Well, it is 8° this evening, here in south central PA, and expected to go lower overnight. A little snow and wind yesterday- which is why I sit here in pain, as I write this.

 

Over the years, the folks in our neighborhood have either been widowed, divorced or grown too old to shovel their own driveways. So, we have helped them, as any good neighbor should. Unfortunately, now I am older than most of them. Every couple of years the old back gives out and every movement becomes an adventure in pain. That guy on TV, who takes 2 Aleve a day, has nothing on me!

 

Anyway, I finally got all of the rolling pin blanks glued and trimmed. The last one in the clamps was a good feeling!

 

 

The next step is to turn the blanks round and get them close to the finish diameter. One of the Maple blanks reminded me of Ambrosia Maple and that’s the one I turned first. It had a couple of small pin knots which I thought would look nice with the walnut inserts.

 

 

Happily turning away, the blank went from square to round. From thump, thump, thump to the smooth “shushing†sound of the gouge making contact on the entire surface- except for one spot! Power off, lathe spins down and there, exposed, was-

 

 

At first, I thought it was a nail or a bullet embedded in the wood but the metal detector failed to detected anything. Naval training provided ample and appropriate vocabulary for the situation. I needed to make a chisel handle anyway, just hadn't figured on it being that fancy.

 

Each blank still needs tapering, sanding and oiled along with a poly finish on a dozen rolling pin wall holders.

 

While waiting for the glue ups to dry, I spent a few minutes making a thin parting tool. The one that has been my go to tool is fine; it is just a little wide for some smaller projects.

 

 

Cap’n Eddie has a Youtube video on making one of these from Weed Whacker blade- OK, I’m cheap and didn't want to buy one. Looking around the shop, I found an old butcher knife. It was removed from service when I made a new one. The Dremel Tool and a cutoff wheel made short work of shortening the blade.

 

 

Then the bench grinder to reshape the metal

 

 

Comparing the two tool cutting ends

 

 

The knife was stainless steel so I’m not sure how well the edge will hold up between sharpening.

Safe Turning!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

Oh man I hate the pin was messed up. I have had that happen on cutting boards. You finish that first glue up and then cut the pieces and there is a hollow place in the middle of a piece of walnut. Just gets under your skin.

I like the knife parting tool. I made one a few years ago. I didn't do as much as you did. I just slanted the end of the knife and tapered it a bit. It works great to get into those tight spots.

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John Moody
Site Administratorhttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
“Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.†Shaker Saying

Lew

Sorry to see the bad spot, I'm sure navy training came in full force . Glad you can use it for another purpose thought.

Really liked what you did with the knife. Never thought of that or would have. Capt. Eddie is fun to watch and I'm betting he has a low cost solution to most anything. I enjoy watching his shows.

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Wayne Mahler
God bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.

Thanks guys for the kind words of understanding about that knot!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time Traveler and Purveyor of the Universe's Finest Custom Rolling Pins!

What about filling the hole with clear epoxy or acrylic? It might change the turning dynamics, but if you could get the final polish to come out clear, that seems like it would be a neat 3D effect.

Thanks, John! That's an interesting possibility!

Justin Hughes said:

What about filling the hole with clear epoxy or acrylic? It might change the turning dynamics, but if you could get the final polish to come out clear, that seems like it would be a neat 3D effect.