Meeting Notes
Our March meeting was held on the 5th of the month at Rick Wortman’s home in Lake Owassa NJ.
Attendees: Steve Ackman, Joe Bonelli (Rick’s neighbor), Jim Cera, Joe Kopec, Ed Nikles, Joe Pansini, Carol Paster, Mike Peacock, Mark Wallace and Rick EWortman.
Discussion: The group discussed upcoming meetings with respect to the opening of the Peters Valley Wood Studio. May 6th is the starting weekend for PV woodworking classes and the thought was that the shop might not be ready for a club meeting on the 4th. We decided to extend our members-home meetings to May and start in June at Peters Valley. The meeting schedule for the near future is April 2 at Jim Cera’s and May 7th at Patty Jenning’s home.
Treasurer’s Report: Rick Wortman reported that 11 (of 13) members had paid dues so far and that the insurance premium had been paid. As no one could recall what the liability insurance was actually for — and since the premium takes a large chunk of our budget — Mike Peacock will contact Peters Valley to review the insurance requirement for the club.
Rick mentioned that we had funds enough for a paid demonstrator sometime this year. (Recall that we agreed to stretch our available funds for demonstrations by having members contribute $30-$50 towards each demonstrator’s fees.) A discussion ensued as to who we’d invite. Woodturners teaching at Peters Valley this summer and will consequentially be in our area are: Jannie Wang (June 10-12), Kimberly Winkle (July 8-12), Matt Monaco (July 29 – August 2), Barry Gross (September 3 – 4), Dennis Fuge (September 10 – 11). Other woodworkers teaching at PV that may be of interest include: Robert Lyons & Douglas Finkel (Wood Shaping Techniques; August 5 – 9) and Kristin LeVier (Powercarving Wood; July 22 – 26). Several members agreed to research these instructor’s works for potential demonstrations.
Show & Tell
Several members brought recent works for critical show and tell. Some items were physical versions from earlier Zoom show & tells.
Rick Wortman:
- Large salad bowl and nested serving bowls from ash
- Display bowl with walnut slices embedded in the rim
- Maple Cup
Joe Kopec:
- 2 small maple cups with lids
Jim Cera
- Sapeli Bowl (similar to mahogany)
- Several pens
Ed Nikles
- Cheese and Chips server: Made from an old cutting board countertop with a granite inset
- Walnut bowl with decorated, inlaid rim
- Maple bowl with painted interior
- Cedar bowl
Steve Ackmann
- Rough turned cherry charcuterie plate
- Small cherry bowl with copper fill-ins
Demonstration
Rick Wortman demonstrated his process for turning a live edge bowl. The material was a piece of green pin cherry. Rick took the piece from a log to a nicely proportioned live edge bowl.
Rick showed us an interesting device he uses to hold logs between centers — a Oneway Big Bite Spur.
Rick noted that the spur will fit into 2″ or 4″ jaws. Also that after pounding it into logs over time, the chuck side is eventually flattened which compromises its position in the chuck. Rick will periodically grind down the protuberance so that it fits.
Mike Peacock recorded Rick’s demo on video. The recording was impromptu and made with a hand held iphone. Mike apologizes for the inevitable bumps, jumps, interruptions (iphone ran out of memory at one point) and folks walking in front of the camera. Nonetheless, the resulting video is essentially complete and provides several tips and pearls of wisdom from Rick. If members find the video useful, recording of subsequent demos will be better (actually) planned.
Mike also created a YouTube channel for the club and uploaded the video as unlisted meaning it is only accessible with the link — no random search of YouTube for “Natural Edge Bowl” or “Rick Wortman” will find it. The link is https://youtu.be/r-SpfSpF4r4. It will also be listed in our Tips and Tricks section.
Water Gap Woodturners 