17.9.11

Demo by Mick Hanbury:

Morning Session:

He demonstrated different colouring technique, especially using iridescent paint which are applied by fingers and smeared on the surface to be coloured in different random patterns.

The paint is applied after first having coloured the sanded surface with black matt acrylic paint applied with a sponge (rather than a brush).

Initially a 12 inch sycamore blank (ca. 2 inch thick) was turned with a spigot for holding in the chuck. The underside was finished to 400 grid using a 20/80 combination of beeswax and mineral oil. This was applied as a wax prior to sanding in order to reduce dust and also to fill pores in the wood.

A pattern looking like flames was created using an Arbortech grinder with a ca. 1.5" cutter with teeth like a chainsaw.  After a light sanding a spirit stain was applied along the edge of the bowl using a spray device operated by blowing through a pipe. Other colours were added later to create a combination of colours. A light coat of black acrylic paint was smeared across the surface with a heavier coat along the edge and the centre near the foot. This was finally sprayed with clear acrylic paint.

The bowl - or platter - was turned and the spigot on the foot mounted in the chuck, and the inside turned with a very large rim allowing space for several areas with heavy decoration. First straight lines were created by burning using a thin metal cutting disc in an angle grinder. In this way a number of areas were created, some triangular and others of different shaped polygons.

Some areas were decorated with indentations created by a high speed pointed cutter in a Dremmel. Some holes were deeper (ca. 1mm) than others which were quite small. All holes were arranged randomly. Using the highest speed in the Dremmel enabled the holes to be almost burnt in the wood, thus creating brown cavities that looked as if they were painted.

Other areas of the rim were first painted black with matt acrylic paint. When after a short time the paint had dried the iridescent paint was added using fingers. Only small amounts were used and smeared in various random patterns. The paints used were 'Chroma Paints'.

Once all the areas had been decorated and the paint dried the surface was sprayed with clear acrylic lacquer.

Afternoon session:

First a hollow form bowl was made which included demonstration of different forms of hollowing tools. A separate neck was turned and added as a push fit to be glued in position later. After sanding the vase was painted black as above and covered all over with the iridescent paint. Once dried the vase was sprayed with acrylic lacquer. The neck was finally added in its natural colour.

The last item demonstrated was a ca. 8" bowl in heavily figured Olive ash. As there was a fault in the wood near the centre of the bowl filling was required. Mick used black radiator sealant which is a metal based 2 component filler similar to Plastic Padding. It is very hard and should be sanded rather than cut with a gouge to avoid blunting the tool edge.