Newsletter of the Derwent Woodturners Club No. 22 August 2013 Affiliated to the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB) Future events Please note the club now meets on the :- 1 st. and 3 rd. Wed. each month 18:30 21:00. 7 th. Aug. 13 Hands on Remember to bring your tools and some wood! 16 th. August Mid Staffs Woodturners The Mid Staffs club have taken up the offer of a demonstration by Curt Theobald, an American turner who specialises in segmented turning. I will send their flyer as an email to those of you on the net, and have some copies at the next meeting for those who want them. 17 th. August Charnwood Open Day Demonstrations from Robert Sorby, Chestnut Products, several woodturners from local club Coombe Abbey and demonstrations on the full range of Charnwood Woodworking Machinery 21 st. Aug. 13 Club demo Terry Coombes and a Galileo thermometer More details to follow... I will update this calendar in future newsletters. A quick reminder, the club meetings are from 18:30 until 21:00 but we need help setting up the equipment before the meeting can get going, so if you can get there early and help, it would be appreciated. Another year! Our Annual General Meeting was very well attended and we managed to deal with everything quite quickly. I have put the minutes of the meeting at the end of this newsletter and trust that I have made an accurate record of the event. I have also included Alan s Chairman s notes, but I haven t done the same with the club accounts as this newsletter is open to anyone to read and I don t think non-members of the club should see our private business. However, if any club member does want to see the accounts, please ask Don, who, I am sure, will be happy to discuss them with you. In summary, the club is in a very healthy situation, and the members are happy with what it does and how it is run, to the extent that no major changes were suggested. All the existing committee agreed to stand for reelection and were duly elected. Probably the biggest change is to have regular club competitions. To this end Ivan Blood has been elected to form a sub-committee to set these in place. I know some people don t like competitions, which I can understand as turning is not a competitive craft, but it can be a good opportunity to make you try something different. Or just give you a project to do. How many of us go into the workshop with a definite something to make? There are others who consider their work isn t good enough but we are all our own worst critics, and from what I have seen of members work it is of a very high standard. Why not let others see what you can do? And I would hope that any piece entered into a competition will be reviewed by other members, not just criticised. That doesn t benefit anyone. I decided to use the newsletter to distribute the minutes of the meeting, so this one has a somewhat different format to normal, with several sections missing but hopefully back to normal in the next one. That s all for now, Paul Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 1 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk
What is it? Can you identify the object in the picture? Send your answers to me, and the first person with the correct answer will have their name published in next month's newsletter. Last month s object was a plastic profile gauge. Well done to Doug Moseley who was the first to get it right. This month s should be a bit more difficult, and nobody has guessed the object in the February issue. Why not have another look and see if you can tell me what it is. Turning tips This section is for any tips or advice you would like to pass on to other members. It doesn't matter what it is, if you discovered something you found useful that you think may benefit others, please pass it on. Another use for scraps Following on from my tip last month, for using the waste piece left in the chuck, here s another use. Drill a hole down the centre line that is a comfy fit for a pencil, usually around ¼. Then turn the outside to a 1 diameter cylinder. It only needs to be about ¼ wide. Part this off and you ve got a handy profile scribe. Just push a pencil into the hole, and let the outside roll along the wall or other edge you want to transfer to you work. Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 2 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk
Items for SALE or WANTED, or even FREE! Remember we also have a club noticeboard for posting these adverts. I have some A5 blank forms if you need one. FOR SALE Axminster M600 lathe 175 My midi lathe, which is a bit longer than the current baby Axminster, complete with drive centre set. Sturdy cast iron construction. 23 between centres & 8.5 swing over bed. 6 speeds 430-3250rpm.,via pulley system. MT2 head and tailstock. 1/2 Hp motor. Camlock banjo and tailstock. Used but in very good condition. I can bring it to a club meeting if you want to try it out. Paul Bellamy Allen Bumstead chuck jaws Allen has a set of pin jaws, external 3/8 2, internal 1 1/8 2 5/8 to fit Oneway Stronghold chuck for sale. If you are interested, please see Allen at the next meeting. David Fields bandsaw blades David has a friend who can supply bandsaw blades. Prices are from around 6.50. If you want any, please have a word with David at a club meeting. WANTED Interesting websites There s a host of information out there and sometimes it s just luck when you find a useful site. Please let me know if you find any others. Some will be promoted to permanent links, such as clubs in our area, and businesses of benefit to us, but this first section will let everyone share amusing or useful sites. European woodworking show 21 st. & 22 nd. September at Cressing Temple Barns, Essex. This show is being promoted all over the place. I don t have any more details and it is a fair way to travel but here is its website for more details. http://www.europeanwoodworkingshow.eu/ Permanent links These are the sites that I think are worth keeping on record. As we have a deal with Axminster; remember the discount ONLY applies to items in the Woodturning section of the catalogue but it is still 15% http://www.axminster.co.uk The Association of Woodturning clubs of Great Britain (AWGB) main site is at http://www.awgb.co.uk/ and it s worth looking at the Forum for lots of information and discussions, and even the For Sale section. You can use the link on the main website or go direct to http://www.awgb.co.uk/awgbforum/index.php As mentioned earlier, I will be using the AWGB Forum for the latest information on meetings, especially if there are any urgent changes. This link will take you direct to the Events section, then just look out for Derwent Woodturning club..., the one with the Smiley!! http://www.awgb.co.uk/awgbforum/index.php?board=7.0 Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 3 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 17 th. July 2013 at Sharpe Pottery Museum, Swadlincote. The meeting commenced at 18:35 1. Present:- R. Balnaves, B. Barlow, P. Bellamy, I. Blood, R. Brassington, A. Bumstead, T. Clements, T. Coombes, T. Crowley, H. Field, D. Fields, S. Grimley, D. Hailes, T. Harding, J. Hooper, A. Key, S. Kinnersley, D. Moseley, J. Nall, J. Norton, Lol Poole, Chris Richards, Colin Richards, J. Russell, A. Smith (Chair), D. Wall, D. Wastie, I. Whitehead, D. Winter, B. Yates. 2. Apologies for absence:- Were received on behalf of J. Banton, D. Lea, Nigel Mutimer, J. Smith. All of the above had given the Chairman their proxy vote. 3. Matters arising from previous meeting. There were no major issues outstanding from the previous AGM but several topics raised at that meeting were to be reviewed at this meeting so are dealt with later. 4. Chairman's Report:- A. Smith presented his Annual Report, in which he commented on the ongoing success of the club. The members voted on acceptance of the report. Proposed:- S. Grimley Seconded:- A. Bumstead Carried unanimously The complete report is attached at the end of these minutes. 5. Treasurers Report:- D. Wastie presented a Summary of Accounts for the year to 31 st. August 2013. Don reported that we have had a good year, with 39 paid up members. The new venue was working well and that the average attendance at club meetings was 26 members. There had been several purchases of new equipment but the end of year balance is virtually the same as that carried over from the previous year. The full report is available from Don. It is not included in these minutes as they are to be published in the newsletter. The members voted on acceptance of the report. Proposed:- D. Fields Seconded:- T. Clements Carried unanimously 6. Secretary s report The club has grown significantly since last year. Apologies were made for sporadic issues of the newsletter and a request made for more help with articles. The club has registered a domain name, DerwentWoodturners.org.uk, but this would only be used to archive newsletters and some other documents, as the club does not need to promote itself to a wider audience. 7. Election of Chairman:- A. Smith confirmed his agreement to stand for another year if the members so wished. His re-election was proposed by Al Bumstead, seconded by D. Fields, and carried unanimously. 7. Election of Treasurer:- D. Wastie confirmed his agreement to stand for another year if the members so wished. His re-election was proposed by A. Bumstead, seconded by I. Blood, and carried unanimously. 8. Election of other Committee Members. The Chairman thanked the new committee members, P. Bellamy, T. Coombes and J. Norton, for the work they had done throughout the year. He invited them to stand for re-election. All three accepted and their nomination was proposed. P. Bellamy as Secretary Proposed:- T. Clements Seconded:- I. Blood Carried unanimously T. Coombes as Technical manager Proposed:- A. Key Seconded:- J. Russell Carried unanimously Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 4 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk
J. Norton as Member without portfolio Proposed:- I. Blood Seconded:- L. Poole Carried unanimously August 2013 9. Programme for 2013/2014 The club has external demonstrators booked until the end of the year. A. Smith asked for suggestions for next year s demonstrators. I. Blood suggested Axminster Power tools. T. Coombes to check what they could offer. Action T. Coombes Robert Sorby are available but as their visits are more a sales promotion rather than a demonstration, A. Smith feels this should be bi-annual. He also pointed out there visits are at no cost to the club. T. Coombes suggested Charnwood. This would need clarification as to what they would demonstrate. D. Moseley asked if the club could have a demonstration on Inlay techniques. P. Bellamy has had some experience of this but not to the extent of a full demonstration. A. Smith knows a demonstrator from Norwich who would be more appropriate. Another technique, segmented turning, was requested. The club has had a demonstration of this some years ago. John Bradbury or Graham Ball are the most likely demonstrators to invite. Several members requested another visit by R. Findley. Another popular turner is Tracy Owen. Tracy has not been demonstrating for some time for personal reasons, but J. Norton believes he is back on the circuit. Action: J. Norton to confirm J. Berkley was suggested for his expertise in thread chasing, but A. Smith pointed out that John now only turns plastic, for health reasons. The problem for all demonstrations is the cost of travel. I. Whitehead asked about all day demonstrations. A. Smith likes the idea but doesn t have the time to organise all day events, so that would have to be done by other members. He will wait for someone to offer to do this. Action: Any club member 10. Subscriptions for 2012/13. L. Poole suggested the subscriptions remain at current levels. If the club needed to incur significant costs, an extraordinary meeting could be called. D. Wastie pointed out that the AWGB renewal fee is due on 1 st January, but any new member joining after the 1 st. October, would have their membership cover until the end of the following year. The easiest way for Don to process the AWGB, and thereby the club s annual fee, is for both to be paid at the beginning of October. Consequently, the meeting on the 2 nd. October has been nominated Subscriptions night. The club is not prepared to allow credit of membership, so any member who does not renew on that date will be deemed to have relinquished their membership. 11. Any other business:- The following topics were raised. 1. Visibility of projection screen This has been obscured by the turner. Future meetings need to ensure the lathe is positioned well to the side of the room, to give a clear view of the screen. 2. Lighting There is lighting available, it just needs more members to get involved with setting up all the equipment required for demonstrations. 3. Tea break biscuits. We have had biscuits available for some of the earlier meetings. L. Poole to provide these at future meetings. 4. Log processing. P. Bellamy has agreed to do a demonstration of log processing but this will have to be outside the conference room for obvious reasons, and will be dependent on the weather. 5. Demonstration of other skills. A. Smith asked for the members attitude to other disciplines e.g. Bob Neil pyrography, carving 6. D. Wastie mentioned that the latest members have not had a copy of the club s constitution. He is working on updating this, as there are various items that need to be clarified. For example, if the club had to be wound up. That would have been straightforward when there were relatively few members, but we now have 40. Don proposed that, in the unlikely event the club was wound up, after all bills had been settled, the remaining funds be donated to charity. There was some discussion as to which charity, Air Ambulance being the final choice, after which Don s proposal was proposed and carried. Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 5 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk
7. Club insurance. The constitution documents used to include the insurance document. D. Wastie suggested that is not necessary and that we only need to hold one copy, provided the members are aware of it and what is, and isn t, covered. 8. Equipment inventory. As with the insurance document, the constitution included a full listing of the club s inventory. D. Wastie suggested one copy is sufficient, to be held by himself. 9. AWGB charitable status. Our constitution needs amending to recognise the change in status of the AWGB. Action: D. Wastie 10. Members copy of the Club constitution. D. Wastie is concerned that every member should have their own copy of the constitution. A printed copy will be given to each member and a copy made available on the website. In future years, it will only be available for download from the website. Action: D. Wastie & P. Bellamy 11. Club funds. D. Wastie stated it was not his intention to build up club funds, just aim to break even each year. He suggested any excess be donated to charity. The membership voted against this idea. J. Russell proposed using the excess to create a bursary but this option is deferred until next year. 12. Competitions. D. Wastie felt the club had lost something since the cessation of intra club competitions. It was proposed to setup a sub-committee to look into this. I. Blood volunteered to do so, with assistance from J. Norton. The competitions will take place on hands on evenings, as there is too much else going on at demonstration meetings. 13. Sharpes fee. The club has not had any indication that the conference room costs are to be increased. Some members expressed concern about the longevity of the venue but this was not considered to be a problem. 14. Callipers for club equipment. T. Coombes wants to get some callipers/ dividers for the club, but before purchasing any, do any members have any they could offer to the club? 15. Hands on coordination. Various ideas have been suggested as themes for hands on meetings but these need better coordination. Action: P. Bellamy & T. Coombes 16. The newsletter and website P. Bellamy asked for more help producing the newsletter, in particular write-ups of his demonstrations. A web page, which will be an archive of the newsletters, is almost ready for release. This will also be the method used for issuing future newsletters. Action: P. Bellamy 17. Demonstrations equipment layout. T. Coombes has suggested the worktops behind the demonstrator is used for club equipment, and a table is provided near the lathe for the demonstrator s own kit. This will prevent club and demonstrator s items becoming mixed together. This will also simplify packing up at the end of the demo. That completed the meeting, which ended at 20:45. Thank you to everyone for attending. Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 6 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk
Chairman s notes August 2013 Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our AGM and thank you for making the effort, this is your club and this meeting dictates just how your club will run for the next year. I make no apologies for opening the meeting in the same way each year, the sentiments remain. We have moved home since our last AGM and I thank all those people who have contributed to making our new venue feel like home. This is probably close to being the perfect venue in my opinion and meets all our requirements, the committee have decided that our membership should not exceed 40, this fits in with the space available and the fact that I believe any larger numbers could result in divisive practices within the club and less familiarity between members. We also need to be mindful of the amount of space available for members to sell items on club nights. David Winter has agreed to limit his selling space to 2 tables and although this means less choice on the night, David is willing and able to provide you with specific blanks if you contact him. Other members who wish to sell items should where possible contact the committee and see if there is going to be enough room or if it is appropriate on that particular club night. After all the primary function of our club is the promotion and participation in woodturning, and that should be our first focus. It has been the case on some evenings that there is no room for our members turning table where members can exhibit their efforts to inspire others. I thank you for encouraging and welcoming our new members. I hope that you feel our programme for last year was well balanced, varied and at times full of inspiration, with visits from professional turners. If you would like to see a particular turner demonstrate at the club, let me know and I ll see what I can do. Part of our programme relies on members having a go at a club demo, I feel that too many members who are quite capable of putting on a demo are happy to leave it to others, for our club to move forward this needs to change otherwise those willing members will become disillusioned and we will end up being reliant on ever more expensive pro demonstrators so please consider this. Our club has also been involved in off the premises events this year and thanks to those involved, if that s not you then maybe you could get involved next time.too many members, and this is your club, are prepared to stand back and let others set up the equipment for club nights, and do any other tasks required for the smooth running of the club. I notice that it s the same faces all the time, you know who you are and the message from me as outgoing chairman is that if you don t get involved then the club will cease to be, we all enjoy watching demos but it appears that some of us just want to turn up sit down and then leave at the end, well folks it don t work like that, or not for long in my experience, before those that are doing all the work find something else to fill their evenings. We are very well represented at outside events, unfortunately by the same few members, once again, unless you get involved, you will wake up one day with no club. Don t worry rant is nearly over. I am told that it s the same all over, and that many clubs suffer this malaise, well before this club goes under, just remember who warned you it would happen if you don t take some action. So a couple of moans from me, perhaps I m getting long in the tooth and short in the temper! Your committee are not the servants of the members of this club, they carry out important tasks, other than running around setting up and taking down. We are in a strong financial position; and our thanks go to Don Wastie, our treasurer, for that. I thank Paul for continuing in the role of secretary, producing the newsletter and keeping us all up to date. Terry for keeping all our equipment in shape and spotting some bargains of equipment along the way, Jock for his enthusiasm and eagerness to help set up and just as importantly pack away, and to all of them for their tremendous support to me and the club. I personally hope that they will stand for election next year no matter who you choose as chairman. My message to you this year is get involved, this club is and always has been more than turning up (pardon the pun) and paying your money. Alan Smith Editor: Paul Bellamy Page 7 of 7 Email: editor@derwentwoodturners.org.uk