Even though I have been turning for a little over 12 months. The team at Record Power asked me to attend the D & M Tool Show at Kempton Park Race course and be a demonstrator for them.
My first concern, when they asked was what do I have to offer ( quite probably a normal response), but after giving my head a good wobble, I realised that I am in quite a unique postion, in that I have documented my turning journey on YouTube and actually have built up good knowladge base and tips that I can pay forward.
I am fully aware that sounded a little conceited and yes my projects are far from perfect, but thats the point, learning. Being able to pass on knowladge, no matter how little, someone will see the benefit. Although I was there as a Demonstrator, whilst I was demonstrating, the conversations were two way and I took away a lot of valuable information.
After Settling in I set about preparing my Blanks ( 6" x 2" Ash). As i intended to present my demonstration in a Blue Peter (here's one i made earlier) style, for this to work I needed 3 Blanks prepared in the following way
The first one, just needed to have a hole drilled in the centre (8mm drill bit, to accpet the woodworm screw), ready for shaping.
The Second, needed to have the outside shaped and sanded up to 400 grit and be coated with saning sealer, ready to be hollowed out.
The Third, needed to be hollowed out and again sanded upto 400 grit and coated with sanding sealer, ready to accpet the coloured embellishing wax.
I have to say, for me this approach worked really well - right up until my second demonstration of the weekend, when i had not cut the mortice wide enough to fit into the jaws of my Record Power SC3 4 Jaw chuck, so I simpley remounted the piece back on the woodworm screw and made the mortice large enough to fit.
As you cen see from the image on the left, the black embellishing wax embeds itself into the open grain that Ash provides and offers a stunning contrast and great visual appeal.
However a word to the wise, not all colours work as well on their own.
Whilst there I had the pleasure to be able to spend time with John Clothier and Jamie Page, both of whom were also demonstrating thier respective skills
John, is a master of colour and highly decorates his turnings, with a varity of media (Colours/Gold leaf/Textuing) lends him to produce stunning one of pieces of art.
Jamie has the patience of a saint and creates incredibly intricate works of art, using the scroll saw..
I intend to push my abilities and learning to new levels in the hope of being able to pass this knowledge on to you, to allow you to enjoy this hobby as much as I do.
Untill next time - stay safe and happy turning.