Wednesday's Wisdom For Woodturners February 19, 2025

[lew]

Looks like southern PA was once again spared the "big one" as far as snow is concerned. Still mighty cold out, however.

 

 

Our Patriot Turners-

Member @Gordon posted a question about using dyes on a turning. Specifically. he was asking about bleed through.

 

Several of our turners posted their thoughts and advice. Maybe you could help Gordon with your input. Please check his post at-

 

 

@Headhunter added a post in our Ringmaster Subforum. He made a jig to aid in measuring angles when cutting the rings.

 

Check out his post at-

 

 

We have had several entries to our "ON/OFF" the lathe this past week!

From ON-

 

Thanks to @Gordon  and @calabrese55 for their gorgeous turnings!

 

 

 

You can see all of the comments and more images at-

 

 

And from OFF-

@calabrese55 and Lew posted vessels, both lidded and open. Love the knob on this lid!

 

 

 

Lots more images and comments at-

 

 

 

What’s Coming Up-

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For The Newbies-

From Craft Supplies USA, a video on fundamental woodturning safety tips-

 

 

Turning tops is a great way to practice tour spindle turning skills and create some neat toys for the kids, grandkids or neighborhood kids. Mike Peace adds a new twist to the mix!

 

 

Expand Your Horizons-

Basket illusion turnings always seemed very daunting to me. I think this one from Carl Jacobson is one I might consider tackling.

 

 

How do you measure the wall thickness of your bowls? This is how Richard Raffan does it!

 

 

 

New Turning Items-

Not new but on sale. For the coffee connoisseur in your life. The Niles coffee tamper kit for their espresso machine.

 

https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/coffee-tamper/   

 

 

 

Everything Else-

From Ron Brown's newsletter:

 

You Will Never Fail If You Never Try

 

Failure is a part of trying and is needed for success. If you’re going to be successful, you need to try more than once and usually fail more than once. If you never try, you will never fail. You will also never accomplish anything.

 

Fear Of Failure Can Paralyze You

 

Go ahead and try that new project or method. You will probably fail the first time or two. That is how we learn. Persistence is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. As someone who has been given a certain responsibility and a pretty broad platform to shout from, I have come to realize that no matter what I do or say, someone is going to be offended. I could avoid negative comments by never saying or trying anything, but although I have the right to remain silent, I do not have the ability.

 

For every 100 encouraging and uplifting comments I receive on this weekly column, I will receive one that is less encouraging. These comments provide opportunities to practice what I preach. Some comments are very harsh simply because they disagree with something I’ve said or implied or because I believe differently from them.

 

“Don’t throw them away” was the advice recently given to me by a good friend. When people say something nonsensical, you can only control how you respond. I’ve heard it said the greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Nobody will agree 100 percent of the time, and in the wood-turning world, there are almost always many ways to accomplish the same thing. I choose to practice what I preach, especially when responding to someone who disagrees with me.

 

As you evaluate someone else, realize they might see things from a perspective different than your own. That doesn’t make them wrong; it makes them different from you.

 

 

 

Safe turning

 

[Gerald]

Great post Lew . You know I gotta check out the top

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

I had watched that safety video, and it was very good. Quite basic as well, which is just what i needed. One thing I just can't seem to remember is to turn the speed down when I stop the lathe....I'll have to keep trying to remember to do that' or put a big sign up on the wall that says "turn the speed down!'.

[HandyDan]

Great recap Lew.  Lots went on this week.

[DuckSoup]

 A lot of beautiful work in the turner's forum, heat must be in the tools. 

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

That top video was cool, way beyond what I can do but maybe someday.

[lew]

@Gerald Thank You!  If you try it, hope you post your take on them!

 

@Fred W. Hargis Jr Thanks! It took me a long time to remember to do that. Give those tops a try, you can do it!

 

@HandyDan  Thank You!

 

@DuckSoup  Thanks! We keep putting our hands on the lathe motor to warm them up