Program Chair Gary Guenther introduces our Demonstrator for the evening, John Jordan, noting John's recent cover and excellent 12-page article in American Woodturner.
John is the center of attention for the assembled group.
Can you spell R-A-P-T? I’m talking attention! E.F. Hutton has nothing on John Jordan. His vessels are carved and textured in a variety of designs and with a number of different tools.
This man is having fun. One look at John in action makes it clear that he loves his work, and loves teaching it. In the foreground are vessels in progress.
Some classic, signature work by John Jordan.
John talks about how he designs his carving to fit the flow of the wood grain.
Because he now turns mostly side-grain pieces, John likes to work with relatively stable local woods such as maple, walnut, ash, oak, and honey locust. Woods like sycamore and hickory are not favorites.
No fancy CAD programs here -- just some freehand sketching eyeballed directly onto the vessel. John prefers the "life" that this freedom adds to a piece that is not perfectly indexed.
John works with a variety of straight and spiral features depending on the wood and his mood. Draw something on -- if you dont like it, change it!
John turns only freshly cut "green" woods so the sapwood retains its light color to add contrast in the finished piece. Additionally, he stores some hunks in a freezer where they retain their freshness.
John turns his hollow vessels to a thickness of 1/4" - 3/8" depending on how deeply they will be carved or textured. They typically dry in 7 - 10 days in a cabinet he uses for that purpose. He uses no special handling techniques during the drying process other than the restricted air movement offered by the enclosure.
John likes to take care of his hands and wears appropriate protection when carving and texturing. Here, to his fingers, he applies a unique solution -- 3M "Vetrap" bandaging that sticks to itself and nothing else.
One of his primary tools is an Automach reciprocating carver with "V cut" brand gouges. Flexcut also makes a nice set of blades. This thing is very loud -- wear your ear protection!
A little stainless-steel buffing compound on this specially contoured block keeps his carving tools sharp. They can also be sharpened on a lathe with an MDF disc with an appropriately-shaped rim.
Sharpening...
...and carving. John carves turned blanks only after the wood is dry, lest the piece crack along the weakened carving lines. Having the light at a low angle is important because shadows are needed to see the necessary details. John often uses this tool to define his drawn lines.
John also uses a variety of hand tools for carving and sculpting. There are many tools and many ways to achieve the desired end. He prefers power tools for roughing but hand tools for detailing, shaping, and refining, ...
...like here.
Carbide rotary carving burrs -- a standard "spiral cut" burr on the left, and the much more expensive (and capable) "Aluma-cut" burr on the right -- ...
...can be used in an air die grinder. The latter may take a little practice -- John says: "When it goes wrong, it goes wrong fast." He uses cheap die grinders without oil to keep the wood clean -- when they fail, he can throw them away and replace them.
The result may look something like this. A large, capable air compressor (5-6 hp, 60 gallon) is needed to feed this beast for continuous use. Ear protection is a must.
John uses American rasps -- Nicholson 49 and 50 -- as well as the expensive, hand-cut French Auriou rasps. Here is one of the latter -- he may be selling these hand-made beauties in the near future.
Here are some of his rasps being shown...
...and in use. I love that sound. John brought his own carving station (the box and carpet) from home.
John wraps flexible strips of wood, such as this 1/8" walnut, with sticky-back sandpaper (Klingspore)...
...and sands with them. He typically starts at 100 grit after rasping. He wets with a damp cloth at each sanding stage to pop damaged grain for the next grit to remove.
For beading, John uses a two-sided beading scraper with a half bead on either side.
John uses a small "craft" saw to begin the definition of his signature lip. This is further refined by carving, filing, and sanding.
Switching to texturing -- John says it "makes the wood more of what it is". He may use a rotary brush -- this one is actually brass-colored steel...
...or simple, linear hand brushes that may be used with the workpiece on the lathe, or in hand...
...as here...
...to produce something like this -- texturing to remove some of the soft wood from an open-grained species to accentuate the grain pattern. Texturing may be done on either green or dry wood, depending on the desired result.
John recommends starting with a light touch and letting the scratches deepen until the desired result is achieved. He also recommends practicing new techniques first on "junk pieces". Here is an example of textured beading to contrast with the surrounding smooth surfaces.
Texturing can also be done with rotary cutoff discs...
...as here in a Dremel tool. Use light, tapping strokes. The cuts may burn the wood so a light touch is needed, unless, of course, the burning is planned into the final result. Work only in one direction because the reflection of light depends on the direction of the cut.
John also uses this electric engraver for texturing with sharp or blunt tips...
...and this reciprocating tool with a cut-off 16-penny nail or a piece of 1/8" drill rod. As usual, ear protection is needed.
A photo just doesn't do this piece justice -- you have to hold it in your hands to appreciate the subtle and amazing texturing.
John's black pieces all come out of this bottle of alcohol-based Fiebings USMC Black leather dye. Cover everything in sight, get on your old clothes and gloves, and apply with a paint brush on the outside. For the inside, pour some in, slop it around, and pour the remainder back into the bottle. One application should suffice. It may dry ugly and blotchy -- fear not -- cover with acrylic matte lacquer spray (Krylon) and buff out as desired.
Thanks for a great demo, John. We learned a lot and had a lot of fun along with you. Your work is a joy to behold.
