Here is next Saturday’s LSW Agenda! Note the changes from our usual programming. I’ve also included some attachments referring to Phil Holtan and his demonstrations.
Also note that per our discussion at the April meeting Greg Whitaker, with the help of Tom Lohman helped get both shop evaluation forms on our website ready to be downloaded. If you have any trouble let me know and I can also email you copies.
Thank you,
Doug
Lake Superior Woodturners
MEETING DETAILS
Date SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2025
Time 9 a.m. – ??? (at least mid afternoon). THIS IS A “FULL DAY EVENT”!!!
Location Jon Stephenson’s Shop, 9 Kilner Bay Drive, Superior, WI
AGENDA
NOTICE: There are some changes to the agenda this month due to a special presentation/demonstration by Phil Holtan. The program will go longer than normal, so a light lunch will be provided, water and coffee will be available, but if you would like something else to drink please bring it. The LSW Board of Directors is bringing in Phil at no additional cost, this would be an excellent time to come in and see a demonstration, and to bring a friend or relative who may be interested in getting into woodturning. See below for more specifiic program information.
*Phil will also be bringing merchandise to sell! Phil has decided to no longer market woodturning tools, and still has inventory from before the pandemic. He is bringing some of these turning tools (mostly Crown tools) to sell at “2017 prices”! Come see if there is anything you would like to add to your woodturning tool collection!
Half-hour before the meeting: Meeting set-up (Chairs & Lathe) plus coffee & chatter!
9:00 a.m. CALL TO ORDER
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS – Susan Van Loon Runnoe
SHOW & TELL – Bring in what you’ve been turning, and as usual, you can ask for critiques of your work, or you can simply show what you have been making. We can discuss turning ‘challenges’, talk about best practices, and chat about perplexing pieces of wood you would like suggestions on how to turn or what to turn it into. We would like to have members show one of their turnings and once everyone has a chance, additional items can be shown if time permits.
RAFFLE: A special raffle will take place this month with the prize being a $50 gift certificate to BELL FOREST PRODUCTS, INC, www.bellforestproducts.com, 200 E. Hematite Dr. | Ishpeming, MI 49849. Raffle tickets will be $2/ea.
OTHER:
- 2025 AAW Symposium June 12-15! Due to the symposium there will be no regular LSW meeting in June. We hope you are able to visit the Symposium, whether you purchased tickets and attend some of the workshops, or if you go down for a day to take advantage of some of the free offerings.
PROGRAM – Phil Holtan
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- “Burl to Bowls: How to Harvest, Section and Core a Burl into Multiple Bowls.”
Phil has turned thousands of burls into his signature thin-walled natural-edged bowls. In his presentation, with real burls and slides, he will show how to harvest and “read” the burl, finding natural places to cut and using cardboard discs to visualize the best way to section the burl for maximum size and yield.
Then he’ll mount that bowl blank onto the lathe, shape the outside, reverse and use the McNaughton coring system to turn at least the largest, outside bowl from the burl. McNaughton can be naughty, so he’ll share several tricks to tame it. His wedges yield 2 or 3 from a small burl or section of a burl, to stacks of 6-7 with largest diameters of 14-15 inches. His biggest burls yield 80-100 bowls each.
See the page on my website philholtan.com “From a Burl to a Bowl” in the Hunting Burls section - To enrich this presentation, I will add another thread to the turning of the bowls that I call, “The Ultimate Cut: How to Cut Cleaner and Avoid Too Much Sanding.” As I turn the outside and then the inside of each burl bowl, we will pay attention to all the techniques that can cut more cleanly. We will produce “bigger chips to smaller,” use the push cut, pull cut and shearing cut as needed, use the shear scraper and discuss how turners in the club have learned to cut more cleanly.
– LUNCH BREAK –
- Rings Upon Rings, Stories Upon Stories
Want to make your turned object important to others? Then spin a good story along with the wood.
Phil uses his skill at turning captured rings and his deep Scandinavian traditions to tell a story with his “Kransekake,” or crown cake, his turned ring tree that is connected to wedding traditions and his own story. Like a wedding ring, the rings mean “never-ending” and the tree shape, ever-green and eternal. Phil will demonstrate three projects that build on each other.mple Celtic Baby rattle; second, the more complex ringed tree, and finally, he will introduce his Crooked Kransekake, a multi-axis tree, as a further development of the story. Phil uses his own story and demonstration to help others develop their own “brand.”
See also the demo handout Rings Handout 2025 with a detailed script and photos
Current Board of Directors:
· President Susan Van Loon Runnoe
· Vice President Bill Penning
· Secretary Doug Runnoe
· Treasurer Paul Howard
· Program Director – John Skarja
· Bonnie McDermid
· Greg Whitaker