Overview:

One of our own, Joe Ruminski lives in Fairview, NC and has been a woodturner for about ten years. Prior to becoming a full time professional turner he was a teacher and principal in the NC school system. His studio and shop, named Green River Woodturning, is located at his home. Joe is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. He specializes in bowls, hollow forms and artistic turnings. His miniature turnings take woodturning to the extreme. A big love of Joe’s is teaching and he has brought it to woodturning. He does demonstrations, one-on-one classes and group classes. His most recent classes were a series of three one-day hands-on workshops for CMW members using the TLC (Turning Learning Center) at the Folk Art Center.

Morning Session:

Joe began his demonstration with a discussion of woodturning in general. This included setting up especially the proper condition and functioning of the lathe. He then touched on sharpening. He has fixed the position of his Vari-Grind jig with CA glue to the angle he grinds on his bowl and spindle gouges. The same angle is used for each. He uses his own depth stop and not others because not all are necessarily the same. Also, some people do not take into consideration the penny or nickel placed in the bottom of the depth gauge hole when determining depth. Joe also uses angle gauges that he cuts from plywood or Masonite. This permits him to go from grinder to grinder and the diameter of the wheel does not present a problem. He uses three gauges – one each for his bowl gouge, spindle gouge and the Ellsworth grind gouge. He dresses his wheel on a regular basis to keep it as flat as possible. This permits him to achieve a more even grind on his tools. Joe also noted that the grinding jigs and the associated extending bar should be kept tight to prevent slipping. This was recently impressed on us by the injury to Al Stirt’s finger sustained while grinding.

[Note: The projects Joe demonstrated were not completed because, at no charge, he raffled them off to the audience. Each winner was to take his or her prize home and finish it.]

Joe then demonstrated three bottle stopper turnings. He mounted the stopper blank on a homemade screw chuck fabricated from a cut off three-eighths inch bolt held by a Jacobs chuck in the headstock. (Joe places a washer on the cut off screw chuck bolt. The diameter of the washer is the same as the base of the finished stopper and thus acts as a template for the size of the stopper base.) A blank was placed on the screw chuck and the tailstock brought up. A roughing gouge was used both to round the piece and to partially refine its shape. A spindle gouge was then used to give the stopper its final form. The stopper would then be sanded and completed using a finish of choice. The second stopper was turned totally with the bowl gouge including the roughing, shaping and finishing cuts. The third was made using the skew. With the skew the bevel must be ridden and the tool handle held quite low. The parting tool and spindle gouge were used to complete the details on this stopper.

A spatula was then demonstrated. The handle of the spatula was formed by two pieces of cherry glued to a central piece of maple that was the center of the handle and the blade of the piece. Centering of the piece between centers was important so that the cherry sides of the handle were even on both sides after turning. This gave the handle a pleasing appearance. As Joe said, you can almost get the female form in the handle if centered well and turned just right. A bowl gouge was used to even the edges of the blade of the spatula. High speed must be used because most of what is being turned is air. The handle was then shaped with the bowl gouge and a spindle gouge was used to define details, especially where the blade met the handle. To complete the spatula, the blade can be tapered on a belt sander or a band saw. It could then be sanded and mineral oil applied as a safe, final finish.

Next a ball and cup game was made. A Forstner bit was used as a drive spur. A rectangular block of wood was placed between centers. A hole had been drilled in one end by the Forstner bit. That hole would accept the turned ball. The Forstner bit was placed into the hole and the other end of the piece on to the tailstock. The piece was shaped with a roughing gouge. Once rounded the bottom of the hole previously drilled was marked on the outside of the piece and then the handle of the piece was shaped. The ball was marked off on the tailstock end and shaped with the spindle gouge. A groove was formed on the base of the cup portion so that the string could be tied on. The ball was then nearly parted off. This could be finished later and the string placed into the ball. (Joe prefers to use mineral oil as a finish because it is safe and children tend to put things in their mouths.) To have some fun make a ball that will not fit into the cup!

Joe then demonstrated making an Ikebana. A chuck with #1 jaws was placed on the lathe. The jaws were placed into a hole previously drilled through a 1 1/2 -inch thick disc. The bowl gouge was used to shape the piece. The bottom of the piece was shaped first. The piece was then reversed on the chuck and the top shaped. Again, the bowl gouge was used. The hole previously drilled was slightly enlarged and tapered to fit the metallic insert for the flowers. Finish can be done as desired.

Next a chalice was demonstrated. A rectangular block of ambrosia maple was placed between centers. A roughing gouge was used to round the piece into a cylinder. A parting tool was used to flatten the tailstock end and to form a tenon with a clean 90-degree face. The piece was placed in the #2 jaws and the tailstock brought up. The piece was trued up and the tailstock removed. The tailstock end was cleaned up and a small dimple formed in the center. At the dimple site a hole was drilled with a spindle gouge. (Do not hold the metal shaft of the gouge when drilling – it gets very hot.) The gouge was pushed straight in to the desired depth. The bowl gouge was then used to shape the interior of the chalice using the drilled hole as a guide. A V-shaped interior was formed. The depth of the hole was marked on the outside with a parting tool. The outside of the chalice was then formed. The upper one-half inch was done first then the deeper areas. (Once thinned to the desired thickness do not return to that area.) The remainder was formed down to the stem after which the base was formed. All of the above was done with a bowl gouge. The spindle gouge was used to add detail and further refine the stem and base areas. Because the base is the weakest part of the piece it is made relatively thick but an angular cut on the sides give them a thin look. Slightly undercut the parting cut so it will set evenly on the table. This could then be parted off but would need to be finished first. This concluded the chalice and the morning session.

Afternoon Session:

Safety tip: Make sure your tools have ferrules. Ferrules are important because they can prevent the tool handles from cracking when one gets a catch or applies a great deal of pressure on the tool against the work. If one of your tools does not have a ferrule, make one. A simple way is with nylon cord which can be attached with CA glue, wrapped around the shank of the tool handle and finished off by saturating it with thick CA glue.

Joe’s first demonstration of the afternoon was a pocketbook mirror. He used a rosewood disc mounted between a pin live center and the flat surface of the jaws of the chuck. The disc was four inches in diameter and about three-quarters of an inch thick. The mirror insert area was measured off and defined with the parting tool. The bowl gouge was then used to remove material in the insert area. This was made somewhat concave shaped. Joe used reverse turning to clean up the edges where the mirror meets the wood. The piece was then reversed and placed on the expansion jaws. (It is important to not over tighten because doing so can easily crack the rim.) The backside of the mirror holder was shaped and flattened. (Making the mirror insert area too snug a fit for the mirror can result in the mirror cracking from wood shrinking due to humidity changes.) Joe uses silicone glue to keep the mirror in place. This completed the pocket mirror which would be sanded and finished.

A false hollow form was then made. A block of green ambrosia maple was placed between centers. It was roughed into a cylinder. A tenon was turned on both ends. The cylinder was partially parted where the top and bottom of the vessel would join. Later a thin parting tool would be used. By doing so a tenon would remain on the base of the lid portion of the vessel. A roughing gouge was used to shape the entire piece. The two portions of the piece (top and bottom) were parted off using the thin parting tool. The top end was placed in the chuck and hollowed. The bottom of the vessel was placed in the chuck and it too was hollowed. As an aid the Omni hollowing tool was used to hollow with the lathe going both forward and reverse. The edge was refined down to the ridge left when parting. Then the two halves of the vessel were glued together with medium CA glue. The grain patterns were lined up. The outside was then refined. This could be done because the vessel walls were left quite thick. The top of the vessel was shaped and further refined with the spindle gouge. A three-sixteenths inch hole would be drilled into the top. The bottom was refined. The piece would then be sanded. Two small grooves were made, one above and one below the glue line with the parting tool. All three lines were burned with a burnishing wire resulting with the glue line being disguised. The piece would then be parted off.

Disc formation was then demonstrated. A 1 1/2 thick disc was placed between a live pin center and the flat jaws of a chuck. It was rounded off and the surface facing the tailstock beveled. The center area was partially hollowed. The backside was then beveled. The nubbin on the tailstock side was turned away. A jam chuck was placed on the chuck. The jam chuck had a strip of wood glued to it that could be placed between the chuck jaws. The jam chuck was rounded. A circle the size of the pre-turned disc was scribed on the jam chuck and a groove turned on the face of the jam chuck. This area was cleaned out and flattened. The disc was then fitted into the jam chuck. The disc was refined once in the jam chuck. Then the jam chuck wood strip was moved in the chuck jaws so that the disc was off-center. A small depression was turned in the disc. This completed the artistic disc formation.

At this point a large ambrosia maple thick-walled pre-turned bowl was placed on the lathe. Joe had previously trued the outer surface. To do the interior Joe used an Ellsworth gouge for initial turning. For the transition to the bottom a gouge with an 80-degree bevel and prominent wings was used. This tool may appear intimidating but it can do this area of the interior and do it quite well. Joe does not hesitate using a large round nosed scraper for the interior walls if necessary.

The final part of the demo was off-center turning on a rectangular block of maple placed between centers. The piece was rounded and the ends were squared off. The center on the tail stock end was moved and two grooves cut. Another center was chosen on the other side of center and beads formed. The piece was again moved to a new center on the headstock end and further beads formed. With each new center shapes emerged on the piece. Joe did this to demonstrate what can be done by simply experimenting with alternative centers. Interesting and sometimes dramatic forms can be created.

This completed a very interesting and varied demonstration. To have included in this write-up all the information imparted would present too long an article. Please refer to the DVD that will be available in the club library in March 2007.

--Review by Bob Gunther

Link to Joe's Website