February 2023 Meeting

Donal Ryan from the Limerick chapter was our demonstrator for our February 2023 Craobh Eo chapter meeting.

​

Donal started by showing us his tea cake stands – one, two tier, the other a single tier with a base. He explained that if turning the two tiered stand, the top tier should be smaller than the bottom tier. He demonstrated a one tier stand. He chose spalted beech for this. He first turned the centrepiece to fit between the base and the plate. This was 140mm long  x 100mm square. First he rounded this down. Then he turned a 10mm spigot at each end which would fit into the base and under the plate. He then marked the low and high points on the rounded piece and then turned it to the desired shape.

His second turning was the base. He used a screw chuck as the hole would be covered by the centrepiece. He turned a 65mm recess at the base, 7mm deep. Next he turned and shaped the base and drilled a hole to fit the spigot of the centrepiece.

Turning the plate was the third part of his demonstration. Firstly he cleaned the bottom of the plate and drilled a hole for the finial on top. He then hollowed out the centre of the plate and formed a bead on the outer rim. He lightened down the back of the plate so that it wouldn’t look too heavy.

Finally, Donal turned the finial for the top of the plate. This can be your own personal design.

This was an interesting project and the final product would make a lovely gift.

Thank you Donal for a very interesting demonstration and for making the long journey to be with us. Well done.