Tag: demo

Our November meeting included normal business and updates, show & tell, a presentation by Wes Glebe on his creative process and the sale of 2 of the club’s older lathes to two lucky members.

Wes is an artist using all sorts of materials and he used brass sheet metal ornaments as an example of how is creative design process works. A key take away was to experiment with many different tools and play until you find something that clicks and a design which works for you. He starts without an idea or plan or design and loves the exploratory process as much as the finished product. It’s a strategy which works will in turning as well when you throw a chunk of wood on the lathe it’s easy to play with different tools and techniques until you create something which clicks for you. Free yourself to explore.

Show & Tell included many great examples of the talent within our club.

Our meeting included a demonstration on making tops, show & tell and wood auction

Dan’s Top Demonstration

Demonstration began with Dan suggesting that it is important to pick the correct style of top to make a good spinner. Some examples of poor design included: stem too thick; top to tall for diameter; disk (body of the top) too thin—the body should have significant mass to it. Ideal shape of the disk is wheel shaped. Remember the top should be large enough that it does not fall through the center of a toilet paper roll.

Dan used a parting tool and a spindle gouge to turn a top. The point of the disk should not be too sharp as it would be a puncture hazard. The stem should be about the width of a finger and 1/8 inch in diameter. Dan tapered both sides of the disk with the spindle gouge and shaped the stem with the parting tool.

Using Sharpies, Dan decorated the top and bottom of the disk. Ken remarked that at Black Moshannon, some of the kids liked the decorated tops, while others preferred to color the tops themselves. Club members were encouraged to turn their own tops over the next month and bring tops to the October meeting so the tops can be distributed to kids who come to the Reeds Gap State Park Fest demonstration, October 11, 2025 11:00-3:00. 

Show & Tell

Demonstration

Dan demonstrated how to make Gnomes.

Dan provided notes so anyone can make a gnome like he does:

Show & Tell

We had a normal show and tell where we saw members amazing work

Paul Demmert shared how to make a Celtic Knot rolling pin.  A Celtic knot is an infinite loop type pattern which makes an impressive decoration on a rolling pin.  But first we had our regular show and tell where several people showed us what they’ve been making lately, from sculptures to grinders to chips and dip bowl.

Below are examples of various Celtic knots.

Below is an example of how to layout the cuts made in the blank before turning.  You must make deep cuts just 1/8″ short of going through to hold it together until glued.  Place a different colored 1/8″ thick wood blank in each slot, cut and glue one at a time.

Some other tips he shared:

• Rolling pions are between 19”-22” in length, so starting with a 3″x3″, 24” long blank is best
• 35 degree cut works well, 1/8” wide and 2 7/8” through
• Cut one at a time, glue in the insert and after 6 hours cut off excess and cut next side, so prep takes about 2 days
• Use Titebond or epoxy glue
• Each handle is about 4” long to fit a hand well
• Using a sanding block helps keep the rolling pin flat when sanding
• Use table saw sled at angle, table saw blade is vertical, but use a block for perfect repeat  

Due to the demo lathe’s size limits Paul used smaller pieces to show how it’s done.

Look at this beautiful final product, when done on a full sized lathe.

We had a normal meeting at the Rivet including a business discussions, show and tell and an in-depth presentation and sharpening demonstration by our very own Larry Lukens.

Several people showed the nice pieces they had created

Larry showed us how to sharpen our tools

This was our Holiday celebration meeting where everyone brought in something to eat and we had extra time to hang out and chat. We held a truncated business meeting, short wood auction and show & tell.

Paul Demmert discussed many different options of things you can make from skills gained after making pens. There are many things like coffee scoops, ice cream scoops, pizza cutters, measuring cups and spoons, and seam rippers which go together much like pens by tuning handles. You can find kits for such projects at places like Penn State Industries.

Some tips Paul shared from the classes he’s taught included:

• A mandrel saver works best for pen setup, protecting flexing of the mandrel
• Barrel trimmers works but can dull quickly, using a drill with a sander can be as effective
• CA glue fails due to weak shear strength, use 2 part epoxy to glue in brass tube, put plumbers putty or apple in the tube to keep glue from clogging the tube
• For threaded inserts use a bolt and washer to make them sit flat on the end of the blank when glueing
• Drill press works better than a chuck on lathe to drill blanks straight
• Washer over the hole of blank allows using a cone tailstock will help protect the blank from splitting

Dan Kozar demonstrated how to make a mini wizard wand ornament and a freeform finial style ornament highlighting his skills with a skew.

Some of the tips he shared included:

• Set the tool rest at center when roughing and above center when using the skew
• Sand slow – it is more effective and reduces heat
• Remove the tool rest when sanding
• Make a plane cut with bottom 1/3 of the skew
• The long tip (toe) of the skew goes straight up and down to create a V cut (vertical)
• Don’t wrap your fingers around the piece or use a cloth to avoid getting hurt, use paper instead so it tears away vs. pulling you in
• Friction finish (oil, alcohol, shellac) and hut wax is a quick and easy way to finish ornaments

We enjoyed some holiday treats prior to our show and tell where we shared the first thing we turned. Some of us started turning months ago, others brought decades old pieces. It was fun to hear how we all started out. Ken Vasko also demonstrated how he makes several different Christmas ornaments and decorations.