Bob is holding one of his winning entries.
Larry Varnes
Bob Loyd was one of the early members of the Robson Ranch Woodworkers Club. But his interest in wood turning was born only five short years ago when he and his wife went on a local artists studio tour where he fell in love with segmented wood turning. Now he is a first place winner in two categories at the recent North Texas Wood Carver’s Guild and an Award of Merit winner in the Best of Show category.
The winning bowl is comprised of 171 different pieces of wood, glued together and turned on a lathe. This bowl included Bloodwood, Ebony, Holly and black-dyed veneers. The bowl took Bob nearly 6o hours of gluing, turning, sanding and polishing. But the results are outstanding.
Segmented wood turning is much more than gluing pieces of wood into a bowl. It’s about creating exciting objects that can stimulate your senses. As a segmented turner, the artist is free from the boundaries of a single block of wood with unlimited choices regarding size, shape and color combinations.
Bob Loyd exemplifies an individual who came to Robson Ranch and developed a passion for something he had never done before, taking the time to learn and hone his skills. Now Bob is not only a member of our own Woodworker’s Club but also a member of the American Association of Wood Turners. He is currently working on new projects to enter in the upcoming annual conference in San Antonio later this year.
If you want to find your passion or simply learn some basic woodworking skills, check out the Woodworker’s Club at the shop in the Creative Arts and Technology Building. Our open hours are generally from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Tuesday evenings from 6:30-9:00 p.m. However, a safety monitor needs to be available for the shop to be open. You can check the website calendar to confirm, and there is a list of volunteers to call if nobody else is available. Please visit our website at http://robsonranchwoodworkers.org for more information. Or call our current president, Joey Misiaszek, at 262-3543, or email [email protected].