THE SPIN
STRAIT TURNERS NEWSLETTER
December, 2025 No. 25-12
Our Website Link: https://straitturners.org
Our Email: info@straitturners.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Club Calendar
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1
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President’s Message
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2
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Programs
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2
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Holiday Potluck
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2
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Website Access
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2
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Library
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2
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Wood Sales
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3
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Help Wanted
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3
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AAW Resources—Tips from Jim Echter
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3-5
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CLUB CALENDAR
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December 13
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Board Meeting, 3:00-5:00, GCC, lower level
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December 14
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Holiday Potluck, 2:00-4:00, GCC
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January 6
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Board Meeting, 6:30-7:30, via Zoom
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January 17
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Monthly Meeting, multiple stations, 10:00-1:30, GCC and Zoom
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February 3
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Board Meeting, 6:30-7:30, via Zoom
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February 21
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Monthly Meeting and Demo, Dennis Belcher, 10:00-1:30, GCC and Zoom
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Happy Holidays to all of you and yours.
This year has been a good one for Strait Turners. We have a strong member base and are in good financial condition. We now have a new and much improved website, a long-range plan, an improved fundraising capability, 501(c)3 tax exempt status, and are on the verge of offering turning classes. These changes are largely due to the efforts of Marilyn Bergevin, Jon Geisbush, and the Hershmans, Kathy and Fred. We are all indebted to them and the others who have worked hard for the club. Please be supportive of these new advances and do your part to make our club more useful to you as members.
Ted Lund, President, 2024-25
PROGRAMS
We will not have a meeting or a demo in December. In January we will be doing what we have in previous Januarys. We will have several stations set up to provide knowledge in various areas of turning. Members we be able to go from station to station to discuss these areas with experienced turners. Marilyn will be organizing this, as our incoming VP/Program Director. We will need experienced turners to set up and man these stations. We would appreciate ideas on topics from you, the members. Email info@straitturners.org to volunteer or make suggestions.
The President’s Challenge for January is to turn an item using stave construction, using plywood or lumber for the staves.
DECEMBER HOLIDAY P0TLUCK
We hope to see you all at GCC on Sunday the 14th, at 2:00. Please RSVT to info@straitturners.org to let us know how many members and guests will be attending. Please go to the website to enter what you plan to bring to share.
We suggest that you bring a plate that you have made, to support your paper plate. We always like to see examples of your work.
SET UP YOUR ACCESS ON THE WEBSITE
Some of you have still not set up your access to the members-only part of our website. Email info@straitturners.org to get guidance on that process. Once you are in, you will find some great resources there.
STRAIT TURNERS LIBRARY
Please remember to return the items you have checked out of the club library. Also, take a look at what is available to check out at the next meeting. This is a treasure trove of information for the woodturner. Contact Bob Bindschadler, at info@straitturners.org, if you have any questions about the library or want to donate to it.
WOOD AND TOOL AUCTION
Please plan to bring some quality wood or tools to the next meeting for the auction. This has been a great fundraiser for the club.
If a community member or anyone else needs a tree removed, they can contact Ed Jones, by way of info@straitturners.org, who will organize volunteers to help cut and transport the wood. Members are encouraged to support the effort by assisting Ed with cutting and hauling when needed. If you're willing to lend a hand, please reach out to Ed.
HELP WANTED!
Hosts for Open Shop Events—Can you host a small number of members in your shop for a session on some aspect of turning? If so, contact brian.r.johnson1@gmail.com.
Sponsorship Coordinator—Someone to recruit, communicate with, and document our Sponsors. A new Sponsorship program has been approved by the Board. We just need someone to put this in front of potential sponsors.
AAW
We are a chapter of the American Association of Woodturners. Members are encouraged to join AAW to access the huge selection of resources there for turners. Free trial memberships are available at the Membership Landing Page. See the AAW Webpage, https://www.woodturner.org/, for information like this:
Things I Wish I Had Known
WHEN I WAS A BEGINNING TURNER
BY JIM ECHTER
Every advanced woodturner was once a beginner. Some of us were lucky enough to enjoy lessons or had access to books and DVDs on woodturning topics. For many, however, woodturning is a self-taught endeavor. Based on my thirty years as a woodturner, I offer a list of tips and suggestions that I wish I had known when I first started to turn wood.
Good lighting is key to producing good work. Purchase quality task lights and utilize full-spectrum (daylight) bulbs in overhead lighting. Daylight balanced bulbs help to better distinguish colors and the surface condition of turned wood.
Dust is your enemy. It is simply bad for your health. Invest in a good dust collector and dust mask. Wear your dust mask.
Sharp tools are a must. Purchase a grinding system to quickly touch up and sharpen tools. Keep your tools sharp; you have to sharpen them more often than you think is necessary. Some woods with high silica content will dull a tool in seconds. Clean cuts on wood will not happen with dull tools. Using dull tools results in more sanding. Purchase an 8" -(20cm-) diameter, slow-speed grinder and a good quality wheel appropriate for use with turning tools. A fine oilstone and a 600-grit diamond slip are important for honing. Learn to hone. You don’t have to hone all your woodturning tools, but some, like the skew, just work better when honed. Honing, once learned, is usually quicker than sharpening and removes less of that expensive tool steel. Many excellent DVDs are available on sharpening and honing—get one!
Cut sheets of abrasive paper into small pieces, use them once or twice, then throw them out. This provides 100% utilization of each full sheet. Also, using fresh sandpaper gives a better surface finish.
Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue is a woodturner’s duct tape. It can be used for gluing wet or dry turning blanks to waste blocks, repairing cracks, attaching HSS tool bits into handles, and for gluing a minor cut closed to stop the bleeding. Purchase quality glue, an accelerator, and a bottle of debonder. CA doesn’t stick to wax paper, so having a roll of it to cover workbenches is a good idea. The fumes from CA that are released as it goes through its chemical reaction for curing are extremely dangerous. Use an exhaust fan so that you do not inhale them.
Smooth your toolrests and soften the sharp edges from new turning tools. If a toolrest is rusted, pitted, scratched, and/or nicked, tools cannot slide effortlessly across it. File the surface smooth, run some 600-grit sandpaper across it, and wax it. Remove sharp corners and edges on turning chisels so they don’t nick the toolrest.
Remember your ABCs. You must anchor the tool to the toolrest and rub the bevel before starting your cut, especially in spindle turning. The pressure on the tool is down toward the floor and onto the toolrest. Directing pressure the right way lets the wood come to the tool edge without pushing the tool into the work. Beginners tend to push the tool into the wood instead of holding the tool to the toolrest.
Adjust the toolrest, but turn the lathe off first. The toolrest provides the mechanical leverage needed for tool control. An expert turner will tweak the height of the toolrest as little as 1⁄16" (2mm) to provide better cuts. If you switch from a 5/8" (16mm) to a 3/8" (10mm) bowl gouge, adjust the height of the toolrest.
Round over the tips of calipers. Calipers can be purchased inexpensively at garage sales and flea markets. However, they usually have been used for metal working so they have pointed or square tips. These tips will catch on the wood and cause the caliper to be thrown across the shop.
Don’t invest in fancy, high-end, cryogenically cooled, powder metal chisels. They will not make you a better turner. Purchase HSS chisels at first. Use these tools to practice sharpening—why learn with expensive tools?
Join your local chapter of the AAW. There are more than 365 chapters worldwide, and many clubs hold sessions for beginners.
Take private lessons. Two hours with an instructor will save you weeks of frustration. Or, spend a week at one of the many woodturning schools. Woodturning is fun! The sooner you learn the basics, the sooner the fun starts.
Learn to turn a spindle first. I realize that beginners want to turn bowls. However, once you learn how to turn spindles, you will better understand how wood likes to be cut and will master tool usage and control. Mastering spindle turning makes transitioning to turning bowls much easier. A spindle turner can learn to turn bowls much quicker than a bowl turner can learn how to turn spindles. Family and friends only need so many bowls. Spindle turning provides many more opportunities to create useful items.
Turn small bowls first. Many instructional DVDs play tricks with viewers’ eyes; bowls appear large, when they are often no larger than 6" (15cm) in diameter. Make a dozen little bowls to learn the basics before attempting something big.
Find some FOG (found-on-ground) wood. Small diameter FOG branches are ideal for learning spindle turning. Be on the lookout for freshly trimmed trees. Green wood is a joy to practice with because it can be obtained for free and is easy to cut.
Many woods are toxic. Learn about wood toxicity and listen to your body. If you start to itch, wheeze, or your heart starts to race, stop turning that piece of wood. Know the toxicity of timbers Know the toxicity properties of timbers commonly available to you, and if the chance to turn a new species arises, research its properties in advance.
Buy several pairs of reader safety glasses. My last pair cost $8 and I love them.
There really is something called the Dance of the Woodturner. Move your body and your feet to effectively move your tool on the toolrest.
Tape your pockets closed using blue painter’s tape. It is easier than trying to remove all the chips and sawdust from inside a pocket.
The tannins in many woods, such as oak, react with the acids and oils in hands to turn them black. Wash with a little lemon juice. The black will disappear.
Buy a big dustpan. A big dustpan makes for faster cleanup.
Raise or lower the height of your lathe to achieve the correct height. If the height is too low, your back will suffer. To measure for the correct height, stand straight up and bend your elbow so you forearm is parallel to the floor. Measure the distance from the floor to your elbow. This is the minimum height the lathe spindle needs to be from the floor. For bowl turners, it can be 1"–2" (25mm50mm) higher. Add risers to the lathe or build a riser to stand on to achieve the correct height. While you are at it, purchase antifatigue mats to stand on.
Take the time to warm up. Begin by making a few practice cuts in scrap wood, especially if turning is a hobby and you took the summer off to play golf.
Stretch. Many turners get into the “turning zone” when they are working, hovering over the lathe for long periods of time. Stop often, step away from the lathe, and stretch. Reach for the ceiling, bend over and touch the floor, twist at the waist, and/or hang from the ceiling to relax tense muscles.
Don’t forget hearing protection. With lathes spinning, power sanders and dust collectors running, and air compressors kicking on, hearing protection is a must.
Listen for chainsaws in your neighborhood. That sound means someone is trimming or removing a tree. Often it is an ornamental tree, which can yield unusual wood. Introduce yourself and ask for a couple of cutoffs. Remember to make something for the person as a thank-you.
The lathe is the inexpensive part of woodturning; accessories are expensive. When the cost of chisels, chucks, calipers, a bandsaw, lighting, dust collectors, sharpening systems, an air compressor, sanding systems, and finishes are factored in, the investment is significant. Select the spindle size of your first lathe so that chucks can be used on future lathes.
Woodturning is fun and addictive when you master the basics. I hope these tips help beginners avoid a few pitfalls.
Jim Echter lives near Rochester, NY. He is a professional turner who specializes in making tools for fiber artists, turning custom architectural pieces, and teaching all aspects of woodturning. Contact him at jim@truecreations.biz or visit his website at truecreations.biz.
Editor’s note: A version of this article originally appeared in American Woodturner, v25n3.