Well known woodturner Chris Pouncy travels the world demonstrating the best techniques and tools to use on the lathe. In fact, as UK and Southern Hemisphere Sales Manager for Robert Sorby Tools, he’s often away from home for months at a time. ‘The traveling is fun’, he said, ‘you get to go all over the world and you meet interesting people’. Chris has been turning for 26 years, starting off purely as a hobbyist, but obviously he has now worked as a full-time professional during his 14 years with Robert Sorby.
Chris is in the middle of a tour hosted by specialist woodworking supplier Carba-Tec. Having just arrived in Australia from New Zealand (seven stops in seven days) Chris has already demonstrated at the Sydney Timber & Working With Wood Show, his next tour stops are Melbourne (July 1), Tasmania (July 2), Adelaide (July 3, 4), Brisbane (July 5) and finally Perth (July 9).
Rather than focusing on set items, Chris tends to show people how to select the right tools for the job and how to get them to work the way they’re supposed to.
The latter applies in particular to special purpose tools, for example, spiralling and texturing tools. Lacing his presentation with humour Chris shows how to hold the tools, how to present them to the lathe, how fast or slow to run the lathe, and covers important safety aspects as well.
Based on his experience, we asked Chris to sum up the most common mistakes woodturners make. He rattled off the following:
1. Running the lathe too slow
2. Sanding the wood too fast
3. Sanding the wood without doing checks to effectively move through the grits
4. Not using sharp tools — the sharper they are, the safer they are
5. Having toolrests at the right height for best tool presentation
6. Using the right tool for the job
7. Choosing the right wood for your project
All of Chris Pouncy’s demonstrations will be presented at Carba-Tec stores, more details can be found here. There is no charge to attend.