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CANCELLED - Art Liestman - Lost Wood Process -- CANCELED

Date and Time

Saturday, October 12, 2024, 8:30 AM until 4:00 PM

Category

Workshop

Registration Info

Registration is not Required

About this event

The Lost Wood Process - I turn spindle blanks that are made up of three laminated layers. After turning, the middle layer is removed and the two outer layers are rejoined to give a turned object that isn't round. More details can be found in my American Woodturner article "Beyond Round: The Lost Wood Process" (August 2012) SEE HERE. As an example of this process, I show how to make a standard turned box that ends up being almond shaped in cross-section (inside and out). The demo shows the glue up process (including grain matching), turning the box, disassembling and reassembling the layers. This should be understandable and within the abilities of any of your members.

Students will need to glue up three blanks prior to the class. During the
class they will each turn 3 lost wood projects: an almond-shaped (in cross
section) box, a partially round, partially almond-shaped goblet, and a
sculptural “pod” form. Advanced students may want to do their own things
after the second project. This class should be accessible to most club
members.

Bring whatever you would normally use to turn a goblet or box. Hollowing tools are

optional, but should be for small pieces.

Tool List:

  • spindle roughing gouge
  • spindle or bowl gouge - whatever the student prefers for shaping spindles
  • parting tool
  • Each student will also need a small piece of scrap wood, say 1" thick x 3"
  • square, for making a temporary mount for hollowing with a bowl gouge.
  • We will also need (to be shared by all students)
  • a couple of hot melt glue guns and hot melt glue sticks
  • an electric drill,
  • at least two (more would be better) Oneway style live centres with the
  • LARGER aluminum cone.
  • Each student will need three glued up blanks which need to be made AT LEAST 24 hours ahead of the class. The overall idea is to make 3x3 spindle blanks (of various lengths) from three 1x3's.
Wood prep requirements: 
Each student will need three glued up blanks which need to be made AT LEAST 24 hours ahead of the class. The overall idea is to make 3x3
spindle blanks (of various lengths) from three 1x3's. If possible, it would be better to make the 3x3’s from two 1 1/8” x 3” and one 3/4” by three. The actual dimensions aren’t critical, but the final blanks should be roughly square in cross section. If the layers have different thicknesses, then the two outer layers should be the same thickness and the inner layer could be thinner.

Ideally, the inner layer is of a different color (species) than the two outer layers. (Note that the INNER layer will be discarded, so don't use poplar for the outer layers and figured walnut for the inner layer.) The three layers should be of a similar density - don’t mix poplar with ebony, for example. A soft or medium domestic hardwood would be best for these exercises - I generally use big leaf maple.

The three blanks can be of varying lengths, but
- 6" or 7" long will suffice for a goblet
- 5", would be good for the hollow vessel
- 4" long will be fine for the box

Pick whatever length you would like but finished size should be either 3x3x6, 3x3x5 or 3x3x4. 

Steps: 
1. Use dry wood, ideally boards that are thickness planned so they are reasonably flat on both sides.
    a. I would suggest flattening the surfaces to be joined on a stationary belt sander.
    b. The “outer faces” don’t need to be sanded.
2. From a 1" thick board, cut two pieces 1"x 3" x 6" long where the grain runs in the direction of the 6" dimension. Call these pieces A and B.
3. From a different 1" thick board (preferably a different species or different color of wood) cut a 1 x 3 x 6, again with the grain running in the direction of the 6" dimension). Call this piece C.
4. Using two pieces of brown paper bag (without seams), cut two pieces about 3 1/2" x 6 1/2". Ideally, avoid using any of the bag that may have
printing on it as the ink will discolor the wood.
5. Using generous amounts of standard wood glue (Titebond, for example) covering all mating surfaces, glue the pieces into a wood and
paper sandwich with the following layers:

paper
C
paper
B
Just to be sure, put glue on one side of A and B, on both sides of C, and on both sides of each piece of paper.

5. Clamp the sandwich together with 3 or 4 clamps, forcing glue to run out of all of the joints.
6. After 24 hours, unclamp and make a fresh cut (bandsaw or table saw on each end of the long dimension of the sandwich. From this freshly
exposed surface, you should be able to clearly see the paper/glue lines.