Posted on by Alec Mutch

Report on our meeting 15-09-2022, Making Goblets with Errol Levings.

Our meeting this week was all about making wooden Goblets, it was organised by Errol Levings as a solo demonstration on how to make a Goblet. Wooden Goblets is a speciality for Errol and he has demonstrated how to make them in the past, with the number of new members being high it was felt it was time to repeat some of the demonstrations we had done in the past.

I was able to get a few pictures on the night of the proceedings, these I have put into a short timeline to help you understand how Errol went about making a goblet, he started off by showing the membership a Goblet he had done as an example, this was passed round for everyone to see. He also went on to talk about what timbers are good for making Goblets.

Here are the pictures I took.

Picture 1, here we have Errol talking about the working properties of different woods, he would decide on using a piece of Ash. Picture 2, here Errol is skimming the outside with a spindle gouge. You will also notice Errol has already drilled out some of the hollow for the Goblet, this is done with a Forstner bit and with a chuck in the tailstock. Picture 3, setting up the tool rest to finish the cuts on the inside, Errol uses a ring tool for the final cuts. Picture 4, starting to use the ring tool, Errol did tell those watching this tool does take a little bit of practice to perfect, but leaves a good job once mastered.
Picture 5, here Errol is setting up an LED light to go inside the Goblet, the light is used to determine the thickness of the Goblet, it works by showing the light through the wood, this works best if the wood is still a little damp. Picture 6, with the light inside the outside cuts can be made, here the light is showing where the thin parts are by showing more light there, Errol then used the light colour to determine the thickness of the sides by taking very fine cuts where the light was weakest. Picture 7, we turned the area lights off to give the audience the full benefit of seeing the effect the light had on the wood. Picture 8, with the lights back on you can still see the benefit of using the light, the colours are almost constant.
Picture 9, to work the stem, Errol used an additional support piece of wood, this had a piece of padding at one end to go inside the goblet, the other end would by held by the tailstock, Errol explained that this was the best way to support the Goblet as it wasn’t relying on the head of the Goblet for support. Picture 10, fitting the additional support with the use of the tailstock. Picture 11, the additional support in place, work on the stem is in progress. Picture 12, the stem nearing completion, almost ready to sand.
Picture 13, making the final cuts on the stem using a spindle gouge. Picture 14, sanding the inside of the Goblet bowl, Errol did warn the audience that care needed to be taken when sanding narrow internal areas. Picture 15, Sanding the outside of the Goblet. Picture 16, making ready to part off the Goblet, here Errol used another jig to support the Goblet cup while he made the parting cuts, a final cut with a sharp saw or knife completes the parting off.
Picture 17, To finish a Goblet that you intend to drink from requires a special type of finish, Errol uses Rustins Plastic Coating, a 2 part finish that seals the wood and makes it suitable to drink from. Picture 18, here Errol is applying the finish with a very small brush, this he found to be the best way to do this, and it does take a bit of practice to get it right. Picture 19, he has coated the cup part only, the stem and base will be coated once the cup is dry, Errol said that it would probably need 3 to 4 coats to be safe to drink from.
Picture 20, the Goblet Errol made as an example. Picture 21, the Goblet that he made tonight.

That concludes the demonstration from Errol, we hope you have gained some knowledge on the making of Goblets. Errol was thanked for his demonstration and given a well deserved round of applause.

Here is an area view of the clubhouse taken on the night of the demonstration.

Our next meeting is on the 29th September. it’s going to be part 2 of the finishing programme we did in July, it’s going to be managed by Nick Simpson and myself.