November 2022 Meeting

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The November meeting of the CraobhEo 2022/23 year took place on the 10th November in the CraobhEo Centre in Aghamore.

Our demonstrator for the evening was Martin Wilson.

Martin started by taking us through items he had made from birch plywood which he had experimented with during the Covid lockdown as an alternative to using hardwoods. He also showed us a donut chuck he had made for holding off-centre turning pieces.

Martin’s project was a platter made from birch plywood with a herringbone design. Birch plywood with its well defined layers of plywood lends itself to this and is a nice alternative for shelving as well. He explained how to lay out, glue, cut and assemble his chosen herringbone pattern for the blank. He sketched out an outline of the bowl he was about to turn on the blackboard and had a handout for members of his project.

The blank which was made in Martin’s workshop was 300 mm by 60 mm with a herringbone design. Attach to a faceplate and mount on the lathe. First turn a spigot at the bottom for rechucking later. Turn the outside to your preferred design and finish with detail cuts to get a pleasing shape on the outside. Martin explained everything as he went along including his favourite chisels as he was using them.

To turn the inside, remount the partly turned bowl using the spigot on the bottom. Proceed to hollow out the inside of the bowl following the design sketched out earlier. Work in from the outside towards the centre to leave as much bulk as possible until the end. Chisels will blunt easily so titanium coated chisels are better. Sand and coat with finish of your choice. Finally remount and remove spigot from bottom.

Thank you Martin for a great demo, well thought out and prepared that everyone enjoyed.

We had a great attendance at the meeting and also welcomed a delegation from Ballaghaderreen Men’s Shed who made presentations to John Mullen (RIP) and Willie Creighton.

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