Mar 2019 Meeting

 

The March meeting of the CraobhEo 2018/19 year took place on the 14th March in the CraobhEo Centre in Aghamore.

Pat Walsh from the Dublin Chapter was our demonstrator for the evening

Pat chose to demonstrate a decorated wide rimmed bowl and he passed around some examples of his work to give us an idea of what he wanted to do. These were very impressive indeed. 

First up a sycamore  blank was mounted on  a screw chuck and turned to a round. The bottom was trued up and a small spigot turned for remounting. The outside or bottom was turned to an ogee shape and finishing cuts made with chisel and scraper. He explained that negative rake scrapers reduced the incidences of catches and can be easier to manage. For sanding he dampens surface with a kitchen towel to improve the finish.

Next the bowl was remounted and the face trued up. The outside rim was outlined and the small bowl hollowed out with a little rim on top. Again he used a small scraper to give a superior finish. The wide rim itself was then carefully turned flat and sanded so as to provide a nice platform for colouring. A sacrificial coat of sanding sealer helps to highlight any marks. The area to be coloured was then marked out and this included the back of the bowl as well. This outline was then burned in with a bit of formica. Masking tape was then applied to protect the areas not being coloured and the excess outlined and removed. A matt black lacquer was then applied to front and back. Tip; start and finish spraying off the piece. It dries quickly enough. Remove masking tape and there is an immediate improvement to the face already with the contrast.

The next stage is carving using a reciprocating carver. Heads are sharpened on the slipstone. Area is marked out and deepened with the carver. The artwork is a personal choice of course. Follow your artistic bent. Everything is random. Rivers, trees and birds can be carved. Use water based colours on areas you want to highlight and wipe off. Chestnut Burnishing Cream is then applied to the centre bowl and buffed on the lathe. The outside edge is coloured with a pen.

This was a very lovely demo and was enjoyed by all present. A big thank you to Pat for making the trip again so soon after the CraobhEo seminar. We look forward to see you again soon. 

 Monthly Chapter Competition Winners

Winner –      Michael Ruane

Second –      Tom Jordan

Third –          Richard Barrett