Category: Meetings/News/Events

Our September meeting was held on the 2nd of the month at the Peters Valley Wood Studio.

Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Jim Cera, Scott Hendricks, Joe Kopec, Joe Pansini, Carol Paster, Mike Peacock, David Robinson, Mark Wallace and Rick Wortman.

Change In Leadership: This meeting was the final meeting of club president Mike Peacock who was moving out of state. Steve Ackman agreed to assume the role of president going forward.

Demonstration: Professional turner and instructor Dennis Fugue gave us a demonstration on Bottom Up Hollowing. This is a hollowing method wherein a vessel is hollowed from the bottom, larger end and the opening created is sealed with a seamless plug. As usual, Dennis’ demo was delightful and informative. Dennis also provided a handout to attendees describing the method.

Steps 1 & 2 — Create Tenons On Both Ends.

Step3 — Drill Out The Neck Of The Vessel.

Step 4 — Shape The Mouth Of The Vessel.

Step 5 — Begin To Shape The Neck.

Steps 6 & 7 — Shape & Remove The Bottom Plug.

Step 8 — Drill Starter Hole In Bottom Of Vessel.

Steps 9 & 10 — Hollow Out Vessel From The Bottom. Dennis used long handled gouges, gouge steady and innovative calipers to ensure depth and even wall thickness.

Step 11 — Shape And Re-Attach The Bottom Plug.

Step 12 — Refine The Vessel’s Neck.

Step 13 — Remove Waste From Plug. Note how Dennis uses PVC pipe to support fragile neck.

Some Examples.

Updated as of 5/16/2023

Saturday January 7, 2023

No meeting this month

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

Our first meeting of the year occurred on February 4, 2023 and was held at the Garris General Store located at 912 Main Street, Stillwater, NJ

Attendees: Rick Wortman, Mark Wallace, Carol Paster, Patty Jenkins, Jim Cerra, Scott Hendricks, Dave Robinson, Harvey Fein, Steve Ackmann

Treasurer’s Report: Our balance as of today was 921.50. We were successful in selling several items at the Peters Valley Gallery and received $120 from those sales. Several members also brought their 2023 dues to the meeting. We will shortly be paying our $500 annual insurance liability insurance policy for the year.

Topics: The meeting was to review ideas for meetings and demonstrations for the upcoming year.

Show and Tell:

Mark Wallace showed a picture of a winged heirloom bowl that he made for his family

Rick Wortman brought a walking stick that he made to assist him on his morning walks through the woods, a mulberry live edge bowl, and a dyed bowl made with maple.

Scott Hendricks brought a live edge cherry bowl made with a cherry burl, he also brought a new sanding tool he called a sanding mop.

Dave Robinson brought a ring stand made from walnut

Harvey Fein brought a couple of his kumiko pieces and a stunning walnut bowl with geometric carvings and inlays

Steve Ackmann brought a bud vase made from ash

The meeting adjourned at around 3:00 PM

Our August meeting was held on the 2nd of the month at the Peters Valley Wood Studio.

Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Jim Cera, Ed Nikles, Mike Peacock, David Robinson, Mark Wallace and Rick Wortman.

Discussion: After a brief Show & Tell, professional turner and instructor Matt Monaco gave us a demonstration on using (and not fearing) the skew chisel.

Show & Tell:

Rick Wortman — Rick presented finished the cherry bowl with carved maple leaves and added a lid

Ed Nikles: Ed Showed a colored and lacquered maple bowl and a natural edged walnut bowl finished with Danish oil.

Demonstration: Turner Matt Monaco gave a wonderful demonstration of the skew.

Next Meetings: Monday September 12, Wednesday October 12

Reminder: Annual Peters Valley Craft Fair September 24-25

Meeting Notes

Our July meeting was held on the 6th of the month at the Peters Valley Wood Studio.

Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Scott Hendricks, Jim Cera, Ed Nikles, Mike Peacock, David Robinson, Mark Wallace and Rick Wortman.

Discussion

Mike confirmed with Kristen Mueller, Peters Valley director, that liability insurance is indeed required for the club to use the woodshop.

We have invited turners and Peters Valley instructors Matt Monaco (www,monacobowls.com) and Dennis Fuge (www.timeforyou.net) to give demonstrations this year. The time frame of their demonstrations to our club will coincide with the classes they are teaching at PV — August 2 for Matt, early September for Dennis. Our normal meeting time/date may be adjusted to accommodate the schedules of Matt and Dennis.

We continued discussing preparation for the Annual Peter’s Valley Craft Fair (September 24-25 at the Sussex County Fair Grounds). Jim Cera volunteered to have a banner made with the new club logo created to hang over the front of our table. Mike asked PV Wood Studio manager about building a plexiglass screen to make our lathe demonstrations safer. Mike also suggested that each member make a bunch of spinning tops to hand out to kids at the event.

Treasurer’s Report

Rick Workman reported the balance in the club’s checking account was $319.35. We continue to build our funds through attracting new members, selling member-donated turned items and conducting 1-on-1 lessons where the proceeds are donated to the club.

Show & Tell

Rick Wortman — Maple bowl with (in progress) carved maple leaf pattern

Ed Nikles — Maple bowl with burned and textured rim, walnut bowl

Steve Ackmann — Bench brushes based on plans found in Fine Woodworking #296 — May/June 2022. The handles are maple and are 5″ x 6-1/4″ x 3/4″ They were shaped with a bandsaw. The exposed bristles are about 2-3/4″ long and are tampico fibers (from agave plants).

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be at Peter’s Valley on Tuesday, August 2nd , 2022.  The switch to Tuesday is to accommodate turner/instructor Matt Monaco  (www,monacobowls.com) who will be demonstrating effective use of the skew chisel.

Recall that at the start of this we members voted to contribute additional funds — beyond our annual dues — to subsidize the fees paid to professional demonstrators.  For this meeting we’re asking everyone to contribute a minimum of $20.  (Note: More may be required if we have a lower than normal turnout).  Rick Wortman will collect the money at the start of the meeting.

Meeting Notes

Our June meeting was held on the 1st of the month at the Peters Valley Wood Studio. This meeting marks the start of our summer meeting hours — (usually) 1st Wednesday of each month at 7 PM.

Attendees: Steve Ackmann, Scott Hendricks, Joe Kopec, Ed Nikles, Joe Pansini, Mike Peacock, David Robinson and Rick Wortman.

Discussion

Welcome to new member David Robinson.

Our participation in the Art In The Park open-house event at Peters Valley on May 29th was a huge success. Thanks again to Scott Hendricks, Patty Jennings, Carol Paster and Rick Wortman who volunteered to represent the club in a booth provided by Peters Valley. Also thanks to Wood Studio manager Jamie Herman for setting up a lathe for our volunteers to give turning demonstration for visitors.

We are considering inviting turners and Peters Valley instructors Matt Monaco (www,monacobowls.com) and Dennis Fuge (www.timeforyou.net) to give demonstrations this year. The time frame of their demonstrations to our club will coincide with the classes they are teaching at PV — late July/early August for Matt, September for Dennis.

We began discussing preparation for the Annual Peter’s Valley Craft Fair (September 24-25 at the Sussex County Fair Grounds). Last year’s event was the first that our club participated in and it was a great opportunity for us to expose and demonstrate woodturning to a large group of people. This year we would like to build on that success — and the success of the Art In The Park event by having more club information, more items to display and more turning demonstrations.

Treasurer’s Report

Rick Workman reported the balance in the club’s checking account was $319.35. We continue to build our funds through attracting new members, selling member-donated turned items and conducting 1-on-1 lessons where the proceeds are donated to the club.

Show & Tell

Rick Wortman: Live edge bowl, walnut

Ed Nikles: 2 burl vases, locust and oak,1 cedar vase, photo of a table he made in high school

Steve Ackmann: Live edge bowl from cherry burl

Joe Pansini: Olive wood bowl-end grain, Maple Bowl

Demonstration

Steve Ackmann did a demonstration of an idea he is developing — to turn a modified live edge bowl where one half of the rim is turned and the other half is live edge, with most of the edge being on a similar plane.

This is accomplished by taking a bowl blank and cutting the bark side of the blank at an angle beginning in the middle and finishing the cut on the end grain. The bowl is then turned with the face plate attached to the angled cut face of the blank.

Steven then turned the bowl and deemed the approach moderately successful. More experimentation will be necessary to get the desired result.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be at Peter’s Valley on Wednesday, July 7th , 2022.

Watergap Woodturners participated in the Peters Valley Annual Open House on Memorial Day weekend. An estimated 1000+ visitors attended the event.

Thanks to Scott Hendricks, Patty Jennings, Carol Paster and Rick Wortman who represented the club with an information table and turning demonstrations. A job well done by all.

Special thanks to Carol and Scott who not only coordinated our participation with Peters Valley, but also created a new club logo and business cards for handouts. A sign-up sheet netted about 20 potential new members.

Also, special thanks to Patty Jennings who performed some on-the-spot lathe adjustments that allowed the demonstrations to proceed.

In addition to Rick and Patty, old friend and long-time club member Harvey Fein stopped by to take a turn at the demo lathe.

Meeting Notes

Our May meeting was held on the 7th of the month at Patty Jenning’s home in Stanhope NJ.

Attendees: Jim Cera, Scott Hendricks, Patty Jennings, Ed Nikles, Carol Paster, Mike Peacock and Rick Wortman.

Discussion:

The discussion centered around the upcoming Art In The Park open-house event at Peters Valley on May 29th. Scott Hendricks, Joe Kopec, Carol Paster and Rick Wortman volunteered to represent the club in a booth provided by Peters Valley. Carol agreed to coordinate with event organizers and along with Scott volunteered to update our informational flyer and create business cards to handout. Rick agreed to conduct turning demonstrations during the event.

We also discussed starting our Summer meeting hours at Peters Valley Woodshop with the June meeting.

After a tour of Patty’s shop and dedicated “carving room” and a brief show-and-tell, we returned to the carving room for a power-carving demonstration by Patty.

Demonstration:

Patty demonstrated how she uses Dremel and Foreman rotary tools to create beautiful carvings on bowls and vessels.

Mike Peacock recorded video of Patty’s demo and it can be viewed with this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/CNXlhBTq73U

Next Meeting: Our June meeting will be held on the 1st at the Peters Valley Wood Studio at 7 PM.

Updated

Saturday December 4, 2021

Toy Drive • 10 AM-4 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Saturday January 8, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Zoom (See email for link)

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Discussion Topic: Bowl Gouges: Grinds, Sizes, Specialty

Saturday February 5, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Zoom (See email for link)

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Challenge • Show & Tell

(Video)Demo Topic: Scott Hendricks — The Munro Hollower Tool

Saturday March 5, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Rick Wortman’s Home

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: Rick Wortman will demonstrate the basics for a natural-edged bowl which entails all the cuts for regular bowls with a couple of nuances and procedural differences for the edge, drying and returning.

Saturday April 2, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Jim Cera’s Home

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: Jim Cera Will Demonstrate Turning Elliptical Boxes

Saturday May 7, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Patty Jenning’s Home

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: Patty Jennings Will Demonstrate Power Carving On Bowls

Wednesday June 1, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 7 PM – 9 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: Steve Ackman Will Demonstrate His Method For A “Modified” Natural Edge Bowl.

Wednesday July 6, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 7 PM – 9 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: TBD

Wednesday August 3, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 7 PM – 9 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: TBD

Wednesday September 7, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 7 PM – 9 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: TBD

Saturday September 24, Sunday September 25 2022

Peters Valley Fall Craft Fair • Sussex County NJ Fairgrounds

Saturday October 8, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: TBD

Saturday November 5, 2022

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2 PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic: TBD

Saturday December 3, 2022

Toy Drive • 10 AM-4PM • Peters Valley Wood Studio

Saturday January 7, 2023

Meeting/Demo • 12 PM – 2PM • Jim Cera’s Home

Agenda: Treasurer’s Report • Dues Collection • Critical Show & Tell

Demo Topic:TBD

Meeting Notes

Our April meeting was held on the 2nd of the month at Jim Cera’s home in Branchville NJ.

Attendees: Steve Ackman, Jim Cera, Joe Kopec, Ed Nikles, Joe Pansini, Mike Peacock, Mark Wallace and Rick Wortman.

Discussion:

Peter’s Valley will be conducting a clean-up weekend on Saturday April 9, 2022. The purpose is to clean up the winter debris and prepare the grounds for the upcoming season. They are looking for volunteers. We would likely be attending to the woodshop area. (This event was subsequently cancelled and re-scheduled for April 23rd)

The May 7th meeting at Patty Jenning’s home will be the last before we return to the Peters Valley Woodshop.

The discussion continued regarding invited demonstrators. Although we have funds enough for one paid demonstrator sometime this year, we voted to stretch our available funds for demonstrations by having members contribute $30-$50 towards each demonstrator’s fees. 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). We continue to review these instructor’s works for potential demonstrations.

We discussed Peter’s Valley Craft Fair: September 24th & 25th 2022. Last year’s event was the first that the club participated in, and it was a great opportunity for us to promote the club and demonstrate woodturning to large groups of people. Although we are still several months away, it is time to start planning our display’s and demonstrations. This year we would like to have displays that demonstrate how a log is transformed into a beautiful bowl, vase, candle holder, etc. We’d like to provide more live turning demonstrations. Mark your calendars and plan to attend.

Treasurer’s Report: Rick Wortman reported that our current account balance — 309.35 — includes a $7 refund from overpaid insurance premium.

Show & Tell

Several members brought recent works for critical show and tell.

Jim Cerra: Live edge bowl out of pin cherry from Rick’s demonstration last month. Also a salt cellar with a clever rare-earth magnet hinge.

Rick Wortman: Live edge bowl, pin cherry.

Joe Kopec: 3 live edge bowls, ash, natural and dyed cherry. Delicate container with lid and stand. Three turned eggs.

Ed Nikles: Cedar bowl. Candle mounts. Walnut lamp

Steve Ackmann: Live edge bowl from cherry burl

Joe Pansini: Olive wood bowl-end grain. Maple Bowl

Demonstration

Jim Cera gave an excellent and informative demonstration on the making of elliptical boxes using the lost wood method. Essentially, three pieces of wood are glued together with paper (brown paper, grocery bag, etc.) between each piece. The resulting square blank is then turned round. A lid is parted off and shaped and the container is hollowed. The center piece of the form (the lost wood) is removed — the paper in between sections making this easy — and the resulting container is elliptical in shape.

Jim provided a handout the project steps:

The video of Jim’s demo can be viewed with this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/pA5bz5Rh2a0

Next Meeting. Our May meeting will be held at Patty Jennings home (address to be provided by email). Patty will demonstrate carving techniques for turnings.