At the February 14th meeting, club member John Petro will demonstrate how power carving can be used to embellish woodturning by starting with a near finished turned form: often a bowl, vase, or platter. A clean, symmetrical surface created on the lathe becomes a canvas for adding texture, movement, and visual interest.

He’ll introduce power-carving tools, such as small dental micro motors, rotary tools, or flexible shaft tools, along with different burrs, carving wheels, and abrasive attachments. Before carving, emphasize safety, including secure work holding, body positioning, and appropriate protective gear.

He’ll show how light, controlled passes create flowing patterns, facets, or organic textures that either follow the form of the turning or intentionally contrast with it. He’ll show how changes in pressure, tool angle, and bit selection affect depth and character. He’ll discuss design choices like balancing carved and smooth areas, preserving wall thickness, and using texture to guide the viewer’s eye or enhancing the grain.

He’ll then finish the demonstration by discussing how sanding, burning, or wire brushing can help soften edges and unify the design. John will also talk about finishing techniques that enhance the shadows and highlights created by the carving.

The demonstration for the January 10th meeting was our member and past President, Bruce Dannenhauer showing one of the many ways to turn a platter from a thin, one-inch thick piece of wood. He included several options for mounting the turning blank on the lathe as well as the turning steps to follow that should assure that you end up with a nice platter.

The October 11th membership meeting demonstration will be our club president explaining and demonstrating the Vicmarc Oval Turning Device. The device also known as the VOD is made to allow the “turning” an oval shape instead of the normal round turning shape. It is an interesting machine the wood lathe powers. The operator needs to be a skilled woodturner as the VOD has a very small point the wood can be constantly carved with a lathe tool. This should be a very educational and interesting demonstration that will help any woodturner decide if they would want their very own VOD for their lathe.

Internationally known, professional wood turner, Rudy Lopez, did an all-day demonstration turning his inspiring and lovely Twice Turned Art Deco Vase/Bowl in the morning and a long Thin Stem Natural Edge Goblet in the afternoon. Rudy’s demonstrations are loaded with insights and skill building techniques.

Lazer engravers:

This demonstration will delve into the world of Lazer engravers. We will have four different makes of Lazers on hand that the owner/member will describe its operation as well as discuss the pros and cons of each machine. This demonstration is meant to be a first step education for the woodturner that is interested in adding a Lazer engraver to his/her woodturning workshop.

Making Kitchen spatulas

The Demonstration for the July meeting will be a little different since it will be only partially round. Our member, Zolton Cohen, is going to demonstrate how he makes his, very nice, kitchen spatulas. This demonstration is sure to have some very useful tricks and techniques included. Come and learn. Members, guests and folks just curious about turning wood are welcome.

Photograph wood projects

Our June 14^th meeting demonstration will be a little different as we let the club demonstration lathe have the day off. Instead, we will learn the in’s and out’s of how to photograph our turned projects. The demonstration will be conducted by our member and professional photographer, Michelle Smock. Michelle will show how to set up the lighting and take the best product photograph using a digital camera or a phone camera.

Finishing Turned Wood

The demonstration for our May meeting is the very requested topic, “Finishing Turned Wood”. This demonstration will be conducted by several of our members discussing and demonstrating how they apply finish to their turnings. It will cover topics such as different finish systems as well as how they are applied and the pro’s and con’s based on the members experience.