This edition of the Southern Piedmont Woodturners’ Newsletter highlights the 2023 Christmas gathering and the January 2024 regular meeting. The Christmas event was held December 19 at Captain Steve’s Family Seafood Restaurant with 32 members and guests attending. After a shared meal, the group enjoyed a lively Dirty Santa exchange featuring handcrafted wooden gifts. Popular pieces that changed hands several times included a cat bowl by John LaChance, a lighthouse by Phil Goodman, and an ambrosia maple lidded bowl by Ric Erkes. Participants went home with unique creations made by fellow members.
The January 16, 2024 regular meeting took place at the Clearwater Arts Center and Studio, with 22 members and guests present. The evening’s demonstration was presented by Lan Brady, who showcased an eye-catching technique for embellishing woodturnings with Calcite crystal inlays. Lan explained that Calcite is affordable, available in multiple colors, accepts stain, and is close in hardness to many woods, making it easy to sand flush. His process includes cutting a recess in the wood, crushing and sorting Calcite pieces by size, filling the recess with progressively smaller pieces, securing them with thin CA glue, and then grinding and sanding the inlay smooth. Lan also demonstrated flatwork inlay using a patterned design.
