Meeting January 21st, 2024
Meeting called to order by Jim Jolliffe at 6:30 pm.
Visiting Guests:
Troy and Michelle Bucy from Manchester, TN
Austin Chandler and Emma Koziczkowski
New Business:
Carving seminar placeholder for March
The 40 Year Celebration Committee met on January 9th. We discussed a banquet date of Friday, Sep 19th. This is the first Friday after the September meeting. We noted that the TVW annual picnic is typically Saturday after September meeting but may move due to the club’s 40th anniversary banquet.
We will present historical pieces during the year. To begin this approach, we watched 12 minute: Founder Video – Short History of the Woodworker’s Club.
We presented the monthly meeting calendar for the next 3 months.
Review of 2025 Calendar of Events
MONTH PRESENTER PROGRAM
January Carving a Ball & Claw Foot Austin Chandler
February A-Frame Clamp Rack Gary Runyon
March Social Hour
Complete list of events at club website.
Show and Tell
Larry Wendland showed an ambrosia platter finished with butcher block oil. He also made a hollow vessel from buckeye using a ways block. He made a black walnut stand for it finished with can lacquer.
Teri Smith showed us her first carving, a bear playing a bass. Her carving was basswood and finished with paint.
Gary Runyon showed 5 cylindrical threaded boxes he turned from osage orange, elm, hickory, and chittum wood. They were finished with wax and shellac.
Vince Zaccardi showed us a 1 1/4-8 die for rethreading lathe parts and a wrench he made from oak for the die.
Anthony Watts showed a saltshaker and pepper shaker that he made from cherry with an oil finish. He also made an ice cream scoop from an unidentified wood and 2 letter openers made from Brazilian cherry and finished with tung oil.
Richard Gulley displayed a Clobber Game he made on a CNC machine from 1/2” Baltic Birch. He sprayed it with rattle can lacquer and used paint for the marble divots. He is going to finish adding white paint to some of the divots.
Michael Zuccaro showed a shooting board he made from MDF board with a piece of plywood for the fence and demonstrated how to use it. The shooting board did not have a finish.
Bob Truesdale turned a walnut bowl. He used an electric etcher to add texture. He also showed a bowl made from a knotty Kentucky coffee wood crotch piece, and a small cherry bowl to go on top to make a snack bowl set. He used rattle can lacquer as a finish on both bowls.
Program – Carving a Ball and Claw Foot – Presented by Austin Chandler
Gary met Austin at the Duck River club. Hopefully Austin will be able to come back around summertime for marquetry. He works full-time as a historic restoration carpenter and also makes historic reproductions.
The ball and claw foot is commonly attributed to Chippendale, but it actually came from the Dutch in the 1600s and was inspired by Asian influences (e.g. a dragon holding and orb). The ball and claw foot was integrated with Chippendale when it came to America. Austin said the ball and claw foot he demonstrated was Philadelphia style which is most common but there are many other variations as well.
There are four steps to the process of carving the ball and claw foot:
- The ball
- The claw
- The webbing
- The talon
First Austin demonstrated carving the half-circle ball. He used 3×3 stock and said you can pull up diagrams online.
He started with a V-gouge but said you can also use flat chisels. Layout is very important. He said how you hold the chisel can make a big difference. You always want a stable surface, and he said to use two hands when holding the chisel. He used a #2/20 mm gouge for the relief cut by the toe.
Austin used bass wood in the demonstration but said he prefers mahogany; it is soft but not too soft. Mahogany holds details and does not break too easily.
He passed around the ball and claw foot in various stages of progress for everyone to see.
Next he worked on the talon. He said to make slow cuts towards the center line from both sides. You are going to have leftover debris and want to cut that out as well. When you are 1/16″-1/32″ away from the center line you come in from the top at a 45 degree angle.
There are two stages to the webbing. First the backside which is a tiny web. This one is important because it gives depth. He said you need to get the depth correct on this or it will look too chunky. This is the hardest part of the ball to carve. Use little twisting motions and carve in pretty deep. When there is 1” left of the web, start working back the other way. A little bent gouge can help here. Keep checking the depth to make sure it is uniform. If you go too deep, there will be a divot in the ball. Austin suggested a #9/13 mm for the webbing.
Austin said the knuckles are what can make or break you. The claws should be cylindrical but they are concave at the knuckles. He used a #6/22 mm on the knuckles. Pay attention to the grain. As you are rounding over, cut in a little bit with a slight scooping motion. Work on one knuckle at a time. Take small, slow cuts. He said a #25/20 mm allows you to get in where you might not be able to otherwise. Longer chisels can help provide more stability.
Start carving the second knuckle. Make small cuts and flick your wrist twisting as you go. Round over the edge as you are smoothing it out. The concave effect makes a big difference.
When carving the side knuckle, you really want to carve in from the side. When doing the top of the side knuckle, go pretty deep then round over the back side of it. Austin used a #6/22mm gouge.
After demonstrating the ball and claw foot, Austin showed us the Chippendale-style desk he made as well as three cartouche friezes he made. One of the friezes was a Federal style eagle. Austin said the undercuts and back cuts help to give it a three dimensional look.
Austin uses a small mallet when carving and said your carving tools should be very sharp. He uses a Work Sharp System to sharpen his chisels. He used a Rockwell jaw horse to hold his work.
The next meeting will be February 18th at 6:30 pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm.