It has been a couple of years since Keith was last at Burcot, so it was a pleasure to welcome him back to our club to demonstrate how to turn a Xulon and a tube.
Keith is an well known demonstrator who has honed his skills over many years, and he did not disappoint the large audience that attended the meeting on Thursday night. Quick to share his skills and techniques to turn these unusual pieces, he also regaled us with a few woodturning stories from his years on the demonstrator circuit. All in all it was an very informative and entertaining evening.
So what is a Xulon?
As Keith explained, a Xulon is derived from Greek and primarily means wood or timber. The form Keith chose to demonstrate was a tactile piece that had a hole running through the middle and could be spun round in you hands.
Keith initially turned the outer form before proceeding to drill out the centre using a forstner bit. It was at this point that Keith had the audience on the edge of their seats as he revealed that the wall of the Xulon was only 3mm thick!! and he had still got to finish the ends. Of course Keith managed to finish turning the ends without any mishap, much to the relief of the front row!!
Here are a few photographs of Keith in action on the night.
Once he had finished turning a Xulon Keith proceeded to demonstrate how to turn a tube. Again the same principles were employed and what Keith produced was an perfect wooden tube which, with a bit of patience, any member could have a go at.
I think everyone will agree that we had a very entertaining and instructional evening from a top demonstrator. Hopefully it won’t be too long before we welcome Keith back to Burcot for another demonstratation.