This is my next project. It still needs hollowing, but the outside is completed, except for the finish. The burn lines were done with 15,000 volts of electricity using a transformer from an old neon sign. Sounds crazy? Probably. But I really like the effect. It needs a little more experimenting, but I think there is some real potential here.

Well, I got through it.  All in all, it didn't go too bad, although I would have done a few things differently. This is the first time I have done this particular demo, so a few things could probably stand a little tweaking. I'm sure a few people got something out of it, and that was the point.

I have done one demo a year for the last 3 years. Hopefully, I will get a break next year. I also wouldn't mind taking this demo to some of the other woodturning clubs around the state.

Now it's time for a turning break. As much as I love it, it is really hard to get motivated to turn when it is 112 degrees outside and I am turning in my garage.

About once a year, I volunteer, or get volunteered, to give a demo for my woodturning club. I enjoy doing it, so I'm not really complaining. It just takes quite a bit of preparation. They say never demonstrate what you haven't done, so I have to turn a few practice pieces. Then I have to make sure my presentation fits the time frame. I have to gather everything I will need, and turn a few pieces part way. In a lot of ways, it is like doing a cooking show. You put all the ingredients together, pop it in the oven, and it magically comes out 30 seconds later as a finished dish.

Last but not least, I would like to make it not only informative, but somewhat entertaining. No one wants to sit through a 2 1/2 hour presentation that is slightly less engaging than watching paint dry. All this comes to a head next Saturday, when I do my presentation. I will be talking about different types of tool handles, as well as different ways to make your own, both for turning tools and regular hand tools.