Our November meeting was held on Wednesday, November 3rd in the Peters Valley Wood Studio. Attending were Jim Cera, Rick Wortman, Scott Hendricks, Steve Ackman and Mike Peacock.
Treasurers Report — Rick reported that the club earned $84 through the sale of members’ turned items in the Peters Valley store. After the Dennis Fugue demo, the club account stands at $257.85
Discussion — The focus of the meeting was on the low turnout and general loss of interest in our club among our members and strategies for re-connecting with current members and attracting new ones. Clearly, the covid-19 pandemic that relegated us to Zoom meeting for about 18 months has had and impact. Still, Scott Hendricks reported that only 6 members responded to the survey he sent out to get a sense of what has changed since the pandemic and we can make the club more attractive. (Note that two members reported having difficulty sending their responses back so the total would’ve been 8). We will continue to work to improve the club, re-engage existing members and welcome new members.
Jim will call the 15 or so members, for whom he has phone numbers, in an attempt to “chat” about why they’ve lost interest and what direction the club should take that would bring them back.
Mike reported that Peters Valley has agreed to our posting flyers about the club in the wood studio. It is the same flyer we displayed and handed out at the PV Craft Fair in September.
Mike also reported that Peters Valley will post information about the club on their FaceBook page.
The first posting of the above was on November 2nd and will repeat weekly. We will also be able to announce upcoming events — like our toy drive event to benefit Project Self Sufficiency in December.
Selection Of Club Officers — Mike Peacock was selected to succeed Jim Cera as club President starting in January 2022 and Steve Ackman was selected as Secretary. Both received a unanimous 4 votes. Rick Wortman will remain club treasurer.
December Meeting— Our next meeting — and last in the PV wood studio until Spring 2022 — will be held on Saturday December 4th starting at 10 AM. This will be our toy drive event to benefit Project Self Sufficiency. Members will bring materials to turn, tops magic wands, ball catchers, yo-yos, etc. The club will provide food and refreshments. It will be a fun and rewarding way to start the Holiday season!
Our October meeting was held on Monday, October 4th at the Peters Valley wood studio.
Dennis Fuge Demo
This month, noted woodturner and Peters Valley instructor Dennis Fuge gave a demonstration which he calls: “Decorative Platters and Finishes on Turned Items”. Dennis is a very experienced turner with a highly accomplished skillset.
Turnout was unfortunately low due to the inclement weather, but those who were able to make the meeting, we were treated to an outstanding three hour journey, filled with a variety of embellishment methods, including the use of pewter; ebonizing; sliced black walnut inlays; and egg shells as well as tips and tricks.
Dennis is a wonderful teacher with whimsical, yet substantive style. He also provided us with a “hand-out” containing resources for a huge variety of materials, tools, finishes and craft supplies. Thanks again to Dennis, for a great night.
November Meeting Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 7 pm at the Peters Valley wood studio. I have put together the following general outline of an agenda for the evening:
1. Selection of a new club president to assume office starting in 2022 — at the end of Jim Cerra’s term.
2. Toys for Tots – The plan is to hold the Toys for Tots production meeting on Saturday, December 4, at 10 a.m. in the Peters Valley wood studio. Discussion regarding toys to be created. Supplies to be provided including wood for turning identified to the specific toys. Finishing supplies
3. 2022 programs and meeting locations outside of Peters Valley woo studio4. Show and tell
Our partner, Peters Valley School of Craft, provided us with an information table at their annual craft fair held at the Sussex County fair grounds on September 25th and 26th.
This was a great opportunity to promote the Watergap Woodturners Club and strengthen our connection to Peters Valley.
Club members Steve Ackman, Scott Hendricks, Joe Kopec and Michael Peacock volunteered to “work the table” over the weekend.
Steve, Scott, and Joe along with Jim Cerra, Ed Nikles and Rick Wortman provided samples of their turnings for the table which attracted many fair goers.
Mike printed flyers with club info to hand out to those interested. They also served as a make-shift banner for our space and table. Note that two of the flyers were also placed on the club’s “for sale” shelf in the Peters Valley store.
Rick Wortman spent a few hours at the “demo lathe”. And, club member Harvey Fein stopped by for a few minutes.
The Meeting was heled on Wednesday, September 8th at the Peters Valley Woodshop. Attending were Jim Cera, Rick Wortman, Michael Peacock, Ed Nikles, Mark Wallace, and Steve Ackman. Covid protocols were still in effect. Several attendees brought their work for show and tell.
The treasurer, Rick Wortman reported that the current club account balance is $473.85. Rick noted that we have 12 members who have paid dues for 2021.
Next meeting will be Monday October 4th in the woodshop. Noted turner and Peters Valley instructor Fennis Fuge will demonstrate bowl and platter enhancements.
The focus of the meeting was the waning enthusiasm and shrinking membership and attendance of late. Our discussion centered on what we could do to get more of our current membership to reengage and to attract new members. Several suggestions were made that members will follow up on.
Using the lathes in the woodshop during meetings. Aside from a single lathe for demos, the club is only allowed to use the lathes for our annual “Toys For Tots” event. Jim will contact the Peters Valley director, Kristin Muller to see if that permission can be extended. (As of this writing Jim has met with Kristin and found that at some point “the club’s unlimited access to the tools during their meetings, became problematical, and issues developed which resulted in the withdrawal of permission to use the tools on an open ended basis”).
Improve visibility as an AAW chapter. Several members noted that the old, circa 2011 blog site link was still listed for our chapter on the AAW website. Steve Ackman volunteered to look into having the link replaced with our current. (As of this writing, Steve was successful in this effort).
Improve local awareness of the club and our association with Peters Valley. Several suggestions in this area included:
Improving the signage next to the club’s merchandise in the Peters Valley store to provide information about the club — including email and website links — to potentially attract new members.
Creating a sign, poster or flyer to hang in the PV woodshop that alerts workshop students to our existence, association to Peters Valley — and it’s instructors — and encourage new members. The sigh would include our email and website links.
Further strengthening our association with Peters Valley including our possibly advertising the club through participating in the annual PV sponsored craft fair. (Kristin Muller offered Jim the opportunity for us to have a table at the event where we could display some of the membership’s turnings, provide info about the club and sign up new members. There would also be a lathe available for a [skilled and quick] club member to do demonstrations. Mike has contacted the PV fair organizer to see what could be pulled together in the week+ before the fair and Jim has put out a call for volunteers to “man the table”. Kristin also offered to let us “piggy back” on PV’s social media sites to advertise the club and activities. Mike spoke with Emily Haag at PV who enthusiastically agreed to include our email and website links. Emily also offered to advertise upcoming meetings on the site. We’ll try to advertise the next few meetings at PV but will need to think about public announcements when we switch to member’s homes during the winter).
Better highlight our association with Peters Valley in our website. (Mike is working this).
The Meeting was held on Wednesday, August 4th at Peters Valley. Attending were Jim Cera, Rick Wortman, Fred Guendel, Michael Peacock, Ed Nikles, Mark Wallace, Ginnie Hinchman, Jim Matthews, Ken Aulicino and new member Steve Ackman. Covid protocols are still in effect and all attendees were masked.
Sadly, it was Fred’s farewell meeting as he is moving to Virginia. He’ll be missed.
The bulk of the meeting was a turning demonstration by notable turner Keith Tompkins.
The focus o Keith’s demo of design — going from idea to lathe. He discussed and demonstrated how and why to determine an “Emphasis Point” on a piece, and to create flowing curves and motion by having elements “almost touch”.
Keith demonstrated how he grips the tools, locks them to his body and using his body — not just his hands — to produce controlled and precise cuts.
Finally, Keith treated the group by demonstrating how to turn a cube on the lathe with basic tools and a little math.
After the demo, members shared some of their recent works in a show-and-tell.
The first in person meeting since February 2020 and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, was held at Peters Valley on June 2nd. Attendance was low — just 4 members who had to adhere to covid safety protocols.
The treasurer, Rick Wortman reported that the treasury had $867.
There was a brief discussion regarding the demo by Janine Wang and the concept of touch applied to turnings was addressed.
We had no challenge for the meeting but we did have a “show and tell” session. Ed Nikles was particularly active in his turning mode and exhibited several pieces, some of which had displayed during our past Zoom sessions.
Our next meeting is scheduled at Peters Valley for July 5 at which tine we will have a presentation by Keith Tompkins.
On Thursday May 27th, Artist and turner Janine Wang gave a talk to club members on the touch of turned objects. Her presentation — entitled Gestures Of Holding — involved approaching turned objects with respect to the sensation and connection one has when grasping an object and shaping something with this objective in mind. The presentation — held in the Peters Valley woodshop — discussed form, function, design, the hand and holding. Janine also showed some of her work.
Although attendance was limited to 7 people due to PV Covid protocols but was well received. Members brought samples of their work for discussion.
I have always loved f course this has more to do with tactile esthetics then technique but it could be fun and broadening to explore if she were available.
The May 2021 meeting of the Watergap Woodturners was held over Zoom on the 5th of the month.
Attendence. Attending were Jim Cerra, Rick Wortman, Mike Peacock, Joe Kopec, Ed Nickles, Scott Hendricks and Fred Guendel
Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer reported a balance of $867.81 with, perhaps, the only outlay being a Zoom Subscription due in early March.
Club Secretary. Fred Guendel volunteered to serve as the Club Secretary.
Club Challenge. A range of projects were completed for this month’s Club Challenge of multi-axis turning, to include twig pots, ladles, spindles and boxes. The precision required to produce what was intended, and he ability to anticipate what to cut on each axis were learning points for club members.
Demonstrations. Janine Wang will conduct a demonstration on 27 May 21, and 7:00pm using her “Cupables” exhibition as a baseline. In preparation, each club member is asked to review their collection of turned projects and select on that seems to fit “the hand.”
The club membership agreed to engage Keith Thompkins as demonstrator in July, with “Design” as the topic. Fred Guendel will follow-up with Thompkins.
Members agreed to take photos documenting club meetings for posting on the website.
Notables. The AAW annual symposium for 2021 will be held virtually, 17 and 18 July 21. AAW also offers periodic virtual demonstrations for a modest few. See the AAW website for details on each.
The Peters Valley Woodshop is in the process of opening and should be available for the 27 May 21 demonstration and throughout the summer. The Club offered to assist Peters Valley open the shop; details to follow.
Meeting. The next club meeting will be held 2 Jun 21 at 7:00pm, at the Peters Valley Woodshop; details to follow.
Show & Tell
This month’s show and tell includes the results of the April Club Challenge and other works by members.
Club Challenge
This month’s challenge was multi-axis turning.
Jim Cerra — These are 3 similar multi-axis turnings. Each is a mini-vase of cherry, 5” high and 3” wide, finished with walnut oil and shined on the Beal buffing System. The first vase is fitted with a glass tube which will hold water.
Rick Wortman — Ladle: total length- 11″ cup-3″x 2 1/2″ Finish: milk paint
Joe Kopec — This is my challenge story. My first choice was to turn a crankshaft for a 4-cylinder engine. Aftertwo attempts I decided it wasn’t working for me so I changed direction as you can see. The two forms on the right were turned a couple of years ago (not multi axis) and Steve Antonucci suggested multi axis would be a good turning exercise, so here’s result. Three axis points single plane.
Fred Guendel — A three axis, walnut box with an inset maple top. It is ~4″ tall and 2 3/4″ in diameter. Finished with Watco Danish Oil, then buffed.
General
Joe Kopec — Some other turnings inspired from a demo by Harvey Meyer, note the grain match, no separation of the grain, and banksia pod Bud vase and box.
Jim Cerra — Spatula of cherry, 11 1/2” long and 3 3/4” wide finished with Tried & True. Toothpick dispenser — closed and open — of red oak, 5” high and 3 1/2” wide finished with walnut oil.
Rick Wortman — Cedar Bud Vase: 7 1/2″. 6″X3/4″ insert. Cedar Bud Vase: 5 1/2″: glass tube: 4×1/2″
Ed Nikles —A locust burl live edge bowl,vase,and candle holder. A walnut bottom and cherry wood top box with a turquoise inlay , and a cherry bottom and walnut top box.
The April 2021 meeting of the Watergap Woodturners was held over Zoom on the 7th of the month.
Attendence. Attending were Jim Cerra, Rick Wortman, Mike Peacock, Joe Kopec, Carol Pastor, Patty Jennings, Ed Nikles, Scott Hendricks and Mark Wallace.
Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer reported a balance of $867.83 with the only outlays being the monthly Zoom fee of $14.98 and $516 for insurance. The Treasurer reported that there are currently 12 members who have paid dues. Additionally, the Treasurer reported that some members — who will remain anonymous — paid extra to serve as donations to the club. No income this month from Peters Valley Gift Shop sales.
In Person Meetings. Due to Peters Valley COVID prep and protocols, we will not be able to meet at the PV woodshop in May, First likely in person meeting will be in June. Peters Valley to provide specific COVID rules for the woodshop shortly.
Peters Valley has requested a copy of the club’s insurance policy which Rick will provide. Rick reported that Fred had sent an email to the membership suggesting that the club might assist in clean up of the PV woodshop. No decision has been made in that regard. Jim to email Kristin at Peters Valley to ask if our help with the woodshop would improve our ability to have in person meetings.
Demonstrations. Discussions concerning engaging one or more of this summer’s Peters Valley Workshop instructors to conduct a demonstration at our meeting continued. One possibility, Janine Wang, will be in PV in May but [it won’t work] since the Club can’t meet then. Rick will contact her to see if she can demonstrate for us in June and at what cost. We also wait to hear if Fred has been able to contact Kieth Thompkins and Lucy Derickson.
Tips and Tricks. Mike reported that the new Tips & Tricks page was up on the website. The access to this page is found on the Home Page under Meetings/News/Events. The page presents all tips and tricks collected to date — including detailed writeups provided by Patty Jennings, Scott Hendricks and Carl Beaulieu. All members are encourage to submit entries for the page. Please be detailed and provide references if possible.
May Challenge Project. Multi-axis turning. Reference: Barbara Dill videos.
Show & Tell
This month’s show and tell includes the results of the April Club Challenge and other works by members.
Club Challenge
This month’s challenge was a natural edge bowl.
Mark Wallace — White Birch. Finish: Howard Feed n Wax. (Beeswax, Carnauba, Orange Oil)
Scott Hendricks — A cherry crotch bowl 7″ wide and 8″ wide. A little thicker than normal but the three knots caused me to keep it a little thicker.
Rick Wortman — Cherry: 12×5″
Ed Nikles — Live edge cherry bowl 11” long,8/14”wide,4/12”high,1/4”thick edge, finished with Tried & True oil & beeswax.
Joe Kopec — First live edge turning.
Carl Beaulieu — My first attempt to turn a Natural Edge Bowl was completed using an Ash green wood limb and turning using the Ellsworth Signature Gouge. The bowl is 8”x6”x5”. Gouge was kept sharp using a Tormek wet grind jig settings (A-75mm-6). The sharp tool allowed cutting of bark edge without damage. The bowl is now covered with saw dust and will be finished when moisture level allows. The rough turned bowl was turned over several weeks to slowly reduce moisture content and minimize wood stress and distortion.
Top view of bowl interior. Ellsworth Gouge reliably removed material without struggles. It appears wit practice the tool can be controlled to achieve a smooth surface with little need for sanding.
Fred Guendel — A maple bowl that is 9″ in diameter and 4 1/2″ tall; finished with lacquer.
General
Scott Hendricks — Pierced butternut vessel
Patty Jennings — Carved fish bowl made from maple, carved with a dremel, painted with trans tint dyes and sprayed with a polycrylic finish.
Ed Nikles —
7” diameter by 2 1/2” walnut bowl.
6” diameter by 3” high walnut bowl.
4 1/4” by 3” diameter cherry candle holder.
7” diameter by 2 1/2”high Turquoise inlay cherry bowl.
3 1/2” diameter by 4” high Cherry box with textured rings colored green.
7” hi. Zebrawood upside down pepper mill.
7 1/2” by 3” dia. Cherry bud vase with a 1” glass insert.
Mike Peacock –
Toy cars with peg people for my grandson and grandniece. Cars are cherry, people are 1-1/2″ x 2″ oak colored with acrylic paints. Both sealed with water-based polycrylic. After test-drive by grandson ejected the people, added magnet to car and a washer to the people to keep them in.
House Number/Planter for my daughter’s first home. Made from cedar boards and finished with 4 coats of Helmsman exterior spar urethane. 24” x 14”, planter is 5”x5”x14”.
Joe Kopec — Turnings inspired from a demo by Harvey Meyer, note the grain match, no separation of the grain, and banksia pod Bud vase and box.
Fred Guendel — Stool. It has a cherry seat with oak legs and stretchers; finished with Tired and True Oil/Varnish.
Water Gap Woodturners 