At OUR 2007 Shop Visit....

What a FUN day!

On Feb. 1st, 2007, I and several members of CNEW and CCW had the pleasure of joining Ken Dubay for a full day shop visit at his home in Columbia Connecticut. There were about a dozen of us all sharing ideas and having a good time.

To start the day, Ken showed how to core a nested set of bowls, use the vacuum chucking method of turning the foot side of a bowl and a few more tricks. After his demo's we all took turns standing at one of Ken's two Oneway 2436 lathes. Everyone got a chance to turn something with wood supplied by our gracious host. He even had a selection of woods and burls for a wood swap and Dave Eaton brought a trailer load of freshly cut "Big" Cherry with a few pieces of Mullberry, Black Locust and Elm mixed in. Proceeds from the swap went to the CNEW club treasury.

At lunchtime, as is customary if you have ever been to Ken's before, his sweet wife Mary set a wonderful table serving up a hot chicken soup, crackers, rolls and an excellent desert. We devoured that all up and headed back to the well heated shop for more chipping away.

That was the day in a nutshell. Quite a good day! Fun, learning and laughter from 9am until around 6pm. It may be a bit of a drive from your house to Ken's but one thing I can guarantee is that you'll be quite pleased you made the effort should you get there one day. Ken is, aside from being a gracious host, quite a gregarious and entertaining fellow with loads of turning skill and talent he is quite willing to share. He teaches classes at all levels and many techniques, beginner to expert.

Ken invited us back anytime to do it all again. I think that it would be great if we could make a pilgrimage every month or two as a group. In the meantime if you wish to visit him just make a phone call and set up a date.

Thanks Ken! for such a fun filled day. I can't wait until next year's shop visit, but I'm sure I'll see you well before that.

See more about Ken at his website http://overhillturnings.com

Pictures of the day are below:

Ken Dubay
Lots of turners were there	Ken started with a coring demo
First he trimmed the outside	to make it perfectly true
then cored the 14" Ash bowl	with his home made tool
based on McNaughton	he gave tips along the way
and made it look easy.	Nice core!
Jerry Joaquim
Jerry turned the outside	then reversed the blank
and started cutting inside	He was getting chips all on him
and decided to put on an apron	But as you can see
It didn't do much good	he just got more chips
... everywhere!
Marty Ring
Marty gave it a shot too.	faithfully working some tough wood
and though he "saw it coming"	was powerless over...
...yet another Dubay attack!
Mike Stone
So Mike tried to round off one	and it was looking good
with Rick's helpful hints	the outside looked beautiful
Then, without warning	BOOM- another Dubay strike!
Well aimed but not to worry...	...Mike pulled through and made out with a very nice bowl
Al Faul
Al was up next.	Spinning and cutting away
just when he wasn't looking	the Dubay strike hit our Pres.
He even got special treatment	with a second hit to the head!
	It might have knocked him silly... ...cause this is what he said he had turned? <---
Rick Angus
Now Rick is WISE to Ken!	but Ken lurks in waiting
and BANG Rick got it anyway	just saying "let the chips fall..."
So, does anyone see a pattern here???