Our demonstration for June was Jack Morse. Jack opened the session with some very informative demonstrations of techniques and special purpose jigs he has developed over the years and followed with an off-center square-edged bowl.
First, Jack showed us some very punky wood which he had treated with Minwax Wood Hardener. He showed the finish where the hardener was used compared with where he turned below the hardener. The hardener resulted in an obvious improvement.
Next, Jack gave a quick overview of sanding. Jack recommends starting with 60 grit on a typical face grain project and emphasized the importance of resolving any tear-out or tool marks with this first grit. Once this is completed, very little time should be needed with the subsequent grits as the only objective is to remove the scratch marks from the previous grit.
He also recommends power sanding end grain with the lathe off, then setting the lathe to a slow speed for sanding the entire bowl/platter. However, it is important to stop and inspect the surface frequently.
Next, Jack gave a quick demonstration of spindle turning techniques for providing a good finish off of the tool. He used cedar for this demonstration since it is known as a brittle and difficult wood. Here are the results straight off of the tool.
Last, Jack showed us his method for turning an off-center, square edged bowl. Here is a completed project which he used to show the objective.
Jack used an ingenious home-made polyurethane covered faceplate to support the project by friction. This allows him to reverse the project as many times as he likes as long as he retains the center for the tail stock and enough of the face material to define the original surface plane.
Jack covered the major steps for turning this project, showing how he marks and turns away material to leave the finished project.
Jack did an excellent job of packing a lot of solid content into the allotted time, including much information which is often omitted by demonstrators.
Kurt Whitley