Our retreats succeed because of good planning . . . and a lot of hard work!

George Kabacinski was this year's planning chairman and his skills as an organizer were obvious.  He enlisted a small army of committee chairmen and put them to work, while overseeing several important activities personally.  Great job, George!

Lane Bradford coordinated registrations this year and Mack DeBose helped Lane with check in.

(The following  pictures show many of the classes, their instructors and their participants.  Not all  classes/instructors/participants are included.  In some cases, pictures that were taken weren't of high enough quality to post.)

Hands On: The Turning Fundamentals track had overflow participation

This was a series of 4 classes covering the weekend. Prior turning experience was not required for this track.  Students benefited from the watchful supervision of instructors Luna Ford, Wayne Stansfield, Bill Pottorf, Brian Laing, Bill Berry and Bill Lewis.

Students with some experience who wanted to hone their basic skills also benefited from this series of classes.

Demo: New at the retreat this year--Blacksmithing

Dave Koenig, founder of the Houston Area Blacksmith’s Association, demonstrated the arts and crafts of blacksmithing in the traditional way: forge, anvil, and hammer.

Hands On: Enhancing a Basic Box with Veneer

In this class, Bill Tilson taught students how to apply a veneer skin to the surface of a basic box to create a stunning and unique piece.

Hands On: Bracelets  

In this session, Don Fluker showed students the methods of creating fine wooden jewelry.  Liz Czerewaty's bracelet didn't work out, but she says she's not giving up!

 

Hands On: Resin Bottle Stoppers

Mack DeBose presented a class on turning a complete bottle stopper from a colorful resin blank. In addition to bottle stoppers, one student also succeeded in turning a plate full of angle hair pasta! Mack's session notes are included (right).

Link to Mack's Session Notes:    - Bottle Stopper Procedure

Demo with Hands On: Pyrography and Coloring

Susan Lewis led a class on enhancing plain wood forms with design, color and pyrography, including methods of getting the design onto the wood and what types of coloring agents work best.

Hands On: Goblets

Andy Chen showed his class participants how to turn a goblet using a spindle gouge, bowl gouge and a scraper.

Hands On: Tool Handles

In a session geared for beginning turners, but which attracted turners of all levels, Reggie Keith took his students through the process of making a tool handle.  Right: John King's handle turned out pretty good, don't you think?!

Hands On: Small Hollow Forms

Larry Zarra encouraged his class to consider the Zen aspects of hollow turning, using  sound, touch and visualization.

Demo: Chainsaw Safety

Jon Gaynor presented a very informative talk on chainsaw safety that included discussing the range of tools available, using the right tool for the job, proper use of a chainsaw, care and maintenance and, of course, chainsaw SAFETY!

Hands On: Hook Tool                                                        Hands On: Texturing and Chatter Tools

Andy Chen, discussed and demonstrated the different type of hook tools available, paying special attention to their versatility, proper use, what to avoid and sharpening.

Kevin Turco demonstrated the use of various texturing tools and chatter tools in his class.  Participants got to use Sorby spiral and texturing tools, a needle scaler and an Arbortech.

Demo/Group Discussion: Drying Wood       Group Discussion: Segmented Work             

Marty Kaminsky grew dissatisfied with conventional drying methods that he found too time consuming, and developed a drying box, which dries blanks in three to five days. You can find Marty's plans here.

Ben Ball covered design, cutting segments, gluing rings, assembling rings and turning segmented work in his session.

Hands On: Patina Application                       Demo: Principles of Turning            

Clyde Collier took students through the process of applying thin metal foils using the technique of gilding in his class.

Stacey Hager, who will be the lead Texas turner at SWAT in 2007, joined our retreat and discussed principles of turning and making and sharpening tools.

Hands On: Finials                                            Hands On: Segmented Work           

Janice Levi help her class participants learn how to turn finials for a variety of application, including Christmas tree ornaments and boxes.

Ben Ball covered design, cutting segments, gluing rings, assembling rings and turning segmented work in his session.

Hands On: Pens                                            

Doug Grissom showed his class how to use a slimline pen kit to make a pen that was anything but slim.

Hands On: Plates & Platters                   Hands On: Spheres

Brian Laing taught his students the steps necessary to make a platter.

Randall Hassig taught his class how to make spheres, and from these images, it appears he did a good job!

Hands On: Natural Edge Bowls                   

Tom Orton took his students through the process of making natural edge bowls.

Raffle

As usual, Bill Berry put together another great raffle.  It's always a highlight of our retreats.  ALL SING: "Nobody does it better, makes me feel sad for the rest..."

Member-turned Item Display Tables  

GCWA members brought some of their best stuff for everyone to drool over!

Luna Ford Award

New '07-'08 Board

Tom Enloe, GCWA president, presented the 2006 Luna Ford Award to Mack DeBose.

L-R: John Van Domelen, Clyde Collier, Lane Bradford, Ben Ball, Dave Barzeza, Jay Ebner and George Kabacinski,

Miscellaneous Shots (a Retreat picture collection)