January 22nd 2022:
Prescott Area Woodturners met at the YEI building, 6708 Corsair in the Prescott Airpark, on Saturday January 22, 2022.
President Ken Allen called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. He welcomed the 30 people who attended in person and 9 on Zoom. Ken called on Membership Chair Jay Loden, who said that we will not be using membership cards, because we now have business cards. Instead he has made new name tags with the current year. Folks can show those to vendors who give discounts to club members.
Ken reminded us that 2022 dues are now due, and that members who have not paid will be dropped from the email lists as of February 1st.
Ken announced that this is the first meeting at which the two new club computers are in use. So far, this appears to be a good choice of equipment. He also called attention to the tubs of wood which had been donated, and encouraged folks to pick out some and donate an appropriate amount to the treasury.
Recalling the PAW Holiday Dinner, Ken said that we had a good turnout, enjoyed good food and service, such that we have already reserved for next year! Importantly, at that meeting we identified the Turner of the Year: Kathy Allen. He asked Kathy to come forward, and she did, wearing the TOTY cap.
Ken announced that Vice President Mark Oglesby will take over hosting the Chips & Grits Zoom meetings each month. Mark said that he hoped to, occasionally during the year, share hosting with others. It is always good to have more than one person trained to do any task.
Ken then said that Program Director Gene Perryman had arranged for three IRDs during the coming year, to be paid for with our dues (see reminder above).
Ken announced that, per the By-Laws, there are 2 PAW Scholarships available this year. Further information can be found in Policy 4 Scholarships on the PAW website. There you will find a form to fill out, giving the Board of Directors all the information they will need to decide the award.
Also this year, and only this year, there will be 3 Ed Jones Memorial Scholarships available. In this case, also, the information is on the website: Policy 4A. Each Ed Jones Scholarship reimburses up to $700 for expenses related to a hands-on class in wood turning. All scholarships require that the winner of the scholarship demonstrate skills learned at a PAW general meeting.
Applications for any of these scholarships must be received by March 1. Ken urged everyone to consider taking advantage of this opportunity.
Ken also announced that the Board has made changes to Policy 1, Membership. The revised Policy can be found on the website.
Ken Allen announced that he has, regretfully, accepted the resignation of Gene Perryman to the post of Program Director. He thanked Gene for arranging programs for each of the General Meetings this year, three of which will be Interactive Remote Demonstrations by noted wood turners. This means that PAW will need a new Program Director. Board member Ric Davis has volunteered to move from Events Chair to Program Director, for which Ken thanked Ric. However, we now need an Events Chairman.
Ken asked for volunteers, but also said that he would be contacting people. Ken warned that if we have no Events Chairman, we might have no sale opportunities this year.
Librarian Kathy Allen told us that the Library has received a collection of DVDs from Ed Jones. Those are on display in the Library area at the back of the meeting space. Also displayed are several FREE books and magazines. Those not claimed today will be donated to the Public Library.
Ken Allen introduced today’s demonstrator: Gene Perryman. Gene had planned to demonstrate his unique way of creating a segmented bowl using tree limbs. However, an intense bout with Covid got in the way of his preparations. Instead, he showed how he embellished a “plane Jayne” bowl with slices of tree limbs imbedded in resin. Gene used pictures to illustrate how he removed a matching section from each side of the bowl, then used slices cut from tree limbs to fill the space.
Gene showed us that he used hot glue to affix a piece of lacquer-coated light cardboard behind the cut-outs. He chose branches from various species of wood, including cholla, to make the disks that filled the spaces. To create the outside barrier for resin, Gene used industrial plastic that might be used as a vapor barrier in construction. This material is pliable enough to enclose disks of different thicknesses but also to adhere tightly to the original bowl. Hot glue again was the initial fastener, but that was further secured with duct tape.
Gene fills the resin in small quantities, poured slowly so the resin settled into the spaces between the disks. He does not use a pressure pot. His pieces are air-cured. He uses MICA POWDER to color the resin.
He created the lid for the bowl using similar steps.
Gene was urged to show us the process he had originally planned to demonstrate, so he brought a large sack from behind the table upon which he was demonstrating and dumped its contents. We saw slices of branches and an open segment vessel that had blown apart. Gene had been preparing this piece for today’s demonstration when a coughing fit caused the tool he was using to catch. He said he was able to find most of the pieces and glue them again, but the piece is not fully repairable. The premise he envisioned was to use disks cut from the limbs of various species of trees, stacked around a base. The spaces between the disks would become the open segments in the finished work.
He began with a waste block, to which he affixed a wire guide that he made sure was at 90º. The first layer was arranged so that individual disks extended approximately the same distance from the outer edge of the base, then glued into place. He used a paper disk that was the finished size, with a hole in the center for that 90º wire, to align the disks. Using this guide made sure the vessel remained round as he added layers.
We all look forward to the day when Gene brings to Show & Tell a finished open segment vessel made from tree limbs!
After a short break, but before we began Show & Tell, Gary Frank showed the safety hood he recently acquired. He said that, because of his beard, the kind he had been using didn’t seal as well as it should. This one has a rechargeable battery that forces air down over his face. The unit is lighter weight, better balanced, seals better around his beard, and is quiet. It is the “Powercap” from Pekesafety. More information can be found at pekesafety.com.
Show & Tell followed. The meeting adjourned at 3:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Marge Hunt, Secretary