Greetings once again fellow Woodchucks from Skunk Hollow. (Well, actually from Florida, just arriving last night after another hurricane-dodging drive!) And for the last time? No! Only for 2018! Contrary to some rumors earlier in the year, the Woodchuck summer campus will be around for another year! Yeah! Bob and I are both native Vermonters, and are very reluctant to close the door on Vermont completely!! We love our Florida home, but from May through October is there any better place to be than Vermont?

We closed out the season last week with a great Sawdust Session.  I didn’t do a head count, but it definitely was the best turnout of the year. And, as I always hope it will be, with lots of input from attendees, and lots of questions from everyone.  And yes, some help in reducing my inventories of turning blanks and unfinished projects. One subject that is a regular part of our discussions is negative rake sharpening of scrapers.  More and more turners are finding that having one of these in our inventory can be a great way to finish a surface after the gouge, and before the sandpaper. There is a lot of great material on line now about this, so if you have missed some of these
sessions, check YouTube for more discussion. Ditto for sharpening our bowl gouges. Something we all share, no matter what type of turning we do, is the need for good sharp tools, and it is great to hear from others about the best grind, bevel angle, etc…..proving yet again Ted Fink’s maxim about a room full of Woodchucks: “Everyone there knows at least one thing you don’t”!

I really look forward to starting again more of these informal meetings in 2019! Tentative date…..the first Wednesday in June! Hope to see many of you then! Or maybe before that? I have extended invitations frequently to any Woodchucks who can get away in the winter for a bit. I have ample guest space and would love to host anyone who would like to see what Florida “woodchucking” is about. We have a very large and active club here, and weekly sessions, not unlike those we have had in Vermont.

Cheers!
Russ Fellows
(Skunkmen@gmail.com)
802-343-0393

Last modified: October 18, 2018