I had the good fortune to go to the 23rd Annual American Association of Woodturners Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico back in June and it was a total blast! There was so much going on that it is has taken me until now just to sort it out in my head.

Attending the Symposium was such a fantastic time, there was so much to do and see! I got to meet so many great people and see so many great turnings. To be totally immersed in this for over three days was an absolute thrill.

The Thursday before the Symposium was open for registrations, the demonstrator’s dinner, gallery reception and a special evening presentation called ‘Believe It Or Not, A Contemporary Look At Woodturning Artists Today’. This was an entertaining look at the more notable woodturners as they might not want to be seen. The slideshow was presented by Jacques Vesery and Terry Martin. It was a real hoot to see the ‘big names’ in turning in humorous situations. The storyline that coincided with the slideshow was outrageously funny.

Friday, June 26th, was the official opening of the Symposium and it started with a bang, literally. The Star Feather Group from the Jemez Pueblo, located about 50 miles North of Albuquerque, began the day with traditional Native drumming and singing. This was well received by the attendees as could be seen by the amount of photos being taken. The beating of the drums also drew us all nearer to the Kiva Auditorium in the Albuquerque Convention Center for the opening ceremony.

Continue reading 'The AAW 2009 Symposium – Day 1'

I mentioned in a couple of past posts that the Atlantic Woodworkers Association were planning on a bunk building project with Bayside Camp as a part of our community volunteer efforts. Well, we did it!

Starting back in May and up until a few weeks ago members of the AWA met on periodic Saturdays and occasionally throughout the week to build the 60 bunk bed sets (that’s 120 beds!) that were required for the Camp.

Although there were the usual construction related ups and down (wood not delivered on time, etc.) the building of the bunks was a sight to behold! At times there were 15 of us, separated in smaller groups, with some cutting, some on routering, some on leg assembly and some on bed base assembly.

When we got the production line going we really ‘kicked butt’! At one point, while doing the final assembly we timed ourselves and found we were assembling one bunk every six minutes! This was, of course, was after all the wood had been cut to size and with the legs put together, all the parts handy and six of us… Still, it was a feat that we were quite proud of!

Here are photos of some of the members who helped with the build:

Continue reading 'Bunk Bed Building At Bayside Camp'

Over the past couple of weeks, and in between some minor shop renos, I’ve been able to finally get around to making the handles for the James Swan chisels that I bought on my tool run to Maine back in May.

The James Swan Tool Company in Seymour, Connecticut made augers, awls, bits, chisels, drawing knives, handles and screwdrivers from 1877 to 1951 and was the last important manufacturer of high quality edge tools in the United States.

Skip Brack, curator for Davistown Museum, recently came across and was able to obtain the remaining inventory of the Swan Tool company, many in their original wrapping and boxes.

On my visit to Liberty Tools and the Hulls Cove Tool Barn I was able to acquire 11 of these tools. Here’s some closeups of them:

Continue reading 'Handles For The James Swan Chisels'

This vessel is 5 1/4″ tall and 4 1/2″ in diameter at it’s widest and 3 1/3″ at base. The Maple is very spalted, though solid, and has a variety of brown hues throughout that lends itself to a very unique piece.

The shape is reminiscent of a jug or an old milk can and it is accented with a bit of leather lace and beads.

After finishing the jug I wasn’t all that keen on the shape. It sat around for a while as I tried different additions to it like adding a raffia collar. I even turned a lid for it! Then the simple addition of the beads really made a difference. I now find the shape quite pleasing.

It is made from the same ‘Old Man’ Maple tree as the Maple Vase I did a couple of months ago.

Here are a few more photos showing the beautiful, and the very different, spalting:

Continue reading 'A Little Brown Jug Of Spalted Maple'