt blades a club member reported that it was
producing uneven surfaces with telltale ridges. As this can only have been
caused by second-hand timber, would all members please be careful not to use
this machine on material that may contain nails or that has collected grit from
being exposed to outside conditions.
Club night of 13th April at 7:30pm.
After
some preliminary business, John McGarry gave a demonstration of a jig he has
made to cut mitre corners on the new table saw. This will have many uses,
including the construction of boxes. Our thanks to John for this and for the
other jigs he has constructed.
The main talk was given by club member, Alex Morey, who gave a fascinating
account of the many examples which he brought to illustrate his particular
style of laminated turning. Alex described how he goes about planning and then
turning his bowls and other work, which are from stock made of as many as forty
separate pieces. The accuracy he has been able to achieve in his joints was
only equalled by the imagination shown in design, but most impressive of all
was his use of pewter. This he pours into gaps he has deliberately created, and
it is then turned with the wood into which it is set. Our thanks to Alex for an
unusual and interesting talk. (See picture Page 5 for an example of Alex’s
work).
Later in the evening Helene Longton showed us a small double bowl which she had
skilfully carved from sugar pine. This was accompanied by two sassafras spoons.
Ron Jones presented two pens made from stock which he had laminated himself
from a large number of separate pieces of wood. The result was both colourful
and impressive.
George Perry presented a cabinet door made from Muranti with a panel veneered
on both sides with Queensland maple, which showed the skills of a cabinet-maker
we have learnt to expect of him. Those present wished George well in the
construction of the further seven panels for the home project which he has
undertaken.
Bob Morrison presented a striking example of his turning in a large dish of
mango with an inlaid centre design; the overall effect was heightened by the
contrast between the colour of the inlays and the grain of the mango. Bob also
showed us two kaleidoscopes he had made from Myrtle with Huon pine ends. These
were fully functional and with their ever-changing colours gave a new
perspective on reality to those who tried them.
Gavin Betts. Vice-president
CLUB NIGHT 11 MAY, 2005 at 7.30 p.m
Robert Hart, who has earned a considerable reputation as 'the kite man',
will be addressing us on his favourite subject, kites. Members of other clubs
who have heard him talk speak highly of his expertise and of the interest he
has generated in kites of all kinds. We can be sure of a highly entertaining
evening.
JUST TURNING
Monday 4th
April. Seven
members present.
Alec Morey worked out why his pattern did not match on the
week prior. He discovered the chuck had runout, due to wood dust on the lathe
thread which caused the chuck to become misaligned.
Peter Stacey presented a small platter. He gets full marks
for perseverance as the piece had cracked and moved (warped) badly. Finished
with Polyurethane which was sanded to 1200 and a light coat of wax. Timber was
unknown but thought to be some Eucalypt.
Bob Morrison brought along his Kaleidoscopes of new design.
The cylinder is no problem but the circles of coloured glass fashioned outside
the scope are causing some difficulties.
Helene Longton brought along two red gum pieces for advice
which was freely given.
Woodturning Tuition has began on 5th April with
four members. The course runs for six weeks. Helene Longton.
Monday 11th
April. Eight
members present.
Peter Stacey brought in a spindle turned Pine rung, well
turned but with the ‘centre’ bead approximately 5mm. off centre. The exercise
was to demonstrate how easy it is to make a mistake and not discover it until
too late. In this case the error was not discovered until the rung was compared
to the first rung, after finishing the sanding.
Ron Jones brought in a bowl of Camphor Laurel and set a
puzzle to find the ‘fault’ with it. However the members decided the supposed
fault was a matter of taste after it was pointed out. The “fault” was the
finial was supposed to be too high for the rest of the item. Helene Longton.
Monday 18th
April. Seven
members present.
Only three members brought along something to show.
Phil Dunstan presented a Blackwood bowl blank he has turned
wet and is going to try the freezing method to speed up the drying/stabilising
of the timber. He also showed two Silky Oak vases and a goblet from some
unknown timber, possibly a fruit tree.
Bob Lorensene’s contribution was three egg cups. From Pine,
Red gum and Feijoa. All were finished with U-Beaut and EEE products. The Feijoa
timber had an interesting green- grey grain colour.
Bob Morrison displayed his Kaleidoscope project which now
was on a very attractive Huon Pine stand with Red Gum yokes to rest the
Kaleidoscope on.
Peter Stacey.
Monday 25th April, 2005
Following are the minutes of the club meeting on
Monday, as requested. Members present;
myself and one other.
Minutes Nil
Was not too difficult a task. Heard nothing to suggest
meeting cancelled, so lack of numbers apparently due to the ANZAC day long
weekend.
Ray Austin.
As you can see, we at the Woodturners are very dedicated and
such dedication should not go unnoticed. Thank you very much Ray, your
assistance is very much appreciated. Peter Stacey.
Notices and Reminders:
As a follow up to last month’s talk by Bruce Hartland on
screen-printing.
The following books are available at the Monash Public
Library.
The
Artist’s Silkscreen Manual, by Andrew B. Gardner. 764.8
GAR.
Silk
Screen Printing, by Michael Caza. 746.6 CAZ.
The Thames and Hudson Manual of Screen Printing. 667.38 STO 91022767701.
Screen Printing: Design &Technique, by Nicholas Bristow. 764.8 BRI 91056624609
17th to 22nd
May Peninsula
Woodturners Guild will be holding their Major Exhibition on at the Frankston
RSL Simpson Room, Cranbourne Rd. (Melways 102 J4). Bob Morrison has some raffle
tickets for $1.00 for some very good prizes.
17th to 19th
June. The
Australian Woodturning Exhibition is held at the Waratah Room, Whitehorse
Centre, 397 Whitehorse Rd. Nunawading. (Melways 48 G9). Opens at 10am each day.
Monday 19th
September. Ken Cort will be demonstrating tool sharpening and long hole boring at
Knox and District Woodworkers from 9am. To 3pm. Depending on numbers attending,
a small charge will be made for lunch and morning tea. Ken will also be
demonstrating at the “Working with Wood Show’’.
Special Note:
Some of you may not be aware that our Newsletter Editor of
many years, is taking a well earned rest starting in May. I want to take this
opportunity to thank Peter Hughes on your behalf, for a good job well done for
such a long time and wish him a safe and enjoyable time away.
In the meantime while Peter is taking his break, I have
agreed to compile the Newsletter. I therefore invite you to contact me on
either Ph. 9572 3090 or by e-mail on petersta@melbpc.org.au with any suggestions, comments or
complaints.
Peter Stacey.
A suggestion that has recently been raised again, is to make
our Newsletter available by e-mail to those members who have this service and
would not mind, or may even prefer to get the Newsletter this way. This would
save the club considerable expense, which could be better used for other member
services. With this in mind, I invite all members who have an e-mail service,
to either contact me direct, or let committee members know their e-mail
address, so that the Newsletter can be e-mailed to them in future.
There have also been discussions about the possibility of
including pictures in our newsletter, showing the club members work or
projects. The general suggestion was that it should not be restricted to “The
Best” on the night, or month, but any and every members work should qualify to
be shown. Unless the maker/ owner does not want it to be published.
For this to work, we would need to have someone prepared to
photograph work at each meeting and ‘show and tell’, preferably with a digital
camera and forward it to me to be included in the newsletter. There are
physical /financial constraints on how many images could be presented in a
printed newsletter while keeping the number of pages to a reasonable limit, also,
the results would only be in black and white. Of course the e-mail or Web based
newsletter, would not be so limited and the work could be presented in
‘glorious full colour’.
However, to better judge this initiative, here are several
pictures.
Having spoken at the April Meeting about his work, who
better than Alex Morey to start the ball rolling with one of his laminated or
segmented signature pieces.
This image was an A4 colour print which was re-photographed
and converted to a black and white image.
This is a ‘Natural Edge’ bowl which was started and turned by several members
during the woodturners’ practical evenings last year. The timber is unknown
(Helene’s timber) but was thought to be a Eucalypt of some sort. It was very
dry and dusty to turn, very porus and light. It has been finished using Linseed
oil.
The image on the left (top) is in ‘colour’ while the image
at the bottom has been converted to black and white.
Please Note: the closing date for input to the June 2005
Newsletter is 20th May, 2005
WOODWORKING TIPS from
“FINE WOODWORKING”
(Published with the express permission of Taunton Press,
publishers of “Fine Woodworking”. Such permission is restricted to Waverley
Woodworkers Inc,)
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From the pages of Fine Woodworking Magazine
Steel Wool vs. Abrasive Pads.
Even with the advent of synthetics, there still is a place
for old-fashioned steel wool
I've been finishing and refinishing wood for going on 25
years, and of all the tools I have used consistently in that time, steel wool
in one form or another has to rank among the most useful. My dad showed me how
to use the stuff, and when I asked him how it was made I remember him saying,
"It comes from metal sheep, silly." Since that first time, I've used
it for removing, polishing and cleaning finishes, sanding between coats of
finish, and once I even experimented with it for applying finishes (with
disastrous results).
The
major change in this field has been the advent of synthetic steel wool, also
known as non-woven abrasive pads. This product has replaced steel wool for some
applications, such as rubbing finishes between coats and stripping paint, and
with abrasive pads constantly improving, they may continue to encroach on the
uses for steel wool. But for rubbing out the final coat of clear finishes,
applying waxes and cleaning old furniture finishes, nothing beats steel wool.
Abrasive pads and steel wool differ greatly in quality, so let's start by
seeing how both are made and learning how to sort out the (metal) sheep from
the goats. Then I'll tell you which products are best for which tasks and how
to use them.
Size of individual strands determines steel-wool grade.
Steel wool begins
life as a 3,000-lb. roll of 1/8-in.-dia. steel wire. This wire is drawn across
serrated knives that scrape off tiny wire shavings. The major change in this
field has been the advent of synthetic steel wool, also known as non-woven
abrasive pads. This product has replaced steel wool for some applications, such
as rubbing finishes between coats and stripping paint, and with abrasive pads
constantly improving; they may continue to encroach on the uses for steel wool.
But for rubbing out the final coat of clear finishes, applying waxes and
cleaning old furniture finishes, nothing beats steel wool. Abrasive pads and steel
wool differ greatly in quality, so let's start by seeing how both are made and
learning how to sort out the (metal) sheep from the goats. Then I'll tell you
which products are best for which tasks and how to use them.
From the larger wire. These shavings are carded into an
irregular, interlocked steel-wool mat, which is formed into rolls or pads and
cut to final shape. The larger the diameter of the shavings, the coarser the
texture of the steel wool. The machine oil used in the manufacturing process may
cause problems with certain finishes, which I'll talk about later.
Steel wool is graded in a numerical "aught" (a
bastardization of the word naught or zero) scale, the coarsest being graded 4
and the finest graded 0000 (pronounced four aught).
Over the years I've used a lot of steel wool, and some
brands have given me good results every time: For everyday use, Pro's Best by
International Steel Wool was my favourite for years, but the company recently
shut down operations, so I now use Rhodes American's product. My first choice
for finishing is steel wool made by Liberon, which is hands down the best. One
advantage of Liberon's product is that it is manufactured with less machine
oil, though it's hard to quantify exactly how much less.
Abrasive pads are
colour-coded based on grit.
About 20 years ago, the Scotch-Brite dishwashing pad
was introduced by the 3M Co. Made from a no woven plastic, the pad has real
sandpaper-type grit (aluminium oxide or silicon carbide) impregnated throughout
its 1/8-in. thickness. Unlike steel wool, the grade of the pad is determined by
the coarseness of the grit, not by the thickness of the individual plastic
strands. It quickly became obvious that this material had some real advantages
over steel wool. The tough synthetic pad doesn't tear apart or shred little
bits of metal wire, making it ideal for sanding between coats of finish and, in
particular, on items such as chairs and table legs, where broken bits of steel
wool collect. Like sandpaper, the pad does shed some abrasive particles, but a
gentle blast of compressed air or a swipe with a tack cloth removes them.
Most manufacturers offer a wide selection of pads and
grades, and there seems to be an agreement among manufacturers to colour-code
the pad based on the abrasive grade (see Steel
wool, abrasive pads and sandpaper compared). For woodworking you really
need only three or four grades. In general, look for a pad that's flexible and
durable.
Use steel wool and abrasive pads to abrade an
intermediate layer of finish.
The process of
smoothing and levelling intermediate layers of finish is known as cutting back.
For large, flat surfaces, my choice is an abrasive pad regardless of the type
of finish. Lacking oil or metal, they are compatible with water-based finishes.
The
shed particles of abrasive are much easier to remove than shavings of steel
wool before applying the next coat of finish.
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You can, however, use steel wool to cut back solvent
lacquer, oil-based varnishes and shellac. Do not use it between coats of
water-based finishes or paint. There are always some tiny bits of steel wool
left behind that can rust. Another problem is that the machine oil used in the
wool's production can throw the chemistry of water-based finishes into
rebellious fits.
To cut back a finish, take a piece of 000 steel wool, or a
maroon or grey abrasive pad, and rub around the edges of the work piece in
short, choppy strokes. Then do the centre section in long, straight stokes
going with the grain. On contoured areas like thumbnail moulding and concave
surfaces like crown moulding, steel wool does a better job than any other
rubbing material I know. It conforms to contours better than stiff abrasive
pads. Just immerse a chunk of the wool in some rubbing oil or soapy water and
rub away.
This article will be continued the June Newsletter.
WODWORKING TIPS FROM “WOODSMITH”
Copyright of August Home Publishing Co. Publishers of the
“Woodsmith”, “Shopnotes” and Workbench” magazines. All worth the read. Used by
Waverley Woodworkers Inc. by permission)
Overhead Clamp Holder.
By: Ted Raife.
I found that I'd accumulated so many small clamps that storing them was
becoming a problem. So I resolved to come up with a storage system that would
keep my numerous bar clamps and spring clamps out of the way but still within
easy reach. It turned out that the perfect spot was right over my head.
As you can see in the drawing, my small clamp storage merely consists of
a couple pieces of ¼″ plywood hanging from the joists of my basement
shop. Each piece of plywood simply slips over a couple of large nails. When I
need a clamp or two, I simply reach up, lift the plywood off its hangers and
remove the clamps I need. So now my clamp collection stays out of sight, out of
the way, but always at my fingertips.
Discounts Available from the following:
The following companies offer discounts to members of the
Waverley Woodworkers.
Note:
Discounts are only available on presentation of your current membership card.
Australian Wood Panels, 40-42 Winterton Rd., Clayton 9543 5033
Baileys Toolbank. Unit 4 Rowen Crt. Box Hill 9897
1911
Blackwoods,
31 Fowler Rd., Dandenong (ask for Cyril) 9518
2222
Gus-Tec. 521
Mountain Highway, Bayswater (Note name
change) 9427 8444
Note: New address: Opposite the end of Mountain Highway
Dixon’s Hardware. 304 Stephensons Rd., Mount Waverley 9888
1813
Flatman’s Timber & Hardware. High Street Road. Syndal 9802
9211
A. Lewis & Co. 302 Jasper Rd., Ormond 9578
6218
Malvern Paint & Timber Finishes. 1933 Malvern Rd., Malvern East 9885 2883
Magnetic Abrasives. 286 Neerim Rd., Carnegie 9571
6811
Mathews Timbers. 125 Rooks Rd., Vermont 9874
1666
Moorabbin Timber. 230 Wickham Rd., Moorabbin 9553
0155
Sachy’s Industries, 43 Browning Drive, Glen Waverley 9803
2370
Shiver me Timbers, 217 Kororoit Creek Rd. Williamstown 9397
5993
Woodworking Warehouse. 11 Citrus St. Braeside 9587
3999
If you know of any other source of discounts for members, or
if you have difficulty obtaining a discount from any of the above, please give
me a ring on 9560 5752 with the
details. Peter Hughes.
PS.
During Peter Hughes absence, please contact me, for any
changes or additions to this list, on ph. 9572
3090, or by e-mail petersta@melbpc.org.au. Peter Stacey.
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COPYRIGHT: Except
where otherwise stated, other woodworking clubs may use items from our Newsletter.
We do ask that such be without alterations, and that the source be
acknowledged. |