Alain Mailland lives near Uzes in the South of France. He bought a house in ruin and built a home of stone and wood. He had the skills to do this because he had been a carpenter, mason and roofer. He became a turner because he loves wood. Alain stated that he usually does not have a precise plan for a piece. He turns so that he can remove a lot of wood quickly. The carving and sanding becomes the slow parts of creating his pieces which are burls and roots from the South of France. He turns them into vegetable or marine shapes and carves them into vegetable, animal or cosmic creatures. Alain feels it is up to us to see what we wish when we view his work. He stated that, In France, the life of a woodturner is good, but is not easy financially. I have to lead a simple life but I choose it because I can do what I like. On a somewhat less simple note Alain is President of the French Woodturners Association.

The morning session began with an introduction of Alain by John Hill. This was followed by an extensive slide show of Alain's work. Many of his multi-axis turnings were shown. He was one of the first turners in France to turn green wood. He uses Hackberry, French Madrone, Juniper, Pistachio, Boxwood, Heather, and many others. Several of these trees are small and very slow growing but the roots are quite large compared to the trees. Because of the slow growth the wood is very dense and annular rings extremely close together. Madrone burl is used to create his flowers. The burl pattern permits making thins petals that do not crack as they would if straight grain wood were used. Burls and roots are kept in water in plastic containers to keep the wood very wet until the time for turning. Alain uses very intricate chucks and faceplates to hold his large pieces that will be turned off-center with many centers used. He even chains the pieces to the faceplate. About 60-70 percent of his work hours are spent carving and sanding and to prevent back strain he does his work in the semi-reclining position with music playing. Slides were shown of this and he appeared to be quite comfortable and relaxed. This ended a very detailed slide show that very well portrayed Alain's artistry and imagination. When asked if he planned his shapes and forms prior to beginning a piece he stated that he may or may not. He simply takes one step at a time and if he gets bogged down in a piece he will set it aside until an idea or plan pops into his head.

The morning demonstration continued with the creation of a petaled flower. Alain used French Madrone burl. This wood is very dense because it grows slowly like many of the woods available in Southern France. This piece was kept very wet prior to turning. He placed the piece between centers with a chuck at the headstock end. The lowest petal of the  flower was turned first. This is important because it determines the shape of the higher petals. A gouge was used to turn the underside of the lower petal. Subsequent petals were shaped with curved, handmade scrapers.

The scraper point is rounded, not pointed. This prevents catches. A curved scraper was used to profile the underside of the petal. The thickness of the lower petal was then determined and the lower surface of the second petal formed with his #2 curved scraper. The more curved #3 scraper was used. This scraper produced a very smooth surface. The thickness of the second petal was then formed. All petals formed were thin enough to be easily bent so that in the drying process they can move without cracking. The edge of each petal was turned first to final thickness and not returned to because it will move or vibrate. Alain has various scrapers with different curves to form different types of flowers such as poppies, camellias, etc. The upper petal was then formed and then the center of the flower. When forming the center it was kept in mind that a jam chuck would have to be placed into it prior to the flowers completion during the afternoon session. This completed a very informative and fascinating morning session.

 The afternoon session began with the continuing of the turned Madrone burl flower. Even during the one-hour break the petals had moved due to drying (a plastic bag was placed around it during that period). The petals were sanded starting at 120 grit then 180. The flower was removed from the chuck and a piece of dry wood (2x2x6) was placed in the chuck. This was turned to form a wood jam chuck to fit into the center of the flower. The flower was placed on the chuck and the tailstock brought up to the stem end of the flower. The stem was then turned. The stem was then parted off and the petals were trimmed with scissors to give each a more realistic shape. This particular flower was in the shape of a camellia. This was then allowed to dry so that further sanding could be done later in the demo.

Next, Alain turned a Madrone burl flower or more accurately a plant. The piece was placed between centers (6x6x10) and rounded. The lighter color of the burl was toward the outside of the tree the darker toward the center. A tenon was formed on the headstock end of the piece and that end further rounded to form the base of the piece. The piece was removed from between centers and placed on the chuck. The tailstock was brought up and the tailstock end further rounded. The tailstock end of the piece would become the branches and the rings of the flowers. The lower petal was then formed with the scraper. The petals should be turned flat or perpendicular to the lathe axis. This will provide for the most movement. The second and subsequent petals were formed. The center stem of the flower was made the same diameter between each petal or ring. The tailstock end of the piece (bark end) was irregular so that the last or uppermost two rings were also irregular mostly the top ring. The space between petals or rings was gradually increased from bottom to top. Then the top of the piece or the uppermost ring was formed. The curve of the entire piece from base and between rings was refined. The piece was then hollowed from top to bottom.

Alain checked the tightness of the chuck periodically to be sure that, due to the wet wood, it had not come loose. As he hollowed deeper into the piece he scraped the walls to final thickness so that he would not have to go back later and have the piece vibrate. Progressively heavier tools and longer, heavier handles were used as the depth of hollowing increased. A caliper was used repeatedly to measure wall thickness. The piece was then parted off. It was then decided to have two branches for each of the four main rings and one for the top, partial ring total of nine. The base of the piece was divided into nine segments each 40 degrees each representing a branch. It was then determined which single branch went to the top, partial ring, and which (2 each) to the lower four levels or rings. Alain then, using a rotary tool, cut out the waste wood leaving only the branches. He needs a speed of at least 25,000 rpm. The cutter he used was a dry wall cutter. 

A ball shaped rasp was then used to further define the branches. The dry wall cutter was then reemployed to remove the space between branches. Unfortunately, the speed of the tool he used was 14,000 rpm so that the carving went more slowly and not as aggressively as usual. Alain then defined the branches to the higher rings. At this point he could demonstrate movement of the rings due to the wood removal. More and more delicateness was achieved as carving progressed. At this point two branches went to each of the four lower rings and one to the top ring. Edges of the rings and branches were further refined with the ball grinder. Japanese knives were used to shape the branches. The piece will be finished at a later date. It will be kept wet until completed. Final sanding will be done when the piece is dry. Sanding on the dry flower made during the morning session was shown using a flap sander made by Dremel. It is a slotted tool with sandpaper placed in the slot.

This completed a most interesting and detailed demonstration. An edited tape and DVD will be available in the club library in July 2004. For anyone interested, Alain Mailland's phone and fax # is (33) 4 66 22 6645.

His web site is: www.mailland.fr and his email is: alain@mailland.fr

--Bob Gunther

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