What I did at school today

[Kathy Marshall]

Today was the hands on class with Keith Gotschall. There were 6 of us in the class, which seemed to be just the right size. We did 2 projects, a salt or pepper shaker that is filled and dispenses from the bottom through a funnel, and a lidded bowl/box (which reminds me of the form for a tortilla keeper).
The salt shaker is poplar and the lidded bowl is hard maple.
We worked on tool presentation and control, and embellishments, beads and v-grooves which are not my strong point, so this was very helpful for me.

They are finish turned, but have not seen any sandpaper yet. They're simple pieces, but I'm happy with how they turned out, especially the surface and the almost complete lack of tool marks. I could easily start sanding at 220, possibly even 320.
I've considered playing with some dye on them, but I think I'll just finish with some oil and wop to make them nice little utilitarian pieces.

I'm glad I took the class, in addition to some new basic techniques, I also got some help with skew and scraper work which I desperately needed, so all in all it was money well spent.
2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
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4 1/2" x 6"
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Underside of the lid
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Bottom
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[John Keeton]

Kathy, that certainly is some clean work! By all appearances, the class was well worth your time. I certainly like the maple lidded box, and it does have the look of a tortilla keeper. Not sure I understand the mechanics of the shaker with the funnel.

[Roland Martin]

I agree with John, that is some really clean work. The lidded box is exceptional and very useful. Thanks for sharing, Kathy. I'm in desperate need of tool presentation instruction and am looking into hands-on opportunities, far and few up here:(.

[Mike Cruz]

No tool marks? I see tool marks all over the inside of that lid! Oh, wait, those are beads and grooves...:o Sounds like you had a great time at your class. Amazing how smooth you got those without sandpaper. Not me, that's for sure! Makes me want to take another class...I could sure use it.

[Doug W Swanson]

Pretty impressive Kathy. They look like finished pieces in the photos. Excellent work!

[Nathan Hawkes]

Very nice, Kathy!! I think you should do as little sanding as possible if they are to be utilitarian pieces. The feel of well-cut wood is difficult to replicate. I made a couple tables a while back (I know, flatwork is blasphemy and all...) that I used my grandfather's planes and a cabinet scraper on; no sandpaper. The finish was wonderful, and took finish so much more nicely than a sanded surface. Your tool work is near perfect as I can tell from the photos. Great work!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Impressive work Kathy! The class was definitely worth the time!

[Jerry Marcantel]

Kathy, I'm longing for the day that my sanded peices look that good. I don't think it's going to happen..... Nice work........ I'm taking a guess that the tortilla bowl is for corn tortillas? What is the brand of finish you're going to use as I just made a flour tortilla bowl, and it doesn't have a finish yet...... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Jason Clark2]

I saw these in person yesterday just before "school" let out for the day. They have very good surfaces, easily 220 grit to start. I'm almost scared to see what Kathy can produce now that she's had some professional instruction.

Feedback for Keith Gotschall from other club members was very positive, anyone looking for an outside demonstrator or for some classes should consider him.

Jason

[David Reed]

Wish I had something near to that level of tool control. No sand paper? Very nice

[Baxter Smith]

Clean work and nice details Kathy! Looks professional!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Glad to see you enjoyed the class. Our local turning club try's to have 1 or 2 Professional turners demo & hold hands on classes per year. Everyone that attends seems to learn new tips & skills and enjoys themselves. However attendance is very unpredictable some pack the house & some have small attendance even though everyone seems to be in favor of them. This can make it hard to schedule when you don't know how they'll turn out because of the cost. Most don't realize that it can cost up to $800. per day plus expenses & travel cost.

[Roger Chandler]

pur-dy nice stuff there, young lady!

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!


Kathy, that certainly is some clean work! By all appearances, the class was well worth your time. I certainly like the maple lidded box, and it does have the look of a tortilla keeper. Not sure I understand the mechanics of the shaker with the funnel.
This shows how it works. The length of the funnel piece is about 2/3's of the depth of the hollowed body. The funnel piece sits in a recess in the body (it gets glued in permanently when the piece is finished). To fill with salt (or pepper) just turn it over and pour through the funnel into the body. To dispense the salt, just give it a shake and some of the salt will fall out through the funnel. For salt, Keith recommends drilling a 1/8" hole and a little bigger for pepper. You just don't want too big a hole for the salt or you'll get too much and dinner will end up in the trash. The size and shape is only limited by your imagination, I'm thinking a sphere shaped one (with a flat bottom) might be kinda neat.
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Kathy, I'm longing for the day that my sanded peices look that good. I don't think it's going to happen..... Nice work........ I'm taking a guess that the tortilla bowl is for corn tortillas? What is the brand of finish you're going to use as I just made a flour tortilla bowl, and it doesn't have a finish yet...... Jerry (in Tucson)
It might be just about the right size for corn tortillas but I'll probably use it for something else. It could be used for candy, jewelry, trinkets, a sugar bowl or any number of things. Some mesquite would make a cool tortilla bowl and fit right in with a southwest theme. If I was going to use it for tortillas, I would probably finish with walnut oil on the inside, but the outside would depend on the wood and whether I wanted any shine to it or not, but a few coats of DO will build up a nice soft finish.

Glad to see you enjoyed the class. Our local turning club try's to have 1 or 2 Professional turners demo & hold hands on classes per year. Everyone that attends seems to learn new tips & skills and enjoys themselves. However attendance is very unpredictable some pack the house & some have small attendance even though everyone seems to be in favor of them. This can make it hard to schedule when you don't know how they'll turn out because of the cost. Most don't realize that it can cost up to $800. per day plus expenses & travel cost.
Our club usually has a couple of all day demos with professional turners each year. This is only my 2nd year in the club, but it seems like we have pretty good turnouts. We have David Ellsworth coming in November for an all day demo and a couple of days of hands on. I think it's going to be a packed house!

[Jason Clark2]

We had ~90 people there for Keith's demo. I suspect we'll have ~200 for Ellsworth. Prescott is planning to rent a bus and bring down 40 people.

While I've been active in the club the past we've had classes with Bill Grumbine, Stu Batty (twice), Jimmy Clewes, and now Keith Gotschall. In the next 12 months we'll have hands on with both Ellsworth and Raffan. That's a pretty solid lineup if you ask me.

Jason