The "Campbellin"

We just returned from another special experience at the John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. It is situated in a quiet valley in the midst of the Appalachian mountains with few modern distractions: full of learning challenges and chances to meet new and interesting people. It is like no place that I have ever been and we are already thinking of when to return.

For me, the experience was a chance to build a unique musical instrument and begin to learn to play it. John Huron of Noteworthy Music in Bristol, Tennessee, was the instructor and also the developer of this instrument. Because of it's design, the Campbellin could be built and then played within the week of the class. So Sunday through Wednesday was spent in the wood shop building the instrument. Thursday we "spanked the baby" by stringing the instrument and hearing it's first sounds. By Friday, the class was playing "Ode to Joy" at the concluding exhibit.

With the instructor's guidance and development of jigs and fixtures it was relatively easy to build and finish the Campbellin. I chose walnut sapwood for the top, walnut for the bottom and fretboard, ash for the sides, and sassafras for the neck. It was finished with one coat of urethane oil.

Learning to play the instrument was the most challenging part of the week for me since I lacked any knowledge of music theory. The idea, of course, is to follow the tradition of folk music and to experiment with the instrument. Most folk instruments were made and played by people who simply made up their own songs or "figured out" how to follow a folk melody. So, I have a new hobby - sitting on the deck and learning to play an instrument that I built. What a beautiful addition to my life.

I am editing a lot of video from this week and will be posting it to You Tube in the next couple of days. I will add a link to the blog when it is uploaded.

Buckeye Wood Turners

I travelled up to Clinton, Ohio to Camp Y-Noah on Saturday to attend my first meeting of the Buckeye Wood Workers and Woodturners. The group meets on the third Saturday of each month and combines a short business meeting with a demonstration by group members or visiting demonstrators. They have a show table of members' turning work and photograph each piece for display on their "Gallery" section of their web site.
This month's demonstration was about pen turning by club member, Bob Taylor. His presentation was full of information and technique suggestions. Most interesting to me was his use of some unusual materials - corn cobs, shredded currency, and denim fabric - to make blanks for pens. I learned a lot about using CA glue in finishing a pen blank as well as micromesh for wet sanding acrylics.
Since wood turning is most often a solo hobby, it was nice to be with a group who enjoys the same activity and willingly shares a lot of information with each other.
Following the morning meeting there is often a hands-on activity for members to try out skills. The club has a large Powermatic lathe and many Jet min-lathes for these meetings. It really impressed me as a group seriously devoted to wood turning.
I am looking forward to returning next month when an internationally known turner, Cindy Drozda, will be presenting a members-only demonstration. (If you want to see some beautiful turnings, follow that last link)

"Firewood to Fine Art" at John Campbell Folk School

This was my second class at John Campbell. I returned to the wood turning studio and joined seven other students for a class taught by Bobbie Clemons of Tennessee (pictured at the left) and Charles Watson of South Carolina.
The instructor from my first wood turning class at John Campbell had recommended this class since it emphasized both bowl and green wood turning.

We started our week on dry wood bowls using a chuck with a screw to hold 2" thick 10" maple turning stock. Immediately I started learning some "tricks of the trade" that solved some problems I had been experiencing in my turning. I learned to use a plastic bushing between the headstock spindle and the chuck to make it easier to remove the chuck. I also saw the value of using beeswax or parafin on the screw to help load the stock onto the screw chuck.

The turning steps we used were:

Mount the stock and turn the outside of the bowl.

Finish bottom with dove-tailed tenon
Finish sand and apply finish to the bottom. Remove screw from chuck and insert bowl blank foot into chuck.

Complete rim of bowl

Turn inside of bowl

Finish sanding and apply finish to the inside

Reset bowl between jam chuck and tail stock to finish the foot

Refine bowl foot chisel or Dremel off small nub

I completed two shallow maple bowls and had a third blow up due to a crack (see picture above left). When I returned home I band sawed off the broken rim and turned a small holder for my wife to display some of her larger decorated eggs.

The third and remaining days we spent on green wood and natural edged bowls. We used greenwood blanks that Charles cut for our use.
We turned the inside of the bowl leaving a thickness of 1 inch for each 10 inches for the bowls that would be dried and returned in a few months. We completely turned other practice pieces to a 1/4" thickness. In real circumstances we would have wrapped the thick blanks in newspaper or a paper bag for a couple of days
and then store for 3+ months in cool place out of sun and drafts. Once the blank had dried and warped sufficiently, we would then be able to return both inside and outside to final thickness and form.

We completed the week doing several natural edged bowls. We used a two prong drive spur on the lathe and used a 1 1/2" Forstner bit to remove the bark area where the drive spur would enter the wood. The turning processes were essentially the same as the green wood.

On Friday we displayed some of the pieces we had finished during the week. I had several natural edged bowls that were displayed. We treated the unfinished wood with lemon juice to remove some of the staining.

I brought home several extra green wood blanks to rough turn and save for returning this fall.

This was another excellent class. We have so much enjoyed the experience and the chance to learn at John Campbell. We are already planning a return in the fall. I am enrolling in a class to make a "Campbellin" - a style of mountain dulcimer.

Woodturning at John Campbell Folk Art School

My wife and I ventured to Brasstown, North Carolina, for a week at John Campbell Folk Art School. Situated in the far southwestern corner of North Carolina and nestled in the Appalachian Mountains, the school offers hundreds of classes in over fifty different crafts - art, fabric arts, music, dance, cooking, gardening, nature studies, photography, wood carving, wood turning, and writing. For Mary Lou it was quilting with a nationally known instructor. For me, what else, it was wood turning.

The school is an example of non-competitive learning with simple living arrangements, excellent food, and time to learn and relax.

My wood turning class was held in what can only be described as the perfect set-up for wood turning. The Willard Baxter Wood Turning Studio is said to be the nation's largest wood turning school offering over 50 classes per year. A 2 year old building equipped with full size Powermatic lathes, Jet mini-lathes, quality tools, and ten roomy work stations. The lighting was excellent and a newly installed central dust collection system made it a comfortable setting. The instructor's lathe had a video camera and television set to enable the students to watch each demonstration. Everything you needed for helping me learn more.

To top off the learning experience, our instructor, Troy Bledsoe from Social Circle, Georgia was an experienced turner with a gift for making the class productive and fun. The projects were candlestick, tea lights, "confetti" lights, bowls, and bottle stoppers. Each project was helpful in learning to properly use and control my gouges. I also spent part of the last day practicing sharpening my own tools with a lot of guidance from the instructor. Now I am able to transfer those grinds to my own sharpening system and hopefully maintain the sharpness I like.

This has to have been the single best class I have ever attended. It is the reason that I am intending to return to the school in April for another turning class.

Box Making 1, 2, and 3

I completed a Woodcraft three part Box Making class last night. I brought home a semi-completed box that I built over the three classes. We made a box with a veneered panel - one side mahogany and the other side walnut - mahogany lid frame and box sides, and walnut splines.
Each of the three classes was from 6:30PM to 9:00PM. The first night we concentrated on the lid. The instructor, Mike Novak, covered veneering the panel, and we cut the dado in the lid for the panel, sized the panel and glued the box lid together. The second night we installed splines in the corners of the lid, cut dovetails in the box sides, and sized and cut the box bottom. The final night we used hand planes to remove the excess wood on the splines and the dovetail ends and planed the box and lid tops and bottoms. We also cut and installed dividers for the interior of the box.
I did learn new things and did some things for the first time. I have used my own Leigh dovetail jig to make many boxes and drawers but I had never added splines to mitered corners and had never used the different planes in so many ways.
At the same time I left the class with some mixed feelings. I wanted to learn to use veneer and not just talk about it but I realize that it would have been a time consuming step to actually do within the class. I disliked the mixture of mitered corners for the lid and through dovetail corners for the box but I accept that the real purpose of this class is to acquaint people with various woodworking methods and to sell merchandise. I came home with a box that I really don't want to finish because I am assuming that the mixture of mahogany and walnut will not be pleasing but I hope I am wrong.
My wife, Mary Lou, strongly suggests that I finish the box and not let it sit undone. What I decided to do was remake the lid with a combination of woods that I think would be more pleasing. I am intending to use birds eye maple on both the top and bottom of the lid panel instead of the walnut/mahogany. I will then complete the box, put on a finish, and add the hinges.
I know a lot of my dissatisfaction comes from the issues above but are also influenced by two time issues. This class had seven participants and every step became a "do your thing and then wait" for six others to do theirs. There was entirely too much time wasted. The second time issue for me was the drive. I spent almost exactly the same amount of time going to and from each class as I spent in class. I have usually enjoyed the Woodcraft classes from this same instructor and others but I think I learned that the class structure and time are important considerations in taking a class in the future.

British firm repairs my mistakes

I took my three skews and one Sorby Spindlemaster to a sharpening class at Woodcraft. Sharpening is, admittedly, something I knew nothing about. And it seems that as I try to learn how to sharpen, I am discovering that I was making all kinds of mistakes.

I had these three skews but had never learned to properly sharpen or use them. After learning how to set up the skew attachment for the Wolverine Sharpening System, I was able to get a good edge on all three. We also spent some time in using the skews. So I think I can safely use and sharpen the skews in my shop.

The Sorby Spindlemaster was a different story. I had used the tool successfully and tried to sharpen it. Unfortunately, it is a tool that is not to be ground, but honed only. I essentially was taking away all the good attributes of the tool by what I did. The sharpening class instructor said, "The best thing to do is see if Sorby will repair it."

So, I found the email address for Sorby, a British company, and sent them an inquiry yesterday - a Sunday afternoon. Later that same day I received an email from "Clive" at Sorby offering to repair my tool. They said, "We are happy to re-hone your Spindlemaster free of charge as a service to you. All we ask is you cover the cost of shipping both ways.
If you can package it very securely with the cutting edge well guarded and ship to our address and for the attention of Lindsey Reynolds."

Robert Sorby
Athol road
Sheffield
England
S8 0PA

What a nice gesture on their part.

So my class was a success: I learned to sharpen skews, I had a lessen in their use, I learned to not grind on a Spindlemaster, and I learned there is a charitable maker of quality lathe tools. Not a bad learning experience.

Tool sharpening

I have signed up to retake a lathe tool sharpening class. The first time I took this class I was too new to the hobby and I didn't ask many questions that I should have asked. I am retaking the class with a little more experience and the knowledge that I need to get some questions answered so that I sharpen my lathe tools correctly.

I knew that I needed to retake this class when someone looked at a parting tool that I had "sharpened" and exclaimed a little too loudly and a little too publicly, "This is the poorest sharpened tool I have ever seen. It is TOTALLY wrong!" Well, I now know how to sharpen a parting tool correctly. I need to learn enough in this sharpening class to feel as ready to sharpen some of the other tools, like a skew and some of the miniature tools that I have.

I have a Wolverine Sharpening System with a slow speed grinder. I have found a web site that appears to explain how to use the system's various attachments. Now I just need the class.

Split Turned Vases

I attended a class, "Split Turned Vases" at Woodcraft in Cleveland. I had no idea what a split turned vase would be but I signed up for the course to experience something new in turning. This was labeled an intermediate class and I was also unsure at what level I would describe my abilities - I was sensing it might be a stretch to call my turning skills intermediate.

It was a class of four turners scheduled to last from 9:30 until 5:30. We had an hour for lunch and were done by 4:30 but this also included some time to shop in the Woodcraft store!

You can see the three pages of instruction sheets for this project at my web album. We completed a cherry vase with a 3/8" inlay.

The basic approach of this project is to cut a rounded blank into two sections with a lip similar to a box lip. The unique instructions are to hollow out the top and bottom sections with a round nose scraper instead of hollowing tools or a bowl gouge. You then glue the two sections back together, make a recess for the inlay over the top of the glue line, and attach the inlay strip. Then you finish the top, cut off the chuck section, and drill an access hole in the top. The finish we used was two coats of Armor Seal buffed with 320 grit in between coats followed by two applications of Crystal Clear wax.

It is a relatively easy project that makes a really nice gift.

Tea Light Holders

One of the simpler projects we did at the wood turning week at Cedar Lakes was making tea lights. Using a 5 inch circle of 1 inch think walnut, I made a wooden holder for a tea light. Using the screw chuck, we mounted the wood and detailed the bottom of the light incorporating the foot and the tenon for the chuck jaws into the design. Turning the blank over and holding it with the jaws of the chuck, we drilled a 1 1/4 inch hole for the tea light. Then the top was tapered to the edge to create the appearance that the circle of wood was floating above the table surface. At the workshop we sealed the wood and put on several coats of Deft spray finish.

The walnut holder on the far left is the one that looks the best to my eye. The cherry holder on the right is a little too thick and appears heavier and less delicate.

When I got home a cut a number of 5" mahogany blanks to try to replicate the shape and appearance of the walnut holder. These might be one of the projects I have ready for my grandson to try when he visits this fall.

Understanding ogee

After the initial simpler projects at the wood turning class, the instructor gave us a bowl blank of spalted maple and said, "Make a bowl with a simple ogee shape." Well, since I didn't really know what a "simple ogee shape" was, and, typically male, thought it beneath me to ask, what I produced has a somewhat rounded shape but not a good ogee shape.

Although I liked the bowl and the instructor made a nice correction to my squared-off rim, I wanted to learn what ogee really meant and how to make a pleasing formed bowl.

A quick look in Wikipedia led me to understand that an ogee shape is a convex curve followed by a concave curve. When I looked at my spalted maple bowl, it had the convex curve but a very, very small concave curve.

What I also wanted to understand was the proper proportion of the two curves in relation to the entire bowl shape. I found a nice article on good design and the "Golden Mean" which gave me a lot of direction. That lead me to draw out a bowl with the appropriate ogee curve in proportion to those design principles.

I then produced a walnut bowl that matched those dimensions. Using the drawing as a guide helped me conceptualize the design ideas. I'm glad I did the research to fill in my missing knowledge because it will help me on the next bowl.

I had to use some purchased bowl blanks which are a little shallower than would be ideal. But the difference is only slight and I still ended up with a nice salad bowl size piece. I will now try to duplicate the size and shape in order to have sets for salad bowls at our house.

A week of turning

Background: My wife, Mary Lou, and I signed up for our first Elderhostel activity. We chose craft activities at Cedar Lakes Center in Ripley, West Virginia. Mary Lou has been to that Center for many years for week long quilting sessions. This was my first visit and I had been forewarned that the facilities could be rather plain and the food more equivalent to school cafeteria food. Mary Lou signed up for a session to make a "Carolina Lily" quilted wallhanging. I signed up for a week of woodturning. Neither of us were familiar with our instructors.

I was totally happy with my experience. Cedar Lakes is run by the West Virginia Department of Education and serves as an outdoor education, recreation, and craft instruction facility for both school children, community groups and groups such as Elderhostel. I came home totally worn out but also relaxed and really pleased with the progress in turning that I had made. Meeting and working with eight other turners, some new to turning but several very accomplished, helped to add to my enjoyment.

My class was taught by a professional woodturner, Joe Smith, who has taught several wood turning classes at Cedar Hills. He gave us a series of turning projects from simple to more demanding. Joe was an encouraging and challenging instructor with a delightful sense of humor. This picture is a maple burl bowl that I turned and finished.

Over the next several posts I will talk about some of the projects and show some pictures of my work. However, a complete webalbum is embedded in the side column which will let you see a series of 49 pictures from this experience. For a full set to pictures of Cedar Lakes, my instructor and classmates, and some of our projects, use this address at Kodak Galleries.
This experience leaves me excited to return to the lathe and practice more bowl turning.

More unfinished projects are completed

It has been an eventful but unproductive few months for this woodworker. February included a trip to Key West for a week at the beautiful Heron House on Simonton Street. Right outside our room was a beautiful rain garden. We had a relaxing week although Mary Lou continued to have some intestinal problems which didn't seem to respond to treatment.

After our return to Ohio Mary Lou ended up in the hospital and had surgery. We have been consumed with dealing with the impact of this surgery and the changes in our lives for the next few months.

Anyway, we began going back to the lake house a few weeks ago and I had the time and energy to complete a few of the unfinished projects I had hanging. I applied spray finish to three Tic-Tac-Toe game boards and to the bodies of two potpourri holders. The tops of the potpourri holders are plywood with a scroll sawn design that was spray painted with a copper finish paint. The tops look rather subdued and more attractive than the plain birch plywood would have looked with a clear finish. The sides are walnut with an arched base to create the illusion of feet at the corners.

The Tic-Tac-Toe boards are also walnut. I used the Rockler bit to make the depressions for the marbles and a stencil kit from Rockler to make the grid lines on the top. I used black pain to accentuate the grid lines and then again used the Helmsman spray finish. Three of the boards are walnut and one is maple.

I intend to package all of these projects to be give-aways to visitors and friends.

I also took a lathe tool sharpening class at Woodcraft. I learned a lot of new things to do and several old techniques to change. I bought the correct wheel for my slow speed grinder so I now have two different grit wheels to use with my Wolverine Sharpening System. I built a new base for the grinder and now have a convenient and thorough system to keep my tools sharp as a turn.

Finally, I signed up for an Elderhostel week at Ripley WV, Cedar Lake Conference Center, in August. It will be a full week of turning classes. I have never taken such an extensive class so I am interested to find out what it will be like.

Logs to Bowls - Woodcraft class

I attended the "Logs to Bowls" class yesterday at the Bedford Heights, Ohio, Woodcraft store. It was taught by Harry Robinette, a store employee and accomplished wood turner. Six students spent the morning learning the processing of logs into good turning stock for bowls and vases. After lunch we each were given a section of freshly cut cherry to turn into a bowl. It was my first such green wood experience and a good training session in the use of a finger nail bowl gouge. Four hours just flew by and we had to hurry to actually get a finish on the bowls by 5:30 when it was time to leave.

I had an excellent time and produced an "almost excellent" bowl. I had done an really good job on the outside of the bowl and put it into the chuck to clear the inside. I had actually made good progress in establishing the wall of the bowl and getting the depth close to the finished bottom when disaster struck - two deep gouges that were too deep to turn out. So, if you look closely at the left interior side of the bowl you can see one of the two "decorative accents" that I added!
I learned a lot to improve how I turn in general, how I apply finish, and how to use the bowl gouge. I am now anxious to get to some of the bowl blanks I have sitting in my shop.