The Southern Piedmont Woodturners held their November meeting on Tuesday, November 21 at the Clearwater Arts Center and Studio. Attendance was lower than usual, likely due to the cool, rainy weather and the meeting’s proximity to Thanksgiving. President Phil Goodman opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m., covering several general business topics before the evening’s featured demonstration.
Member Walt Hazelrigg presented an engaging demo on creating a Saturn bowl—a design consisting of a central bowl surrounded by two concentric rings, one of them eccentric. Walt explained the unique cutting technique required to separate the three components while keeping them interlocked. By making steep, opposing V-shaped parting cuts rather than straight radial cuts, each ring is freed to rotate independently without detaching. The clever, non-obvious method impressed the audience and sparked lively discussion.
Show-N-Share followed the demonstration, with only four pieces displayed due to the smaller turnout. Three of these were created by Ric Erkes, who brought a striking spalted oak hollow form enhanced with hand-carved details; a humorous lidded “face box” complete with feet and oversized dentures; and a third creatively embellished piece inspired by a work he had seen in another medium. Ric also displayed his three tops for the month and a turning made during a past demo by Mike McNeilly.
