Alaska

The Anchorage symposium starts this weekend. Once again my buddy Stu Batty and I will demonstrate our duelling demonstration on particular techniques on making bowls. The last time we did this was at SWAT in Texas and before that the Arizona Woodturners Symposium. I feel sorry for Stu since he has received a real drubbing on the last two try's. The Alaskan Birch will hamper Stu's technique. The only thing that can save him is charming the audience with his jordy accent. Another case of bringing a knife to a gun fight. Good luck Stu!

Alaska Symposium

Fly tonight to Anchorage for a week long workshop followed by the Anchorage Woodturning Symposium. This is my third trip there in the last 10 years. A great group of people. Made many friends up there over the years. Here's a picture of me with Bill and Dan

AAW Back to Basics Contest

The results are now posted on the AAW woodturning web site. The winners and my critiques can be viewed from there. Enjoy! http://www.aawforum.org/photopost/search.php?searchid=15183

Rough out day

There was 145 bowls in that tree. There was birdseye grain as well as fiddleback in most of it.

Largest Pine tree

Got a call from the American Forest organization on Friday. They have granted me official status that my Western White Pine (Pinus Manticola) is the largest of its kind. I will be looking for a larger one in that same area next summer and I will explore an area in Southern Oregon for a Mondo tree in that area.

AAW Back to Basics Woodturning competition

I spent a fair amount of the day judging a woodturning exhibit online. There were 31 entries. The theme was Back to Basics with a emphasis on form, finish and use of materials. It was a difficult task since all entries required a critique. I will post the winners as soon as it is published.

Aching back!

Three days of chainsaw work has me looking forward to taking a break and roughing out bowls tomorrow. I will post a picture of some of the exquisite wood I've been cutting.

club demo

Here is a picture of my local woodturners club. I did a demonstration on making nested bowls. I wish I had more energy but I spent the whole day on a chainsaw. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves anyway.

Wood cutting today

Cut circles all day and wrapped them in plastics until I can get to them. Hopefully I will have the energy to get to it before I start my travel schedule at the end of the month.
Finally going after that big Boxelder today. I am going to fillet the burls off of it and gives those to Joe Pearson who collected the tree from the city. I am really only interested in the straight grain. Boxelder burl has been relatively easy to come by lately. I don't want it unless I can get to it quickly. It has been getting a blue stain in it through drying and isn't very pretty when that happens.