Hi

Did you have a good Bank Holiday Weekend? The weather was pretty atrocious here, but it was nice and relaxing so I can’t complain.
I always enjoy hosting our Conkers LIVE broadcasts, and I’m especially excited about our next one as it features Kirsty Dalton, a newcomer to the demonstration circuit and I’m hoping it will be the first of many demos. Kirsty is a young woodturner from Scotland who has a wonderful technique for decorating her items. I hope you’ll come along and watch, and give Kirsty a warm welcome. Click here to go to our YouTube page.
And now…. it’s question time…

The first question this week is about what machine to use with the Buffing System. I’m not entirely sure what was meant by this one, but I answered as best I could; the Buffing Wheel Kit is designed primarily to be used on a lathe, mounting the wheels in the mandrel supplied, which in turn is held in a chuck. The wheels can also be mounted, via the Small Mandrel, into a hand drill or a pillar drill. We wouldn’t recommend using them in a grinder, as these run at much faster speeds and this could be very dangerous.
The Buffing Tree can only be used on a lathe (in conjunction with the Large Mandrel) as it needs to be supported at both ends.

Some of the questions we get are just confusing. A recent one asked if our cellulose based stains can be used under any cellulose lacquer. We don’t make cellulose based stains, so I was in trouble right from the start! I assumed that our Spirit Stain was what was really being referred to, and as discussed previously they are, as near as dammit, based on meths. A cellulose based product used over them will reactivate the stain, and can cause it to move – not great when blending colours. If it is sprayed, however, there’s no mechanical dragging action, so the colour stays where it is put (unless there is so much sealer/lacquer applied that it runs, taking the stain with it). As to whether any cellulose lacquer can be used… it should be fine. But as we don’t know the details of every lacquer out there, a test would be a good idea first.

On a similar note, (and I know we’ve spoken about this before), Alan S contacted me some months ago about a finish to use over the Sharpie pen he wanted to use for his illusionary basketware pieces. The same principle applies as above; use a spray, sparingly at first, and the ink won’t run. Alan kindly supplied some pictures of his finished items – and permission to reproduce them – and I think you’ll agree it’s worked very well. The Acrylic Satin Lacquer was used here, over a Sharpie. The bud vase also has a thinned acrylic paint on it, showing that the spray will go over this without any issues as well. Thanks Alan!

Did you join us for our charity quiz last Saturday? You missed a treat if you didn’t, it was really great fun, everyone who took part, including me, thoroughly enjoyed it – even if the questions were a bit tougher this time. Special thanks to everyone who donated to our collection, we raised just under £220. The quiz winner gets to choose where the money goes, and this was split between Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer.
I hope I’ll see you on Wednesday, and back here again next week.

Have a good week

Terry