News / Articles

Committees and Volunteer Staff

Auction/Wood Sales Committee:   Wood Wrangler, Ed Jones, Jon Geisbush, Marilyn Bergevin

Web Master:

Communications Committee:  Chair, Jeff Foro, Webmaster, DJ Dimick; Sponsorships (open); Newsletter, Ted Lund,Photographer, Valerie Henschel, Web Content, (open); Librarian:  Robert Bindschadler,

Audio/Visual:  Mark Nebel, Robert Bindschadler, Lisa Brice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Club Calendar	2
President’s Message	3
Meeting Time Change	3
Summer Picnic	3-4
Programs	4
President’s Challenge	4
Open Shops	4
Featured Article—Turning Ornaments	4-8
Library	8
Social	9
Wood Sales	9
Help Wanted	9
AAW Resources—Gallery Photos	9-12

 

CLUB CALENDAR   August 9 Summer Picnic, 11:30-2:30, 132 John Carl Road, Sequim August 15 Monthly Meeting and Demo, Mark Nebel, 10:00-1:30, GCC and Zoom September 2 Board Meeting via Zoom, 6:30 September 20 Monthly Meeting and Demo, Saleem Shafi, 10:00-1:30, GCC and Zoom October 7 Board Meeting via Zoom, 6:30 Oct. 21 (Tuesday) Monthly Meeting and Demo, Yann Marot, GCC and Zoom November 1-2 Port Townsend Woodworker’s Show November 4 Board Meeting via Zoom, 6:30 November 6 Set-up for Shipley Center Bazaar, 4-7 November 7-8 Shipley Center Holiday Bazaar, 9-3 November 15 Monthly Meeting and Demo, Mike Gonyer, 10:00-1:30, GCC and Zoom December 2 Board Meeting via Zoom, 6:30 December 20 Holiday Party, 11:00-1:00

 

 

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Members of the Strait Turners Chapter of AAW:

At our Board Meeting on Tuesday, the Board authorized the adoption of new website software from Club Express.  We have had a committee training on this software and developing the draft of a new website, using a free trial version, for the last two months.  Marilyn Bergevin, with the help of Kathy and Fred Hershman, has populated many of the webpages and menus and has worked on the graphics.  She has spent many many hours on the draft; and the results look great.  Some of the officers will be trained and designated to update specific webpages.  If you would like to take responsibility for a webpage or two, let us know.  The new Website will be going live sometime in the next few weeks.  You will be receiving an email with instructions on how to sign in and how to navigate the site.

The new Website will contain all of the club’s records and documents, eliminating the need for those items to be stored in a Google Drive.  It will not be in its final form when it goes live.  There will still be work to be done to fully utilize the capabilities of the software.  You will have the opportunity to suggest ways that it can be improved.  To get a feel for what it will be like, go to https://seattlewoodturners.org/.  Our new site will be similar.

There is always a cost to make significant upgrades like this.  This will be no different.  Many of you have said that you don’t find the current website useful.  This upgrade is expected to change that.  Many AAW chapters use this software and love it.  It is going to raise our costs by about $5 per member per year.  The Board will need to address where the funds will come from, whether from new fundraising or from a dues increase.  If you have ideas on that, please let a Board member know.

Ted Lund, President, 2024-25

 

MEETING TIME CHANGE

Beginning with the August meeting, our starting time will be 10:30. GCC now has someone using the hall on Friday nights, prior to our meetings.  Mark and Bob have been starting setup for our meeting on Friday night.  Removing that option leaves them insufficient time to complete that work before 10:00.  The start of social time, before the meeting will now be 10:00.

 

SUMMER PICNIC

My husband Ken and I are happy to host the Strait Turner Summer Picnic on Saturday, August 9 from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. We live in Sequim at 132 John Carl Rd. We have plenty of parking along the fence in front of our house and in the driveway.

We have seating for 25; but it would be helpful if some of you can bring a lawn chair. The club will be providing hamburgers and hot dogs. Please sign up for an item to bring to share on the Google sheet link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MNgrgcbX6_2XhZPXZTU6riNyZ7f_KgZY/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101610929576879951399&rtpof=true&sd=true. Just click on the link and type your name next to the item you will bring. If you have any trouble signing up on the google sheet, just send me an email with the item you choose to bring. 

We look forward to seeing you on August 9. Let me know if you have any questions. Please RSVP to me via text, 661-472-5820, or email, marilynbergevin0513@gmail.com. 

Marilyn Bergevin

PROGRAMS

The Turn-a-Thon last month was considered a success.  We had steady pedestrian traffic past our display; and many people stopped to look and chat.  Sales of turned items netted about $440.  We also had several people sign up for more information about the club.  Some of our members, especially John Elliott, Jackie LeDoux, and Brian Johnson worked several shifts.  It would have been nice to see more members turn out to help.  We very much appreciated Jim Julian’s offer to host this event at his house; and he and his wife were very helpful in making it a success.  Unfortunately, they plan to sell that house before next summer.  We will need to come up with a new plan.

The August 16 demonstrator will be our own Mark Nebel.  Mark will be showing us some of the unique ornaments that he makes and demonstrating how he makes them.

 

PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE

For August, turn something long and thin, as demonstrated by Tim Larson last month.

For September, make some ornaments for the upcoming holidays.

 

OPEN SHOPS

Please contact Brian Johnson, info@straitturners.org, to sign up or talk about hosting an Open Shop of your own. 

 

FEATURE ARTICLE

Christmas Ornaments: Build Your Inventory Fast

By Robin at Turning For Profit, https://www.turningforprofit.com/build-your-inventory-fast-christmas-ornaments/

Sometimes it is the right time of year for certain turning projects.  September and October seem to fit for Christmas Ornaments.  Its that time of year.  Early fall, the children are back in school, and you’re still working at harvesting the garden.  It might be a bit early to think about your personal Christmas, but it is a good time for some quick wood turning production work.  That’s right, getting ready for the Christmas Fairs in November and early December.  Turn some Christmas ornaments to complement your main products.  These are easy between centers turning and are an opportunity to show off your turning talents.

But Christmas ornaments and other Christmas turnings are actually good for business all year long.  I try to have a few ornaments available even in the middle of summer.  A lot of people love Christmas and will shop for Christmas at anytime.  Look at the Christmas themed stores, they don’t slow down, ever.

Turned Christmas ornaments can also give you a range of products and prices to satisfy your customers.  It is a great way to utilize off cuts and small pieces of wood in your shop.  Give yourself some time to consider your requirements, your resources, and to get yourself organized for some enjoyable production wood turning.

Quick and Easy Christmas Ornaments

These ornaments are supposed to be quick and easy to turn.  That is especially true if you are turning several at a time.  It is amazing how quickly you can turn out a snowman when it is the fourth or fifth one that you’ve done today.  So the goal of this post is to suggest 5 straight forward turning projects suitable for Christmas.  That doesn’t mean we want to exclude the inside out turnings or the Christmas ball with two finials that are long and narrow.  Those are Christmas ornaments as well but they take longer and are more complex to complete.

1. Stand Alone Christmas Trees 

These Christmas Ornaments are designed to stand by themselves rather than being hung on a Christmas Tree.  Slightly larger turnings, they can be made out of any wood you have available.  This is an opportunity for you to try different techniques and see how they turn out.

 

This is my project tutorial on turning wooden Christmas Trees.  These are easy to turn and provide extra character for a nativity or a table center piece.  The nice thing about Christmas trees (and icicles, they are next) is that they don’t have to be perfect.  Real trees aren’t perfect either.  So have some fun, practice your turning skills and see what you can do.

2. Wooden Icicles 

Use these to show off the grain of the wood and the thinness of your Turnings.  Turning  icicles out of pen blanks makes great Christmas Ornaments.  Real icicles are not even or symmetrical so you can be creative in your designs.  Give them a shiny finish to reflect the Christmas tree lights.

 

You need to focus on long and thin so that the ornament will be light on the tree.  Brass eyelets and ribbon will be needed to finish the product.  A smooth glossy finish will enhance the icicle.

3. Small Mini-decorations as Christmas Ornaments for the Tree

Quite a few Christmas ornaments are scaled down versions of the real item.  Musical instruments are some that come to mind.  You can do the same with your wood turnings as well.  Take a wooden goblet and scale it down so that it can hang on a tree ranch.  That’s the idea.

So mini-decorations are mini-versions of your large regular turnings.  Pick any turning you like and turn a small version for the Christmas Tree.  The three that I did were a goblet, a kraut pounder, and a Christmas tree.  Enjoy

4. The Perfect Snowman

The holidays are a time when you want everything to look beautiful and perfect.  I was thinking, in the “perfect” mode, that I wanted to turn a snowman.  Having dimensions gives you an idea of what the turning should look like.  While I may not have said it out loud I was looking to turn the “perfect snowman“.  Can you tell which of these was the “perfect” one?

These were both turned out of pine hence the large growth rings.  That adds character to your turning.  Of course you could paint them.  Whether painted or not you can add embellishments like buttons, eyes, pipes, etc.  Have fun turning your own collection of snowmen.

The snowman on the right is the “perfect” snowman!  The dimensions are based on the golden ratio between the three sections of the snowman.  When I brought the two of them to my wife, she liked the one on the left.  I think it looks more traditional.  However, everyone has different tastes so turn a bunch and see what happens.

 

 

5. A Turned Wooden Christmas Bell.  A turned Christmas bell makes a beautiful Christmas ornament.  Take your time to get a nice even thin bell and you will be able to make it ring as well.

The trick is in getting the bell clapper to swing freely inside the bell.  By carefully drilling holes in your bell you will be able to attach the clapper with a string that will allow it to swing freely and strike the sides of the bell.  The step by step instructions are in this post “Turning a Christmas Bell“.  You might have to adjust the string length a few times but the results are worth the effort.

I hope this gives you inspiration as you prepare for the busy season ahead.  Obviously you need to price your work according to the amount of time and effort to produce it.  Doing a production run should give you more efficiencies and better turning skills as well.

If you are looking for other turning projects check out out my listing of all the projects available on turning for profit.

I hope you’re getting excited about the upcoming season whether you are aiming for Christmas Fairs or doing your turning for the family.  What Christmas projects have you got in mind?

Each day I share a wood turning project on my Facebook page.  Join me there and get the turning project of the day, delivered to your Facebook homepage.  You can also sign up for my newsletter (scroll down a little bit) which will notify you, on a weekly basis, of new projects and post for you to enjoy.  Remember to turn safely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

STRAIT TURNERS LIBRARY

Please remember to return the items you have checked out of the club library.  Also, take a look at what is available to check out at the next meeting.  This is a treasure trove of information for the woodturner.  Contact Bob Bindschadler, info@straitturners.org, if you have any questions about the library or want to donate to it.

 

SOCIAL

Please join us at the picnic on Saturday, August 9.  Details can be found above.

 

Please contact Antoinette if anyone needs a cheering up. She will be happy to oblige.

info@straitturners.org. 

 

 

WOOD AND TOOL AUCTION

Please plan to bring some quality wood or tools to the August meeting for the auction.  This has been as great fundraiser for the club. 

If a community member or anyone else needs a tree removed, they can contact Ed Jones, info@straitturners.org, who will organize volunteers to help cut and transport the wood. Members are encouraged to support the effort by assisting Ed with cutting and hauling when needed. If you're willing to lend a hand, please reach out to Ed.

 

HELP WANTED!

Hosts for Open Shop Events—Can you host a small number of members in your shop for a session on some aspect of turning?  If so, contact info@straitturners.org.

Sponsorship Coordinator—Someone to recruit, communicate with, and document our Sponsors.  A new Sponsorship program has been approved by the Board.  We just need someone to put this in front of potential sponsors.

 

AAW

We are a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners.  Members are encouraged to join AAW to access the huge selection of resources there for turners.  Free trial memberships are available at the Membership Landing Page. See the AAW Webpage, https://www.woodturner.org/, for information like this:

American Association of Woodturners

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