October Demonstrator Larry Hasiak, Tarpon Springs, Florida was born and raised in New Hope, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He began turning in 1985. Larry has studied under many noted turners and artists including David Ellsworth, Liam O'Neil, Ray Ferguson, Hap Sakwa, Bruce Mitchell and Michael Peterson. He is a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Woodturners and has served as treasurer and vice-president of that organization. He has taught on a regular basis at the John C. Campbell Folk School since 1997. He has won numerous awards and his work has been displayed in many prominent shows.

Beginning his demonstration with a discussion of his techniques and certain tips for turners, he showed a piece he had turned of Norfolk Island Pine. The concentric branch knots need to be placed on the same plane in the lathe. The bark is quite dark and comes off in sheets. Beneath the bark is a sticky, spongy layer. The wood spalts easily by simply placing the log on the ground. Below each of the concentric branches is a notch on the down side that shows which direction the branch grows. The branches face upward so the top of the tree is at the bottom of the piece. In other words, the top becomes the bottom and the bottom the top. You need to know this in order to take advantage of the star pattern when turning. The top was placed in the tailstock live center - the bottom in the headstock using the spur center. Concentric rings were grooved on the bottom with the parting tool so when the faceplate was attached it would be easily centered. Larry uses 1 to 1 1/4 stainless steel Phillips head screws to attach the piece to the face plate - the more screws the better. He used a six inch face plate. He turned the top of the piece until the knots became evident around the upper portion of the piece. The knots consist of hard wood; and should not show on the rim of the neck because they may easily chip off. A deep fluted gouge was used. The object was to visualize each of the six knots as much as possible in the top of the piece. The top was then parted off in preparation for hollowing. The outer shape of the vessel was then developed leaving a considerable thickness of wood attached to the face plate. This was done to assure stability of the piece during the hollowing process. The outer surface was then cleaned by shear scraping. He then briefly discussed his sharpening technique using the Wolverine Jig. Larry then used a 1 1/2 drill bit to do the initial hollowing of the vessel down to the bottom. The opening was further defined using a Henry Taylor gouge ground to between a deep fluted and a spindle configuration. He began the hollowing with a Dennis Stuart tool. The cutter used was a tear drop shape with a slight cutting angle. The tool rest on his grinder is always set at this angle. He used a rounded, curved tool rest in conjunction with his hollowing tool. The angle of the tool handle rests on the round tool rest which he prefers. The vessel was then hollowed using the tear drop shaped cutter. It is important to keep chips out of the vessel and not let them build up and trap the tool in the vessel. He then demonstrated small copper rakes he made out of one-half inch copper tubing. These are used to remove chips from the vessel interior. He used compressed air to aid in chip removal. Larry then used the straight hollowing tool to develop the bottom of the vessel. The shoulder of the vessel was completed using the tear drop shaped cutter. Larry turns the hollow vessels to balance them about one-quarter inch wall thickness. He feels that a little "heft" is OK in a piece. Calipers were discussed to determine wall thickness and one of his designs was shown. Depth of the vessel was then determined so as to avoid going through the bottom. A correction for even this mishap was discussed. The entire hollowing process should be completed prior to completion of the base.

Vacuum chucking was discussed using stretch plastic tape available from U-Haul It. The plastic seals the numerous air spaces that prevent adequate suction. He uses hot spot glue on the center pith in the bottom of the vessel to prevent it from being sucked out by the pump. Camphor Bowl with Corian Plug. A camphor bowl with a Corian plug forming the lid started the afternoon session. The opening of the vessel was trued up - the vessel removed from the lathe. A waste block was placed in the chuck, trued-up and the piece of Corian glued to the block. The Corian was trued-up using a parting tool and then turned to fit the opening of the camphor bowl. The parting tool was used at a negative angle to avoid fracturing the Corian. The top was notched to fit snugly in the opening. A one inch hole was cut in the Corian lid using the parting tool. It was then parted off and glued in place. The Corian was surfaced and the edges formed. It was then sanded. Finishing with several coats of clear lacquer is done outside. If a blush occurs then lacquer thinner can be used to remove it but the thinner should be the same brand. Larry feels that lacquer is superior to polyurethane.

Christmas ornaments. A 2 1/2 x 6 inch camphor block was used for the first ornament. It was rounded and a tenon formed on the tailstock end. The piece was reversed and the tenon placed in the chuck. A second tenon was then formed at the tailstock end. After truing the piece a rough ball was then formed. A pencil line was then drawn across the ball so that later it could be realigned after cutting into two halves. A parting tool was used at an angle to separate the two halves of the ornament. Each half was hollowed using a small scraper - then a gouge and were then glued back together by aligning the pencil indicator mark - each keeping its own tenon. Finial were turned on both ends of the ornament using a one quarter inch deep fluted bowl gouge.. The ball was then trued-up with a one-half inch scraper. The tailstock was removed and abrasive turning done to define the lower finial. Sanding was done with Korax paper (Eagle Brand). Small grooves were then formed on each side of the glue line and a stainless steel wire was used to burn in the lines. The ornament was then colored using double ended pens available at most art stores. When coloring a very slow speed was used. The top of the ornament was then formed with the gouge, sanded, painted and parted off. A small screw eye was placed in the top of the ornament. and finished with several coats of lacquer. Larry finished using colored laminated wood for another Christmas ornament and finally turned a small Christmas bell. Hasiak continued from page 1s then parted off and glued in place. The Corian was surfaced and the edges formed. It was then sanded. Finishing with several coats of clear lacquer is done outside. If a blush occurs then lacquer thinner can be used to remove it but the thinner should be the same brand. Larry feels that lacquer is superior to polyurethane.

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