Bayside Woodies Newsletter

July - 2007

15 HARMAN STREET. MANLY

P.O. BOX 8079

WYNNUM NORTH QLD 4178.

Presidents Report

All Members are invited to attend the Committee Meetings, and have their say. Please jot down on some paper your ideas with your name and give it to Dave Adams, 7 days prior to the meeting, so he can ask you to speak on you ideas at the right time. I welcome any input. At our Committee Meetings, we will discuss ways to improve our Club and Safety in the Shed and to improve the skills of our members. We fail in our duty of care to members if we don’t educate the members on safe practices in the workshop. All members own the machines and equipment in the club and the committee supports and encourages you to use it. You are, however, responsible to look after your equipment, therefore if you see someone misusing or not using a machine in a safe practice, it’s up to you to speak up, or contact a Committee member. Safety is paramount in the Club, and as a member, you have a right to speak up. Prevention of a nasty accident or death is your duty of care. Unlike most other clubs, we do

not want to have a club Supervisor or Forman. We do not need this at present, but if the members fail to assist in the well being of the club, then we might have to reconsider. NOTE - Apparently ONE of our members used a Machine, BUT forgot to check the Dust Extraction System, so the extraction unit was full, the pipes were full, and over flowed. Lucky it did not block the system. Then the member finished his job, and just walked away from the mess. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. I do not know who this member is, and I do not

want to know, I hope this is enough talk.

Ron Sivyer. On a sad note, we have to accept that Ron Sivyer has stood down as one of the clubs tutors. Ron has instructed a lot of members in the art of Scroll sawing, and I for one hold Ron in high respect for his knowledge and ability to pass on his knowledge to others. Look after yourself and always remember members hold you in high esteem, and thank you for passing on your skills to so many. Your shoes will be hard to fill. PS. We are looking for another instructor for Scroll sawing tuition. Contact Dave or myself so we can restart tuition, as there are several members waiting for the next course. The fourth Friday Scroll Day will not take place as it falls on the Friday we are setting up Mt Gravatt Show.

PLEASE NOTE. Certificate of Proficiency

This extremely important document has become slightly forgotten, and is in need of updating. Bob Webb, whilst President introduced this form and it should still be in use today, but has fallen into disarray. A Revised Cert. of Proficiency [RCOP] will be untaken by the committee over the next month. When this is finalized all members will be notified of their responsibility to this form. To the new members over the past eighteen months who did not receive this document and other documents [Medical Forms} you will be updated in line with the other members. It is an unwritten rule that when you pay your subs each year, you renew your Medical Form also. If you have mishap then the Ambos will have an up to date history which may assist in your recovery. If you have not updated in the past couple of months please do so.

Milton Ludlow.

Editorial – Today, risky workplaces formally safety induct people onto the site. This is a fundamental safety requirement irrespective of the skill level of the person entering. Our club would benefit from such a system if all new members were safety inducted and current members were re-inducted every two years. It is not an onerous process and goes a long way in meeting duty of care while communicating basic safety requirements.

Specific risks should be covered by specific instruction to ensure requirement understanding. – Bruce Patch

A few Funnies

• Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

• A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

• Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

• A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

• A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."

• Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

• "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.'" "That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome." "Is it common?" Well, "It's Not Unusual."

• Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don't believe you," says Dolly. "It's true, no bull!" exclaims Daisy.

• An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

• Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

• I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.

• A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, Doctor doctor, I can't feel my legs!" The doctor replied, "I know you can't - I've cut off your arms!"

• I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.

• What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

Ian Want (making a small dovetail box using the Gifkin Jig) and Peter Rush (making frames using the router) Demo in June.

New VL300 LATHE. The new lathe is operational in the shed, but there are restrictions on its use. The lathe is OK to be used as a lathe by all members, but no one can use the OUTBOARD Attachment unless Jim Thallon is approached and supervises the operator. This is for the safety of all.

The Club’s Web Page is: http://www.geocities.com/baysidewoodturners/

The Newsletter Editor email – patpatch1@optusnet.com.au

Introduction to the VL 300. Our new VL300 lathe is essentially the same as another lathe; however, it has a few variations any prospecting user must know for their own safety, the care of the machine and for the successful outcome of the job being undertaken. These can be categorized as below:-

INBOARD.

1. Get in the habit of setting the variable speed to “1” {slow speed} before turning the lathe on. Once the work is spinning you can dial the speed up to an appropriate level. There is a digital readout below the bed.

2. There is a forward / reverse switch which should be set to forward for normal use. Some people are tempted to do some sanding in reverse. Be WARNED, that this could easily cause the chuck to unscrew off the headstock, with the work then rolling around the workshop floor.

3. The control panel is movable on a magnetic base. The purpose of this is so that it can be placed in a convenient position for the job you are doing. This mainly means that you should not have to reach across the turning work to turn it off or on.

4. The long red bar below the bed is a knee bar or “kill switch” to be used for regular stopping, but especially for emergency stopping. Once used it needs to be pulled out by hand before the lathe can be restarted again. Sometimes the operator may inadvertently depress the bar during use. If the lathe unexpectedly stops- this is probably what has happened.

5. The lathe is belt driven from the motor to the headstock and in addition to the variable speed, there are three belt speeds that can be selected:-

6. The normal belt position allows the speed to vary from 30/0 to 3000 revs. The other belt positions reduce these speeds proportionately. The main reason to change the belt position is to preserve the motor, eg:-if you are doing prolonged slow speed work with large or out of balance stock, you “could cook the motor.” To prevent this select a slower belt speed before starting work. I believe the read out will still show 3000 when it may only be doing 1000, because the rpm electronics are measuring the motor speed, not the speed of the spindle.

OUTBOARD. 1. The outboard mechanics are quite self-explanatory, however be advised that there is no allowance for a tailstop, so you should be positive that the work is fixed securely to the faceplate, or chuck being used 2. The headstock of the VL300 has a right hand thread on both inboard and outboard noses. This means that the chuck can screw into both without needing to change to a left hand thread insert as with most other lathes.

BE WARNED. Outboard turning must be done with “reverse” select otherwise the pressure exerted by the gouge will unthread the chuck and the work will fly off the lathe. Large heavy and or unbalanced stock will cause havoc. All outboard work will be done on the “slow belt speed” with the variable

speed set at “1” {slow} before turning the lathe on.

P.S. COPY of the operating Instructions are in the built in cupboard under the bed - Refer to them. Good Turning. Jim Thallon.

Laidley Woodies Visit on 7th July.

The members were over-whelmed with the Demo Day, and asked if Ian could go to their club and do another Demo. Thanks to all members that helped to make a great day.

Crack-a-Jack Carnival A Big Thanks to all the Members who attended and assisted at the Crack-a-Jack Carnival, this was a first for the club and we will be there next year. Bigger and Better.

New Changes. A Security Lock is installed on the workshop shed. There will only be a few keys, and keys will NOT be duplicated at will. The holders of the keys will not lend or loan the keys out.

LARGE BANDSAW. There will be restrictions on the use of the large Bandsaw until you have gone through the Education program. If you need assistance with the bandsaw, Ian Want, Ron Finch will assist you to improve your skills in the use of the bandsaw. These members will take you through all facets of its use eg: - how to adjust guides proper adjustment of the blade, and all safety issues. It has been noted that this machine has been misused, and costing the club big dollars, so before we have a major accident, some guidelines are put in place. We are not doing this to rock the boat, but to assist in your wellbeing.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE

As advertised in the last Newsletter. It was stated that members would have to pass an exam to be able to use the Large Bandsaw. This was discussed at the last Committee Meeting. {June}

There is an amendment:- The committee thought an exam was not required, but leave the paper as it stands and the questions are a self examination, to assist the members to further understand the workings and safety issues of the Bandsaw. This should rectify any misunderstandings.

The Social Night. Next event will be on the 29th of Sept. Milton is looking at different venues and ideas. Some ideas are to hold a Lawn Bowls Fun Night or a Tenpin Bowling Fun Night, or a Trip down the Brisbane River on the Forceful or another boat. The Tenpin night would be without a meal. Or just the same as last time, a good night out with good tucker. Please relate your choices to Milton soon.

$2-00 IN THE SLOT. It has come to the attention of the committee that some members are not signing in and not placing their $2-00 into the box... Every time you visit your club you must sign in and place the $2 into the box. Doesn’t matter if you have a cuppa or not you are requested to pay you dues. It helps in the day to day running of the club, to pay for damaged stock and electricity bills. We like to keep your fees as low as possible, so please assist us in the running of the club. Don’t forget $2 in the slot.

Demonstration Days UPDATES Saturday 4th August Arthur Wishart and Adrian Shield. Saturday 1st September Special General Meeting. Followed by Noel Brown Picture Framing Saturday 4th October Paul Neilson Making an Apple with locking mechanism drawer.

Bill Rudd - A special on Two Part Epoxy Finishes. Saturday 3rd November Bob Webb. Some special detailed intricate work.

Machinery Group News Hello Termites With this last cold spell, it has been hard to get down and sawdusty in my shed. I insulated it for the hot weather but it works against me for winter as it takes a long while to warm up during these chilly days.

Project Work The machinery projects have ramped up for the next few months. We have a Saturday and a Thursday project. The 2

nd Saturday Project is a box within a box with a spring release mechanism. The boxes will be

made using the Gifkin Dovetail jig and the various Triton tools in our workshop. Thanks to Ian W. for the idea. If you want to get into this project come along on our Saturday morning and get on board. The boxes will test your machinery and joinery skills. Our 3rd Thursday project is a nifty little workshop storage box to store blades for the Scrollsaw. Our Club has three of these handy saws, and if you have ever gone scrolling, a handy storage box for your blades will be very useful. You can group the blades into pinned, non pinned, metal cutting etc. We are using the Gifkin Dovetail jig for this project as well. Come along and join the fun.

Certificate of Competency (COP).

There has been a great deal of discussion at Committee level about our members’ competence in the Club’s workshop. So look out for a new round of COPs to ensure that all members are COPed on the Club’s machinery. The 16” Bandsaw is under close evaluation as the blade replacement rate is excessively high. This saw is very powerful and unforgiving if a finger or other body part comes in contact with the moving blade. It is not like a bench saw where a blade guard offers a line of defence against intruding fingers or hands. Like all machinery, damage is mostly caused by human interaction. Over time, we will introduce a new COP format which will bring the 16” Bandsaw, the Thicknesser and the VL300 Lathe for Outboard Turning into the mix. Our original COPs were primarily for using Bob H’s excellent equipment on the 4th Wednesday evening meeting. The new revised RCOP will now rope-in the Club’s excellent equipment. Please join in the spirit of the new RCOP as it is the future direction of our club’s policy in terms of personal safety management and equipment operation. Well that’s it from me, Cheers Len Maloney

June Committee Meeting

Held on the: 23.06.07

Treasurers report Income: $838.65 Bank Balance: $10,081.73 Correspondence: Inwards 11 letters Outward 3

General business: Committee approved purchase of a sale dust extractor for use in the Club house during demonstrations - Cost $150.00. A special general meeting of the Club is to be held on the 1 September regarding changes to membership. The proposal is to be posted to members by mid August and the committee is to review the criteria by next meeting. Committee has considered the level of Public Liability Insurance and considers that current policy is adequate. Due to double booking of space the Club will now not attend Birkdale State School Fete. The Club has been invited to attend their Father’s Day Fete in September. Proposal for training of members in the operation of the large band saw to cover theory and practical. Ian Want to expedite training. The Club requires articles for the raffle at the Cleveland Spring Parade. It was suggested that Milton approach the Scrollsaw group to provide a clock for this purpose. Milton asked for volunteers to oversee the construction of the dolls house as the major prize for the Club Raffle at the next Wood Show. It was approved for purchase of suitable books for pyrography classes.

Sick List

To all of our mates who are off colour, we wish a speedy

return to good health and hope to see you at the club soon.

Executive Committee Contacts

Milton Ludlow President 32455428

Dave Adams Secretary 33963162

Ian Want Treasurer 33966933

Economical Ways to Expand Your Chisel Collection

by Jon Siegel

This article first appeared in The Old Saw, the journal of the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers (www.gnhw.org) June 2005.

Just looking at the vast array of turning chisels that appear on the pages of modern tool catalogues can be overwhelming.

New Members

Welcome to the club. We hope to get to know you all over the next few

months and in return, please make yourselves known to members.

Dry Skin and the risk of infection. You may recall the newsletter last year where we discussed skin infections caused when the skin gets dry and cracked and micro-bacteria get a foothold. Around this time of the year the air is dry and combined with cold winds these conditions can quickly happen. Please get a good quality skin moisturiser and keep

feet. legs, hands, arms and face well protected. Prevention is bitter than cure

Even general woodworking tool companies, such as Woodworker’s Supply have over 100 different turning chisels. Suppliers which specialize in turning tools, such as Packard Woodworks, or Craft Supplies each have over 300 different chisels! Why are there so many types of chisels? Which ones do you really need? Last time, I wrote about tools for getting started in spindle turning. I mentioned that there are five chisels that you need. Remember that in spindle turning, the grain of the wood is always parallel to the axis, and its orientation does not change as the work turns. The attack is always downhill, and the cutting action is always across the grain. This dictates that we use shallow gouges to scoop out material across the grain, and skew chisels to slice the end grain off cleanly.

On the other hand, bowl turnings are mounted on a faceplate or chuck. They are usually oriented so that the grain of the wood is perpendicular to the turning axis. To avoid end grain, the attack is from the face whenever possible (axial). The grain direction is variable and continuously changing as the work turns. Therefore some tear-out is inevitable. To minimize this and deal with tough end grain, we use narrower gouges which possess a smaller nose radius, and finish with a freshly sharpened scraper.

Types of Chisels You will need at least one bowl gouge for bowl turning. The difference between a bowl gouge and a spindle gouge is the shape and depth of the flute. The flute of a spindle gouge is circular and shallow, while the flute of a bowl gouge is parabolic and deeper. A 1/2˝ bowl gouge is a good place to start, but if

you are turning green (wet) wood you might want a larger one. This is because wet wood is softer and you can take wider chips. If you are doing smaller work in dry wood, you might also want a 3/8˝ bowl

Gouge.

Please note there are two different ways of measuring the size of a gouge. Some dealers specify the size to be the diameter of the round stock from which the gouge is made – all modern bowl gouges are machined from round bars of tool steel. But some dealers measure the width of the flute, which is somewhat smaller. You will also need some scrapers for bowl turning – remember that scrapers are almost never used for spindle turning. There are two main categories of scrapers – round nose and spear point. Both of these have many variations. It is useful to have several round nose scrapers with different radii of curvature, because the round nose scraper is the most versatile type of scraper. Spear point scrapers can have a variety of point angles, but about 75° is best for going into square corners. Another useful type of scraper is the square nose, which is simply straight

cross. At first you can operate with only a few scrapers, but inevitably your collection will grow over time. The extra thick scrapers which have been offered in recent years are definitely an improvement over the older types, especially when you need to extend the chisel some distance beyond the tool rest.

Metallurgy Until about twenty years ago, woodturning chisels were invariably made from carbon tool steel. This type of steel has remained almost unchanged for hundreds of years. Suddenly, chisels made from High Speed

Steel (HSS) appeared. These have gradually become the standard. Why this transition occurred in the 1980s is somewhat of a mystery, since HSS was invented around 1920. In recent years, chisels made from high alloy and powder metallurgy have come on the market, and the choices can be dizzying. My advice is to beware of advertisements which exaggerate the benefits of these expensive tools, and while they definitely do hold an edge longer than HSS, they are not five to ten times better as advertisers so often claim. If you are looking for a chisel that will stay sharp forever, there is no such thing. You would be better off spending your money on a good sharpening system. If the time and effort you need to invest in sharpening is thus reduced, then the length of time the tool stays sharp becomes less of an issue. The subject of sharpening woodturning chisels will be discussed in detail on these pages in upcoming issues of The Old Saw.

The tools described above are the ones you will need for general work. If you want to specialize, you may need chisels designed for a single purpose. For example there are mini chisels for very small detailed work. Or, if you want to make hollow vessels, you will find an amazing variety of tools designed for reaching into the small opening of a vessel for hollowing the inside. Some of these hollowing devices are equipped with a laser beam to gage the thickness of the wall of the vessel while you are turning.

What You Need Five chisels you need for spindle turning – 3/4˝ roughing gouge, 1/2˝ spindle gouge, 3/8˝ spindle gouge, 1/2˝ skew chisel, and a parting tool (diamond pattern). Four additional chisels you need for bowl turning – 1/2˝ bowl gouge, 1/2˝ round nose scraper, 3/4˝ round nose scraper, and 3/4˝ spear point scraper.

The Club wishes to thank Mr Michael Choi MP Queensland Parliament, Member for Capalaba and his office staff for the assistance given in printing the Clubs Newsletters, Flyers and other printing that the club requires from time to time. Lisa and her office team are super efficient and forever helpful. Thanks

Has this ever happened to you? We often see so much advice being directed towards people working in the shed that it may become all too much. Please be considerate to those working on the lathes as there are many ways of achieving a result.

Must tell you this story – THE WOODEN EGGS by Bruce Patch

Two great pleasures that we can derive as retirees can come from our hobbies and our children and grandchildren. The first we can control ourselves by choice however the second can take a little work as often it means establishing a rapport and this can be hard work for some. It is also nice if we can be remembered fondly by those that are left behind as the generations move on. A unique opportunity came up recently to combine all of this together. I had returned from a wood turning weekend at Kooralbyn where I had watched a demonstration by a professional wood turner (Tony Hansen) turning wooden eggs. I thought, “I can do that”, so onto the lathe and 12 eggs later I still hadn’t made one that I was perfectly happy with. I thought that the chooks must be geniuses to get it right every time. In addition to the eggs I was left with a pile of shavings under the lathe. The thought then struck me that I can have some fun with the grandkids out west with this, as we were heading out there in the following week. I purchased some chook food at the produce place for $2 and mixed it with the shavings, then packaged it into zippy bags which I marked “Extra Special Wood Shavings Chook Food” – even gave it a used by date. Armed with the 9 bags and the eggs well hidden, I convinced the four kids to start feeding the chooks this “special” laying mix. Grandkids said the chooks loved the shavings scratching around in it to get the best pieces. After about 4 days, the hens magically laid a couple of wooden eggs followed by one or two over the next couple of weeks. A couple of odd looking eggs must have been laid by the ducks but they were drakes so nobody knows how that happened – must be magic food. After much accusation from them about me putting them there and denial all round, I still had two of them convinced. One commented that they would only believe me if the chooks laid wooden eggs after I had gone back to Brisbane so more eggs had to be made and secretly sent up so that the magic could continue. We all had a lot of fun. The joy is that a rapport has been established through the banter or leg pulling and just maybe they will remember the ‘magic of chooks laying wooden eggs’ kindly when they remember their “Pop”. It’s already started as they show visitors the wooden eggs that the chooks laid and I still haven’t turned that perfect egg but I’ll keep having pleasure by trying. I love it and wouldn’t be dead for quids. Some day I’ll tell you about min-min lights.

Email addresses. It is up to the member to make sure your email address is up to date, and mailboxes are not full. If you do not receive news flashes or the newsletter, its not the fault of the club. The onus is on you.

Club Open-Day Activities

Day of Week Time Activity

Monday 7 to 9 pm Wood burning Lessons.

Tuesday 7 to 9 pm Carving group meetings

Wednesday 9 to 11:30am Hands on, Show and tell

Wednesday 8/9 to 10am Hands on Turning or woodwork

Wednesday 1 to 3.30pm Turning (Arrange with Jim Thallon)

Wednesday 1 to 3.30pm Scrollsaw [By Appointment)

Wednesday 1 to 3. 30pm Router, Saw Table and Gifkin Jig Tuition (as required)

4th Friday

Monthly 9 to Noon Scroll Saw group

1st Saturday 9 to Noon Demo Day

2nd Saturday 9 to Noon Machinery Day (at Clubhouse)

3rd Saturday 9 to 10am Hands on day plus Show and Tell

3rd Thursday 4th Wednesday 4th Saturday

9 to Noon 6.30 to 9pm 9am

Machinery Day (at Clubhouse) Machinery Social night (at Clubrooms) Hands on day

4th Saturday 9am Committee meeting

5th Saturday 9am Hands on day

From time to time, Club activities may be changed based on availability of Tutors or the desires of Members. At all times, we will endeavour to give timely advice of any change.