Old News
Below are the old news items which have previously appeared on the homepage, moved here so you can still access them but without the homepage getting cluttered 😉
March 2024
The last club meeting saw Kate Kitchen make her debut at the GAW. She talked about her journey into woodturning and how she runs the different aspects of her business. The demonstration was of how to turn small animals / objects with a sheep and a chicken being joined by an egg (for Easter). We finally got proof that the chicken came before the egg!
December 2023
The club is now the proud owner of its own wood storage shed. It is generously proportioned and will make Les’s job of looking after all out precious wood a lot easier (and drier!) with it all in one location. It was received, painted and assembled in just a few days by a small band of helpers (thank you!). Les built some custom storage shelves and arranged to move all our stock in from its previous resting places.
An introductory wood sale was held from the shed on Saturday 18th November and was a great success. Over £800 of wood was sold to members so Les will need to find some new stock !
October 2023
At the AGM the club agreed unanimously to adopt Maggie’s (Cheltenham) as the association’s charity for 2023. More details of Maggie’s are available, you can also make a donation there. Our main charity fundraiser is selling items at the Frampton Country Fair in September, where we raised over £400. However there’s still more money to come so the final total will be more – more like £640. Thanks to everyone who donated items !
September 2023
LAST CLUB MEETING saw the return of an old favourite – Les Thorne. The evening was entitled “Woodturning doesn’t have to be serious” – and it certainly wasn’t with Les in full flow. His ‘assistance’ with the raffle draw was particularly entertaining and I’m sure we’ll be seeing him again in the near future.
August 2023
LAST CLUB MEETING was a member’s evening with a range of topics on display for members to try or ask questions about. There was also a fun competition to find the next Adrian Newey – all you had to do was design a car and then build it. Only two catches – it had to be ENTIRELY wooden and it needed to fit into the dimensions given.
The cars were launched from an approx 20 degree ramp and the one that went furthest won! (modesty prevents the author from naming the winner, but as the picture show size beat aerodynamics in this contest !)
April 2023
March CLUB MEETING saw craftsman Sean Hellman from Dartmoor demonstrate how to carve a ‘fan bird’ before using his pole lathe to show us how to do spindle and bowl turning without any electricity …
“If you are fortunate enough to hear about a workshop run by Sean Hellman, sign up quick!
Sean is the finest teacher I have encountered in 14 years of craft classes all over Europe.
He has the priceless gift of empathy for each student, gently assisting us to find the best path with just a few illuminating words.
Add that to a dry wit, unlimited creativity and patience and the most fascinating workshop near Dartmoor and you’ll come away the proud possessor of skills that you can practice at home with confidence.”
Diana Jackson.
At the 2022 AGM the club agreed unanimously to adopt the British Heart Foundation as the association’s charity for 2022, in memory of Phil Hartwell. More details of the BHF are available, you can also make a donation there. Our main charity fundraiser is selling items at the Frampton Country Fair in September, and as a result of the sales made there we have donated over £200 to the BHF.
September 2022
September’s club meeting was an excellent demonstration by Jason Breach. Jason took us ‘back to basics’ with a demonstration of many of the things he makes regularly as his ‘bread and butter’ sales items. These included an apple, a pear, a mushroom, solitaire balls and a clock in a ball. All in a couple of hours and not a box in sight!
That was because the boxes were reserved for the all-day masterclass he delivered on the Thursday to a bumper audience. Here we saw how to make an octagonal box, a ‘shell’ or ‘wobbly’ box and a satellite box. As the day went on the difficulty levels definitely increased.
April 2022
- If you missed it at the January member’s night, John has now released his ‘Hand Thread Chasing’ video to the world on YouTube.
March 2022
- The website has had a bit of a face-lift, including moving to a more ‘mobile-friendly’ system in the background. Hopefully you’ve noticed ! I’ve tried to check everything but if you spot any broken links then please let me know as I’ve obviously missed it !
- Links to the recording of February’s club night are now available from the ‘members only‘ page, together with a link to Keith’s demo handout. Keith made a multi-coloured laced vase, showing all the steps involved together with tips on sourcing the components required.
- There is now a Wood Carving horse available on the ‘for sale’ page. Contact Patrick (details on that page) if you are interested.
- There are still some training vacancies available for the event on 17th March – Contact John Hawkswell if you are interested.
- The free project plans page has been re-vamped so you can search for subjects, get an idea of the difficulty and see what you might be making. Go on – give it a go!
February 2022
- It looks like the February club night will see a return to a presence at the rugby club, but it is still dependent on the local COVID numbers.
- The chairman has had another of his projects published in ‘Woodturning’ magazine. Members got a sneak preview as we saw a video of the project ‘A Porcini mushroom box’ at the January club night.
- The January club night was held over Zoom and saw a record number of contributions from members in a packed couple of hours. The video is now available from the members only page.
- The password for the members only page has been updated. It is available in the January newsletter which was e-mailed to members on the 7th January.
January 2022
- The committee have reluctantly decided that January’s meeting should be a purely virtual event over Zoom given the current levels of COVID infections. We hope to return to physical meetings as soon as possible, but feel it would be unwise to risk adding to the current burden on the NHS at this time. We hope you will understand.
- This month’s meeting will be a showcase for member’s work, expected to feature (subject to availability) :
- Making a chess set
- Box making
- Hand cut threads
- A kaleidoscope (spell check is handy !!)
- The continuing story of David’s guitar – how far has he got with it ?
December 2021
- Rudy’s video link is now available on the members only page.
- Andrew Turner has passed on the latest version of his ‘Woodturning Magazine’ index, available from the member’s pages. It is a searchable list of over 5000 articles published in 360 issues of Woodturning – there must be something in there you’d like to make !
- Rudy’s demo went ahead on 15th December and the handout sheet is now available to members. The video link hasn’t arrived yet, I’ll post a further update when it does.
- Due to technical problems with Rudy’s set up we’ve had to re-schedule the December demo to Wednesday 15th December at 19:30. The full details of the Zoom meeting are available from the members only page.
- Sadly, Phil Hartwell, the club’s treasurer and long standing member has died. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.
- Brian Wharton has stepped up to replace Phil as Treasurer and can be contacted at treasurer@gaw.org.uk
- Dave Woolley has joined the committee and will be taking over from Brian as the membership secretary. Once up to speed he will be available at membership@gaw.org.uk
- This month we welcome Rudy Lopez as our demonstrator, all the way from Florida (via Zoom, we can’t afford the air fare!) Zoom details are in the newsletter and on the members only page. Rudy will be demonstrating ‘Square to Round Bowls, Vases and Hollow forms‘. You might remember Rudy from last December when he also demonstrated for us.
- Monthly newsletters are now available on the web site (members only).
- January’s meeting will be a Show and Tell evening hosted at the club and on Zoom.
November 2021
- Check out the Gloster Gonks Gallery on the members Gallery page to see how members were inspired by The Tiny Turner on her recent visit.
- Andrew Turner has a new update on his Woodturning magazine index, check it out on the Members only page.
- October’s members newsletter.
- WOODWORKING LIVE – Saturday 13th November. Just a short trip down the M5 with plenty of free car parking. See some of the best Woodturners in the UK at this one day show. Improve your skills and techniques, talk to the professional woodturners and meet other turners. Tickets cost £11 for the day.
October 2021 (and before)
- The second training day of the year was held on Thursday September 9th at Down Hatherley Village hall. We were very lucky with the weather and the training was carried out outside. 5 delegates attended and it was very successful.
Next course will now be in 2022. If you are interested please contact John Hawkeswell or complete the contact form. Note this is open to members only due to insurance restrictions. These courses are intended for beginners.
- Check out the new items on the for sale page. 2 lathes.
- 2021 GAW demonstrator programme, under the current circumstances we can only look forward by 3 months.
- See the latest plan by John Hawkeswell “Mushroom box”, now available under free plans or clink the link* Mushroom box by John Hawkeswell
- See the members only page for an updated 2020 DVD list.
Look at the 2020 gallery to see the latest work from members. Want to share an idea then let us know.
The Chairman’s Cup for 2020/2021 has been awarded to Jeff Ellis.
Congratulations to Jeff.
