All content © West Suffolk Woodturning Club 2012 - 2022
We are a small and friendly club which has a variety of members with very varied skills. Many of our members travel considerable distances to meet with us and most are very active turners.
We promote our club and woodturning at various events during the year.
Members can offer advice and tips and you can learn a lot from our demonstration evening, which showcase some of the top demonstrators available as well as our own members’ talents. We use a media projector to make sure that the action is viewed from several camera angles.
There is always a table for display of your latest creation at each meeting, also the occasional item turns up for sale. As part of your membership we can offer you a free personal gallery page on this website.
We also have a number of nights where traders may show their wares and demonstrate their products.
We hold a club competition annually where we award the Club’s “Malcolm Fox Memorial Trophy” to the entry voted most popular by the members.
See the calendar page for all this years events.
About our club
Quick Links
Upcoming meetings and events:
July 16th
Club exhibiting at Crowfield Fete
July 18th
Multi turn evening
Village Hall starting at 19:30
We put the welfare of our members, demonstrators and others who use the meeting facilities at the forefront of resuming meetings please see additional information below or click here for the latest covid policy.
Recently displayed
2021 Malcolm Fox Memorial Trophy winners with Chairman Tic. First place went to Ian Cameron for his candle heat powered Christmas scene.
Second place went to Mike Charnley and third to Martin Taylor.
We encourage all members to bring items to meetings for display. See more in the main Gallery
A-Z Safety
Obviously we are very keen to ensure the safety of everyone who attends our meetings and members must understand that the following conditions will apply:
- You must not attend the meeting if you or anyone in your household, your support bubble or your work environment:
- Clinically vulnerable people should follow the latest government advice.
- You attend at your own risk
- A sanitising station will be provided at the entrance. Use this before entering the hall.
- Social distancing - members must keep at least 1 metre apart
- The Village Hall has decreed from that until further notice masks have to be worn at all times except then consuming refreshments.
- " There will be no charge for refreshments this year.
- Tea/coffee to be consumed observing social distancing, or outside.
- Handling of display items must only be by the originator.
- Free Raffle ticket allocated on entry.
- Members must ensure that the toilet is sanitized ready for the next user. (Spray and wipes will be provided)
Please do not attend if you do not agree with these conditions.
These rules have been created following Government guidelines and the meeting Halls current rules, click here tor a full downloadable document
Change of meeting day and meeting procedure
Please note our meeting day has changed to the third Monday of the month. This is so that our meetings do not coincide with another group that use the same venue.
Committee news
The committee is pleased to welcome Martin Taylor and Stuart Clarke to the ranks of the club committee following the November 2021 AGM. We are sure they will be great assets to help organise and help take the club forward.
The committee aims to meet several times a year to discuss new ideas, organise upcoming events and find ways to enhance the club.
We do however require further member help to achieve our events and goals, help is always appreciated at meetings to setup and clear down and at our special events.
If you have fresh ideas, organisational skills or are just enthusiastic about the club and woodturning in general then please feel free to ask any committee member for an informal chat, or better still just volunteer to join on the AGM nigh held in November.
The current Committee:
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Chairman |
: |
Tic Challis |
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Secretary |
: |
John Woods |
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Treasurer |
: |
Pat Yates |
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Member |
: |
Ian Cameron |
|
Member |
: |
Stuart Clarke |
|
Member |
: |
Martin Taylor |
|
Member, news & website |
: |
Neil Robertson |
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|
|
|
- has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 14 days
- has COVID-19 symptoms
- shows signs of, or has been in contact with anyone showing signs of illness
Club exhibiting - July 16th 2022
The club will be exhibiting from 13:00 to 18:00 at the Crowfield village fete in Suffolk, held on the village green.
We would be pleased if members can offer help with this event and look forward to welcoming visitors. There will be a club tombola and we hope a lathe in operation.
Please contact John Woods, Secretary, directly for enquires.
Weird and Wonderful Wood show - Haughly park - 14th / 15th May
The club attended for both days and had demonstrators working on both days.
Meeting report - Mike Charnley 16th May 2022
It is so good that the club is now in full swing and attendances are rising. We had a wonderful meeting with Mike Charnley as demonstrator showing how he makes branch wood boxes. These are made from home grown timber in the style of those designed and popularised by Benoît Averly, naturally there is a full report write-up detailing the complete process in the May newsletter.
Mike explained that he was going to make some boxes from branch wood after those developed by Benoît Averly, a French wood 'sculptor'.
Benoît demonstrated at an AWGB Loughborough woodturning seminar, following this Mike decided to try turning and decorating some of his own.
Mike has since made many and took them further experimenting with further shapes and by adding various decoration.
Read the full article here
Read the full article in the May Newsletter here or in the guide and links section here
Pic : Vitsoe at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Multi turn evening - July 18th 2022
Meeting report - Stuart Clark 20th June 2022
This month we enjoyed an informative talk from West Suffolk Woodturning Club member Stuart Clarke.
Stuart started turning at the age of 17 and has returned to it with enthusiasm following his successful graduation from Coventry University, where he studied Civil and Structural Engineering.
His talk covers several aspects of sharpening using bench and belt grinders and whetstone systems. All the required steps are explained and there is an introduction to the wheels and abrasives used with these various systems.
This is a complex subject and often the most frequently asked questions by newcomers and experienced turners alike. Naturally I've penned a full report within the latest newsletter, which can be viewed or downloaded from the website.
