Gloucestershire Association of Woodturners

The Club Gallery makes a rare appearance.

The exhibits include items made by some of the leading names in wood turning. Names such as Tobias Kaye and Bill Jones and many others who have visited us here at GAW.

There were certainly some interesting entries in Christmas challenge. Club member Mike Birt won the Christmas Toy making competition with his “Snowman on skis”

Well done Mike!

Welcome to the GAW  stall at the Victorian market, Quayside Gloucester. Does anybody recognise this Club member dressed in a fancy top hat?
It is none other than our very own Ben Eshelbury manning the GAW sales stall.

On the next stand  we find GAW  demonstrator Colin Fulbrook wearing the hat he turned from his own beech tree.

The shavings fly as Frans Brown  starts his demo. This action stuff creates lots of interest.

Demonstrating at the November Club night  GAW member, John Bennison, set himself a real challenge by turning a piece of bone dry monkey puzzle wood.  John showed us some simple jigs to make short work of preparing the chucking recess  to an accuracy  which ensured that the work was held very securely in the chuck. John also explained  how he produces and maintains razor sharp tools  with a consistent grind. Turners rightly acknowledge that  this is one of the challenges of woodturning.

Club night on 14th September and GAW welcomed demonstrator Sue Harker from Yorkshire. Anyone who reads “Woodturning” magazine will be aware that Sue produces some remarkable pieces of work. The Art Deco vase below which she turned in the evening demonstration incorporated a carved stem which requires some accurate drilling to ensure alignment.

Full day demonstration Thursday 15th September
Not only were we treated to a stellar performance from Sue Harker as she unlocked some of the mysteries of segmental and involuted turning but the audience was kept well entertained by Sue’s lively humour and down to earth approach.
In the morning session Sue took us step by step through the process of making a segmental ash vase using a simple jig to glue the segments in place which ensured they were evenly spaced. Amongst the valuable tips I picked up was the fact that Titebond produces a super glue that does not clog up its container. I seem to spend a lot of time drilling an air passage with a 1mm drill bit and finally giving up when 50% of the glue remains in the bottle. Since Sue started using Titebond superglue she has never had to waste any.

Westonbirt 2011 : the GAW Team pulls it off!

The GAW marquee at the  “Treefest”  held at the Westonbirt Arboretum over the August Bank Holiday provided  lots to interest the many visitors.

This venue provides a real opportunity to showcase the work of the Club and its members and the range and quality of the many exhibits this year  were certainly a credit to all those involved.

There was a good atmosphere and  lots of positive feedback from the public and there were quite a few who were tempted sufficiently to buy! Thanks to the efforts of many club members the Club sales table was well stocked and   the sales team did a sterling job.

I would like to thank everyone for the work that went into the 2011 event  and a special mention to those whose efforts were truly exceptional and I am sure that the membership will join me in saying a big “thank you” to them.

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