Wednesday's Wisdom For Woodturners April 17, 2024

[lew]

The old Dogwood tree, outside my window, should be in full bloom tomorrow. Hard to believe when I transplanted it, from my parents mountain property, it was a single, spindly stick. That was 56 years ago!

 

 

Our Patriot Turners-

@RustyFN showed us a beautiful new turned lidded box he made. He said this one is made from Maple.

 

He certainly has perfected the flocking technique, too! Our turners gave him lots of compliments in his post-

 

 

@Gerald has been creating amazing designs with his JaHo jig. His most recent refrigerator magnet is a beauty!

 

Check out this addition to his post-

 

 

 

More activity on our two continuing posts of "What's On/Off the Lathe"

From ON:

@Gerald provide a closeup look at his JaHo jig in action-

 

You can see how this jig can create some fantastic designs. Check out Gerald's post for additional images.

 

From OFF:

@kreisdorph turned a gnarly piece of mulberry into a beautiful bowl-

 

 

Kent also finished these beauties.

 

This spalted piece caught my eye because of the shape. Years ago, an artist friend sent me a picture from a magazine. He fell in love with the shape. I think it was a hint for me to turn one. Alas, I have not done it.

 

 

 

 

New projects start here-

 

 

@lew was looking for some input on design and proportions for turnings. He used miniature hollow turnings to get an idea of what had pleasing shapes and asked our turners their opinions. As always, our members provided some excellent advice and suggestions.

 

 

What’s Coming Up-

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

 

 

 

 

This is a replay of the most resent Tool Talk from Cindy Drozda

 

 

 

For The Newbies-

Thinking of design and proportions, Lyly Jamieson's turning tip discusses the design for bowls,

 

 

Pen turning is a great way to get into turning. Kits can be inexpensive and provide amazing results. Tim Yoder shows us how it's done!!

 

Now for a little more of a challenge, Jim Rodgers turns a segmented pen-

 

 

 

Expand Your Horizons-

Last week we posted a shop tour hosted by Mike Peace. The craftspeople were making Beads Of Courage boxes. Mike takes a segmented glue up and turns his own version of a Beads of Courage box-

 

 

Sometimes the most beautiful turning is not the most perfect piece. Alan Stratton explains-

https://youtu.be/hx1qGGVvU-g?si=mSuL1RJNLd0YDMOu

 

EDIT: Cannot get this video to show in published post. Link seems to work.

 

 

A short video from Richard Raffan demonstrating how he utilizes as much of a turning blank as possible. Check out the unique parting tool!

 

 

 

New Turning Items-

Been really difficult to find anything new on the market. Maybe by the time the income tax return is ready there will be some new toys to spend it on.

 

 

Everything Else-

An excerpt from Ron Brown's newsletter on advice for the new turner

 

My advice for a new turner or a student would include the following:
 

Find a turning club in your area and attend some meetings. These people are a tremendous resource and are always eager to help.

 

Start with pens. Start by watching some YouTube videos for instructions. Get setup for basic pen turning, a 7mm mandrel, some slimline pen kits, proper sanding grits, CA glue, friction finish, etc. Pens are quick to make, easy to turn, and provide an immediate sense of accomplishment. If someone wanted to sell a few pens to pay for more turning stuff, many folks earn turning money this way.

 

Then make some spinning tops for fun and give them away. Turn a few bottle stoppers and give them as gifts to friends and relatives.

 

As soon as you can afford it, buy an inexpensive 4 jaw scroll chuck. Add more jaws down the road or buy a chuck with a few jaws included. Quality chucks with multiple jaw sets can be very expensive. Save that for later. For now, just get a serviceable chuck for around $100.

 

Turn small plates from a 3/4" thick piece of wood using a recessed tenon in expansion mode for practice. A family member might even wish to add decorations or paint your masterpiece.

 

Now that you have a scroll chuck, practice making turned lidded boxes, goblets, and soup ladles for the kitchen.

 

Try turning a few small bowls from green wood. Turn the walls to 1/4" and watch them go oval. Turn a few 1/2" thick to let them dry in a paper bag for a few months, then re-turn them to 1/4" wall thickness once they’ve dried if they didn’t crack or explode.

 

Once you've done all that, evaluate your interest in turning and if you love it, like most of us do, prepare to spend some money (easily $500) on High-Speed Steel lathe tools, a specialty grinder, and a sharpening jig. Next, set about learning to cut with traditional turning tools and learn to keep them sharp. 

 

Note: You only need a few HSS tools. In the beginning, don't buy more than 10 total, and never buy turning tools in a set. Always purchase the tool you need for the job at hand.

 

After that, plan to take some full-day turning classes and plan to attend some turning symposiums in your area. From there, the sky is the limit. Turning can be as much or as little as you want.

 

You can learn to make shavings in a couple of hours. It takes a lifetime to become a “Turner”.

 

 

 

Did play a little at the lathe this week. The largest usable piece of that wind shake cherry was dry so I put it on the lathe. The more I turned, the more defects were uncovered. Filled the cracks with CA and sanding dust. The colors are nice but I don't like the tiny splits throughout the piece.

 

 

Sanded to 600 and beeswax/mineral oil finish.

 

 

Safe turning

[Gerald]

Thanks for the mention Lew. That was quite a parting tool Raffin was using.

[HandyDan]

Nice sized bowl you turned Lew.  Looks great.  Thanks for this weeks videos.  I'll surely watch them.

[Grandpadave52]

Great summary of "hometown" turners Lew as well as plenty of resources.

Nice job on your cherry bowl. Interesting grain patterns evolved.

[lew]

Sorry, just getting around to this. Busy weekend and Monday.

 

 

@Gerald Thank You! First time I saw something like that.

 

@HandyDan  Thanks!

 

@Grandpadave52  Thank you! Mimi said she's is going to give it to a friend as a "bread bowl". The proportions are off a little for that but I think it will work.

[RustyFN]

Thanks Lew.

 

[lew]

@RustyFN  Thank You!!