Author Archives: Phil Howard

Items for Tollbooth sale

It would be helpful if members could bring any items for sale at the Tollbooth to the workshop either tonight, Wednesday 5 August or Thursday 6 August during the usual hours 7 – 9 pm. This is so that we can catalogue them before the start of the sale.

Items can either be donated to the Club, or sold on commission. Note that the Tollbooth will take a 25% commission + VAT on all our sales, plus the Club will take 15 % commission. Bear that in mind when pricing your items.

Kbt Tollbooth rota

Many Thanks to everyone who has volunteered to look after our exhibition and sale at the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth. If you want to check when your sessions are, click here  Rotas at events July Aug 2015

There are just three sessions remaining unfilled. They are the morning and afternoon on Monday 24 August and the morning of Thursday 27 August. Please email Phil H if you can fill any of these sessions.

‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course

The ‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course on Saturday 12 September is fully booked.

The sign-up sheet has been taken down from the Notice board and replaced by a Waiting List sheet. Print your name and contact info. on this sheet if you want to  be told if someone cancels, or you are interested in attending the next running of this course. 

Note this is NOT the same as the Better Bowls workshop that Rolf is running on Saturday 25 July. See Rolf’s previous post for info about that workshop and read your July Notices for info. about this ‘How to turn a bowl’ course.

Notices July 2015

July

We had a good couple of days at the Kirkcudbright Country Fair, many thanks to everyone who donated work for sale and to Reg and John who helped out on Saturday. We made over £120 profit for Club funds.

We don’t usually have a Club meeting in July but this evening we are pleased to welcome Joe Laird, an accomplished turner from Ireland. As this is an extra meeting there is no competition item and no Wood of the Month. Joe is also offering to teach a Masterclass for members TOMORROW from 10am. The master class will concentrate on making a Celtic Bowl. The cost for the day will be £160 shared between up to 4 people. If you are interested in attending the Master Class please speak to Roger tonight – first come, first served. Joe will also be demonstrating all day at Border Woodturners on Sunday 19th and as usual you would be welcome to go along.

The Better Bowls workshop is on Saturday 25 July with Rolf as the Moderator. We have run lots of courses for new turners but this is our first attempt at doing something for intermediate turners. This means that this is NOT A COURSE ON HOW TO TURN A BOWL – but it IS an opportunity for members who have turned a fair number of bowls to get together and share their knowledge and experience. There is room for five members and we believe there are still places available. The workshop outline is on the Notice Board for you to read at your leisure. Speak to Rolf if you are interested in taking part. If lots of people are interested we could run another workshop at a later date.

The next ‘Introduction to Woodturning’ course will start on Thursday 30 July, So far we have 4 ‘students’ on the list with room for a couple more. The syllabus is on the Notice Board, speak to Phil H if you are interested.

August

We probably will NOT be at the Dumfries Show on Saturday 1 August, but Judith and David will be ‘waving the flag’ at the Wigtown Show on Wednesday 5 August. If you stay down that end of the world, or fancy a wee trip West, they would appreciate your support.

At the Club meeting on 11 August, Roger will talk about and demonstrate ‘Workholding ideas and gadgets’. The competition item is a vase with a high gloss finish and the Wood of the Month is Apple.

The next day the Club starts an exhibition and sale at the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth until 30 August. That’s over two weeks !!!!. Some of the Committee were there this morning to have a look at the space and consider how to arrange things.

We will need people to look after our area every day during that period. You do NOT have to sell or handle money, just be available to talk to visitors and demonstrate if you want to. If you want to demonstrate you should take your own tools, wood, finishes etc. Roger is going to lend us his small Jet lathe on its own bench and we will have a Club chuck available. You were asked last month to consult your diaries, he/she who must be obeyed etc. and come to this meeting ready to put your name down on the schedule. We will circulate the schedule on a clipboard. In any case we need LOTS of work to sell, either donated to the Club, or on commission. Please bring work to the Workshop any Tuesday or Wednesday before the exhibition as we have to give the Tollbooth a complete listing of all items for sale.

September

There seems to be some interest in a ‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course so we have arranged one on Saturday 12 September. It maybe that you learned your woodturning years ago and would like an update on current practise. We would encourage you to bring your own tools, chuck and wood, or you could buy a blank from Club stocks. The course will be FREE to members, yet another benefit of being part of Galloway Woodturners. Put your name down on the clipboard if you are interested. We need at least three people to run the course, maximum six people.

A further reminder that the Committee would like to see the Club take part in the inter-club competition at the Border Woodturners Open Day in October. Each club’s entry must consist of five items, no restrictions. We are asking you all to bring your best work, which needn’t be new, to our September meeting. Members will mark each item as per our regular competition, then the top five pieces will form our entry for the interclub competition. So get your thinking caps on and get turning your very finest pieces.

 And finally . . . 

There has been some talk about the Club running a ‘ladies only’ turning day. So, ladies if the idea appeals to you, talk to Judith !   This is the second month this idea has been in the Notices.

 

We have been given another lathe – a Tyme Cub. Phil H had one of these for many years and it’s an excellent small lathe. We will buy chuck inserts to allow us to use our Patriot and Supernova chucks on this lathe. We have returned the small Record lathe that we had on loan to the owner so that all the lathes in the Workshop now belong to the Club.

Notices June 2015

May 

Both the Watch, Try and Buy Day, and the Sue Harker demo day were not very well supported. The Committee will need to review these events and try to work out why that was the case. Any thoughts you may have on the subject would be welcome; speak to any Committee member.

As far as I am aware no member came forward to represent the Club at the Vintage Machinery show on Sunday 31 May. This means that this opportunity to promote the Club was missed.

June 

The topic this month is ‘Abrasives’ and the competition item is a bowl with textured decoration. The Wood of the Month is Lime.

July

We expect to be at the Kirkcudbright Country Fair on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 July with demonstrations, the display boards and sale of work. Offers of help with the event would be welcome.

We don’t usually have a Club meeting in July but this year we have arranged a special evening demo on Tuesday 14 July, which would be our Club meeting evening. We will welcome Joe Laird, an accomplished turner from Ireland. This extra demo is FREE to members, £3 to visitors.

The Better Bowls workshop is arranged for Saturday 25 July with Rolf as the Moderator. We have run lots of courses for new turners but this is our first attempt at doing something for intermediate turners. This means that this is NOT A COURSE ON HOW TO TURN A BOWL – but it IS an opportunity for members who have turned a fair number of bowls to get together and share their knowledge and experience. There is room for five members, two places are already taken, leaving three places available. The workshop outline is on the Notice Board for you to read at your leisure. Speak to Rolf if you are interested in taking part. If lots of people are interested we could run another workshop at a later date.

If other members would like the Club to put on a ‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course, we would be willing to do that. Speak to Phil H if you are interested in this; to date no-one has, so we assume you are not interested ???

August

As usual we plan to be at the Dumfries Show on Saturday 1 August with demonstrations, our display boards and your work For Sale. Offers of help with the event would be welcome.

At the Club meeting on 11 August, Roger will talk about and demonstrate Workholding ideas and gadgets. The competition item is a vase with a high gloss finish and the Wood of the Month is Apple.

ADVANCE NOTICE The next day the Club starts an exhibition and sale at the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth until 30 August. That’s over two weeks !!!!. We will need people to look after things every day during that period. Please consult your diaries, he/she who must be obeyed etc. and come to the July meeting ready to put your name down on the schedule.

And finally . . .  

The Committee would like to see the Club take part in the inter-club competition at the Border Woodturners Open Day in October. Each club’s entry must consist of five items, no restrictions. We are asking you all to bring your best work, which needn’t be new, to our September meeting. Members will mark each item as per our regular competition, then the top five pieces will form our entry for the interclub competition. So get your thinking caps on and get turning your very finest pieces.

A reminder that the Workshop is now open on Wednesdays, 7 – 9pm as well as Tuesdays. John (Jake) Twiname and Bryan Jardine are looking after this initiative which will continue if it is supported by members. So, come on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or both – your choice.

We are taking bookings for the next ‘Introduction to Woodturning’ course, starting date to be confirmed. There are several people already booked on the course, but places are still available. The course fee is £50 which includes everything you need. Speak to Phil J if you are interested in taking part.

There has been some talk about the Club running a ‘ladies only’ turning day. So, ladies if the idea appeals to you, talk to Judith !

Simon Hope is demonstrating this Sunday, 14 June, at Border Woodturners in Brampton. Please let Brian Conchie know if you are going so that he can order enough lunches, 01387 265608. If you want to order anything from Simon’s range of goodies, also let Brian know ASAP.

Texturing tools

Further to Phil J’s post last week, I’ll bring my Sorby texturing tool as well tonight. I’ll also bring a chattertool and Proxon grinder with chain saw type cutter.

Why not bring your bowl still in your chuck then mount the whole lot on one of the Club lathes. Provided of course that your chuck is either 3/4″ X 16, 1″ X 8 or M33 x 3.5mm.

Notices May 2015

April

Everyone that came seemed to enjoy the Auction and we have had some compliments on the way the day was run; special thanks to Rolf who was the auctioneer, and to everyone else who contributed to the running of the day. The sales total was £1965, with the Club making £393 from commissions. We will think about running another one, maybe in about 18 months time.

May

We are delighted to welcome Chris Pouncy from Robert Sorby once again, who will demonstrate their latest bits of kit and give you the opportunity to browse and buy. If you asked Roger to order anything specific, then you should be able to collect it during coffee break.

The Competition item was easy – a group of three mushrooms; and the Wood of the Month is Chestnut.

From tomorrow, 13 May, the Workshop will be open on Wednesdays, 7 – 9pm as well as Tuesdays. John (Jake) Twiname and Bryan Jardine are looking after this initiative which will continue if it is supported by members. So, come on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or both – your choice.

Saturday 23 May is our Watch Try and Buy Open Day, where we invite the public into the Workshop to see what we are all about, watch demos, have a go themselves and buy your work. We are going to set up a main demo lathe and several have a go lathes namely a pole lathe, a regular lathe and one for pen making. We need members to demonstrate, to tutor the have a go sessions, to look after the sales table, to run the refreshments, talk to the public, and generally help out. You can donate work for sale on the Club sales table OR you can set up a separate personal sales table, run it yourself and donate just 10% of your takings to the Club. We’ll circulate a clipboard with the list of roles and you can pick what you want to do. At the very least you can take a poster and put it up somewhere, in your car window is one idea.

Sunday 24 May is a demo day by professional turner Sue Harker. Tickets are on sale tonight from Phil J and posters are also available. We are still looking for someone to look after lunch – if you’ve been to any of the demo days you’ll know it’s not exactly rocket science. Judith can explain in more detail.

Both these events are advertised in the Spring Fling brochure; copies of which are on the bookshelves behind you.

Member John Thompson has offered us the opportunity to have a stand at the Vintage Machinery show at Park Farm, Dumfries on Sunday 31 May. This could be anything from just a table with our display boards and one person handing out programmes up to the sort of thing we do at the Dumfries Agricultural Show with a demo lathe, display of tools, sale of work etc. The Committee will have been fully occupied the previous weekend and are not really able to take up this offer. Would any member(s) be willing to represent the Club at this event ? Speak to any Committee member.

June

The topic next month is ‘Abrasives’ and the Wood of the Month is Lime.

July

We don’t usually have a Club meeting in July but this year we have arranged a special evening demo on Tuesday 14 July, which would be our Club meeting evening. We will welcome Joe Laird, an accomplished turner from Northern Ireland. This extra demo is FREE to members, £3 to visitors.

The Better Bowls workshop is arranged for Saturday 25 July with Rolf as the Moderator. We have run lots of courses for new turners but this is our first attempt at doing something for intermediate turners. This means that this is NOT A COURSE on how to turn a bowl – but it IS an opportunity for members who have turned a fair number of bowls to get together and share their knowledge and experience. There is room for five members, two places are already taken, leaving three places available. The workshop outline is on the Notice Board for you to read at your leisure. Speak to Rolf if you are interested in taking part. If lots of people are interested we could run another workshop at a later date.

If other members would like the Club to put on a ‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course, we would be willing to do that. Speak to Phil H if you are interested in this.

And finally . . .

As listed on the back of your Programme, the Club is attending three events this year at which we will be demonstrating and selling YOUR work. Therefore we will need LOTS of items to sell especially for the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth in August which we have for over two weeks.

The Committee would like to see the Club take part in the inter-club competition at the Border Woodturners Open Day in October. Each club’s entry must consist of five items, no restrictions. We are asking you all to bring your best work, which needn’t be new, to our September meeting. Members will mark each item as per our regular competition, then the top five pieces will form our entry for the inter-club competition. So get your thinking caps on and get turning your very finest pieces.

We are looking into getting ‘Galloway Woodturners’ T-shirts and sweatshirts made to identify ‘us’ and publicise the Club. What do you think of the idea ?

The Club Secretary, Roger has been very busy on your behalf and we have three superb pros booked for demos next year – Richard Kennedy, Mick Hanbury and Dave Lowe. We may have a fourth if Nikos Siragas comes to the UK and we can agree a suitable date. Well done Roger.

 

Sharpening at Turning Tuesday

I intend to have a major tool sharpening session at Turning Tuesday tomorrow night working on the tools left to the Club by Robert Irving. I’ll probably use the dry grinder, with and without the jig, and both the Sorby Pro-Edges. So if you want to sharpen up your sharpening come to Turning Tuesday !