Overview:

Myron is from Virginia Beach, VA and is a member of Tidewater Turners of Virginia. For the past 20 years he has been a professional architectural turner with a reputation for both accuracy and production speed. He specializes in balusters, newels, columns, bulls eyes (rosettes), circular molding, roulette wheels and spheres. He owns a production shop which utilizes 10 lathes (he owns several lathes) in varying sizes up to a 24"x15'6" pattern maker's lathe. For tools, Myron could probably get by with just various sizes of round-nose scrapers and a parting tool. He gets teased about how he uses a round-nose as a scraper and a cutter but he is a master. He is the first sage of Tidewater Turners and the first chapter sage selected by AAW (see article in AAW, Vol. 19, No. 4). He has demonstrated at many AAW Symposiums since 1996 and has been featured in AAW Journal articles by Tom Fisher in December 1995 and Bruce Hoover in the Fall 2000. Myron has taught Elderhostel classes at Arrowmont for 14 years and has taught many seminars for numerous woodturning groups.

Morning Session:

Myron began his demonstration with a discussion on tool making. He believes that you can make most of the tools you need and feels the most useful tool is the round-nose scraper. The diamond parting tool is probably one tool that you don't need to make - Sears sells a very good one at a reasonable price. (Sources for tool stock and tool making supplies were provided by Myron in his handout.) He uses thick wall brass compression nuts as ferrules. He feels persimmon makes the best tool handles. Sharpening of the tools Myron uses can be done quickly and easily which he showed.

Myron placed a tool handle blank between centers. The ferrule end had been previously turned to accept the brass compression nut which was tightened on to the wood. A round-nose scraper (Myron refers to it as a round-nose skew) was used to shape the handle and also to turn or shape the brass nut. Eye protection is very important, especially when turning the brass. With the tool held at the proper angle you can shear scrape the brass. Decorative features can be turned on the brass surface.

Myron then continued shaping the persimmon handle blank. The shape can be to your liking and comfort. He used a straight pin in the tailstock and the drive center. By doing this he could reverse the piece. A hole was drilled to accept the piece of tool steel. The drill chuck was placed in the headstock. First a center-drill bit was used to center the site of the hole. This was then replaced by a regular drill bit of the desired diameter. If the tool steel is one-quarter inch then a bit one-thirty-second inch larger is used. The hole was drilled to a depth of four inches. The piece of tool steel was then temporarily hammered into the ferrule end of the handle which, as described above, had been drilled. Care should be taken to protect the end of the steel that is not in the handle. Wood extending beyond the brass ferrule (nut) was cut off with a thin saw blade and further trimmed with a sharp knife. The hole was further cleaned with the drill bit and the tool hammered into the handle to the pre-drilled depth of four inches. The tool bit "broaches" its way into the drilled hole. This completed the making of the tool. Different tools can be made in the same way - each with its own use or purpose.

Next Myron displayed and discussed various other tools - many of which were made in his shop teaching classes. Various grinds were used to achieve desired configurations and uses. Old files can be used to make tools but the temper has to be taken out by heating them very hot and then allowed them to cool slowly. Used planer blades can also be used to make effective tools. The tool rest on Myron's grinder is set at 57 degrees no matter which tool he is sharpening. Parting tools of various thicknesses can be made using old bandsaw blades, hacksaw blades, and one-quarter inch square tool bit blanks.

Myron then began the turning of a ball or true sphere. Mahogany was used. The piece of mahogany (6" diameter and 10" length) was glued to a waste block which was attached to the headstock using a face plate. A ball bearing tailstock center was used that would accept interchangeable centers. Myron used a straight center point and not a tapered one. The mahogany was trued up with the round nose scraper. Once trued up as a cylinder the tailstock end was cleaned using a diamond parting tool. Myron then referred to his very complete handout pertaining to the sphere construction. Tangential lines were discussed showing which arcs need to be removed from the cube to form a true ball or sphere. You need to measure the diameter of the cylinder and then mark off this distance from the tailstock end of the piece. This part of the blank is destined to be the ball. From the table in the handout the distance "A" (pertinent to the chosen ball diameter) was marked off from both ends of the ball. The center of the piece was also marked off. From the table the "B" distance was marked off. These two lines and the center line were scribed with the lathe running.  A 45 degree angle was turned away between the ends of the piece and the line "A." This angle was determined with a template. Wood was removed in stages using the template frequently to assure that the 45 degree angle was maintained and that the correct amount of wood was being removed. The opposite end of the piece (sphere) was then cleaned off with the parting tool. The distance "A" was then turned away as already done on the tailstock end. At this point the ball shape was partially realized. This completed the morning demonstration.

Afternoon Session:

Myron continued his sphere turning. Up to this point both ends ("A" lengths) had been removed at 45 degree angles. "B" distance was measured from "A" toward the center line of the sphere. This was marked off at both ends of the piece. Each area was turned away further defining the sphere shape. The tailstock end of the sphere was defined and then the headstock end. The transition areas between "A" and "B" were refined. All this was completed using the round-nose scraper. At this point the sphere was complete except for the extreme tailstock and headstock ends. The headstock end was then turned to form a base for the sphere. The tailstock end was then parted off and the skew used to remove the nubbin. The piece would have been sanded prior to parting off the tailstock end. The part of the piece with the base was then parted off and the piece was complete.

Next Myron turned a baluster from a 2x2x18 inch piece of poplar. The center of each end was determined and the piece placed between centers. Only two types of dimensions are needed when making a baluster - how long each segment will be and what diameter. The orientation of the original on the copy should be with the smallest diameter part closest to the tailstock. This helps support the piece while turning. The distances of the original details were then transcribed to the copy. The round section of the original was then roughed on the copy to form a cylindrical area. This was done with the round-nose scraper. The corners were then formed at each end of the cylindrical area. This completed each end of the baluster leaving the center details (cylindrical portion) to be formed. The largest diameter detail was formed first. Then other detail distances marked. As turning progressed calipers were used to determine accurate diameters. The next largest diameter detail was turned, again using the calipers as a guide. Myron used a parting tool to form the details along with the drop-nose round-nose scraper. The long, tapered, center detail was then formed with the round-nose scraper and the piece completed.

A question-answer period followed that was quite interesting and informative. This completed a very enjoyable and productive demonstration. Please be sure to view the handouts that Myron provided and the DVD that will be available in the club library.

--Bob Gunther

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