FEBRUARY 2019 What’s Inside PREZ SEYZ Page 2 GALLERY OF BOWLS Page 4 TEN HARDEST WOODS Page 12 USE OF SPACER BLOCKS WITH PENS Page 15 PEN WOOD OF MONTH Page 18 Purpleheart Tree PREZ SEYZ 2 Hey woodturners, How you doing? What can I say, just keep shoveling! So much for a mild win- ter. As most of you are aware, the February meeting was canceled because of weath- er. If you didn't get the email notice, I apologize. It may have gone out on an older mailing list. So that being a situa- tion, if you need to send info out to club members, make sure you have the latest list. You can get it from Randy. If you have bowls yet for "Feed My People " please contact me at [email protected] and I will get them from you. Each of you who are signed up to do a demo at a club meeting, please just move your demo forward one month. If that can't work, let me know. We are always looking for new ideas for demos for club meetings. If you would like a demonstration on a given area of wood turning, let me know and we will try to get in in the schedule. For those of you who like to turn natural edge bowls, now is the time to cut the trees before the sap starts to flow. The bark is less likely to loosen. Obviously because on no meeting this month our letter will be somewhat shorter. I give Tom credit for his creativity in making it informative, Thanks Tom ! Well again as Bugs Bunny sez, "That's all folks" Prez Duane. 3 Because of the weather, the Febru- ary meeting was cancelled and this month’s demo and Show and Tell is missing from this issue. The scheduled demonstrations will be moved ahead a month subject to demonstrator availability. Our sincere apologies to those members who weren’t informed and showed up for the meeting. To cancel a meeting was unprece- dented and there was no set pro- cedure to deal with it. We will do better next time. 4 Bob Eberhart Lamp and multiple Walnut bowls 5 Barry Grill Segmented Vase and multiple bowls of various woods 6 Bob Hindal Multiple bowls with enhancement with burned in animal figures 7 Fred Steffens Two reverse turned Walnut bowls and an Apple bowl Jack Corey Several natural edged bowls and 2 other bowls 8 Mary Weider Chipped carved box Several Walnut reversed turned and natural edge Several other bowls—type not stated 9 Mary Weider Closer view of the Old World Chip Carved box 10 Joe Felling Two Butternut bowls on right side and bowls of a variety of woods Unknown Turner A Walnut bowl and a cup of unknown wood 11 Photographer Mary Weider took these pictures at the February Coffee and Chips. These bowls do not represent all that were contributed but only those that were brought on Saturday. While I have tried to be accurate in given credit to the proper turner of these bowls I was not there at the beginning of the photographing of these bowls . Though an attempt was made to identify the turners, accuracy is not guaranteed. Verbal thrashings will be accepted for errors and restitution will be made promptly. Feed My People Empty Bowls Event Thursday March 7, 2019 Florian Gardens 2340 Lorch Ave, Eau Claire. Wisconsin Ten Hardest Woods 12 1. Australian Buloke An ironwood tree that is native to Australia, this wood comes from a species of tree occurring across most of Eastern and Southern Australia. Known as the hardest wood in the world, this particular type has a Janka hardness of 5,060 lbf. (Also known as Bull-Oak) 2. Schinopsis brasiliensis A species of flowering plant in the cashew family, the schinopsis brasiliensis originates in Brazil and creates an extremely tough wood of 4,800 lbf. Due to this immense hardness and strength, this wood is often used in construction. (Also called Quebacho and Ironwood). 3. Schinopsis balansae A hardwood tree, the schinopsis balansae is a tree which makes up large areas of forest in Argentina and Paraguay. Reaching a whop- ping 24 metres in height at times, the tree’s wood is extremely hard, at 4,570 lbf. (Variation of Schinopsis brasiliensis– willow leaf variety). 4. Lignum vitae A trade wood, lignum vitae comes from trees of the genus Guaiacum which are indigenous to the Caribbe- an as well as the northern coast of South America. This wood has been used since the 16th century, combining strength, density and tough- ness at an impressive 4,500 lbf in the Janka hardness test. 5. Piptadenia Macrocarpa 13 This wood has a Janka hardness rating of 3,840 lbf, making it suita- ble for a variety of construction projects. It comes from a tree na- tive to areas including Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. 6. Snakewood Snakewood has a Janka rating of 3,800 lbf, and is an exotic hardwood which is particularly prized for the highly figured grain it exhibits. Originating from South America, it is used in a variety of projects requiring tough, dense wood. 7. Brazilian Olivewood With a Janka rating of 3,700, this wood is an exotic, attractive choice. Combining its pleasing aesthetic with properties including toughness and strength, exotic household furniture can seriously benefit from its presence. 8. Brazilian Ebony A dense, heavy wood originating from Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, this wood has a Janka rating of 3,692. Par- ticularly good for the construction of decking and planking, this wood is not only hard and durable, but shock- resistant, making it an attractive yet extremely practical and cost-effective choice in the long-run. 9. Brazilian Walnut Originating in Central and South America, this wood has a grain that varies from straight to irreg- ular or interlocked. With a Janka hardness rating of 3,684, this wood can be used for a number of pro- jects, whether indoor or outdoor. Usually called Ipe Brazilian walnut). 10. African Pearwood 14 This is species of tree is found in Ango- la, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Nigeria. With a natural habi- tat of tropical moist lowland forests, the wood itself has a Janka hardness rating of 3,680 lbf. (Also called Moabi). https://www.hitchcockandking.co.uk/h-k-news/top-10-hardest- woods-world/ Opinions vary as to which woods are the hardest. A list in the Wood Database differs from the one above. https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/top-ten-hardest- woods/ Lists of woods by Janka Hardness can vary whether the list is do- mestic woods vs exotic woods or whether the list is a combination of both. www.bellforestproducts.com/info/janka-hardness/https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test Interesting Product for Woodturners In the latest AAW News there was a short article about a product called the Staybowlizer. It was made and sold for use with mixing bowls but can be used for a variety of uses in the kitchen. One AAW member tried this product out in the shop and found it can be a very good stabilizer for sanding bowls. Comes in a variety of colors. There seems to be only one size. Prices can vary from $9.99 on ebay to over $30.00 on other sites. Use of Spacer Blocks Turning Pen Blanks 15 Now and then in some phase of woodworking one needs to use a spacer block. I use one most regularly with my Pen Press. I use the Milescraft Turners Pen Press that has plastic spacer blocks at- tached to the press. Usually this works fine but occasionally there is a need for a half block which I usually supply with a 3/8” wide piece of wood. Other types such as Woodcraft’s WoodRiver Deluxe Pen Press and Savannah’s Deluxe Pen Press provide an adjustment screw in which you can move the press cylinder so that it can be used to fit all pen sizes and a space block is never needed. I have found this type to be a little more work than the Milescraft. Another variety of Pen Press is Penn States Disassembler which can also assemble pens. The Disassembler works great but the assembly part is a bit putsy. A space block is never needed here either. But back to the subject which really is the use of spacer blocks on a mandrel when turning pen blanks. (Oh no! Not another pen arti- cle). Pen kit instruction sheets will show the setup for turning pen blanks with a spacer. Most will show the spacers as being extra 7mm bushings. Only Craft Supplies USA occasionally shows some spacers being made of wood. Is there really a difference? Yes, there is a difference. The differ- ence is not the performance of the metal bushings spacers vs. the wood spacers. Both perform just as well in the turning. The prob- lem with bushings is that they are made of soft metal and under pressure of tightening the blanks on the mandrel, the bushings get pressed. To be more specific, the bushing that is next to the tapered metal part of a mandrel saver on the head stock (or screw adjustments on the regular mandrels) get pressed into these metal parts and cannot be easily removed. I tried to get around this by putting a larger bushing made of a harder metal at the head stock end but it too became stuck along with the 7mm bushing on the pen blank.