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68 The Woodworker & Good Woodworking September 2019 http://www.getwoodworking.com
The Engineer’s Workshop – all that JAZ!
Elbow grease: after the hard work of turning JAZ, and a thorough power sanding, all it takes to finish it is a light polish
3 Turn the spigot with a parting tool and shape
the rest of the bowl’s underside with a gouge2 ... is to mount it into large jaws. I made this set
myself; the hard rubber pegs hold the work firmly
without damaging it1 Mark out a circle on the blank and cut it out on
the bandsaw. The easiest way to turn the bottom...
be used to make load-bearing objects like chairs.
Barbara reasoned that, with today’s technology
and the ready availability of waste paper, it should
be possible to produce a modern version of papiér
maché from which furniture and other products
could be made. So she started experimenting
in her kitchen, cold-pressing starched waste
paper that she coloured with vegetable dyes.
As work progressed over the ensuing 17 years,
Barbara won European grants and support for
her research from UCE Birmingham and Tufnol
Composites. The culmination of her work was JAZ- a composite material that combines 80-90%
recycled materials and (unlike MDF), non-toxic
solvents and resins that are pressed together
at 200psi.
JAZ, then, has plenty of credentials as an
environmentally friendly product. In fact, because
JAZ can be made from any cellulose waste such
as straw and vegetable matter, research is now
looking into the use of by-products from the
bio-fuel industry. The long term aim is to make
JAZ a viable alternative to wood, ivory, plastic,
and other composites. So far, it has been usedTURNING