Woodworkers 2025 Renewal

Pen Blanks(Apple)         Carving design /Template(Lawrence)    Birch Bowl Blank-20% Humidity

February 3,2026:

Attendance:Paul  Murphy , Arno Raymakers Jason Hiltz, Jim MacLean, Lawrence Martell, Rick MacDonald

The group began a renaissance of the biweekly meeting in mid 2025. The meetings are held  from 1 pm to 3 pm at the workshop of Lawrence Martell in Howie Center. So far the membership is limited. The first few workshops discussed:

A home made refrigerator kiln. This was demonstrated by Lawrence during the first session and was an ingenious project.

Sharpening hand saws and bandsaw blades was discussed in the second session

Carving basics was the topic in the third session

Pen making on the Taig lathe was the fourth session

Gold Guild techniques was the topic for today. Lawrence went over the use of Moawk sizing to lay down the gold and did a demo with a small piece that Paul brought. It was a "coaster" made of either plastic of metal and had grouped squares with  a recessed design. It worked very nicely. The trick is not to apply the gold until the sizing is just a little tacky and once applied stipple the gold in by dabbing the brush into the workpiece if it is three dimensional. Use a brush  or forceps to pick up the gold. Rub the brush into your hair and the static electricity will pick up the gold. A pencil eraser works as well.

Lawrence also demonstrated how to trace a carving design  onto a workpiece. Draw the image first on paper. Use a sharp awl to put small spaced holes along the drawing lines.Apply the paper to the wood. Push the awl into the wood at the location of the holes.  Then use a pencil to  connect the dots on the wood to create the image . Refine the image. Apply several  coats of finish like lacquer before starting to carve.Then use a sharp carving tool to cut out the design. Slow a steady is the  rule.  Use a small  curved file to sand out the design smoothly. Lawrence also discussed the types of paint to use on a vase before doing the gold fill part. Acrylic paint is good: One can buy it at Michaels Arts store. One has to sand each coat to a fine finish before applying Lacquer. 

Paul had a birch bowl turning that had some defects like cracks and small voids . It was 20 degrees humidity. He convinced Lawrence to try to dry it in the fridge lathe! We also discussed various epoxies to use for filling voids in wood. Some dry rapidly with an exothermic reaction (the epoxy gets hot!). Others dry slowly:eg Boat repair epoxy which is very porous and seeps deeply into wood. It takes 72 hours to cure.

Paul had a silicone tray he uses to bathe the wood in epoxy to fill defects and fissures in small wood pieces for pen turning. The epoxy stabilizes the wood for turning so that chip out is avoided. See photo above.

Arno demonstrated the use of the Veritas MK2 Power  sharpening system. It provides a simple way to get a razor sharp edge and micro-bevel on an edge. The machine is compact but the down side is that it is expensive.

Jason Hiltz brought some  lathe tools he bought at Canadian Tire and we discussed their use. NOTE: Gently soften/round the edge of the flat tools (Scrapers and skews) so that the edge does not dig into the tool rest.

Jim MacLean demonstrated and distributed to each member some ear rings he made from Canadian coins.

We agreed to add using spray guns to our topics for upcoming sessions.

Other topics for our meetings: 

Basic grinding of tools—best grinders, various profiles and grinder safety
Bring an unusual/obsolete tool for discussionTuning the table saw -basics
Jigs : Jigs for hand tools; (eg the miter jig-how to build one that is task specific); table saw jigs for specific tasks:  bring the jig and demonstrate it eg: crosscut sleds of various types
Crown molding jigs (Lawrence!)
Sanding tips
Painting tips
Melting  and forming metal for jewellery (Jim)

Morticing table saw

Jim Hiltz, Jim MacLean, Shawn, Keenan, Arno, Miles, Rick, John, Lawrence, Paul

Leo demonstrated finishing a piece of Mahogany using the Spray -on vs Paint- on Shellac technique
Half the board was done with each technique.

Spray on a thin 4:1 dilution of Blond shellac
Alternatively paint on the shellac. Use a dry brush method. i.e Apply a layer of shellac and keep brushing the surface until it becomes almost dry

Let it dry

Then apply a small amount of Methyl Hydrate (Methanol best but hard to get) and sand the surface to produce a beading or peeling as it melts the shellac and then add a little paint thinner and sand this shellac peeling into the grain
Build up 3-4 layers or more
Do this in a low humidity room . If it is humid , water will bead on the surface. (This also applies to Lacquer)

Once the grain is filled (after a few coats) , then start sanding to produce a finished surface
Start with 280 grit and sand using paint thinner  (not water)
Go up to 2500 gradually:  wipe off each time with paper towel before going to the next grit
Then use a rubbing compound (car waxing rubbing compound)
Then use Cesium Oxide (this will still cut the surface)
Then use Carnuba wax-small amount (this does not cut)  and again paint thinner to rub it on
The result is identical whether you spray or brush on the shellac. Spraying has the advantage of allowing you to do irregular surfaces better, but the disadvantage of having to clean the spray equipment thoroughly.


We then went to the Table project. This is a long-term learning project.

Some people had drawings prepared, John and Arno in particular
Arno brought a good supply of Maple and Birch boards for everyone.

Step 1: The top:determine the thickness and dimensions

If you want a thickness of 3/4 inches, the boards have to be dressed to 13/16 to glue up
They will then be planed to 3/4

Assess the rough boards for suitability.
Choosing wisely, Cross cut the long board into shorter pieces that will be sufficiently long to make the top dimensions that you have drafted

Then one rips these pieces into narrower boards
It is usually necessary to rip off various widths so as to avoid defects and knots.
The result is an assembly of narrow boards to glue up. One can use shorter segments of the "bad" pieces for the drawers, runners etc.

In glue-up, Pay attention to end grain orientation. The end grain of each board should be in opposite directions so as to avoid "cupping". Nonetheless, one has to sacrifice this "ideal" approach so as to get the best match for the top surface of the finished glue up. One has to play around with the boards to get the best result.
•••Remember that the surface grain should go in the same direction as well so as when planing, tear out is minimal. That means that you need to know how to figure out the grain direction of a board !

Tips:

Use chalk -not pencil-to rough mark boards for initial cutting
If you need to get three boards from a piece that is pretty narrow ( eg for the legs), mark out the leg tapers on a cardboard template and then apply this to the stock piece and cut it with a band saw. This can optimize the use of your stock.

Keenan and John..letting on that they know what they're doing

Arno's design in the rough

John's design-clearly the best in the drafting phase (so far!)

John, Paul, Jim Hiltz, Jim MacLean, Shawn, Keenan, Arno (Rick was ill tonight)

Paul had a long 1.5  x 1.5 inch bed support and asked how to match up a series of 26 drilled holes from the original (broken) piece, to the new piece

Leo suggested using dowel pins. This worked well.

Shawn brought a turned oak bowl-wood salvaged from a Louisbourg cannon mount. Leo showed how to use a wire cord to burn a decorative line near the top of the bowl, which highlights the turning

We discussed the wisdom of doing a Table project and everyone was interested in this. This involves making a small end table. The whole process brings many woodwork skills into play.

1 Decide on the dimensions: height, length and width  of the top , drawer opening
2 Make a drawing -three projections of the project (Orthographic drawing)
3 Select the wood and make a material list eg 4 legs of 30 inches  each would need 120 inches of that wood dimension (finished length )


Leo discussed the Golden Ratio  (10/6) and Fibonacci number series: 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34 etc ( the previous two numbers are added to get the next number). The Golden ration and Fibonacci series are seen in nature eg. length of the leaves on a fern, length of the bones in a man. The 10/6 dimensions seem to be most pleasing to the eye :eg the typical picture frames, desk and table tops  use this ratio

Leo discussed filling wood
Cherry, Maple,Beech need no filling
Most other woods need filling as the grain pores are open

Shellac can be used to fill--(epoxy is good as well)
Sanding blocks made from layers of ceiling tile glued together work well
Apply a thin coat of shellac to the wood
(Use shellac flakes dissolved in Methyl hydrate in a 4:1 ratio -4 volumes  of the methyl hydrate to 1 volume of the flakes)
Once dry, dab on methyl hydrate and sand the shellac layer until it begins to peel-roll
Then  dab on Paint thinner and sand the rollings back into the wood to fill the grain
Do this repeatedly until the grain is filled

***Minutes from 2012-The Table Project

We began work on the table project.

Step 1 Sketch a design
Eg top 18x16,, drawer, leg shape

Step 2 Material list

Choose stock for top: 6-8% moisture content is best

Leo chose a large board of cherry and cut it into 18 inch pieces--three for the top
Flatten one side on the jointer, choosing grain direction to minimize tear out
Flatten the second side on the thickness planer again being careful with grain direction

Leo demonstrated a jig to use the jointer as a thicknesser..see photos:

When one side is flattened, run the board along the table saw to make a cut along the top and bottom edges; there will be a rough section left in the center; run the board along the sled jig to remove this section until that side is flat and it should be parrallel with the opposite face now.




Next joint the edges of the boards.
Place the first board “marked side” in to the fence and the next board “marked side” out so that any discrepency in the jointer fence is cancelled out as the boards meet.

When boards are planed, align them with the end grain patterns alternating up and down if possible but the main thing is to get the top surface matching for pattern and grain direction.
Line them up and draw a reference mark along the top so that they can be reassembled correctly.

Glue up the panel , making sure the edges are flat and the joints flush.
Pinch together one end of the panel with a clamp. If the opposite end separates, the joints are not good.
Leo demonstrated his new jig for bowl turning.
He went over carbide blades, describing microcrystalline manufacturing.

Leo described how a thickneser works.
There are rollers that drag the wood through and the cutter rotates on top of the board.
The rollers tend to tip the board as it enters and leaves, leaving snipe at both ends.
The best machines have four rollers..two at each end so that the board is kept level as it rides along two rollers on entry and again on exit. Click the picture below to see a sketch of what this means!

From Table project

We need to make the panel and turn four legs by next session.

Table project

Rick, Paul, Shawn, Keenan, Jim Hiltz, Arno were in attendance tonight.

Rick brought a guest: Bastien Pinot. Bastien is  Rick's neighbour on the New Boston Road. He is from France and enjoys woodwork.

This was a fun evening for all hands.

Paul worked on laying out mortices for a child's bed and then drilled out the mortices  on Leo's  Morticer machine. It is important to lay out the mortices on each piece accurately, using a good square . The side rails of the bed should be positioned toward the outside of the posts rather than centered. The mortice width should be slightly smaller than the width of the side rails so as to hide the mortice recess.  Make sure that the mortice on one face does not interfere with the adjacent face mortice; i.e pay attention to the depth of the mortice.

Keenan is also in the process of making a bed for his brother and was interested in the morticing methods.

Shawn is still experimenting with chucking methods for the lathe. He had a nice oak piece that was securely mounted to his faceplate and turned nicely.

Rick worked on his "birdseye maple" bowl. It is quite beautiful. It is almost finished and  in record time for Rick--about six months!

Arno had some plates he made for the MicMac game Waltes , and he turned the bases off on the lathe to get rid of the foot.

This is a picture of the plate used for the Waltes game of dice. Arno has been making these on request from Membertou .







Jim Hiltz quietly observed the proceedings with a critical eye.

Below-The Morticing machine

The important aspect of this machine is the rigid , adjustable , rock solid base . This allows one to move the stock forward and back accurately  and to secure the stock firmly .  Of course it is Leo's design. Each mortice is done without disturbing the settings so as they all are accurate. The first cut is challenging as there is nowhere for the shavings to escape. It can be difficult to raise the cutter from the stock as the cut is pretty tight . Once the first cut is done, one takes a subsequent cut no more than half the width of the chisel(cutter), depending on the hardness of the stock being cut.

Keenan, Paul, Rick, Jim Hiltz, Arno, Shawn, John

Leo is back in production!

Started with a demonstration of how to divide a line into a set number of equal parts. This is useful when you have  an odd length eg 6.75 inches that you want to divide into equal segments
Draw the line
Lay out another line above  at any angle
Mark the diagonal with the number of divisions you need eg make a mark every 2 inches until you have the correct number of divisions--in this case 7 segments
Use a bevel to connect the marks on the diagonal to the base line
Your line  will have 7 equal divisions



Rick worked on a bowl
Paul worked on placing small hinges for a novelty box, using the marking tool and chisel to remove the wood so as the hinge sets in perfectly.
A sharp marking tool is essential. Be sure the bevel of the marker is correctly orientated so that you get a sharp cut on the INDIDE of your hinge marks

Leo spent some time discussing Chucks and helping the others choose a chuck to suit their lathe

John, Paul, Rick, Arno, Keenan, Shawn, Miles, Jim Hiltz

Paul worked on the vase project

Rick worked on his bowl

Leo discussed using shellac for finishing
Use 280 sand paper  and methyl hydrate to rub the dry shellac. The shellac will roll off a little. Keep rubbing this material into the wood to fill the grain.
Paint thinner can work as well.

Bring a piece of mahogany next session to practice finishing

Fall Start: September 4/18

Paul, Jim Hiltz, Shawn, Robert, Arno, Jim MacNeil, Miles

Shawn brought the completed shelf project: sliding dovetail joinery: no glue or nails
Miles brought some wooden toys he made

Leo Helped Paul mount the vase blank, pine.
The blank was trued to some extent
A round was created near the tailstock end to place the steady rest wheels
A Machinist end mill was used to start a tailstock hole
Then gradually larger bits were used to enlarge the hole to a good depth
Forstner bits were used for  the larger diameters

Jim MacLean is selling a Lathe  with a duplicator

Planing Basics: Large Vase turning:

(The Constellation Orion was beautifully  visible tonight , facing south,  right over Leo's house )

Attendance:

Lawrence Martell returns to the Fold! We welcome back the Fiddle Prince
Arno, Shawn, Keenan, Jim Hiltz, Miles, Paul, John, Rick

Leo discussed the basics of planing , explaining how the "angle of attack" is what make the difference in proper planing technique. A Jack plane can be made to act like a low angle block plane by skewing the plane at an angle. Wooden planes are superior because of their light weight and the fact that they can be tuned quickly and accurately with slight taps of a mallet. Of course a few years of practice makes perfect.

Rick worked on the bowl lathe
Unfortunately, Jim Hiltz brought the wrong chuck and had to be disqualified tonight.
Miles arrived late and his hair was in a shamble , rivalled only by Keenan's--no surprise there!
Lawrence was present but had no purpose..seemed lost, but at least he found us again!
Arno showed up having missed the last session--his excuse was  acceptable

Paul prepared the screw bolt for the large vase by painting it with Parting agent. Three coats are needed and then a coat of wax is applied to the bolt. Fill the hole part way with the epoxy/ wood dust mixture.  (You should have drilled some epoxy release holes at the edges of the main center hole).  Place the bolt in the predrilled 3 inch hole and get it as solidly and squarely perpendicular as possible using wedges.  Let it set for however long your epoxy is designed to set. Remove the bolt and coat the remaining part with parting agent. Screw the bolt back into the hole. Then fill the rest of the hole with the epoxy (Making certain that the parting agent has been well applied first).

When the blank is mounted on the lathe (using the screw bolt in the head stock), there will invariably be a wobble as it turns so that the old center (tailstock end) will not register properly with the tailstock pin.. Glue a small block of wood onto the tailstock end of the blank and use the tailstock point to get the new center of the blank so that you can start turning.

Photos demonstrate some of the points discussed tonight.


Puzzle:How was this turned?            Keenans sanding gadget for the lathe(Antique?)

Arno's identical turnings: pretty good!                                     Leo's vase

Screw chuck dropped into the 3 inch deep hole
Note that the "reduced" end of the bolt is on the outside. Note the nut assembly . Spacer makes it possible to get a wrench around the bottom and top nut separately(need both wrenches applied to lock the assembly)

Leo demonstrates how to add a block of wood to the tailstock end to get a new center. The end is pared off smoothly and a small square block glued on so as a new center can be found. He just nailed this piece of wood in place to make his point.


Have an idea of the intended shape of the vase so you can turn down a section to a small enough diameter for your steady rest.

What's Leo up to here?

Leo is cleaning up a drill attachment that Paul macerated. The mechanism was badly scored and required re-machining and we all know who is the King of Re-machining!

Reamer to drill out the scored hole

Proof of the success of the plane lessons

Shelf Project