Our October meeting was held on October 4, 2023 at the Peters Valley Woodworking Studio. Attendees were Steve Ackmann, Rick Wortman, Ed Nikles, Jim Cerra, Scott Hendricks, Joe Kopec, and guest and potential new member Mike Baklarz.
Steve reported on the activity at the Peters Valley Craft Fair and Rick Wortman reported that the treasury was the same as last month.
Show and Tell
Rick Wortman show the finished product on his Cherry salad bowl nested set. He also brought along some fine examples of offset turning he has completed. He also brought the finished platter that he had started at the June meeting.
Ed Nikles brought four nut bowls made of black birch. it was noted how heavy and dense the wood feels, and the beautiful figuring in the wood.
Scott Hendricks brought a larger walnut vase.
Joe Kopec brought a small laminated bowl of cherry and walnut that he has started at the craft fair and finished at his home machine. He also brought a small offset turned sculpture .
Jack Delaney brought several yoyo’s he made following Dave Robinson’s demo at the last meeting
Steve Ackmann brought a small bud vase made out of highly figured Norway Maple that had recent fallen in his yard.
For this month’s demonstration we tried our hand at offset turning as shown in our August meeting with Beth Ireland. We brought some square blanks and with the help of all of the members we figured out how to mark the rounded blanks to make a nice offset. Then new members Jack and Mike took the marked blanks and worked to make an offset turning. Results below:
The meeting adjourned a little after 9:00 pm. Next meeting is November 1, 2023 at the Woodworking Studio.
Scott Henricks, Joe Kopec, Rick Wortman, Dave Robinson, Steve Ackmann and Jack Delaney showed up on a mostly rainy weekend to staff the table at the Fair. We were undercover in the demonstration pavilion and all of the vendors were repositioned to in-building locations, so the Fair went on as planned. We demonstrated all day, and in-spite of the weather, we had steady crowds most of each day. Additionally we collect names of people interested on learning woodturning and we will contact them with information about our club.
Our September meeting was held at the Peters Valley Woodworking studio on Wednesday, September 6, 2o23. in attendance was Steve Ackmann, Rick Wortman, Ed Nikles, Dave Robinson, Jack Delaney, and Joe Kopec.
Steve reminded the group that the Peters Valley Annual Craft Fair at the Sussex County Fairgrounds is coming up on the weekend of September 23rd and 24th, 2023. We will again have a table at the demonstration pavilion and would like to have turning demonstrations going on throughout the weekend. Steve will be in contact with members about staffing the table and bring a blank or two, as well at their tools and some of their work to make things interesting for the craft fair attendees.
Rick Wortman reported that the treasury has a balance of $336.35 and we’re in the best shape cash-wise as we have been at this time of the year over many years.
Show and Tell.
Rick Wortman showed a set of nested bowls made from Cherry that he will sell in the Peters Valley gallery. He has had success selling these and they are out a the moment
Jack Delany showed a set of snowmen and Christmas trees that he made and painted.
Dave Robinson showed yo-yo’s he’s made from kits acquired from Craft Supplies and Penn State Industries
Steve Ackmann showed a couple of small bud vases made from cherry. One had some “Kintsugi” repairs to fill and highlight cracks in the grain. He also showed a small apple wood bowl
The demonstration this month was Dave Robinson showing how the yo-yo’s are made. The kits he bought from Craft Supply provide the axles and strings and the skill and creativity of the piece come from the turning of the halves of the yo-yo. The Craft Supply axles are more simple, and the Penn State axles are built with ball bearings, enabling more tricks. Wood selection, shape and decoration provide for much creative variety in the end product. Dave purchased numerous kits to we plan to produce several of these at our annual toys for tots turning day in December.
Our August Meeting was held on August 22nd, 2023 and was timed to coincide with the end of Beth Ireland’s classes at Peter’s Valley.
Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Rick Wortman, Scott Hendricks, Mark Wallace, Ed Nikles, Carol Pastor, Joe Kopec, Jack Delaney.
Due to the demonstration by Beth Ireland, we only held a brief meeting. Rick Wortman reported that the checking account balance was still the same and in better shape than we’ve been at this time in recent years.
Due to the Ireland Demonstration we had only a brief show and tell
Ed Nikles showed 2 laminated bowls and a laminated platter made with multiple wood species. He also showed vase made from heavily spalted maple.
Beth Ireland then demonstrated offset turning to our group. She showed how to make the rounded blank to turn a triangular shape and a two-sided turning. She also demonstrated how to hold the tool in conjunction with the tool rest to achieve the desired final shape. Additionally, moving the tool rest in at one end and again following the rest with the tool allowed for tapering the piece. The triangular turning is particularly good as chair, stool, or table legs.
The meeting adjourned around 9:30. Next meeting is at our regular monthly meeting time on 9/6/2023 at 7:00PM at the Woodshop.
Our July Meeting was held on July 18th, 2023 and was timed to coincide with the end of Matt Monaco’s classes at Peter’s Valley.
Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Rick Wortman, Scott Hendricks, Mark Wallace, Ed Nikles, Joe Kopec, Jack Delaney.
Due to the demonstration by Matt Monaco, we only held a brief meeting. Rick Wortman reported that the checking account balance was still the same and in better shape than we’ve been at this time in recent years.
Ed Nikles showed the finished version of the coloring technique he domstrated at the June Meeting:
We then had a demonstration from Matt Monaco on the his approach to turning a platter. Matt was featured in The AAW Woodturners magazine in the June 2023 issue, he is a highly skilled turners and teaches all over the nation.
Matt turned a platter out of cherry and donated it to our club at the meetings end.
Next month’s meeting will be another Peters Valley teacher, Beth Ireland, who will do a hands-on demonstration on offset turning. That meeting will be on August 22, 2023 at 7:00PM at the Peters Valley Woodshop.
Our June meeting was held Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 at 7:00 PM at the Peters Valley Wood Studio on Thunder Mountain Road. This meeting had been posponed from the previous week due to the closing of Peters Valley caused by the extremely poor air quality arising from the forest fires in Quebec.
Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Rick Wortman, Carl Beaulieu, Joe Kopec, Dave Robinson, Jim Cerra, Scott Hendricks and Ed Nikles
Presidents Report: We decided on an outline for topics for the Beth Ireland demonstration from a list suggested by Beth herself. Topic will lean toward offset turning with Rick discussing the specifics with Beth. Additionally, Rick will talk with Matt Monaco to decide on a topic for his demo.
We also spoke about the Art in the Park event at Peters Valley on Sunday from 11Am to 4 PM on May 28th, 2023 . We will have a table and a lathe to do turning demonstrations. We will coordinate our participants and demonstrators prior to the event, the goal is to have several members to show our items and to do demonstrations at the lathe.
Treasurer’s Report: Rick Wortman reported that our bank balance is the same as last month’s.
Show and Tell:
Ed Nikles showed a Walnut Bowl, a live edge Walnut Bowl, a cherry bowl with a decorated rim, and round boxes
Joe Kopec showed a Butternut Platter, a Butternut Bowl, and a pagoda box.
Dave Robinson showed Pens, a razor and a bottle opener
Scott Hendricks showed a deep cherry bowl
Carl Beaulieu showed an Ash live edge bowl
Rick Wortman showed a (maple) walking stick he discovered on a walk through the woods and a Butternut bowl.
Steve Ackmann showed a Pepper Mill, a Hickory live edge bowl, a Black Locust bud vase, and a cherry bowl.
After show and tell, Rick Wortman demonstrated turning a Platter from a 12″ cherry blank
In light of Rick’s demonstration, next month’s turning challenge will be to turn a platter
After the platter turning demonstration, the meeting adjourned at around 9:30PM
Our May meeting was held Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 7:00 PM at the Peters Valley Wood Studio on Thunder Mountain Road. This was our first meeting of the year at the studio.
Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Rick Wortman, Carl Beaulieu, Joe Kopec, Dave Robinson, Jim Cerra, Scott Hendricks and Ed Nikles
Presidents Report: We decided on an outline for topics for the Beth Ireland demonstration from a list suggested by Beth herself. Topic will lean toward offset turning with Rick discussing the specifics with Beth. Additionally, Rick will talk with Matt Monaco to decide on a topic for his demo.
We also spoke about the Art in the Park event at Peters Valley on Sunday from 11Am to 4 PM on May 28th, 2023 . We will have a table and a lathe to do turning demonstrations. We will coordinate our participants and demonstrators prior to the event, the goal is to have several members to show our items and to do demonstrations at the lathe.
Treasurer’s Report: Rick Wortman reported that our bank balance is the same as last month’s.
Show and Tell:
Ed Nikles showed a Walnut Bowl, a live edge Walnut Bowl, a cherry bowl with a decorated rim, and round boxes
Joe Kopec showed a Butternut Platter, a Butternut Bowl, and a pagoda box.
Dave Robinson showed Pens, a razor and a bottle opener
Scott Hendricks showed a deep cherry bowl
Carl Beaulieu showed an Ash live edge bowl
Rick Wortman showed a (maple) walking stick he discovered on a walk through the woods and a Butternut bowl.
Steve Ackmann showed a Pepper Mill, a Hickory live edge bowl, a Black Locust bud vase, and a cherry bowl.
After show and tell, Rick Wortman demonstrated turning a Platter from a 12″ cherry blank
In light of Rick’s demonstration, next month’s turning challenge will be to turn a platter
After the platter turning demonstration, the meeting adjourned at around 9:30PM
Our April meeting was held on 12:00 PM on Saturday, April 8th, 2023 at the home of Scott Hendricks in Blairstown, NJ. Many thanks to Scott and his wife for their hospitality and a great lunch.
Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Scott Hendricks, Rick Wortman, Patty Jennings, Carol Pastor, Mark Wallace, Joe Kopec, Ed Nikles, Dave Robinson, Carl Beaulieu and his daughter Lauri Delecato, and Dave and Jennifer Carmichael. This was one of our largest meetings since the start of the pandemic.
President’s Report: Steve reported that he attended an insurance presentation from the American Association of Woodturners. The AAW has a plan that costs around $200/year and provides excellent liability protection. The big issue with the AAW plan is that it does not cover events held in private residences which we do when the Peters Valley Wood Shop is closed. In those events, there is a plan offered by The Hartford, that provides the same kind of liability coverage, but includes events held in private residences. This is the plan we have and it looks like the right policy for us.
We also discussed the the meeting that Beth Ireland has agreed to do for us. Steve met her at the Totally Turning Event and in addition to the suggestions she originally gave Rick, she mentioned that she would be happy to do a class for all of us to actively participate. Steve will send an email too the members to decide what topic or activity we’d like to have with Beth.
Steve also mentioned that he and Mark Wallace attended the Totally Turning event in Saratoga Springs at the end of March. Both Steve and Mark thought the event was excellent and Saratoga Springs is a great venue.
Treasurer’s report: Rick Wortman reported that we received a refund from the insurance company. Currently our bank balance stands at $616.35, our best balance after our insurance payment in quite a while. Rick also mentioned that our items for sale in the Peters Valley gallery are dwindling and if someone has a nice item, consider having it placed in the gallery. The sale proceeds of the item go to our club.
Show and Tell: We had a challenge for this month and that was to make a bud vase. Many members participated.
There were a couple of additional items:
Patty Jennings brought a decorated plate, a small walnut dish with celtic decorations, and a maple bowl turned, carved and burned to look like a flower.
Carol Pastor brought a live edge cherry bowl
Meeting Demonstration: Scott Hendricks did a general demonstration on a number of items:
Tenon turning
Vacuum Chucking
Tool sharpening templates
Hollowing with various tools
After an excellent demonstation on the above topics as well as other tips, Scott and his wife gave us a tour of their Alpaca operation.
Our March meeting was held on Saturday, March 4th, 2023 at 12:30PM at the home of Carol Paster in West Orange, NJ.
Attendees: Rick Wortman, Carol Paster, Patty Jenkins, Jim Cerra, Scott Hendricks, Dave Robinson, Steve Ackmann
Presidents report: Carl Beaulieu has reached our and plans to begin attending meetings again when his schedule permits. Ken Aulicino is also engaging with me on our club emails and he likely will be attending again.
I attended the New Jersey Woodworking event at the Edison Convention Center in February. It was my first time at this event but it seemed very well attended. Quite a few venders were there and many vendors selling wood slabs and blanks.
I am also signed up for the Totally Turning event in Saratoga Springs on March 24th and 25th. Saratoga Springs is a great town to visit, the hotel is cheap, and the demostrators are national quality.
In addition, I’m signed up for the AAW annual symposium in Louisville, Kentucky, June 1st thru June 4th. This will be my first AAW event.
April Challenge: Our next meeting is scheduled for April 8, 2023 at Scott Hendricks home in Blairstown. Our Challenge for April is to bring a bud vase to the meeting. Let your imagination run free with this one!
Treasurer’s Report: Rich Wortman reported that all dues have been paid in full for the year, with some generously paying extra. Many thanks to each member. Rick further reported that he has paid this year’s insurance payment in the amount of $525.00 As of the meeting date our treasury balance is $577.50.
Rick reminded everyone that we need quality pieces to sell in the Peters Valley Gallery. These sales directly help our treasury.
Rick also mentioned that one of the most fruitful direction for our club regarding demonstration is to piggy back on to instructors who are conducting classes at Paters Valley. We then have access to nationally recognized turners, who are already in the shop and can then simply extend their first or last day of instruction into a session for us. This can also be cost effective for both our club and the instructor.
Next Meetings: With regard to the above, Rick has reached out to several of the instructors who are currently booked into Peters Valley this summer.
Beth Ireland has agreed to provide a session for us in conjunction with her class on bandsaw boxes. Her class is taking place from August 18th thru August 22nd, and our session time isn’t firmed up yet but will likely be on the evening of August 22nd at the Wood shop. More details later.
Show and Tell:
Rick Wortman, in keeping with our discussion about Beth Ireland’s class on bandsaw boxes, brought a walnut bandsaw box with a turned top.
Dave Robinson brought a bowl and a bud vase made from a tree that was planted when his daughter was born. The tree was a redbud.
Scott Hendricks brought a large hollow form vase that was made from ash. He also brought another hollow form that was stained on the outside. He also brought a bud vase made from cherry with a glass tube inside with interesting holes around the fours sides of the base, giving a view of the bottom of the tube.
Scott will be demo-ing his hollowing tools at the April Meeting.
Carol Paster showed a small maple bud vase with an inserted glass tube
Steve Ackmann brought a turned container with a lid made from cherry. He also brought a rough turned bowl made from a rough cherry burl for suggestions regarding finishing.
Patty Jenkins showed a small walnut bowl with a offset turn of the bowl and Celtic inscriptions hand applied with a burning tool.
Saturday February 4, 2023 Garris General Store, 912 Main Street, Stillwater, NJ
Topics will be planning for meetings in 2023, Treasurer’s Report and show and tell
March 4, 2023 12:00PM to 2:00PM Carol Pater’s home 18 Oak Avenue, West Orange, NJ
Topics will be tools, sharpening and turning a tenon.
April 8, 2023 12:00PM to 2:00PM Scott Hendrick’s home 60 Ackerson Road, Blairstown, NJ 07825
Topic will be a demonstration of Scott’s home-built hollowing system. We will also have a challenge for the month to review in May; turning a bud vase
May 3, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Topic TBD but we will probably review our Bud Vase challenge
May 28, 2023 Peters Valley Art in the Park day. 11:00AM until 4:00PM.
The event is at the Peters Valley main building area, and we will have a table there to show our work and a lathe will be available to demonstrate turning bowls and other items
June 7, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Laser Engraving demo from Patty Jennings and Scott Hendricks. We will also review our June challenge which is turning a platter.
July 18, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Matt Monaco Demonstration-Topic tbd
August 22 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Beth Ireland Demo-topic related to offset turning. We will have and opportunity to participate on the shop lathes.
September 6, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Topic TBD
October 4, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Topic TBD
November 1, 2023 7:00PM to 9:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Topic TBD
December 2, 2023 10:00AM to @:00PM The Peters Valley Wood Shop
Topic This will be our Toys for Tots turning day. Date and Time is tentative at this point
Water Gap Woodturners 