Great day with Richard Raffan

[Bob Rotche]

So today I had a full day, hands on session with Richard Raffan. There were 8 of us and we had a fantastic time! Richard is an incredible craftsman and a class act. Very enjoyable guy to spend time with. He started by demonstrating all of the possible catches and why they happen. We worked primarily on fundamentals which was perfect. So many little things that can improve the overall quality and efficiency of our work. Plus, we spent quite a bit of time with the skew, a tool that I really hope to become proficient with this next year. Richard is a big fan of the skew. We did excercises creating a series of V-grooves and then rounding them over into balls. Did several small projects to work on various techniques. Did some spinning tops, some pencil cups to practice end grain hollowing and then did bowls which we attempted to decorate with a series of beads. Some pics are attached. The close-ups are Richards hands, often turning the lathe off to demonstrate where on the tool the cut is occuring. The final pic is my attempt at a beaded bowl. Not very even but if I do it 10 more times, I should have it down pat! Also turns out that Richard needs a lift to the NC symposium this weekend so I will be driving him down from Roanoke! Will be just the 2 of us in the car for about 2 1/2 hours- plenty of time to learn everything I wanted to know about woodturning but was afraid to ask...

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[Steve Schlumpf]

Class looks like it was a blast! Nice looking bowl there Bob! Have fun on the trip to the symposium! Any chance you can swing through the Upper Peninsula on your way there?

[Roger Chandler]

Great day it sounds like Bob............sure wish I could have made the time for it, but it was not possible at this time. I like your bowl................looks like you made the most of the day and I hope you got his end grain hollowing technique perfected already!

[charlie knighton]

sounds like time well spent , enjoy the ride

[Bob Rotche]

The great thing about watching Richard turn is that he makes everything look so easy and natural. The tools are like extensions of his hands. His tool use is as natural as brushing his teeth or combing his hair (I sort of remember what that was like...) Something that many aspire to and few achieve.

[Russell Eaton]

Very cool, have fun on the long ride with him.

[John Keeton]

Bob, that had to be a fantastic time. Richard is extremely well informed about a lot of things - not just woodturning - so, he is very interesting to talk to. You will have a fun trip to the symposium.

The bowl looks good to me - nice beading. Also, very nice looking setup - is that where your club meets??

[Roger Chandler]

- is that where your club meets??

John,

I am not positive on this, but I think they held the class at Willie Simmons shop......he is a magistrate and a furniture restorer, and he also is very accomplished with a skew as well as gives demos .............he gave a real good demo in spring of 2010 at our club.

The Blueridge woodturners is moving to the masonic lodge in Roanoke for their meetings beginning this month.....it had been held at the fire station in Fincastle [where we went for the demo on Monday]

[Jamie Donaldson]

Just wait until you see Richard reverse hollow a box with a gouge in about 3 strokes! Still blows my mind that he can do something so easily that should be against the turning laws of physics!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looks like a great time and should be a great ride. I met him and he is a great gentleman. Like Jamie said you want to see something watch him reverse hollow a box. Just amazing.

[Betty Fox]

Reverse hollow a box? I don't even know what that means.

[Paul Heely]

I'm guessing that Jamie's talking about the back hollowing technique that Richard uses to hollow out the inside of a box when roughing it out. It's amazing to see how fast he removes wood this way. It's even better when he shows you how to do it without getting the horrible hideous catches that go along with the technique if you do it wrong.

There is a short clip from Richard's box turning video on YouTube that shows back hollowing, starts around 35 seconds into the clip.

[Bob Rotche]

He did demonstrate it and explained how to do it, though I don't think any of us dared try it! Basically, he goes in with a swept back 1/2" spindle gouge, cutting on the usual downard turning side then comes back out cutting on the upward spinning side so removing wood both while entering the box as well as while pulling out. Not a hint of a catch. He then squares and cleans up the bottom with a scraper. Made it look very easy though clearly it is anything but. Makes very quick work of hollowing and he takes pride in being a production turner though he doesn't do that anymore.

[Jim Burr]

That is a day worth more than can be spoken easily!! Did anyone tape it? Really a once in a life time opportunity!! Mr. Raffin is a rare knowledge source that should be exploited while in your presence!!

[Lee Koepke]

Thanks for sharing. I wish I could have been there too! I have seen several of his videos and read a couple of his books, his skew work is remarkable!