August

Our sale at the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth Studio was very successful, despite not being able to do live demonstrations as planned. At least ten members contributed work for sale, and thirteen members did at least one slot looking after the stall. We started the run with 80 items on sale and added a further 52 items during the sale. Out of this total of 132, we sold 79 items with a gross value of £935.50. The Tollbooth takes a 25% + VAT commission amounting to £274.80, £328.50 will be paid to members for items sold on their behalf, leaving £332.20 from commissions and donated items for Club funds.

Any remaining items that were donated to the Club we will keep for a future sale. Items that were to be sold on commission for members will be returned to the makers.

September

On Saturday 5 September we welcomed professional turner Philip Greenwood to the Club for a full day demo; the audience was just 21 members and public. The income for the day was £256 (tickets £210, raffle income £46). The expenses were £396 (demonstrators fee and expenses £280, sandwiches £87.50, desserts £4, tea/coffee etc. £5, raffle prizes £20). Thus the Club lost over £140 on the day. We have three professional demonstrators booked for next year, Richard Kennedy, Mick Hanbury, Dave Lowe. Should we be thinking about cancelling them if members are not interested in attending professional demos ?

Tonight we have a demo from Rolf on Pole lathe turning, the competition item is a bracelet or bangle, and the woods of the Month are Apple (from last month !) and Alder.

All the places on the ‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course on Saturday 12 September went very quickly so this is fully booked. Those quick off the mark were : Arthur Young, Reg Thirlwall, Iain Fleming, Les Reeves, Jamie Copeland and Geoff Thomas. The course will start at 9.30am until about 5pm, bring your own sharp tools, chuck (if it is ¾”x16, 1”x 8 or M33 x 3.5mm), wood, or you can buy a blank from Club stocks. Oh, and don’t forget your lunch !!!

There is a Waiting List form on the Notice board. Print your name and contact info. on this sheet if you are interested in attending the next running of this course. We need at least three people to run the course, maximum six people.

G&S Specialist Timbers near Penrith are holding a Show on Friday 18 September and Saturday 19 September with turning and carving demos and lots of Show specials.

Hopefully we have some superb pieces from which we can select the Club’s first entry for the inter-club competition at the Border Woodturners Open Day in October. Each club’s entry must consist of five items, no restrictions. Members are asked to score each item as per our regular competition, then the top five pieces will be our entry for the interclub competition, assuming they form a balanced selection.

October

Next month we have a demo of a Simple Colouring Project, the competition item is a rounders bat, and the Wood of the Month is Box. All this is AFTER the AGM which starts at 6.30pm. Oh – and your subscription for 2015/2016 will be due.

And finally . . .

We have been buying supplies from a company called Dave Biven Machinery Sales, and we have ordered items on behalf of individual Club members. In future, we will place a Club order once a month, just after each Club meeting, so if you want to order anything let Peter Fitzgerald know before or during the Club meeting, otherwise you will have to wait up to a month until the next order is placed.

It’s that time of the year again when we need to be thinking about our Programme for next year. There is a Committee meeting scheduled for 6 October, so any ideas or suggestion that you may have for meeting topics would be most welcome before then – speak to any Committee member please.

Phil H is stepping down as Chair and Committee member at the AGM next month. Our Constitution states that the Committee and Officers (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) shall be elected at the AGM. Any member who would like to stand for an Officer or Committee role please have a chat with Roger or Phil J.

July

The Better Bowls workshop was on Saturday 25 July with Rolf as the Moderator. Rolf reports ‘Judith, David and Ian all either improved or made a better bowl than they had made previously. . . . It is a shame that the other two places were not filled.’

August

Many thanks to Rolf who stepped forward at the last minute to run our stand at the Wigtown Show on Wednesday 5 August.

Tonight 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.

Tomorrow we start our exhibition and sale at the Kirkcudbright Tollbooth until 30 August. Roger and Phil H have been there today setting up. Many thanks to everyone who has volunteered to look after our show and/or demonstrate. There is a copy of the schedule on our web site and a hard copy on the Notice Board. If for any reason you can’t do your scheduled sessions, please let Phil H know as soon as you can so that we can try and get someone else to fill in. We have written some Notes to help you, get your copy from Phil H tonight.

We still need LOTS of work to sell, either donated to the Club, or on commission. Note that the Tollbooth charges a 25% commission +VAT on our total sales, and the Club will pinch 15%, so you will get 60% of the sale price. We have to provide an accurate list of the stock on sale for the Tollbooth staff so you can’t take items along and just put them out on the sales table. Hand new items to whoever is on duty for them to add them to the stock list.

September

On Saturday 5 September we welcome professional turner Philip Greenwood to the Club for a full day demo. Philip is a regular writer for Woodturning magazine and usually features projects which most turners would be able to make. Tickets on sale tonight from Phil J.

All the places on the ‘How to turn a bowl’ refresher course on Saturday 12 September went very quickly so this is fully booked. There is a Waiting List form on the Notice board. Print your name and contact info. on this sheet if you want to be told if someone cancels, or if you are interested in attending the next running of this course. We need at least three people to run the course, maximum six people.

G&S Specialist Timbers near Penrith are holding a Show on Friday 18 September and Saturday 19 September with turning and carving demos and lots of Show specials.

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 third month this idea has been in the Notices; if no-one speaks to Judith tonight we will assume that our ladies are not interested in the idea and drop the item.

We have been buying supplies from a company called Dave Biven Machinery Sales, and Roger has ordered items on behalf of individual Club members. In future, Roger will place a Club order once a month, just after each Club meeting, so if you want to order anything let Roger know before or during the Club meeting, otherwise you will have to wait up to a month until the next order is placed.