| Volunteer to Demonstrate at the Renwick Gallery
MCW/AAW members have an upcoming opportunity to demonstrate woodturning to the public during the exhibition, "A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection", at the Renwick Gallery, 17th and Pennsylvania Ave NW, in DC, which runs from September 24, 2010 to January 30, 2011. See: www.americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/bresler/. A list of wood turners represented in the exhibition is available here.
There will be one hour demonstrations at noon on Tuesdays, two hour demos at 2 PM on the second Saturday of each month, and a three hour demo at 11 AM on December 4th (Family Day). We are dividing these dates between Montgomery County Woodturners, Chesapeake Woodturners, and Capital Area Woodturners. The Tuesday dates for MCW members are October 26, November 23, and January 18, 2011. The Saturday dates for MCW are October 9, 2010 and January 8, 2011. A sign-up sheet will be circulated at our August meeting. If you can’t be there, inform Bert Bleckwenn and/or Phil Brown of your desired demonstration date. You may do the demo solo, or choose to team up with another turner for Tuesdays. For the Saturday demos, there should be a team of two or three turners involved. The current list of demonstrators is here.
Since the Bresler exhibition is primarily turned vessels and hollow forms that may include surface texturing, color, sculpting, lids, finials, or segmented construction, we want your demonstrations to emphasize vessels while going light on demonstrations of pens, bottle stoppers, furniture parts, and other less related turning specialities. When you sign up, briefly describe what you will demonstrate. These topics will be posted by the Renwick so that the public may choose to attend a session of primary interest.
Demonstrators should bring your own cutting tools, drive and live centers, chucks, eye/face protection, etc, and green wood, since they don’t want us to generate dust. Demonstrators should also bring finished and work-in-progress for touching and display on a table. No sales are allowed in the building. Any hand work not done on the lathe, could be done on the display table.
Enter the building, with your tools and wood, by the ramp and basement door on the 17th Street side of the Renwick. Sign-in at the guard desk. An elevator takes you to the first floor. Parking garages are nearby on 17th street and on Pennsylvania Avenue. Metro stops are two and three blocks north on 17th Street.
In the Palm Court on the Renwick’s first floor, a Rockwell model 46 lathe will be set up on a low platform with a shield between the lathe and the audience. 
The lathe has a 6" radius swing from a 1" 8 tpi spindle, with a 3/4 HP motor. There is a mechanical speed control lever for use while the lathe is on, which is hard to turn when increasing speed, but easy to turn for reducing speed. There will be 6", 12", and 23" tool rests, a knock-out bar, and a tail stock. A portable light will be attached to the lathe. While the lathe is 36 years old, it has had little use in the SAAM cabinet shop and seems in good working order. While staff does not want sparks, we hope to have a low speed grinder with a Wolverine sharpening system available.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Bert Bleckwenn or Phil Brown.
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