We had three gatherings in January - one on January 6th, one on January 12th, and one on January 20th.  Below are photos and descriptions of  the projects discussed during the Show & Tell portion of the meeting, if we received the photos.

Bob Casey loved the Kissmas Tree made by Bill Shea for the club's Holiday Contest and decided to make a few for his family as gifts.  Since he plans to make more,  Bob made a jig for cutting the sides (below).  He also made a case to store the tree. 
​The plans for the tree are in the Dec 2020/Jan 2021 Woodcraft magazine.  Bob noted that he used a 15/16" Forstner bit rather than a 7/8".

Ted Kleege made some gifts for his family.  First, a set of shakers - the maple for salt and the walnut for pepper.  He used kits from Penn State.  Second, a set of BBQ tools with turned handles of oak.  All pieces are finished with rub-on poly.

Jim Farrell makes Christmas gifts in quantities of 10.  Last year it was ornaments.  This year it was bowls of black walnut and curly maple.  Each bowl is 8 1/2" in diameter and 4" tall.  For a finish, Jim used Mahoney's Walnut Oil on the first eight and then moved to Osmo Satin for the last two.

Bruce Meissner made this pizza peel - a replacement - for his nephew using 1/4" thick "scrap" hard maple and cherry.  The overall length is 25" by 15" wide with the handle about 1 3/4" wide.  The ends taper to about 1/8" and all edges are rounded.  He used Titebond III rather than Gorilla Glue for this version thinking the glue joints may have failed.  He added a laser engraved label to the handle signifying the family name.

Rick Keihl turned this pedestal bowl in sections.  The cherry bowl was turned first and is Rick's thinnest turning to date.  He kept the bark areas to enhance the beauty of the piece.  Next he turned a cherry pedestal but it was too short so he added a piece of apple to the bottom and blended it into the cherry.  He then assembled the bowl and finished the whole pieces with Osmo Satin.

Mike Vecellio showed a variety of pieces during the two Show & Tell sessions.  He started by discussing the four pens whose barrels were wrapped with vinyl then cast in clear Alumilite resin.  He had a good friend at Lo-Cal Designworks create the vinyl wraps for him.  The second piece was a maple knife block to hold the set of steak knifes his wife received at Christmas.  For the Turning SIG Show & Tell, he showed five more pens.  The left three in the photo use the "Blade" kits from Exotic Blanks (they are also available through Berea Hardwood).  These all use an all metal Schmidt click mechanism and are finished with friction polish.  The 4th is a Sierra kit with a Pinecone blank.  the 5th is a mechanical pencil kit converted to a pen kit with a Schmidt click mechanism.

Elaine Negrotto entered a Santa carving in the club's Holiday contest.  Her son saw the carving and noted that he looked just like Paul Smith, the man for whom Paul Smith's College is named and where her son went to college.
As a gift for her son, Elaine carved another, this time using more outdoor colors to paint the carving.  She then added a second carving showing the famous leaning tree that was a landmark at the College prior to an "accidental" chopping.  Elaine then added both carvings to this lamp and presented to her son as a Christmas gift.

Rod Castle used his scrap wood to create this variety of Kaleidoscopes which will be added to his Etsy store.  All are about 2 1/4" tall and he uses a 2" wide starting block.  He used a wipe-on poly finish.

Bill Keller makes many Shaker-based products, often implementing client requests into the traditional boxes.  In this case, Bill took a standard #6 size oval box and converted it into a sewing kit for a client in New York City.  The cherry box had a cherry lid and Baltic birch bottom.  Inside the box are two trays for sewing items.  The bottom tray is made from eastern white pin and Bill glued brass rods to hold thread spools.  The cherry top tray holds assorted sewing paraphernalia.  Bill incorporated Shaker style pegs to provide handles for lifting each tray from the box.  Bill finishes his boxes with Mohawk clear gel and then Renaissance Wax.

Don Vanderveer built this hickory table to sit between two chairs.  It will have a basket underneath so there is no bottom shelf.   The photo right shows Don's assembly method including pocket screws and corner blocks for strength.  He noted that the grove is for metal clips to hold the top. Before installing clips, top will be held by four pocket screws.  The 2 opposite on the perpendicular end of the top will be removed after clips are installed to allow for any movement.

David Wheat created this Dudgeons & Dragons Dice Roller.  The dice go through two baffles inside the box and eventually drop down into the tray below which prevents the dice from running away.  The tray folds up over the box for easy storage.

Chad Dawson made a salad bowl set for his wife.  The large bowl is cherry while the six bowls are big leaf maple.  All are finished with Behlen's Salad Bowl finish.
Chad also made 5"  vase out of Monkey Pod (aka Parota), a very dense wood that grows in Hawaii near his family.  Chad pulled out a tool made by Mel Taber several years ago to help turn this vase.  Due to its oily nature, he used Odie's Oil for a finish. 

Dave Grant made this Salt Cellar for his wife, Nancy.  The wood has an orangish tint to it so it may be buckthorn or mulberry.  It is 2 1/4" tall by 2 5/8" wide.  The medallion in the center is an end grain piece of oak that he textured and colored with markers.  He used a nail for the hinge pin and 1 1/8" magnets for the catch.  The finish is Odie's oil.
​Dave also carves.  He recently completed this pine Santa which stands 6 inches tall.  He painted it with acrylics and used a spray clear coat for a finish.  Dave picked up one of the Singing Frog blanks offered to all members as a carving project.  He completed the frog and turned a thing-a-ma-jig rod to make the frog sing!  He decorated it with wire burned rings. 

Doug North carved out some turning time and completed this 14" sycamore platter with a raindrop rim and dyed center.  The bottom is finished with Doug's imprint, sanding sealer, and friction polish.  

Neal Johnson recently completed this set of measuring spoons using a set of maple and walnut glued up blanks. They are finished with the Beall Polishing System.
Neal noted that the size of the spoon markings on the components is hard to see and he will probably add a wood burned graphic to each spoon.  He also stated that the stubs that are epoxied into each handle seem short.

Kyle Matzke is one of several new members and he is very new to turning.  He recently completed this ice cream scoop using an absolutely stunning maple burl.  He also created the seam ripper using a product called DiamonCast.  DiamondCast can be purchased through McKenzie Penworks. 

Larry Prunotto presented two different bowls.  The first was an small Osage Orange bowl for trinkets.  It is 3 inches in diameter and he finished it with Osmo.  The second was a cherry bowl with a segmented rim or spalted maple and purpleheart.  Again, he finished with Osmo but also feels the need to fill the cracks in the bark.

Todd Reilly completed these custom signs for the kids in his local extended family.  He purchased the birch plywood plaques, sanded them smooth, transferred the images to each plaque, and then woodburned them.  Where appropriate, he added

color using water color pencils and then added a spray clear coat for a finish.
He designed the poplar sword, cut it on the scroll saw, and added acrylic paint to highlight the image.

Charlie LaPrease has a friend that needed a top for inside his 85" x 22" x 1" toolbox.  Charlie used ash to build the top then stained the top red and finished the bottom with black dye and liming wax.  It is finished with 3 coats of Osmo Satin.

Initial Layout After Dimensioning the Lumber Using the Planer & Jointer

Staining

Glued & Clamped - You can never have enough clamps! Note the solid surface piece under the top to keep it flat.

Breadboard end was added

Stop block used for drilling holes in breadboard ends. Jigs can be very simple!

Biscuits were used for assembly, Here all the pieces are laid out with the biscuits. Note drilling completed on breadboard end.

Charlie's last turning for 2020 was this small walnut topped English walnut box that is about 3" in diameter.  He used Osmo Satin for the finish.

Ed Siegel completed a variety of turnings.  He turned the "core" of the maple bowl shown during the Holiday party Show & Tell.  He also turned two cherry candlesticks as samples for a local store.  Ed applied milk paint to each - one using green milk paint and the other was white.  Applying the milk paint caused a unique darkening affect on the cherry.  Last, he continues to turn very thin (1/8" thin) forms to practice techniques associated with thin turning.

Robert Ward presented a group of projects he completed recently.