In this demonstration, I will go through the steps I take to create my “Sliced Hollow Forms”. These are forms which have been turned, then sliced on the bandsaw, and then reassembled with pewa (butterfly patches).

I’ll start with a pre-turned hollow form (there is not time to do much turning in this demo). Starting there, we can discuss the “art” of slicing – the size, shape, and orientation to cut the piece to yield a pleasing result.

I use a jig for my bandsaw to make safe and accurate cuts through a turned form. We’ll look at the jig and how it works. Then there is a bit of math and some trial-and-error to set up the jig to cut the slice.

I will cut a recess for the pewa and show how to reassemble the hollow form once a slice has been removed.

Making a sliced form is a reasonably involved process. The project itself is primarily aimed at turners who are already proficient with bowls or hollow forms. However, we will cover topics that will be valuable for turners at any level: discussions of aesthetics; enhancement and embellishment of turnings; cutting pewa across gaps (whether sliced or cracked); and safely cutting round items on a bandsaw.

We will make three pieces of a goblet: a bowl, a base, and the stem.

First, a small bowl, usually natural-edged burl or figured wood. I discuss working with natural edges, chucking small pieces, and general techniques that apply to bowls of any size.

Next, the base. A thin, mostly flat disk for the goblet’s foot. The challenge is holding this small, thin piece on the lathe.

The stem is a simple spindle, but with lots to learn. I will show how to make clean entry cuts (and why “unclean” cuts happen). And using my body, arms, hands, and tool together for clean, precise cuts is a consistent theme of this section.

This is a fun project with a wide range of things to discuss.

The project is making “Shot Barrels” – shot glasses shaped like little whisky barrels. The inside is unfinished except for a char (burn), just like a whisky barrel. Making a single Shot Barrel is a pretty simple process, but I make these in batches of a dozen or more at a time.

Shot Barrels are sold inexpensively, so the process has to be efficient.
As I am not, by nature, a production turner, I also had to develop a process that doesn’t drive me crazy.

Most of this demonstration is focused on my journey towards efficient production of multiples without sacrificing the hand-made uniqueness of each one.

I discuss and show concepts for organizing multiple turnings, mounting on the lathe, reducing wood waste, and other ideas for efficiently making multiples of projects such as ornaments, bird houses, bottle stoppers, etc.

A Kuksa (or Guksi) is a Scandinavian drinking cup for outdoorsmen, traditionally carved from birch burl by its owner.

In this demo, I will show you my woodturners version of a Kuksa: a multi-axis turned cup.

We’ll start with a block of wood like Birch, Poplar, Maple, etc. Some layout and a few cuts on the bandsaw (equipment permitting) then we go to the lathe.

Start by turning the handle and the outside of the cup between centers. Change axes, create a tenon, and hollow out the cup’s interior mounted to a chuck. Then another flip to remove the tenon.

Time permitting, we will turn a small button for a lanyard so you can hang the cup from your belt or pack.

Hollowing from the Bottom

There are many reasons why you might want to create a hollow form by hollowing “upside down” or from the bottom. Maybe you want a piece with a tiny opening. Maybe you don’t have curved hollowing tools to reach around the mouth, or you want a vase with a long tall neck. Or maybe you want a piece with an offset opening – or no opening at all.

In this demo, I will create a small hollow form, about 3″ around and 4″ tall. I’ll give it a tiny neck and opening – much too small to get a tool through. Even if I could get a tool in the opening, I’d need curved tools to hollow this shape. But from the bottom, I’ll only use a straight tool.

After hollowing, the bottom will be glued back in, matching the grain and hiding the glue line.

Safe Chainsaw Operation for Woodturners

1½ to 2 hour presentation, plus optional hands-on time

This is a presentation on chainsaw safety. Woodturners often use a chainsaw for processing green wood, and the situation we find ourselves in is not always the best – smaller, unstable blanks balanced on stumps in the driveway. We also might get asked by a well-meaning friend to take down a dead or dying tree.

This presentation should give you the knowledge that a woodturner needs to safely use a chainsaw for processing logs, and preparing blanks. (Felling trees is complex and dangerous and will not be covered in this session).

This is not just a slide-show, but I will have a saw and tools for show-and-tell, and demonstrate (or show short videos) of safe techniques.

This class can be done as a presentation only, but the best option would include a hands-on practice session. If your club has a wood lot or other place with logs we can cut, we could do a follow-up session there. I prefer short, one-on-one or small-group practice and instruction sessions where we can cover saw operation, safety, and cutting logs and billets. These sessions can be tailored to the student’s experience and interests.

I have previous (expired) S-212 Wildland Fire Chain Saw certificaiton. I also developed the chainsaw safety class and operations guide for our local Boy Scout council. That class and certification is used to train adults to safely help with conservation efforts (beetle kill mitigation, etc) at the scout camps.

Let’s make some ornaments – lots of them! We will use a technique called “Reifendrehen” or “ring turning”.

One kind of ring turning (making rings to wear on your fingers) has become popular recently. But that’s not what we’re doing.

We’re doing the other, older style of ring turning: make a large ring (8 to 10″ diameter) with the desired profile and slice the ornaments out of the ring. We’ll add a step using inside-out turning to create a hollow shape.

Using this method, you can quickly make 40 to 50 ornaments at a time. Fall is a great time of year to demo ornaments.

The technique I use is based on an article in the October 2013 issue of American Woodturner.