November 5, 2013 – 2:08 pm
Dennis can make a variety of things on the lathe, but as Christmas approaches, he always returns to the Birdhouse Ornaments.
Of all the ornaments he has created, the simple Birdhouse just looks right on any Christmas tree. By itself, you might notice the type of wood, the shape of the roof, the lovely curve of the ‘house,’ and the teeny perch in front of the door. All of these same features show to good advantage among the pine needles of your tree. This ornament is too small for a bird, but just right to contain a song, or the memory of home.
Dennis will be at the Christmas House at the Broadmoor again this year, with a variety of birdhouse ornaments for sale. Look for him just outside the white tent, demonstrating on the lathe for kids waiting in line for Santa. November 29, 30th (Reindeer Day), and December 1st.
Wood was often the only available material for making canteens in the past. They were probably used by the Romans, and there are some examples in Civil War collections. Some woods, such as the white oak used for this one, are watertight, and may even improve the flavor of spirits, if not of the water they carry. If you are planning for a watertight vessel, in addition to the white oak, you will need to use epoxy glues, and a tight-fitting silicon stopper.
Dennis has added new elements to the canteens he has demonstrated in Michigan, Mississippi, and at the John Campbell Folk School in N.C., with laser-cut designs for stone inlay on the medallion portion of the canteen.
The canteens will be one of his demonstrations for the Utah Woodturning Symposium.
Fine detail for stone inlay is now possible with laser-cut grooves for the thunderbird on this bottle stopper. Dennis also finds that he needs a very fine grind on the turquoise to match the scale of the detail.
The laser wizard is neighbor Milo Scott, who has been exploring ways to use laser engraving on woodturners of all shapes and sizes.
Taking a break from the StoryTellers, Dennis works on one of his favorite subjects for stone inlay–the classical labyrinth. In this photo, he is carving the channels for the lapis inlay with a small dental drill.
The Liggetts’ woodshop also serves as a classroom. Dennis has a new demonstration of ‘Twistwork for the People’ ready for the Utah Woodturning Symposium. The debut was for the Pikes Peak Woodturners. In the follow-up class, several club members came by the shop to try their own hand at making the flame twist.
In the photo, Milo Scott helps Mark Harry sand his first flame twist. Dennis is watching Robert Brewer (behind Mark) turn a pineapple. Bill Smith and Lyle Wilgers also came over to learn simple twistwork.
Dennis holds training sessions throughout the year as part of his mentoring role for the Pikes Peak Woodturners.
March 21, 2013 – 11:17 am
Dennis has always chosen his stone inlay petroglyphs around a theme. Like the Storyteller pots of the Pueblo Indians, these vessels are related, but each one has its own story to tell. In the group photo, you can see that the Mama Storyteller carries a set of Hawaiian petroglyphs. Each small pot has its own set, inspiring the viewer to turn the pot, and tell a story.
Dennis will demonstrate stone inlay at the Utah Woodturning Symposium in May.
February 7, 2013 – 6:45 pm
Dennis showed three new candlesticks at the February meeting of Pikes Peak Woodturners. All three are turned as a single point twist from American Cherry. The pair are made in the traditional way — one right hand twist, and one left hand twist, for a symmetrical presentation. The single candlestick holds a taper, and looks best with a 5″ coach-style taper candle. The pair are designed for an updated look, with pins to center 2″ or 3″ pillar candles.
Dennis will demonstrate cutting twistwork by hand at the Utah Woodturning Symposium
in May. For the first time, he will demonstrate some novice and intermediate level twist techniques for smaller projects, like finials and bottle stoppers.
He will also have demonstrations of stone inlay work, the laminated twisted goblet, and the traditional woodturner’s canteen.
November 25, 2012 – 9:16 am
Dennis spent the Thanksgiving weekend turning and selling Christmas ornaments at the Broadmoor’s Christmas House. He set up the mini-lathe in the courtyard right next to the line for Santa Claus photos and delighted dozens of children with little turned Christmas trees.
Many of the men in the crowd watched wistfully as Dennis worked. For some of them, it has been several decades since they used a lathe in wood shop classes.
The demonstration is a key step for understanding why hand-turned ornaments are heirlooms, and not just mass-produced Christmas glitz. Dennis and his friend, Dick Jones, each sold through quite a bit of the inventory they brought to the tent.
Dennis is grateful to Dick Jones for sales assistance, Larry Fox for use of the tent, Scott Longberry for lighting fixtures, Gabe Caunt for hauling, his grandsons Bradley and Brandon for set-up help, and the Harding Nursery for inviting him to join their tree lot at the Christmas House.
October 20, 2012 – 7:16 pm
Marion Blair has completed the model cannons from the HMS Victory! In an earlier post, the cannons are pictured just off the lathe. This has been a terrific collaboration for Dennis and Marion, who played high school football together a few years back in King City, Missouri.
September 2, 2012 – 4:03 pm
Dennis has been working in the shop to produce over 65 bowls for the October 10th Empty Bowl fundraiser for Tri-Lakes Cares. The bowl blanks were donated by Dr. Bob Gibbs, fellow woodturner and volunteer physician for Tri-Lakes Cares.
The small bowl in the photo is from apple wood. The little leaf inside was burned by Kay, who added decoration to some of the smallest bowls. Other bowls feature some of the decorating techniques the Liggetts learned from Nick Agar during his visit in May.
Working from photos, Dennis has turned a cannon for a model of one used in British naval warfare. The most difficult part was cutting into the oak used for the project–a piece of wood from the HMS Victory, now in drydock in the UK. This piece was painted on one side with multiple layers of the thick cream-color paint used in the interior of the ship. The wood came with a certificate of authentication. From time to time, portions of the ship are refitted, and a small amount of oak finds its way into special projects. As you might have guessed, Stuart Mortimer helped Dennis obtain this piece to make the cannon model.
Dennis can make a variety of things on the lathe, but as Christmas approaches, he always returns to the Birdhouse Ornaments.
