Wednesday's Wisdom For Woodturners March 15, 2023

[lew]

Hard to believe that March is half over already!

 

 

Our Patriot Turners-

@Steve Krumanaker posted some handles he turned for a friend! Steve says he did not use a duplicator but you sure could have fooled me!

 

Check out Steve's post for more about this project-

 

 

We continue to have more posts in our thread "What's On Your Lathe"! Check out what @forty_caliber is doing-

 

 

@Smallpatch gave us a look at his setup for duplicating piece on the lathe.

 

 

 

What’s Coming Up-

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For The Newbies-

Carl Jacobson put together a short video on aligning the head and tail stock.

 

 

From Kent Weakley "Turn A Wood Bowl", a checklist of things to do for lathe maintenance (click on the image)-

 

 

 

Expand Your Horizons-

If you don't have a steady rest, here's an instructional video where the author builds one patterned after one built by Mike Waldt

 

 

Jim Rodgers makes a really interesting segmented vase-

 

 

 Alan Stratton turns a cool toothpick holder. Might make a nice craft show item-

 

 

Easter is not far away and Mike Peace demonstrates how to turn some Bunnies!

 

At the end of Mike's video, are some other Easter oriented turning ideas/links.

 

 

New Turning Items-

Not really a new item but some mods on an older device to hold odd shaped pieces-

 

Available at-  https://woodturningtoolstore.com/product/elio-dr-safe-drive-2-5/?receiptful=923&receiptfultype=reviewsadminfb&fbclid=IwAR0bWspnfZ-Tx5be43_wuR3mi0wfVQA1OB1GAg6HkS29Mx2qziuyjg9PFXY

 

 

 

Everything Else-

From Ron Brown's Newsletter

 

It Works For Me

 

When you work up the courage to demonstrate in front of your club or the public, someone will always ask, “Why do you do it that way?” The short answer is “it works for me.”

 

Turning, apart from most other forms of woodworking, relies heavily on the skills of the turner. Cabinet-making, for example, relies more on design, careful measurements, and the ability to cut relatively large pieces of sheet goods perfectly square. Ask five woodturners the right way to do something, and you will likely get ten different answers.

 

Do what works for you until it doesn’t, then do it another way until it does. Everyone’s shop is different; different lathes, sharpening setups, lathe chisels, people are different heights, ages, strengths, lighting, some are left-handed, etc.

 

Yes, there are generally accepted “Best Practices”, but my encouragement is to use the method that works for you as long as it is safe. However, keep an open mind to different approaches. As I view different turners making shavings, I still notice little things that might just be a better way to do something I have been doing for many years. I try their way and sometimes it works better, sometimes not.

 

Most of my shop time these days is spent making accessories for turners and for that we are very grateful. My production shop would make most woodturners see double. I have the quintessential 5-pounds of stuff in a 3-pound sack. I wouldn’t recommend anyone set up their shop like mine. But it works for me, for what I do with the equipment and space I have. And I love it!

 

In case you’ve seen some of my YouTube videos filmed in a nice clean uncluttered perfectly lit woodturning shop, that is a purpose-built film studio in a whole separate building set up just for making videos. I never actually make shavings in that area. Why? Because it works for me. When it doesn’t, I’ll do something else. For now, remember that wherever you go, there you are.

 

 

 

Safe turning

[HandyDan]

Thanks for the updates and the videos.  Wood Magazine did an article of that style tooth pick holders years ago and I made some.  My version was a simple design keeping ease of cleaning is mind.  No sharp corners for food and therefore germs to gather.

 

[Cal]

Thanks for the post on alignment of head & tail stocks Lew, I will be forwarding that to our son.  Hope to see him turning again in the future.

[Gerald]

Thanks Lew for the post . I have been meaning to make the toothpick holder ever since I saw it in WOOD.