The next beginners woodturning course will be starting Thursday 27th February 7pm to 9pm, and for six Thursday evenings until 2nd April. This is open to existing and new members. The cost of the course remains £100.
Thanks to everyone who has signed up, the course is now full and the next course will be just before the summer holidays, so sorry if you missed out on this one. The start date for the next Beginners Course will be posted as soon as I can.
At our December we are having a Question Time, with a panel of the wise and silver tongued!
If you have a question which has arisen from any demo you have seen this year, or something you read in a magazine or internet, or something confusing you saw on Youtube etc. or something which you have experienced yourself at the lathe please let me have the question in advance so I can research it, or bring a related tool/ wood/ item to the meeting.
You can submit the questions anonymously if you want. Questions can also be submitted at the meeting or may arise through a previous question or answer.
A lathe will be available for panel members, or questioners to show a particular issue, so you pay want to bring a tool or wood which is causing issues.
Questions can be on any woodturning related issues, from harvesting timber to selling completed items.
I look forward to your questions – remember there is no silly question (although some of the answers may be)
Rolf
CARSON Robert (Bobby) On 20th November, 2019, Bobby Carson of Gatehouse of Fleet, passed away. Husband of the late Janet Carson, father to John and Robert Carson, grandpa to Ross, Amelia and the late Scott Carson. Sadly missed by all. Funeral service will be held on Thursday 28th November in Gatehouse of Fleet Parish Church, at 12 noon. Thereafter to Girthon Cemetery. All friends respectfully invited. Family flowers only please. Retiral collection will be offered to Macmillan Cancer Support
Notices –November 2019
Tonight, Phil Jones is our demonstrator and will surprise us with a Christmas Gift.
The competition item for this evening is a Snowman/ Snowoman/ non gender specific Snowpal (what is the world coming to?) and next month is A Toy.
The Show and Tell ‘winner’ is Eric McCowan (or a nominated person in his absence)
Next month– December, will be Woodturner’s Question Time with a panel of wise members. Please nominate a ‘wise member’ you would like to question, and submit questions via the web site or to me at rolf@buwert.com. This has been a fun and interesting evening in the past and the panel will share their knowledge, or ask the membership to chip in when they don’t know the answer (or can’t make anything up)
Turning on Wednesday Afternoons
The Wednesday afternoon sessions continue, thanks mainly to David. With the dark nights some of you may appreciate travelling to the workshop in daylight. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings continue as normal.
Courses
The current beginner’s course is half way through and I will hold the next one, probably in March and April next year. The usual conditions apply, open to all members (£35 to become a member) and £100 for the six week course at Castle Douglas workshop.
Machines for sale
A selection of woodworking machines were offered to us by a man from Shieldhill, most have been sold to members, three remain tonight. Bandsaw £100 Table Saw £30 and bench grinder £25.Prices are what the seller has asked for, feel free to add a donation to the club for facilitating the sale.
Diary Dates
15th to 17th Nov – Harrogate Show, our bus (which is full) leaves on the 17th as some unearthly hour. Thanks Jimmy etc for arranging this again (and who have to be first up in the morning to pick up the bus, and last to go to bed after taking it back, and can’t have a beer in the evening)
Next year’s programme is being put together and is nearly finalised. There is some space for members who want to demonstrate for part of an evening, or a whole evening in the Autumn. If you have a technique you would like to show us, or an item which you can make and would like to share with us then please let me know.
2020 Demonstrators –
Gary Lowe Saturday 28th all day Demonstration and Sunday 29th March Masterclass
Les Thorne Saturday 6th all day Demonstration and Sunday 7th June, Masterclass
Richard Finlay Saturday 22nd all day Demonstration and Sunday 23rd August Masterclass.
2021 Demonstrators – Roger will ask Gary Rance and Mark Sanger. Will we also ask Colwin Way to return for a demonstration and masterclass ? Who else would you like to see? or see again? Suggestions by email please to Roger creetownstudio@gmail.com
Rolf
Exhibition at the Castle Douglas Art Gallery
19th May to 8th June 2020
The club has the opportunity to have a table within the gallery and to enable us to go ahead with this venture we need to ensure that we have items to sell and enough volunteers to oversee our exhibition.
The gallery is not charging the club for our exhibition, all they ask is 20% of the takings.
We will not commit until we receive support from our members.
Sarah Burns
I have picked up more machines fromTony at Shieldhill and brought them to the workshop, and they are:
Axminster Hobby grinder £30 (almost new condition)
Titan Table Saw £30 (little bit scruffy, but a good machine)
Triton Thicknesser £150 (almost new condition) (Reserved by Roger Young)
Axminster belt and Disc sander £40 (very good condition- but needs new belt and disc). Reserved by Sue Halliday.
There is also still the Axminster AWHBS250N bandsaw £55 (needs a new blade)
The Axminster lathe and toolbox containing the chuck etc is reserved for Alyson, one of the students on the beginner’s course) and the other Axminster table saw is mine (and I will take it away when I have made room in my workshop for it.)
I paid Tony for most of the machines and will pay him for the rest when they sell, so see me for payment, or give it to Jimmy who can keep it for me. All items are at priced at what Tony wants for them, if you are happy with the price and you want to make a donation to the club as well, then you are welcome to do so.
Rolf
I have added some items to our Classified adverts page, might be worth looking before going to Harrogate, or writing letters to Father Christmas.
The items are in Lochmaben area and I have picked up some already in my wee van.
The courier has just delivered 6 of the Christmas pyramid plans and component kits from Axminster and Colwin Way. Ken Coats had asked for 4, so I have 2 left for anyone on a first come first served basis. They are £21 each and include the plans booklet, candle cups, propeller vanes, silver steel shaft and glass bearing.
I also have some shafts and bearings which I bought myself from Germany and can sell the individual parts at cost price, but have not got round to making the propeller vanes yet.
Rolf
Galloway Woodturners
2019 Chairman’s Annual Report
This past year has been another good one for us, with membership still strong, and good attendances at not only club nights but also on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
Again we had 5 professional turners visit us, and sufficient members came to the demonstrations and masterclasses that we mainly broke even (once the raffle was included) for most of them.
Professional demonstration and masterclass by Eugene Grimley, Peter Osborn, Rick Dobney, and Phil Irons plus a demonstration by Colwin Way.
The remaining club nights saw demonstrations by our own members, and Chris Pouncey/Robert Sorby’s mobile shop.
We continue to offer the Beginner’s course and workshops to members and this brings in some funds and also increases our member’s confidence and ability.
Over the last 12 months we have had a Better Bowls course last October, Beginners course February and another June, a couple of taster sessions, Sharpening and Greenwood turning, Spinning Tops Tuesday, Skew for the squeamish in July, and others?
We had a team promoting our craft and had a display of work at the Co-op, and we again demonstrated and sold items at Kirkcudbright country fair.
Our equipment has been kept up to date and upgraded with the addition of two new lathes, new chucks, drive and live centres, face shields and sawdust extraction, making our turning more pleasurable and safer. At least £3,400 of tools went via my credit card (thankfully reimbursed by our treasurer). This was only possible through work of members donating items for sale, coffee time donations, Hugh’s football card thing, and the generous donations from Tesco and the Coop.
We have kept on top of Health and Safety, notably the dust extraction, the vacuum cleaner, keeping the first aid bok up to date and better training and authorisation of use of the bandsaw.
The wood prep team continue to acquire wood and process it, and also set up for the next demonstrator, and clean the workshop etc.
The Harrogate ‘ pilgrimage’ was well organised, well attended much enjoyed by everyone, and will be again this year.
Our own club competition receives relatively few entries (despite big prizes awarded to the winners) but the standard is very high. It would be nice to have more entries.
Summing up, our membership, finances, equipment and training are all in very good health, so thank you to all members who have been part of this great year of woodturning 2019.
Rolf Buwert
(Chairman)
Can I remind you that at our next meeting, which is the AGM, the competition item is ‘A Flower’ , we would also like to have turned items you have made this year and can be entered to represent our club at the annual Inter-Club competition at Borders Woodturners in Brampton on Saturday 26th October. We are looking for 5 items which we will retain after the AGM, submit to Brampton, and get back from them immediately after the competition on the 26th.
We would also welcome the Christmas Tree decorations which we will hang on ‘our’ tree at the Christmas Tree Festival in Dumfries at St.John’s Church, Dumfries, between 5th and 8th December. So we are looking for items such as miniature trees, baubles, mini Christmas puddings etc. The tree decorations should be made and handed in to Rolf by the end of November so the tree can be decorated on 4th December.