is coming - Crow Valley Woodturners

News Letter
News from
Vol 5 No1
The
Spring 14
Crows nest
The “
is coming
Paul Roberts always happy to
see you at Isca Woodcrafts.
Happy New Year to all our customers and members
of Crow Valley Wood Turning Club. We at Isca can’t
help wondering what 2014 will throw at us. Over
the last 9 years trading as Isca Woodcrafts (nee
Hardwoods) we have been on a roller coaster ride
of highs and lows. We have traded though foot
and mouth movement bans, near death experience, flood and fire. Despite all these set backs we
start 2014 more determined than ever before to
bring you a good service and to enjoy it!
We are looking forward to the Isca Woodcrafts
annual Woodworking Show which will once again
take place at Tredegar Houses grand stable block,
courtesy of the National Trust, on Saturday 17th
May. For 2014 we intend to keep the same ethos
putting emphasis on woodworking techniques
and skills to encourage more members to join local clubs. Crow Valley has always been a big part
of this, supporting us over many years. Last year
the demonstrations, help and advice all given
freely by your members were all spoken about by
our customers for months after, we hope that
some of them joined you on a Thursday night.
The AWGB and their mobile display was a real asset last year and we are delighted to welcome
them back again this year.
The South Wales Stick Makers Association will
have a larger presence in May, with more demo’s
and stick making components for sale on the day.
Negotiations are already underway to get more
displays onto the outside courtyard but until
things are finalized it is probably best to keep
plans under wraps. Our aim has always been to
promote the traditional skills and not turn this
event into a craft show.
On a daily basis Isca Woodcrafts aims to
keep the shop fully stocked with a diverse selection of Native and International woods. We usually have in excess
of 70 species available in board, blank
or spindle form. Most of our native
woods are purchased from tree surgeons, local estates, park departments
and our very own Tredegar House. We
look out for unusual species such as
Tree of Heaven, Acacia, Holly etc as
well as the commercially available
woods. At Isca we are happy to cut to
customers requirements, if stock is
available.
Our International stock is always changing due to Foreign legislation making
some species unavailable, for example
Australian Burrs. Some species are just
difficult to buy. Once a species is on the
’banned’ list it is stopped at source and
then it will be unlikely that we’ll stock
it. This list is sure to push up the price
on many exotic woods. On the plus side
sustainable stocks are now becoming
available, ie Sonokelling Rosewood
which is plantation grown in Indonesia.
Being a small business amongst large
importers we are assured that all our
woods meet the European Timber regulations. Constantly seen on our shelves
are Ebony, Purpleheart, Paduak, Bubinga and many more .
We do a lot of mail order,
but postage can be expensive, so come and see
what we have in stock,
look around and be inspired!
The Craft Units
Tredegar House
Newport
We are always willing to
give advice about our
woods, and will cut pieces
to your needs. If you do
not see what you want,
we will do our best to order it in for you. We are a
family run business and
your requirements are
our priority!
We look forward to seeing
you!
Paul and Gail Roberts
NP10 8TW
07854 349045 / 01633 810148
iscawoodcrafts@yahoo.co.uk
I’m the
Boss!
I
had recently sold
my best lathe, a Myford Mystro, in order
to buy a lathe from Peter our chairman. I
told my accountant (the wife) that this
was the ultimate in lathes and that I
would not need to look at buying a lathe
ever again. This seemed to give her immense pleasure as she was well bored
with conversations regarding lathes. This
new lathe was a VB36 and it has turned
out to be a wonderful purchase. The VB is
The VB is a wonderful piece of kit.
a quality machine, a dream lathe, I was
totally satisfied! (or so I told her indoors)
The VB is primarily a bowl lathe with the facility to do spindle turning, would I ever
need more? It seems a fact of life that nothing is absolutely perfect, with out limitations and this I found out to be the case with the VB. The max length between centres was 30 inches. As I make a lot of chairs, with many of the components way
above that, my wife was not impressed to say the least. The problem was compounded when a shop fitting company asked me to do a job for them where turned
pieces over 3 ft in length were needed. I had to ask good old Trevor if I could use his
lathe to get me out of a spot.
So the hunt was on for a lathe with a little more than 30 inches between centres.
I started at the Toolpost, looking at One way and Wivamac. This route would be very
expensive. Then to Axminster and the big Jets, again lots of dosh required. So I started to look on E Bay, and it took a long time before something caught my eye. So
often anything I like the look of, is hundreds of miles away but this machine was
near Carmarthen. I arranged to visit on Sunday afternoon, and I had not long started
my journey when I was struck with the terrible thought that this machine must be
THREE PHASE, I had not even thought of
I’m glad I’ve got a good manual,
I’ve even got tremendous
telephone support, just as well!
the possibility. My immediate
thought was to go back home as I didn’t want to know about anything other than
240v.
I don’t have three Phase, I don’t want three Phase. How much would it cost to have in put into my workshop, all that trouble and expense for one machine. I’m sure the council would be very interested in why I had an industrial supply on my
property. I could change motors, more cost and a possible fitting nightmare. I just want to plug in and play.
Whilst driving to the next roundabout to turn back home, I had second thoughts, I could have a look, just have a look. After
all many three phase machines often come up at fantastic prices in auctions from companies closing down and they are
often go at a very low price because they are three phase. So decided to have a look.
I met Mark, the seller, who took me to his wonderful workshop, which was full of super Wadkin machines, all three phase.
He showed me his solution to the three phase problem. He assured me and also showed me, that the way forward was Digital.
“Just ring this number and you are sorted” (01623 720730 ) said Mark. Mark pointed out to me that it was an advantage
with the machine I was looking at, that the motor was Dual Voltage. You will find that 90% of the motors out there that are
under 5HP and were made in the last 30 years will be fitted with dual voltage motors. Basically a dual voltage motor is one
where you can select the voltage it runs at, simply by exchanging the links in the motors terminal box, this connection is
known as STAR and DELTA mode.
In Star mode the motors running voltage will be at 415v,
where as in Delta mode it will be 220v.
A Dual Voltage motor is an advantage
On Monday morning I phoned the very helpful Drives
Direct. I was delighted to find that the whole process was
easier than I thought, plus the benefit of total speed control as well. Happy days !!!! The whole process of connecting to the machine was easy, thanks to Drives Direct
on the phone and the work was checked by the local electrician.
The Wadkin RS 8, with a bed length of 7 ft. Wow!
As you can see my new machine is in super condition, many many
thanks to Mark for all his help. The Wadkin RS8 has a massive 7 ft between centres, nothing on the market can beat that, The free standing tool support, gives me the option for some really big bowls.
If any club member needs to turn something long, just ask.
So as you can imagine I feel that I have done well by waiting until I found exactly what I
was looking for. Not only were my fears of three phase not justified, but that by going
digital I achieved the desired total speed control. So, the whole purpose of this article, is
to try to open up the whole area of buying a new machine. Three phase machines will
possibly be older and British. Built to standards of engineering long lost with modern
machines, sturdy cast iron and technology that was made to last. So don’t be put off by
three phase, the solutions are out there.
I think I know what you are thinking, what was the damage report, is my accountant happy or has she stopped my pocket money for the next twenty years? Lets compare.
So, here is the comparison of similar lathes with the ability to turn large bowls and with
long distances between centres.
1.
Oneway
2436-3
£5396
Outboard attachments
1162
Shipping
150
Total
2.
Wivamac DB1200- CB
£6708
£4350
Outboard attachments
337
Total
3.
Jet 4224B
£4687
£4399
Free standing tool support
309
Total
4.
Wadkin RS8
£4708
£1300
Drives Direct
400
Total
£1700
What a result, I’m happy and so is the wife!
Happy Days !!!
Birdie Boy
I always think that an Open Competition allows members to show their
best work, this proved the case with some thirty plus pieces on show.
The variety of work was broad, lamps, goblets, bowls, platters , boxes and
sculpture work were all on show. It was good to see pewter work involved
in two pieces.
A totally deserved winner, Glyn Morris took First
Prize in this high quality competition. Glyn’s entry was
beautiful, composed of many difficult parts, coming
together to make this delightful box. I’m sure Glyn’s
wife has her eye on this one!
Glyn has given us a step by step description of how he
created this fine piece.
1
coca bola 2 x2 about 12 inches long.
2
Turn down to round
3
Part off lid with enough for a spigot.
4
Hollow out to depth using drill and sand and polish inside
5
Form recess for lid to fit
6
Hollow out lid and fit to base
7
Sand and polish inside
8
Fit to base and finish top of lid
That’s the base finished except for nob on lid
1
measure hollowed depth of base and subtract the thickness of top and bottom plate divide by three for sections.
2
Turn down to fit inside base
3
Mark with parting tool first section and hollow out to
depth
4
Sand and polish then part off
5
Do the same for other two sections
6
Use jam chuck to finish bottom of sections
7
Line grain up on sections and drill a hole down through
the sections on pillar drill
8
Turn top and bottom plates and drill with flat bottom
drill to take post
9
Turn post assemble inside and glue together.
10 Make knobs for inside and out and glue in place
11 Final polish
Many thanks Glyn.
How many times have you mounted a face plate
onto a bowl blank only to find you are far from central.
Here is a simple answer to insure a perfectly central face plate, all you have to do is mark the bowl
blank centre with a punch, the following photos
should be self explanatory:Picture 1 shows the centre mark inside the ink circle
1
2
3
2 The locating pin is knocked into the centre
mark
3 The face plate locating plug is in place
4 The face plate is now in place located perfectly central to the blank
5 Now the screws are ready to insert, you can
drill holes for the screws with the face plate in position.
T
4
5
The plug for the centralising of the face plate can be
turned from a piece of hard wood, it must be a comfortable fit so you can remove it once the face plate has been
secured, it needs to be made longer than the height of
the face plate so you can grab hold of it to pull it out. It
may well be an idea to fit a locating pin as a permanent
fixture into the centre of the plug as you won’t have a
long enough drill to be able to drill all the way through
the fitting, you can then centralise the plug on the centre
point of the blank, tap it in so that it doesn’t move.
A quick description of
a jig for the pen turners:The ultimate jig to lock
your pen blanks in a
vertically situated centralised beneath the
drill press.
John Durose.
John Durose has been
working hard on the interweb
to find us some interesting
sites, where we can learn
from others on a world wide
stage. Not only is he our
Gadget Man he is also our
Web Crawler.
johndurose@hotmail.co.uk
And now for some web sites for those who are looking for:- Help, Jigs, Tools etc that you can
make for yourselves, something for everyone Go Give a Go !!!!!!
1. David Reese Smith
2. aroundthewoods.com
3. woodturnersresource.com/extras/lathe_terms/lathe_terms.html#urn
(Glossary of Woodworking terms)
4. woodturnersresource.com (For general wide ranging info and topics)
5. home.comcast.net/~kvaughn65/main.html ( Kev Vaughn’s Workshop) There are lots of options
found on the main menu, open Lathes and read, wherever the script is blue click on it and it will
take you to photos or descriptions etc
I think this should keep you going for a while, anytime you are looking for a particular bit of information when on Google, type in the subject and then click on images as a short cut to finding
things!!
Good Luck
Chairman
Peter Bradwick
Secretary/
Treasurer
Jim Hitch
Workshop Supervisors
Nigel Miles
Gordon Rich
Newsletter Editor
Phil Bird
John Durose
01633 873640
peterbradwick@btinternet.com
01495 785250
jim.hitch72@btinternet.com
01495 767835
01633 679032
polecroft@aol.com
g.rich2@ntlworld.co.uk
07976 711387 ruthbird@hotmail.co.uk
The club meets at :
The Community Education Centre,
The Highway, Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran, NP44 2HF
01633 647700