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Christian Burchard stopped by for a visit on September 22 for an all day demo on a few of his signature pieces. It was entirely entertaining and informative day for all.

He began the day with some
one on one instruction.

“This is called a headstock, Peter.”

Which was quickly followed up with a “You talkin’ to me?” Q & A session

He’s a devout practitioner of the glueblock approach to stock mounting.

A little dab’ll do ya with some CA glue on this chunk of Madrone and he was soon truing the piece up. He stressed the importance of anchoring the tool into one’s hip and the toolrest to create a truss resulting in improved control and safety.

Meanwhile, new member Brad Hawkins gets the once-over from
Ken Shepherd and John McAlevey.

That truss concept is equally important when hollowing with hand-held tool such as this arm brace.

With a light touch on the tool he uses his other hand to gauge wall thickness and also to act as a steady.

He knows the wall thickness is
“just right” on this madrone when
the light shines through.

Christian also discussed the importance of seeing the finished form in the bottom of the piece to ensure you’ll have enough wood to work with.

Mac Ray continues to find new uses for Oneway lathes.

Parting off.

Two views in one!

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A quick series of short cycles in the microwave and the piece was dry enough for further work. You could hear the water bubbling away inside the piece for an easy ten or fifteen minutes afterwards.

We then engaged in a discussion about various pieces of Christian’s (and a few brought in by the membership) with a focus on how to provide a supportive and meaningful critique.

After lunch we learned how to have a ball turning a ball.

But first we had a refresher course in headstock identification

He made short work of
getting it round.

Get it round once, remount between some jambs, and get it round again. And again and again and again.

Jerry Rush from Amarillo, Texas (and president of the Panhandle Area Turners Society) wins the award for the longest distance traveled to attend the demo. This shot was taken just moments after he sampled his first taste of Moxie. Peter Swinton stands by to offer his condolences.

Align it here.

And then align it here.

And voila. A ball.

Lay out lines were an essential
element to his success.

Thanks Christian. This was a memorable day.

Click here to see more of his work.

All images this page by Andy Hoyt
Page last updated September 29, 2007