Welcome to Turners Anonymous

Turners Anonymous is a group of about 100 wood turning enthusiasts from the area surrounding Pittsburgh. We love all things about wood turning... the satisfaction of a sharp clean cut; the smell of freshly sliced cherry shavings; an excuse to buy new, expensive tools; and most importantly, the chance to help others to explore and enjoy the hobby as much as we do.

Please feel free to explore these pages to learn more about Turners Anonymous, look at some photos, and consider coming to a meeting.

As of March 2012, the Board of Directors voted to cease publication of a printed newsletter for Turners Anonymous. The Board feels that this will help to enable better use of club resources and also to enable fresher updates on club information. Hopefully, going forward, additional types of content much greater than could be included in the newsletter will be developed on the website. For archival purposes, once a month, a "snap shot" of the home page will be captured and placed on the page where the old newsletters are stored. Here is this month's example of how the archives will look. As always, comments are welcome.

Are there any programs or turners you would like to see in our future featured presentations? The Board is currently planning these events for the next 12-18 months, so now is the time to be heard. Feel free to send me an email, and I will pass along your input.

Check out some slides from a work session in Bill Hayes' shop. Very cool! Note, this is a large file, and will come up in a new browser window.

May Meeting - John Jordan Presentation

We are extremely fortunate to have landed John Jordan as our featured presentation this spring. John will be doing a full day presentation on May 19 and hands-on workshops on May 20 and 21. This is truly the woodturning opportunity of a lifetime. John provides the insight and eye of an artist, but has a very practical and no-nonsense approach that would even make Bill Hayes nod in appreciation.

Please take a few minutes to look at his website. Here is a very partial listing of where is work in currently displayed:

John has been featured in nearly every major turning exhibition the past twenty years. His work has received numerous awards, and is in the permanent collections of many museums and corporations, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the American Craft Museum in New York City, the White House in Washington, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, the Fine Arts Museum in Boston, and the Detroit Institute of the Arts and the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.

Don't let the chance to rub elbows with this inspirational yet pragmatic artist slip away. There is still space available for the May 19th John Jordan Demonstration. The early registration of $25 is the fee for members, provided Paul Brandt (1 Laurel Woods St, Wintersville OH 43953) receives your check by May 15th. The fee for non-members and members paying after May 15th (or at the door) is $35. Contact Paul Brandt to reserve your spot before they are all gone.

Please not that currently all the spots for the hands-on workshops have been filled. If you are one of the students who signed up for a workshop, you will receive an information packet describing the logisitcs of the workshop.

Future Program Notes

The September program will be presented by our own John Schlueter and Dave Dudney. They will be presenting a technique learned at the Adams School for turning a hollow form vessel that incorporates the pith.

The Instant Gallery theme for September will be "Cheers". What does "Cheers" bring to your mind? Goblets? Bottle Stoppers? Platters for party treats? Something else? As always we want to see your creative side. Cheers to that!

April Meeting Report

April 21st was a cold and wet day in the Strip District. As a result, the April meeting of Turners Anonymous was well attended. There was little opportunity for any outdoor activities that would interfere with the pleasure of spinning some wood at 3000 RPM. We had a number of guests and new members present, and it was the perfect meeting for them because there were six lathes set up for hands-on demonstrations of turning.

Below are some observations from each of the stations:

• I started out at the honey dipper station where I learned that you put the grooves in the honey dipper first. Here, I observed Craig Smith's skilled use of a skew with a curved grind. I decided that one of my skews has to be re-ground to a curve!

• Moving on, a natural edge bowl in walnut was being demonstrated by Bob Zentner. When Bob handed me his gouge, I was forced to try hollowing and feel the difference between cutting and free that Bob was trying to demonstrate. That is a very effective technique, Bob, to hand the tool to the observers instead of asking for volunteers.
• Next, Dave Dudney was chucking up a large piece of wood with two huge splits to demonstrate bowl turning. He presaged that the splits could be cut away leaving a platter. How did that work out Dave?
• At Carlene Nicolaus' station, Rich was turning a bottle stopper. It was interesting to see the techniques that Carlene shared because she learned them outside of the club. For example, she finished with two bars from HUT Products, the PPP (Perfect Pen Polish) combo, which I had not seen demonstrated before. I had another tip, and Rich had a nice bottle stopper for his efforts.
• I tried to turn around and watch the hollow form as demonstrated by Dave Beringer, but the crowd was too deep. Dave was explaining what goes on inside that little hole. His samples were great.
• Like a chess master playing six opponents at the same time, Harold Poland had two lathes going at once at the pen turning station. He had club members and guests polishing a cyanoacrylate finish from 600 to 12,000 grit and following with an automotive polish. It is no wonder that his pens shine compared to the dull things this turner makes.

In conclusion, the April meeting was a day of sharing with something for everyone. You can check out pictures from the meeting in our photo gallery. - Bob Eckert

Instant Gallery
For April, the Instant Gallery theme was your "favorite piece". WOW! Please check out the pictures in the photo gallery, where you can see many favorite pieces! Included are a lamp stand with segmented work, many fantastic bowls, a candle holder, a chess board, reclaimed items from the fire pit and so much more. As usual it was great to see the many different ideas and the stories behind the pieces that you had to tell.

For May, you are welcome to bring in a piece, but there will not be an organized Instant Gallery. We don't want to take time away from John Jordan's presentation. - Britta Moellenbeck

For anyone who is a recent member, Britta has taken charge of the Instant Gallery and made it something really nice. In addition to coming up with the themes, she posts many pictures to the photo gallery every month. You can thank her for her efforts in two ways... first, by letting her know that you appreciate what she is doing. Second, and more important, participate often! - webmaster

Other Notes
The workshop sessions for John Jordan on May 20 and May 21 are both full. If you missed your chance to get in, make sure that Paul Brandt knows, in case there are any last minute cancellations. There are still spots available for the presentation on Saturday, May 19. But don't forget, the price is higher at the door, so if you think you are going, you can save a few bucks by purchasing your tickets in advance. To get the advanced price discount, Paul must have your money in his hand by May 15.

March Meeting Report

St. Patrick's Day turned out to be a beautiful day in Pittsburgh for a tool swap. Concerns about parking and traffic due to the St. Patrick's Day Parade launching from the Strip District were not realized. In fact, the strip district was much less crowded than usual. (After the meeting, I walked right up to the cheese counter at PennMac with no waiting.) A few of the members were spotted "wearin' o'th' green", but there were no kilts.

For the tool swap and sale, members displayed their wares in both rooms on tables set up for the purpose. In addition to turning tools, there were wood blanks and other wood working or general shop items. The best items seemed to slip away quickly; I know that I came back for a few only to find they were gone. Items that did not sell could be donated to the club and were auctioned off with the proceeds going to Turners Anonymous. The auctioneers probably did not have PA licenses, but they had fun with their task. There was no "going, going, gone", just GONE. I think a few members got excellent deals here; but, again, it was not for the contemplative. If you were sitting on your hands, you were going home empty-handed.

Many thanks are due to Dave Dudney for organizing the event. - Bob Eckert

WOW, this month instant gallery theme was: "figured and exotic woods"! Burls definitely made the list, and in addition, we had the pleasure to look at bowls, vases, fantastic pens with elaborated styles, eggs that reminded everybody of what is possible and that Easter is close, and so much more. Even a couple of "objects with feet" - a theme of a prior instant gallery - worked in.

Thank you to all of you that participated! Check out the pictures of all the items in our photo gallery. - Britta Moellenbeck