- Alan Truman
- Albert Harrison
- Ambrose O'Halloran
- Andrew Hall
- Bob Chapman
- Bob Neill
- Clive Brooks
- Colin Fishwick
- David Springett
- Gary Rance
- Gerry Marlow
- Ian Clarkson
- Joey Richardson
- John Berkeley
- Ken Allen
- Les Thorne
- Margaret Garrard
- Mark & Lisa Raby
- Mark Baker
- Mark Hancock
- Mick Hanbury
- Nick Agar
- Nick Arnull
- Nikos Siragas
- Phil Irons
- Robin Wood
- Russell Kebble
- Sarah Thirlwell
- Simon Hope
- Steve Wright
- Stuart King
- Sue Harker
- Tony Wilson
- Tracy Owen
- Walt Claxton
- Walt Claxton & Tom Allison
Ken Allen 8 May 2008
This was the first time I had seen Ken Allen so
I didn’t know what to expect either
in the way of what he is like as
a person or what sort of turning he does. I was not disappointed as he turned two quite different and
very interesting projects.
The first item was a stand for a pewter and
glass oil burner, made in ash with an inverted stem
. He started by making the stem and, as with all inverted
turning, he had four pieces of wood approximately 1¼” square and
about 7” long glued together with paper between them and a piece of
plywood nailed to each end. He started by marking off an inch at each end then he used a
¼” bowl gouge to turn the shape which consisted of a cove at each
end with a large bead in
the middle. He didn’t turn it to a cylinder first and when he had
finished he still had some flat spots on the middle of the big bead. He then separated the four pieces, taking care to mark them
first, and turned them round by 180˚. As he didn’t have time to glue the pieces together and wait
for them to dry, in true ‘Blue Peter’ style he produced one he had
made earlier, which once again had a piece of plywood nailed to each
end. He turned this into
a rough cylinder and then turned the shape which was now two beads
with a cove in the centre. Having decided which end was to be the top of the stand he
made the upper bead a little smaller than the lower one. He also turned a spigot on each end, which included the
pieces of plywood he had nailed on.
After the break Ken turned a base for the stand, using a small turning blank. He turned the edge so it sloped nicely up to the base of the stand and put a recess in the top to take the spigot on the base of the stand. He then did a similar thing for the top but this time he turned a recess in the underneath to take the spigot on the top of the stand and another one on the top to take the pewter candle holder. This was a lovely item and one of our members, Tim, was lucky enough to win it in the raffle.
Ken finished the evening by turning a natural
edged bowl from a half a log of yew which measured approximately 5”
long by 2½” wide. He
started by drilling a hole in the flat side (middle of the log)
which he used to mount it on a screw chuck. He turned the outside of a round bowl with a spigot on the
base and flattened the underneath of the outer pieces to make long
wings. He then mounted
it in the jaws of the chuck, using the spigot and turned the inside
of the bowl with a lip which stood above the wings and flattened the
upper edges of the wings. Finally he turned it round again and mounted it back on the
lathe, using a piece of router matting to hold it against the jaws
and the tail stock to hold it steady. He then tidied up the base.
Ken’s ready wit and typical Brummie humour, together with his very interesting turning ensured that an excellent evening was enjoyed by us all.
Lorrie Flannery
SWC Club Member