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February Meeting Demonstration

Basket Illusion with Todd Carris

Todd Carris not only demonstrated the process of how to do basket illusion but took it a step further with the use of a software program to design patterns and introduced the use of a special jig to assist in the bead burning process.

Todd is a member of our Ohio Valley Woodturners Guild and is from Cincinnati but has called Northern Kentucky home for the last 32 years. He is currently serving on our board as the Secretary and is actively involved in the Guild monitoring the Tuesday morning Open Shops, assisting teaching the Intro to Woodturning class, acting as a mentor and generally helping wherever there is a need.

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Todd began his turning journey just over 5 years ago and immediately knew turning was for him. He quickly found a couple of fantastic mentors in our Guild and after retiring three years ago began focusing on turning full time. Basket Illusion was something that caught his eye early on and he knew he had to try it. His first few basket illusion turnings were challenging but persistence is something he’s not short on and before long he was being recognized in both competitions at the Guild and in local art shows with his work. 

He has developed a unique approach to his basket illusion platters, bowls and boxes by building his own indexing jig that allows for more precision and complex patterns. He also uses the artistic App “Procreate” to develop his patterns. This enables him to create one of a kind unique designs.

January Meeting Demonstration with Roberto Ferrer

The January 2025 monthly meeting featured demonstrations by national demonstrator Roberto Ferrer. Roberto is a wood artist, sculptor, wood turner, instructor, and demonstrator based in Chicago, specializing in creating unique, handmade wood art pieces and lathe-based sculptures. He is a person who is passionate about art and wants to share this passion through his work. Featured in several AAW journals, he demonstrates at local woodturning clubs and teaches in woodworking schools.

”…bowls aren’t just functional objects; they’re personal works of art, designed to bring warmth, personality, and a touch of nature into your home” - Roberto Ferrer

View his online gallery at https://www.ferrerstudioart.com/galler and watch a PBS show featuring Roberto: (455) Eye On The Arts | Roberto Ferrer - YouTube

Members were able to learn directly from the expert with classes taught by Roberto on making paper-thin flowers with airbrushed colors, and various methods of embellishments. Attendees were introduced to different texturing techniques using rotary carving tools, wood burning brands, and highlights using the dry brushing technique to apply color for striking results.



January Member Meeting -
Demonstration and Show & Tell Photos

Annual December Contest - Turn a Bowl Winners

KC Kendall elected President of the American Association of Woodturners

Congratulations to OVWG member KC Kendall who will be the new president of the international American Association of Woodturners (AAW) organization (woodturner.org). With more than 13,000 members and over 365 local chapters globally, AAW members include amateurs, hobbyists, professionals, gallery owners, collectors, tool and equipment suppliers, and others.

KC was a two-term past president of the Guild and is an Honorary Lifetime Member. He championed the development of the Learning Center and has co-chaired several symposiums.

American Association of Woodturners selects member Gabriel Hoff’s lidded box as the AAW Turning of the Week. Please give it a “like”, share with your friends, and follow AAW on Facebook.

From AAW: “Gabriel Hoff's boxes are elegant, pure and displays a classic design. Regardless the wood species, he manages to create a beautifully turned box.”

According to Gabriel: “This box is really a stunner from all aspects, grain, spalting, and design! Turned from a blank of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) gifted to me from my woodturning teacher, this box has a lot going on with the grain. The spalting is really intense, and the color variation and grain flecking is really pronouced. Style features include a true round bottom, chamfered rim, and domed lid. Turned, hollowed and finished with only wax. Size is 1 3/4" tall x 1 7/8" diameter. This box really turned out well, the wood was not too punky, and it took sanding and finishing very nicely!”

New Classes - sign up now, classes are filling up.  Check the Calendar for more classes and skill building sessions….

Fundamental Tool Control and Cutting Edge Presentation for Spindle Turning 

Dozens of short exercises will introduce and build fundamental skills and concept understanding to enhance spindle turning projects. The emphasis will be on learning and practicing tool control fundamentals: body positioning; posture; arm and body mechanics; and handle grips; using a number of short exercises. Concepts that will be explained include riding/gliding/floating the bevel, raising the handle to lower the cutting edge, supported and unsupported cuts, ghost images, and more.

New class added for April at Tool Control When Spindle Turning - 4/7/2025

Basic Lidded Box

Learn to turn a basic lidded box. We will take a blank through shaping, hollowing, lid fitting and sanding. Tools used will include gouges, scrapers, chucks, and sanding supplies.

The lid should be easy to remove but provide a tight fit. The orientation of the wood grain is parallel to the lathe as the wood is shaped and the end hollowed. Components of the box include the tenon, base, joint and lid.

Sign up for the 3/8/2025 session at Making a basic box - 3/8/2025

RIBBLES! (Multi-Axis)

Begin the adventure with a cylindrical turning blank. Then, turning on several axes yields a basic six-ribbed shape. After mounting this on another axis, further turning offers a huge range of shaping opportunities, such as ‘flowers’. Intermediate turning skills are necessary. Much of the turning involves interrupted cuts and deep narrow cuts require good tool control when using a small blank. This project was demonstrated at the February 2024 OVWG monthly meeting. A handout is available on the OVWG website. ‘Ribble’ is a nonsense name, inspired by an old commercial – my “Ribbles have ridges”.

Register for the March 29 adventure at Multiaxis Turning with Ribbles - 3/29/2025

SAVE THE DATES

Cross Drill Ornaments with Inlays

As an intermediate class, we learned how to make a Christmas ornament using a cross-drill technique and advanced spindle turning skills. After cross-drilling a hardwood cube, the cube was turned to created a globe. Laminates (snowflakes and dog paws) were then inlayed into the cube. A cap and finial were turned to complete the ornament.

Bird House Ornaments

As the holiday season approaches, we found ourselves looking for special gifts for special people. For woodturners, small gifts that will have special meaning for others are well within reach. With a little imagination and the use of wood scraps, the class made birdhouse ornaments that relatives and friends will treasure for years to come.

Demonstrator Class: Winged Bowls

Following his demonstration at the October monthly meeting, national woodturner Jamie Donaldson guided class participants through the process of making their own Winged Square Turning and Winged Bowl. He covered the process of sharpening the tools as well.

Segmented Vessel Week

It was segmented vessel week at OVWG in August.  Jess Parrett led a two-part hands-on class that provided techniques for creating segments using a table saw sled, gluing segments into rings, and gluing rings on the lathe to create a rough vessel blank to finish at home.  Dan Gingerich, John Peters, and Terry Elfers provided instructional support and shared various techniques in making segmented pieces.

Offset Plate:

Bob Henrickson led the group in turning a different sort of plate by creating a plate using both offsets and tilts to produce a striking effect. The domed center provided a focal point for embellishment. Using a jam chuck, the back side of the platter was shaped into an ‘ogee’ curve. 

Cheese Platter:

KC Kendall provided the ingredients to create a cheese platter with a marble insert.  A tasty tip to share - repurpose a mortise.  A mortise on the top side is used to finish the bottom side of the platter.  If the marble insert in the center is set up to be removable, the mortise can also be used to hold a similar sized bowl for chip dip.

Introduction to Woodturning and the OVWG Learning Center

The latest group of new members attended the free monthly orientation to the Ohio Valley Woodturners Guild and our Learning Center. They were acquainted with a brief history of the OVWG that started back in 1988 and how we've grown as a friendly group of people who love to turn wood. The operation of the Learning Center was reviewed and how this great resource can help the journey of learning to turn wood and finding out what kinds of things you can make. 

Safety is a high priority for the OVWG in all of our activities. The parts of the lathe were reviewed and how to be safe when working on the lathe, as well as use of other tools in the workshop. An introduction to sharpening was provided as well.

Attendees used the lathes for spindle turning as a hands on introduction to woodturning by making a bead & cove stick, since beads and coves are the key design elements of many things around us every day. 

Embellishment Tools & Techniques

As an intermediate class, attendees observed the use of a variety of embellishment tools and the associated turning techniques for each, and was then able to try each out on the lathe. Demonstrated tools included the following:

• Point Tool
• Knurling Tool
• Chatter Tool
• Spiraling Tool
• Beading Tool
• Teardrop Tool
• Elf Tool

Intermediate Skills: Jam Chucks

In the July Intermediate Skill Building session, techniques using jam chucks to turn and shape round objects were demonstrated. Attendees created a jam chuck to hold a round work piece in place for turning and repositioning as needed to create a desired shape.

Intermediate Skills: Ball-and-Cup

It was time to have fun making a Ball-and-Cup toy in Bev Connelly’s Skill Building Session for Intermediate members.  In a round about way, the session started with making a sphere and then designing a cup to fit the sphere - all from the same workpiece blank.  Techniques included sphere making, hollowing with a Forster bit, caliper measure, and creating pieces that fit inside another. With Bev and Mark’s expert guidance in efficiently turning the workpieces, the biggest challenge was catching the ball in the cup.