Wednesday's Wisdom For Woodturners March 1, 2023

[lew]

First day of meteorological Spring and it felt like spring. Of course they are forecasting winter weather for the weekend. 

 

I apologize if I missed anyone's post for last week, wasn't receiving all of the notifications about your posts. I found at least one that will be in this weeks entry. If you see something I missed, please let me know.

 

 

Our Patriot Turners-

@RustyFN did some shop cleanup. He got a bit of razzing about how often he does this. 

 

It was all in good fun. Here's the post- 

 

 

Rusty also posted a turning he will enter in his clubs President's Challenge. Hope it gets first place

 

 

 

Rusty was gifted some large pieces of a tree and asked our turners to help identify the species. He posted several pictures to help. Hop over to his post and see if you recognize what he has-

 

 

@Smallpatch showed us a nice setup for serving sweets! He thought maybe it could spark someone's imagination to create something similar out of wood-

 

 

Check his post. I think he is on to something!

 

 

@forty_caliber turned a sweet carver's mallet from Osage orange. It's almost too pretty to use!

 

Our turners had lots of positive comments-

 

 

Our thread called "What's on Your Lathe" continues to generate interest. Here's the most recent entries-

 

 

What’s Coming Up-

Click on the images for links to registration and more information-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For The Newbies-

You pulled the trigger on your first lathe. Now What! Richard Raffan leads us through our first spindle turning operations-

 

 

This also fits in the "What's Coming Up" department. From Cindy Drozda, a live event on sharpening scrapers. MARCH 2, 2023!

Link to Facebook Live event- https://fb.me/e/2K3r2bBYI

 

Link to Live Stream Registration-  https://streamyard.com/watch/vYqnGQ8DMXD3

 

 

 

Expand Your Horizons-

Watch Mike Waldt turn an English Walnut hollow form-

 

 

Four YouTube turners worked together on a collaboration challenge  demonstrating how we may do things differently but still come up with similar end results. Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Tomislav Tomasic and Richard Raffan each turned a cross grained vessel and posted their process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Turning Items-

Received my order of Easy Wood Tools negative rake beading cutters late this afternoon. Haven't had a chance to try them but reports from other turners are positive. 

 

 

 

Everything Else-

No YouTube video report from Rick Turns this week.

 

 

From Ron Brown's newsletter

 

Small Beginnings Might Have Seeds Of Greatness

 

It is easy to look at someone with minimal shop equipment, a small or older lathe, and only a few tools, in the corner of a basement or garage and discount the kind of work they are capable of. I began with a 12” Jet lathe with an eight-piece high carbon steel set of lathe tools. There was no bowl gouge in my set!

 

Sometime around the year 2000, I bought a 10” jet 5-speed mini lathe. It took a couple of years before I got my first 4 jaw chuck. Now, nearly a quarter century later, the equipment in my shop is pretty impressive by most standards. I’ve made many thousands of turned pieces and helped untold scores of turners to do things better, faster, and safer around the world. I have helped some folks in person at woodturning shows and symposiums, and many others around the world via my YouTube videos.

 

None of this would have happened if no one had bothered to introduce me to how much fun our craft could be. I didn’t even want to be at the demonstration in the first place. I was there out of a sense of duty to my friends. You never know who is carrying the seeds of greatness within, so don’t prejudge your audience. Rather understand that there is unlimited potential within all of us, young, old, male, and female, regardless of occupation or background.

 

No matter how humble your beginnings or how moderate your own skill level or equipment might be, you have the power to spark greatness in other people. We all start somewhere, so bloom where you are planted and use the gifts you currently have. I’ve never met a single turner that I couldn’t learn from. Look for opportunities to share what you know and bless others and you will soon find them everywhere. Remember that wherever you go, there you are.

 

 

I thought I had found a small maple branch at the landfill. It was freshly cut and no checking. Sealed the ends until I had a chance to get it on the lathe. Cut it into two blanks and started on the first one, Rough turned it, soaked it for 3 days and got it into my little drying box. Came out with only a tiny crack.

 

My intention was to make a calabash style little bowl. First thing I noticed was how light (in weight) the dried blank seemed to be. Anyway turned it to the final outside shape than started to hollow it out. Like an idiot, I didn't use the calipers- only my fingers for measuring thickness. (Which definitely need to be recalibrated!)

 

 

I don't think this was maple. very soft. The dark spot on the side is where the material crumbled when hollowing. It was pretty thin but not as thin as some vessels I've turned. Anyway I can practice making a round bottom to see how it comes out. 

 

The other blank is in the drying box now. We'll see what that turns out to be in a few more days.

 

 

Safe turning

[HandyDan]

Thanks Lew.  I almost ordered a couple of the beading inserts but held off.  Let us know how you like them.

Edited March 2, 2023 by HandyDan

[RustyFN]

Thanks Lew.

 

[Gerald]

Oh  those horrible words " Almost too pretty to use" . I have heard them a few times and at first felt that defeated the purpose of the item , but finally I just say they can do what they want to do with the item. thanks for the post . Gonna have to check the Four Ways.

[lew]

@HandyDan Thank You! Gonna try them on the bowl that's in the kiln.

 

@RustyFN Thank You!

 

@Gerald Thanks, right there with you on the "too pretty" thing. At least Mimi always uses everything I've made.