Dennis is from Northwest Missouri. After college he worked in a marketing position with IBM. After retiring from IBM he began selling his woodturnings in galleries and at art fairs throughout the Midwest. Dennis has studied under Allan Batty, Stuart Mortimer in England, Ray Key, Nick Cook and Richard Raffan in the U.S. His work has been showcased in national and international magazines. Currently he is establishing a woodturning school in Monument, Colorado. Dennis brings to us unique approaches to both twist work and traditional turning techniques.

Dennis began his demonstration with the following remarks: Oh! Did you know that John Hill died and went to heaven where he met two other guys? Together they were greeted by St. Peter who welcomed them but also warned them. The warning was simply Do not step on a duck! Unfortunately, the following day one of John's new friends stepped on a duck. Immediately the ugliest woman was hand-cuffed to him for eternity. This really caused John to be very careful not to step on a duck. Later that day his other friend stepped on a duck and the same thing happened. He too was attached to a very ugly woman again, for all eternity. Now John was really careful. Suddenly, however, the most beautiful woman became attached to John. He said to her, "What happened? I didn't step on a duck." She replied, "I DID!"

Back to basics: Dennis gave a brief overview of the demonstration. It consisted of three parts. First, a twisted stem goblet would be turned. Second, a pepper-mill would be turned. Third, a bristle brush handle would be turned.

Dennis did not remove the holly from the chuck because it is very difficult to achieve center when returned to the chuck. Dennis then used thick super glue to glue the holly dowel into the cocobolo stem. He tried to cover the entire dowel with the glue to prevent weak areas. He then turned the entire stem round to three-eighths inch diameter. Again the straight skew was used very sharp and always pointed in the direction of the cut. Dennis then sanded the stem and formed one-quarter inch tenons on both ends to be attached to the goblet top and base.

The top and the base of the goblet were then turned. A three inch diameter piece of cocobolo was used. It was placed in the chuck and no tailstock was used. Dennis roughed out the upper outer portion of the goblet. He then formed a "V" in the goblet so that a hole could be drilled with the gouge thus starting the interior of the goblet. It was then hollowed to the desired depth. The deepest part was hollowed with a larger one-half inch gouge to give better support on the tool rest. Dennis completed the interior with a scraper. He then sanded the inside. Dennis uses wax or water on his paper to keep the heat reduced and thus preventing cracking. The outside of the goblet was completed. Dennis then taped the rim of the goblet with three layers of tape to protect it when later re-chucked.

Dennis then formed the bottom of the goblet with a bead to later accept the stem. This bead matched the bead on the bottom of the goblet top. The base was then sanded. The base of the goblet was made a little smaller in diameter than the top which gives a more pleasing effect. The base was undercut so that it appeared above the resting surface and not part of it. A one-quarter inch hole was drilled into the bead on the top of the base. This was done to accept the one-quarter inch tenon on the stem. Before drilling a "V" groove was made to establish the center. This completed the morning session except for two more comments by Dennis:

The afternoon session began with the gluing of the top and base of the goblet to the stem. It is important that all centers be aligned. Dennis then described the grid layout of the spiral twist to be formed on the stem. Four lines were drawn along the length of the stem. The four quadrants of the chuck determined where the lines were drawn. They were equal distance from each other. The stem was then marked in one- half inch increments. This then formed the grid pattern. A one-eighth inch flexible tile cutting rasp was used to file from line to line as Dennis slowly rotated the piece by hand thus creating a spiral line along the length of the stem. A second spiral line was formed creating a series of "X's." Then, through the already made rasp groove larger files were used to expand the groove. This was continued until the white holly wood was exposed in a spiral pattern along the length of the stem. A chain saw file was then used straight across the stem to take away the sharp edges of the grooves. Dennis then angled the chain saw file to further round off the edges. The stem was then sanded both in the grooves and on top of the ridges. The base was then parted off and will be lacquered at a later date. This completed the twisted stem goblet.

Pepper-mill: The pepper-mill was begun using a three inch thick piece of oak about 12 inches long. It was placed between centers and rounded with a roughing gouge. The headstock end was cleaned up. The actual pepper-mill mechanism was used as a guide in laying out distances on the piece. A tenon was formed on both ends of the piece to hold in the chuck. The piece was parted into the top and bottom of the mill. The base of the mill was placed in the chuck and a one inch hole drilled through the entire length. It was drilled from both directions. The bottom tenon was then turned away. The opening in the bottom was enlarged to a depth of one-half inch so that the bottom of the mill mechanism could be fitted in place. The bottom of the mill was removed from the chuck and replaced by the top of the mill. A tenon was formed so that it could be jam chucked into the bottom. The entire piece was then trued up and the tenon removed from the top. The shape of the top was then formed making the bead and coves. A tenon was then formed of one inch diameter on the bottom. The bottom was placed in the tailstock and shaping was finalized with the top attached. The bottom was then sanded. A five- sixteenth hole was drilled in the top and the top formed to match the shape of the center part of the bottom. The top was parted off. The remaining piece was hollowed so that the top piece could be jam chucked into it and the top completed. The mill mechanism was then inserted and the pepper-mill completed.

Brush Handle: The final phase of the demonstration consisted of turning a soft maple brush handle. Each club member was given two bristle brushes to take home and make handles for each before our March meeting. These will be photographed and the pictures sent to the donator of the brushes. This may provide him with design ideas. These brushes are used in the flour industry. They create no static and are excellent computer and photographic brushes.

A Forstner bit was used in the drive center to drill a five-eighths inch hole. It can also be used as a drive center. The piece was then rounded. It was reversed and a maple live center with a five-eighths inch nub used as a jam chuck. Details of the brush handle were defined, sanded and parted off. The brush was set in the handle using thick super glue. The handle was buffed to give it a satin shine. This completed the brush and the demonstration.

More detailed aspects of this demonstration can be found in the edited tape which will be available in April 2003.

--Bob Gunther

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