Jacques (Jack) Vesery is an artisan from Damariscotta, Maine who creates turned art pieces. Jack tries to evoke the spirit of nature in his work. He is greatly influenced by the source of his medium the living tree and the great circle which is life. The colors and natural textures reflect the past and present, growth and history, which is a circle. They close the gap, coming around full circle, forming a balance for him which cannot be found in squares.

After serving as a submariner in the Navy, Jack became a scrimshander in Hawaii and later, Cape Cod. He then served as a forest ranger and fire warden in northern New Jersey. A self-taught artist, Jack now works in wood, a more substantial and environmentally sound medium.

Currently, Jack is an advisor to the American Association of Woodturners, a member of the American Craft Council and past member of the Executive Board of the Maine Crafts Association. In addition, he teaches, lectures and demonstrates both woodturning and design privately and publicly throughout the world. Jack and his wife, Minda Gold, and their sons Isaac and Jonah enjoy living, working and playing in Maine the way life should be.

Morning Session:

Jack uses the wood as a "canvas". He feels that a piece being large may not be the best. He suggests taking a large piece and dividing it into several pieces and then turning each in the best possible way to portray the optimum shape and grain patterns. Jack makes many "canvasses" of wood over a period of weeks. He then may not turn for six months or a year. During that period he works his canvasses.

Jack uses a Stubby 1000 lathe. He sets his tool rest below center to get a proper tool angle. He begins with a roughing gouge to shape the cylindrical piece which in this demonstration was end grain green cherry. To prepare this piece or canvas Jack shaped it to a semi-finished form. (He may do a dozen of one shape. These are his canvasses.) Jack turns both right and left-handed. This enables him to get to numerous areas of the piece with greater ease and comfort. He then turned a spigot on the headstock end of the piece with a swept-back bowl gouge. This permitted it to be used as a shear scraper as well as a parting tool. Jack then developed the form as much as possible. He left as much mass as possible on the foot end of the piece to maintain strength and stability. (When sharpening in his shop he uses a high-speed grinder with eighty grit aluminum oxide six-inch wheels. He does not use a jig and usually removes the tool from the handle when sharpening. He forms steep sides to the flute. This provides a cutting edge that remains sharp for longer periods.)

Jack then cleaned or refined the surface of the piece to eliminate divots or flat areas. If these are not eliminated the carving process will not be as effective. He carves rather than sands. He then removed the piece from between centers and placed the spigot previously formed in the Axminster chuck. This provides greater holding power on the piece even if it is fifteen inches high and twelve inches in diameter. This holds the piece on the outer surfaces and transmits the holding strength to the headstock. Jack then made a plunge cut in the center of the piece. He put a piece of tape on the drill bit to show the determined depth of the center hole. He prepped the spot for the bit with the gouge. It was then drilled. The one-quarter inch bowl gouge was used to initially open the vessel via the drill hole. He was able to develop most of the lower portion of the piece entirely with the one-quarter inch gouge. He used a modified parfait spoon to remove shavings (note: the green cherry was cut six months ago stored in Tupperware and occasionally wet down with lemon juice to prevent molding.) The interior shoulder was formed with a small boring device and a modified Stewart scraper. The interior was then further developed. At this point the wall thickness was only one-half way completed. Further hollowing was not done due to time restraints. The piece was then sprayed with lemon juice and placed in a plastic bag to be used later in the demonstration. Wall thickness is determined by what the finished process will be. For smaller pieces one-eighth to three-sixteenth inch wall thickness is desired. This is gauged by simply feeling the wall thickness. In the deeper portion of the vessel this can be inaccurate so if you think you need to go thinner - DON'T!

A waste block was then put in the chuck and a cone turned to be inserted in the opening of the above turned piece. The tailstock was replaced and the piece placed between centers and the remaining excess wood removed from the bottom of the vessel. (In his shop, Jack uses a microwave. He places the piece in for 15-30 seconds and then lets it cool on a shelf or in a bag.) He uses a depth gauge made from an old radio or TV. antenna that is the telescoping type. The bottom of the foot was then formed and the final shape refined. The size of the foot should be about the same size as the opening in the top or somewhat smaller. The foot was then hollowed and a small nub left so that later the piece could be returned to between centers. The nub should be below the level of the foot of the piece. The piece is then put away for drying. Small cracks formed during drying can be repaired with CA glue - BUT ... DO NOT wood-burn any significant CA glue areas because the fumes are toxic.

Next Jack placed a waste block in the chuck. Using CA glue a burl circular piece was glued to the waste block. This piece was trued-up using a parting tool. Jack then measured the open end of the vessel that will accept the ring. The ring was then turned to fit in the open end. It was then refined so that it would appear to be part of the final form and not just sitting on top. The center of the ring was then removed and the ring parted off. Usually the ring would be placed in another chuck on another lathe and the interior of the ring refined then completed. This completed the morning session.

The afternoon session began with a very interesting slide show presentation of Jacks background and his work. Again he stressed that he almost never completes a single piece from beginning to end. He works on numerous pieces doing similar work on each. He feels this increases quality and decreases boredom.

Jack then discussed an issue that was brought up during the lunch break - microwaving for dryness. He starts with 30 seconds at high heat then lets the piece cool at room temperature. He then places it back in the microwave. This may be done two or three times. Then two weeks later he puts it back in the microwave. When the piece is removed he holds his eyeglass lens over it to check for any steam coming out. If little or none the piece is dry enough. In general, the larger the piece the longer the drying period.

Next Jack discussed the carving techniques. The first was reciprocating and the second rotary. Reciprocating carving was done with the Weecheer tool. Flexcut cutters were used the basic set of four being good initial choice. Flexible shafts should not be severely bent and the motor drive should be at a comfortable level. The shaft should be lubricated. Jack first demonstrated leaf carving from upper to lower areas on the piece (whereas in feather carving it is from the lower to the upper areas of the piece). Jack always carves holding the piece and free handing the design. Different cutter tips will alter the carving appearance.

Chip carving was then demonstrated on dry cherry. Chip carving gives a hammered texture to the wood surface. The trick here is to be as random as possible. You do not want to change the shape of the piece only the surface. Once charged the tips are then dragged through the pre-formed grooves that correspond to the cutter tip shapes.

Rotary carving was then discussed. Jack prefers to use a foot control pedal to change power and speed. He uses rotary carving in preparation for burning. After rotary carving he uses a sanding drum to soften the carving lines. At this point he uses a pencil to draw lines to form the burnt feathers (right or left) center quill lines. Jack then burns in the feather pattern. He uses the Detail-Master with 150-watt power. A computer fan is used to blow the smoke away. Jack then carved away the shoulder of each quill using a teardrop cutter with the tip ground off. This gives a sharper cutting edge. The outline of the feather was burned and then more details of each were formed. A bronze brush is used to get debris out of the grooves after burning. For smaller objects 320 or 400 grit paper is used lightly on the surface. To sign your name with the burner use a very fine tip - cut the power down - go slowly.

Coloring was then discussed. Jack always starts with black India ink. It is applied with a toothbrush. The entire vessel is coated. The air hose is used to blast the ink into the grooves. He uses a Corian palate and acrylic paints of varying viscosity. He starts with flat sheens and works up to the texture his wants. The paint is applied with a short brush. The heavier tones are used first. He uses foam brushes that have been trimmed to a point. He loads the brush then unloads it then highlights the piece with progressively lighter tones to highlight the raised areas.

The last item covered was gold leafing. A very slow drying varnish is used. The leaf is then applied over the varnish. Dust can be a real problem due to the slow drying varnish. You have to wait for the varnish to dry just the right amount before applying the leaf. There is a very narrow window in which to apply the leaf. Jack uses 2-3 coats of leaf to achieve maximum brightness. He uses various shades of gold leafing which can be obtained from Stepp Leaf Company.

This completed a wonderful demonstration. A video will be available in the club library in June 2004.

--Bob Gunther

Jack's Website