CWA NEWSLETTER (LETTERS FROM LOCKDOWN NO.3)

​Hi All
Starting this one off with a contribution from me.
I decided to take advantage of the lockdown by having a good clear out of the shed and rearranging of
various bits of kit. First on the list was re-routing the dust extractor trunking from the lathe.
My lathe sits on a bench with a cupboard under and the bench against a wall. Behind the wall is a small
store in which I keep the dust extractor. I had originally had the bright idea (or so I thought) of fitting a
plastic hopper head in the bench top under the lathe to catch all the woodchips. It was effective to a point
but, as we know, woodchips go everywhere and not where we want them to. I had a separate smaller
suction tube for dust linked in but it tended to get in the way. One of the major disadvantages was that the
routing of the trunking involved 3 x 90 deg bends. As any engineer will tell you every sharp bend reduces
the flow of air, so I was obviously not using the power of the extractor to best effect. Another was that,
when collecting chips, especially with green wood, the system was prone to blockages.

I had decided to take the extraction directly through the wall so reducing bends to a minimum. The hopper head was removed from the bench top without too much bother and then positioned against the wall to mark the size of the hole I would need. Once this was knocked out and cleaned up I could fit the hopper head through the wall on a light frame.

​Having got the hopper secured I then had to rework the trunking behind

I have also had to fill the hole in the bench top. I will, at some point make a new bench top but not today!.

Job done! The suction is much better. The larger shavings still go everywhere but the dust goes where it’s
meant to. Down the pipe. You might well ask why such a large extractor for a lathe. It was bought primarily
as a chip extractor for the planer thicknesser and saw table. It has twin inlet ports so being able to use such
a powerful extractor on the lathe was a bonus. I’m a lucky boy!

​All I need to do now is improve my turning.

Here’s one from Mike Earl.
Here is a photo of a platter I turned recently. I believe the wood is Parana pine. It came from a bit of the
original staircase in our house. No worries, we have another staircase now!
The two parallel lines are veneer that Gordon brought to one of the club meetings. The platter is
approximately 22cm diameter. I simply sliced the blank and glued the veneer in before putting it on the
lathe .

And one from Chris Clements.
In between decorating and gardening I have been stick making and woodturning.
I have made two sticks, a horn crook and a horn trout, the latter has been published in this month's Stick
maker magazine.
As for woodturning I have done three boxes and as it was our wedding anniversary I asked Bernie to select
one as a gift edit.

ou may recall Pete Osborn showed us some natural edge bowls he had made for a local restaurant,
L’Enclume in Cartmel no less. The chef, Tom Barnes, used them for serving his pudding entry in “The Great
British Menu” They were spotted by Jon Gibb (didn’t have you down as a foodie Jon!) who told Pete who,
with some technical input from his son, watched it on “Catch Up” and downloaded some screen shots
which are shown below.

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Tom won the Northwest heat. The bowls, of course, made all the difference. The food, just some
concoction of sponge, pears and honey ice cream, was incidental. One of the judges did make a favourable
comment on the bowls!
Now I have probably broken all sorts of copyright laws by including the above so please don’t tell anyone.
Actually, thinking about it, I can blame Pete as he lifted them off the screen.

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It’s a quiz!!. Ian H sent me this photo and asked me if I knew what it was. I got it half right. Can you do
better? Let me know. Answer in next letter from lockdown.
Have you made something unusual that would provide a brain teaser? Send it along for a future letter.
That’s all for this letter. Thank you all for your contributions. I have more tucked away for the next one, or even two. Keep ‘em coming. Doesn’t have to be all turning as you have seen. Hand
crafted items are always of interest whatever they are (but no knitting patterns thanks)
Don ~~~2nd May 2020​

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