competitions

November/December 2021 Competition

The competition this year is to make a wig stand. This to help a children’s cancer charity, Little Princess Trust. The aim is that all the stands will go to the Trust to help those children who have lost their hair (hopefully temporarily) look after their wigs. To encourage members to take part, (not that any of you need encouragement) there will be a 1st prize of £50 in cash and a 2nd of £25 of Yandle’s vouchers. John has kindly produced some photos of a completed stand and pictures to help you on your way. When you open the link, you will see a photo of one he has made. CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK

Dimensions. The head should be between 4.5-6 inches in diameter. The overall height should be about 13 inches high. This is short enough to allow those with a shortish lathe bed to make a stem suitably long. If anyone with a longer bed want to make one a bit taller, that will be good. I will forward an email from Kevin who has some attachments that might help connecting the 3 parts. The wig will not "fit" the stand: it is merely draped over to hold its form. The wig’s length will be matched to the height of the stand and not the other way around. As far as finish goes, they are perhaps best left sanded (you need to make sure they are really smooth especially on edges to avoid snagging with the hair) and bare as oil, wax polish etc will wear off onto the wigs and paint is not a good option long term. A melamine lacquer is OK. Wigs are bonded onto a material than can be abrasive against finishes. Traditional ones used when wigs were fashionable were in woods such as mahogany, rosewood etc, not applicable now but sapele is a good alternative. Woods that can chip such as oak and ash are OK bit not ideal. Sycamore, maple are good. But these are only suggestions. John will talk a bit about making them during his demonstration on Thursday. Also all the information you need will be on the club website. I hope very much that everyone will take part. The basic object is quite simple, but you can make a big difference in the design to make it look more attractive.

December 2022 Competition

This year the club is supporting the “Wiltshire Air Ambulance” (WAA). Members are asked to produce an item that will sell in aid of the charity. The Gallery night will have a top table of all contributions which will be judged in three categories. Prizes will be awarded for each category: Novice Intermediate Advanced Chestnut products have kindly donated £150.00 of products in return for the club supporting them at their Swindon show earlier in the year. If you wish to sell the turned item privately to a family member or friends and donate the cash that is absolutely fine, but we ask that you bring the item along for display so that it can be entered for the competition on the evening of 8 December. Those turned items not previously sold will go on display at the WAA Charity Shop, Devizes and will be sold by the shop in aid of their funds. If you should have any queries, please contact the Phil Lobb – chairman@kennetandavon.com

December 2023 Competition

This year our Gala Night Christmas Competition will be to make a candlestick/holder. There will be no classes, it will be a free-for-all and any design goes, from tea-light holder all the way up to church pillar candle stick. It must, of course, be suitable for use with a real flame candle. Only one entry per person will be allowed, though a pair or set could be entered, to be judged as a single entry. We are hoping to get outside judges (non-wood turners) in so judging will be done on their personal preferences, not necessarily on the technical quality. There will be no first/second/third but there will be prizes for the three items selected by our judges. In addition, our professional turners, John and Pete, will award commendation certificates to those they believe to be of merit from a turning point of view, so technique, design and finish will all come into play. You could, of course, win a prize and a commendation certificate. Notes on making candlesticks by Pete Moncrieff-Jury Candlesticks in their most simple form consist of four parts. A base, a stem, a top and a fire-resistant cup or plate. There are basic rules that should be obeyed when making candlesticks, some for aesthetic reasons and some for safety and to make the item fit for purpose. Once these are recognised anything goes as far as design is concerned. Making a candlestick (or tea light holder) without using a fire-resistant insert or plate is bad practice as the wax can reach a higher temperature than the burning temperature of the wood. I and other turners have had to try and repair some made this way where the wood has started to char. In all designs the base needs to be wide enough to safely keep the candle upright and ideally will be the same or of a larger diameter than the top, preferably larger as only a small difference can make the proportions look wrong if smaller. Take into consideration the length of the stem; the taller it is then the wider the base should be or it could become top heavy (don’t forget to allow the length and weight of the candle in to this when designing). If you decide on doing some work such as carving or texturing think of what wood you are going to use. Softer woods such as tulip wood, pine etc or open grained woods such as ash and oak are not really that good for the fancy work as they are difficult to get a good clean cut, not impossible but not easy. The cup or plate will dictate the size of candle and plates should be wider in diameter than the candle intended to use on it. This allows and drips to collect on the plate instead of trickling down the side of the stick and also gives better stability. Plates come in several designs as shown below. It is possible to make your own by using pewter or adapting some other metal plate. Cups are usually made of metal or glass and don’t need to be made specifically for use on candlesticks. Make sure they are securely inserted into the top of the candlestick. Gluing in is optional. If using a glass insert it is a good idea to keep it unglued so that it can be taken out to clean. As far as design is concerned, I am afraid there is no single answer. Long and slender, short and stubby, decorated, textured, off centre, all are acceptable and to some extent beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Note that any design should be either in pairs, as exact as possible or in odd numbers e.g., 1, 3, 5 etc. Single candle pillars should be dramatic. If small, slender or delicate single ones always look as if something is missing. To see some ideas, have a look on my website at www.bodrighy.co.uk/candlesticks-vases.html or go to Google. Don’t limit yourself to wooden ones for ideas. The candlesticks can be made in a single piece of wood or in separate pieces for each section. The latter allows for designing with the use of different woods. One each for the different sections though usually it looks better with just two contrasting woods, one for the top and bottom and one for the stem. Examples of Plates and Cups