August 28th 2021:

Prescott Area Woodturners met at the YEI Building at 6708 Corsair on Saturday, August 28, 2021. There were 35 members and one visitor in attendance, with 28 in the room at YEI and 8 watching on Zoom. Four new members joined the club just before the meeting.

President Ken Allen called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. This meeting was the first of the Interactive Remote Demonstrations (IRDs) to be held by the club. Ken made a few brief announcements before the IRD began. The next Chips ‘n Grits discussion will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, September 8th at 8:30 a.m. The bowls that will be donated to Empty Bowls and turned objects to be donated to the Kiwanis Club were on display on the tables in the middle room at YEI. He asked those members who had made objects to stay for a picture after the demonstration. He announced that Mark Oglesby is collecting shirts for PAW logos until the first week of September. Show and Tell would be held after the demo. Joel Brooks has accepted the position of the Safety Chair. Ken expressed thanks to Dave Smith for his work in that position earlier in the year. He also announced that the upcoming IRDs will be Mike Mahoney on September 25th and Trent Bosch on October 23rd. Ken said that the Board of Directors had decided that these IRDs would be paid through members’ dues, so everyone should relax and enjoy the demo.

Program Director Gene Perryman had arranged for this first IRD to be given by Pat Carroll from Ireland. Gene introduced Pat and gave a short biography. Pat had been a carpenter and builder until he took night classes on woodturning and that captured his interest. His work is featured in collections around the world and in some publications. He recently presented at the AAW Virtual Symposium.

Pat is now focused on giving IRDs to help turners learn to make projects. His upcoming IRDs can be found at https://www.patcarrollwoodturning.com/index.php/interactive-remote-demonstrations/live-interactive-remote-demonstrations. He also has a series called “Meet the Woodturner.” The next session is Sunday, September 5th at 7pm Irish time. Visit Pat’s website at https://patcarrollwoodturning.com/index.php/meet-the-woodturner/sign-up to be added to the mailing list and receive the link to join.
We learned that Pat had built a separate shop just for IRDs with the sound and cameras set to give clarity to the people watching his demonstrations. However, technical difficulties can happen to anyone, and his system dropped before he could start his demonstration. His daughter gave updates through Zoom while he rebooted everything.

Ken asked members to bring their Show and Tell items to the front of the room so that everyone could enjoy their work while waiting for Pat. Several members had brought items to show and share their stories about making them.

Pat Carroll was then ready to start his demonstration on making a square box with a lid and finial. He showed examples of completed boxes. He told us that he’d learned from Richard Raffan that, when a piece is made from different woods, make part of it black so the grain of one doesn’t detract from the design.

Then he mounted a 2” thick, 6” square piece of olive on the lathe to begin forming the bowl shape. He showed proper tool position to safely cut the wood with the spinning corners of the wood. He was an excellent demonstrator who frequently described safe practices, described the tools he was using, and made sure that both camera positions gave good views of his work. He stopped turning frequently to inspect the work and describe his thought processes. Pat explained that the oil from olive can clog tools and showed how he keeps his tools clean. He also showed his tool sharpening technique and gave some tips for sanding the piece. He then showed how to make a recess for the lid and turn out the center of the bowl.

His next step was to reverse the bowl. He talked about several ways to support the bowl on the lathe and then showed how he turned this part of the bowl to follow the curves on the top surface. Despite Pat’s excellent sound system, a sudden monsoon rain pounded the roof of YEI so some of his description was difficult to hear for a few minutes. However, his cameras were so clear that members were able to follow the steps of the demonstration. Ken pointed out that Pat will be sending a link so members can rewatch this demo over the next two weeks and hear what was missed.

Pat used a piece of beech for the lid. He showed how to mount and turn that piece while talking through the process of fitting it so it compliments the bowl shape. He also used beech to make a finial for the lid. His plan was to make the lid black so he described dyes and ebonizing lacquer as a few products he uses.

Pat stopped at intervals to ask questions, but he was such a thorough demonstrator that members had few questions. Gene Perryman made an excellent choice when he enlisted Pat Carroll to provide our first IRD.

After the demonstration, some of the members who’d contributed to Empty Bowls and Kiwanis gathered near the tables in the middle room for photos. Our generous members had made 106 bowls for Empty Bowls and 17 items for the Kiwanis Club.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Allen, Substitute Secretary