Hello Woodturners!
Welcome to the South Puget Sound Woodturners’ web site. Whether you are a long time or new member, or just someone interested in woodturning, we hope you enjoy our site. We will continue to build and update information so check back often or better yet, sign up for automatic e-mail updates by clicking on that large orange button just to your right. For now, please refer to the newsletter page to find the latest updates and information about the club. And thanks for stopping by!
November Meeting and Newsletter
The November meeting will be on Thursday, November 20th at the Fife Center. The speaker will be Jack McDaniel. The November newsletter is available here.
November Events
20 Membership Mtg.
Jack McDaniels - Travel Mug
22 Sawdust Session at Pat McCartʼs
25 Board Mtg. - Les Johnsonʼs
December Events
Dec. 18 Membership Mtg. - Annual Holiday Mtg.
20 Sawdust Session at Pat McCart
JoHannes Michelsen Nov 11
Remember to sign up for the Johannes Michelsen hat turning class which will be held on Tuesday Nov 11. Those in attendance will be given a ticket, the lucky ticket holder will have the hat made during the class, custom fit to his or her head. Extra tickets will be available to purchase for those in attendance. The cost for this class is$25.00. Jim Cotter will be collecting the fees. Please give cash to Jim or mail checks made out to the SPSW to:
Jim Cotter, 4326 S 239th Pl, Kent WA, 98032
SPSWT hat turning class with JoHannes Michelsen will be held at the:-
Swiss Sportsman Club Park
9205 198th Ave E
Bonney Lake, WA 98390
253 862 1142
map-to-swiss-sportsmans-club
A quick bio on JoHannes
I am JoHannes Michelsen creator of these marvels of wood turning, and I would like to share with you the things that make these hats so amazing. The original concept came to me in early 1980, it took 10 years of mulling it over in my head before I made the first hat and put it on my head. Hat #1 was made for the occasion of Albert and Tina Lecoffs wedding in 1990. So well received they were a powerful force that took over my artistic output, I have since made almost nothing but hats. Over the years I have developed many devices and techniques to ever improve the art form all of which I share freely and fully at my demonstrations and workshops.
October Newsletter
Here is the October Newsletter.
October 16th Meeting
The Fall symposium is finally here.
Got a question, got a problem, need to learn a new technique or just curious? Then the October
Symposium is the place to be. There will be a number of experienced turners on hand demonstrating:
Stephanie Lane - Decorative Effects/Pyrography
Paul Crabtree - Applying Polyurethane finishes
Tim Spalding - Making segmented pen blanks
Warren Swift - Turning Tops
Richard Steppic - Turning Spheres
Jeff Shultz - Turning Bowls
Ted Bartholomew, Dave Schweitzer & Jack Wayne - questions and answers BRING IN A PIECE YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH.
Pat McCart - Safety Gear / Making bowls with feet
Remember there is no Show and Tell this month
Memorial Service for Bob Sweazey October 10
As most of you know, Bob Sweazey tragically passed away on Wednesday, September 17, 2008.
Please join us in a celebration of Bob’s Life.
Friday, October 10
2 - 6 PM
Swiss Sports Club
9205 198th Ave. E
Bonnie Lake, WA 98390
(Click abover for directions)
Refreshments will be Potluck, so bring your favorite refreshment to share.
Casual Dress
E-mail if you have questions.
September Newsletter
From the September 2008 Newsletter
A splendid September, shorter days, cooler nights and the flood of color in the trees, signal that September is once again upon us. September has long been my favorite month. With its rush of changes and abundance of activities, there is something new each day. Woodturning opportunities abound and ways to become more involved in the SPSW club are ready for you to pick. Septemberʼs meeting will surely intrigue many members when Richard Steppic shows us how to turn a cube. Saturdayʼs Sawdust session will be held at my shop. This month Hal Johnson will be demonstrating hollowing systems. Sawdust sessions provide a great opportunity to get some one on one assistance.
Bring your tools, wood, safety glasses and a lunch and make some chips. Next month will be our fall mini-symposium and we welcome any member that would like to share their skills and knowledge on any aspect of the turning process from cutting the logs to selling the finished product. Contact Jim Cotter and join the fun. We will be selling raffle tickets for a medium size “Eliminator” end grain hollowing tool along with a Sorby parting tool- over $200 retail value. Tickets are $2 each or 3 for $5. Buy early and often!
See you on the 18th, and remember be safe, make chips and have fun!
-Pat McCart, SPSW President
Next Meeting Thursday September 18th
The next meeting for the South Puget Sound Woodturners is Thursday, September 18th. The featured presenter is Richard Steppic who will present “Cube on the Bias”.
Our meetings start at 7:00 on third Thursdays at the Fife Senior Center just off I-5 at 2111 54th Avenue East. Take exit 137 and go South approximately two blocks. The Fife Senior Center is across from the Dairy Queen. Social time starts at 6:30 PM. If you want to join, just show up at the meeting.
Here is a map. Here is a link to the SPS Woodturners calendar.
Click here to see pictures from the Ted Bartholomew presentation. (Pictures by Fred Abeles).
Message from Pat
Well, its the end of August and Summer will be quickly fading to Fall. With Fall, in the great Northwest, comes rain and long periods of time spent indoors. As woodturners, our hobby keeps us indoors most of the year - except to occasionally forage for wood, we seldom see the light of day.
But now is the time, dare I say, to step away from your lathe and get outdoors. Take the rest of August and go enjoy the sunshine, experience all that nature has to offer. Or should I say observe all that nature has to offer. Just because we have come out of our shops and into the light of day doesn’t mean we should stop being woodturners. We should always be on the lookout for inspiration for our work.
Woodturning is a very visual endeavor, shape and proportion are critical to producing a visually pleasing piece of work. With long hours spent holed up in our shops, many may find that their work has become repetitious and uninspired. Outside, the careful and even the casual observer will be able to see endless examples of forms and shapes that are blended to perfection by nature and hopefully be inspired by them.
This inspiration can be had for free as well, no need to buy the latest DVD or book. Just get outside- go walking in a park, go hiking on the many trails in our area, visit the sea shore, rivers, lakes, go downtown, even your own backyard, all have inspiration to offer if you only look. The curve of a lower stem and its leaves, the shape of a weather worn rock or a piece of drift wood, the shape of the trail ahead of you or the curve of a tree branch are a few examples.
Digital cameras make capturing inspiration easy as well. Take one along with you and take lots of pictures of anything that catches your eye. The pictures can be retrieved later during the winter when your creative battery may be in need of recharge. Take a sketch pad if you don’t have a camera. If you are like me and can’t draw, a camera is definitely a good investment.
All too soon it well be Fall and the rain will be back, so get out now and enjoy Summer. Your lathe will still be there waiting for you when you come back to it in September. And who knows perhaps you will have finally found the inspiration you need to turn that prized piece of wood you’ve been saving for all those years.
See you on the 21st, and remember be safe, make chips and have fun!
-Pat McCart, SPSW President
AAW Members Invited to Join 25th Anniversary Project
The editors of the AAW 25th anniversary book
invite AAW members to submit short essays about their introduction to
the woodturning field and the AAW as an organization.
“We’re going to go after writing from the
well-known members, but we’re also looking for writings from those who
might not be so well known,” the volume’s editor, John Kelsey,
explained. “We want to be sure ordinary members have a way to tell
their stories in the anniversary volume.” The AAW Board of Directors
has appointed Kelsey, of Lancaster PA, as editor and manager for the
25th anniversary project. He’ll be working through 2008 and 2009 to
gather material for the 256-page book. “We’d like to hear from as many
members as we can,” Kelsey said. “We’d like members to write about how
they came to the field of woodturning, and what it has meant in their
lives.”
The editorial team also invites members to
submit photographs they have taken at AAW events. It’s important that
these photographs be dated, and they should be accompanied by as much
information as possible about the turners and turnings that appear in
them. Members who would like to discuss this project, or
participate in it, are welcome to contact the editor by email at
editorkelsey@gmail.com<mailto:editorkelsey@gmail.com>.
Thanks
Jean LeGwin - AAW Board of Directors
