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Happy Birthday, America! Here's how it really happened! Our summer fund raiser is underway! If you haven't gotten your raffle tickets or checked out the great prizes, see the following post!!!! Our Patriot Turners- We've had some additions to our continuing post of "What's On Your Lathe" @Gerald and @kreisdorph both added images of what they have been up to- Catch up on all this week's action starting here- What’s Coming Up- It's been awhile since we've done a recap of the upcoming AAW events. Click on the images for links to registration and more information. Southwest Florida For The Newbies- Mike Peace posted a video to help turners understand the various methods and tools for center finding. Expand Your Horizons- Last week we posted a video on turning a trembleur. I guess the YouTube algorithm was watching me because this one showed up a couple of days ago. It's really neat how the turners create string steady rests- Carl Jacobson turns a cool paper clip holder- The collaboration between the "4 Ways" turners continues- New Turning Items- I received an email from Wood World of Texas covering their Kitchen Essentials products/kits. Check out their products here- https://woodworldtx.com/ Everything Else- Pulled this from a Woodturners Wonders email. Carbide vs. traditional HSS tools. This week, we want to share some helpful information so you can choose the best turning tool option for you. Additionally, we are offering a 15% discount on Sorby, Crown Hand Tools and Easy Wood Tools! * The discount will be reflected in the cart * Choosing the Right Turning Tools: Traditional vs. Carbide Woodturning is a craft that blends artistry with precision, and selecting the right tools is crucial for achieving the best results. At WoodTurners Wonders, we offer a wide range of turning tools from renowned brands such as Robert Sorby, Crown Turning Tools, Easy Wood Tools, and Yellowhammer Turning Tools. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned turner, understanding the differences between traditional and carbide turning tools can help you make an informed decision. Here are some factors to consider when choosing your turning tools, along with a comparison of the pros and cons of carbide and traditional tools. Factors to Consider When Choosing Turning Tools Skill Level: Beginners may find carbide tools easier to use due to their low-maintenance nature, while traditional tools offer greater versatility and control, which can appeal to more experienced turners. Maintenance: Consider how much time you're willing to invest in maintaining your tools. Traditional tools require regular sharpening, while carbide tools typically only need occasional replacement of the carbide inserts. Material and Projects: The type of wood you work with and the projects you undertake can influence your choice. Traditional tools are often preferred for fine detail work, while carbide tools excel in roughing and removing large amounts of material quickly. Budget: Evaluate the initial cost and the long-term investment. Traditional tools might have a lower upfront cost but require ongoing investment in sharpening equipment, whereas carbide tools have a higher initial cost but lower maintenance expenses. Comparing Traditional and Carbide-turning tools Traditional Turning Tools Pros: Versatility: Traditional tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes, allowing for a wide range of cuts and finishes. Control and Precision: Skilled turners can achieve intricate details and smoother finishes with traditional tools. Lower Initial Cost: Typically, traditional tools are less expensive upfront compared to carbide tools. Cons: Maintenance: Requires regular sharpening, which can be time-consuming and necessitates additional equipment like sharpening stones or grinders. Learning Curve: Mastering traditional tools takes time and practice, as each tool and cut requires different techniques and angles. Safe turning
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Stonemasons finished the chimney today. Mimi says it looks really nice. Our Patriot Turners- Member @keithlong asked a question about carbide, negative rake bead cutters. He was curious if anyone had experience with them. Please check out his post and maybe give him your opinion. The "What's OFF Your lathe..." and "What's On Your Lathe..." topics had activity this week by @kreisdorph. He showed us some really nice bowls and one that didn't quite make it. From Off the lathe- New stuff and comments start here- And, What's On the lathe The new stuff starts here- Some good discussions in both posts. What’s Coming Up- This is the video from last Friday's Tool Talk from Cindy Drozda. It was a little different as she talked about the new "gadgets" she has in her shop. Click on the following images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- A couple of turning tips from Lyle Jamieson- Sam Angelo has created a new YouTube channel to help the new turner get started. It's called "Learn 2 Turn With Sam" The introduction to the channel And one of the first lessons- For a woodturner, one of the most useful machines, besides the lathe, is a bandsaw. In this video, Kent Weakley discusses Bandsaw Basics. The latest issue of Woodcraft Magazine (April/May 2024) has a great article for someone thinking about getting started in woodturning. It covers just about everything you need to consider. There's also a how-to article on turned fishing lures. Check it out at your local newsstand or in the magazine section at the local Borg. Expand Your Horizons- A couple of weeks ago, we included a video from Alan Stratton on multi-axis star ornaments. Alan has refined his process and posted this video- One of our member from a long time ago, @Charles Nicholls, used to turn light pulls. It's a great way to use up scraps and Charles sold many of his turnings. Mike Waldt shows us how he does it. New Turning Items- Even though I turn almost exclusively with carbide tools, I do have and can use traditional HSS tools. For sharpening the HSS tools, I use a Tormek slow, wet grinder. Tormek has an extensive lineup of sharpening jigs to aid in getting those razor sharp edges. Now, those styles of jigs are available from Woodturners Wonders, for other types of grinders and they are on sale! Click on the above image for the link to the sale page. Everything Else- I had some sycamore bowls roughed out and dried. Spent an hour or so this afternoon working on the closed bowl shape. The wood itself is pretty unexciting grain wise so I added some extra details to make it more interesting. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to reverse it and finish out the bottom. Used Yorkshire grit and beeswax/mineral oil for finishing. Burned rings. Beads made with EWT beading cutters. Safe turning
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Thanks, Mike, for reminding us of how we have the freedoms we enjoy today- Our Patriot Turners- @Roy gave us an update on how his sphere jig is working. In his post he explains the significance of the choice of spheres. I can't imagine how he did the glue-up! @forty_caliber posted another beautiful bowl he turned from pecan He answers questions about the awesome center medallion he uses to sign his work- check this post @Gerald gave us a look at his setup for turning spoons without the aid of special jigs- He received lots of comments about his setup- Gerald also posted some of the ornaments he turned using an idea from last week's "4 Ways" Here's more from Gerald- Gerald's post got me thinking about some of the ornaments our members turned in years gone by. We had links to lots of design for ideas. Thought it would be nice to bring back some of them to stir your imaginations- https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/turn-a-terrific-tree-ornament http://www.crwoodturner.com/files/how-to/ornaments.pdf http://kurthertzog.com/articles/creatingshellornamentsrev3red.pdf https://blog.woodturnerscatalog.com/2012/12/turning-a-snowman-box/ What’s Coming Up- https://community.woodturner.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=a2728bff-a39d-4375-adee-018b90a311c9&Home=%2fevents%2fird-demonstrations&_zs=ceDib&_zl=rpKp3 For The Newbies- Thinking about turning duplicate parts? The December/January 2024 issue of Woodcraft Magazine's "Top Tip" in Tips & Tricks (pp 16) has a really neat lathe duplication jig. It uses your own turning tools and all the parts can be located at the Borgs. Check it out!! Expand Your Horizons- Craft Supplies USA posted a video on using CA glue as a finish. Another option for finishing some of your turnings- A nice pendant turning article from the AAW- https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/Resources/AmericanWoodturner/Articles-of-the-Week/2023/Tapered_Pendants.aspx?fbclid=IwAR3-6_s7nGVLEWvSgj9xpaXmybwFANI6UeAqDATbON-6HZpEGIrlh_En8io New Turning Items- Couldn't find anything special but remember Woodturners Wonders is running a daily sale- see last weeks "Wednesday's" for the list. Everything Else- I finished up the height adjust table to help accurately focus my engraving laser. It does work. Had to add up/down arrows to the adjustment knob after the pictures were taken. Finished table- Laser setup. The drill press table adjustment crank handle is visible back behind the orange laser safety shield. Very difficult to access to make focus adjustments. In action- Last week, at the local turner's club, one member demonstrated making a Christmas tree from a fresh cut limb. Thought I'd give it a try. Took longer to do the star than to turn the tree. Turned completely with Easy Wood Tools- except the star which was formed from a ball integral to the top of the tree. Cut out with a sharp utility knife. Star has gold leaf. Gonna leave the tree natural. Sort of a "primitive" item. From Ron Brown's newsletter- Curiosity As a child, whenever my mother gave me a new toy, it always came with the strong admonition “Don’t take it apart.” I’ve always had an intense curiosity for how things work, and how they do what they do. I had to see inside to understand them. So, I took them apart. I’ve been like that for as long as I can remember. In high school, I excelled in my field of study not because I was a good student, but because I needed to know what they were talking about to satisfy my curiosity. I went to work with the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad at the age of 19 as a long-haul brakeman. I had endless hours sitting on a caboose, so I read Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines from front to back two or three times. Then I graduated to Family Handyman Encyclopedias, every volume, every page from cover to cover to satisfy my curiosity. Every new field I’ve entered is the same way; intense curiosity drives me to learn everything possible. Not because I want to be the best, but because I need to know everything there is to know to satisfy my curiosity. Enter the world of turning wood. There are so many different facets to learn that it seems almost endless and I love it! This is one field that I will never completely understand and that is why I’ve stuck with it for so many years. I would encourage you to venture out of your specialty and explore something you think you might not like or might be beyond your capability. I promise you will be surprised. Here are some areas to explore: • Bowls, Plates, and Platters o Kiln-dried wood, green wood, hybrid resin and wood, glued-up full-thickness blanks, segmented glue-ups, bowls from one flat board, bowls with defects left in, natural edge bowls, end-grain blanks, blanks from root balls, blanks from crotches, exotic species from far away countries, construction grade lumber, laminated beams, from tiny to enormous, just to name a few. • Hollow Forms o Tall and narrow, short and wide, small requiring special shop-made tools, large in diameter requiring captive hollowing rigs or specialty hollowing tools, vessels with openings so small that you have to hollow through the bottom, impossible hollow forms requiring trickery such as invisible glue lines to hide your methods, dyed and tinted finishes, hollow forms with lots of carving and texturing, you get the idea. • Spindles o Furniture legs and parts, wands and canes, pepper mills, fancy finials, mallets, gavels, gnomes, kitchen utensils, turned-lidded boxes, tool handles, lamps, Christmas ornaments, inside-out two-step globes, spheres, items with hand-chased threads or threads from a threading jig, baseball bats, I could go on. That should keep you busy for a while. Just when you were getting comfortable you discover there is so much more left to explore. You will never run out of new things to try. Every time I turn around, I find new challenges to solve and that is what keeps me fresh and drives me to invent and explore every new day God gives me to serve my fellow men and women. Thanks for your support and encouragement. Safe turning
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October is almost in the books! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald was busy turning out some really neat projects- He posted these in "Friday's Weekend" thread. See his post for some other colorful items- He even managed to score some beautiful cherry over the weekend- There are more pictures at- And he managed to get at least one piece underway- Our resident Christmas ornament professional, @Ron Altier, posted some beautiful maple items. I think he used his patented epoxy finish on them. Check out his post for more about where he got the wood- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- For The Newbies- New turners typically have difficulty getting proficient with the skew. I still haven't mastered it! Watch Richard Raffan make it look easy- Mike Peace demonstrated how to do some tool "makeovers" Woodturning Monthly was published by the Woodworker's Journal. Some nice projects and articles- https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodturning-monthly/?utm_medium=email Expand Your Horizons- Alan Stratton is always coming up with unusual turning ideas and this one is no exception- Wish you had a Genie? Well Carl Jacobson has turned a Genie Bottle in case you ever find one New Turning Items- Niles Bottle Stoppers has added a couple of new items- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/artisan-coffee-scoop-kit/ https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/artisan-rasp-grater-kit/ Woodturners Wonders is having a sale on their lathe "Track System". Check their website at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lathe-track?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Everything Else- From Ron Brown's newsletter- Side Gig – Sage Advice I had a long visit with a friend who will be retiring in 5-6 years and is thinking about starting a woodworking business to keep busy and generate some extra income. I have been hearing from more folks than usual about generating a little cash from a side hustle in view of the current economic situation with a dollar buying less every day. I’ve made extra income from my side hustle for the last 55 years. Even when I was in the corporate world, I still made and sold wooden items on the side. Sometimes for pocket change, sometimes as a second income when the first one wasn’t enough. I’ve picked up a few things along the way that you might be interested in or passing along to a friend. 1) Demand – don’t just make and try to sell what you love, make and sell what they want to buy (even if you don’t particularly like it). I tell my family that I would sell dried cow patties if that was what the demand called for. a. In general woodworking the good sellers might be cutting boards, stove top covers, 2x4 basic bunk beds, etc. b. For woodturners it could be pens, tops, pepper mills, salad bowls, etc. I’ve learned from experience that just because I’m wild about something, doesn’t mean it will sell. 2) If an item is in high demand and everyone else is doing it, don’t be afraid to make them also. a. A prime example of this is metal tumblers like the Yeti. In the laser engraving world, there are thousands of people making laser engraved tumblers, wrapped tumblers, or personalized tumblers. I know, my kids have given me several every Christmas for the past bunch of years. My church even gave me a pair. b. Hamburgers are another great example. If people were afraid of making something someone else made, there would only be one place to get a hamburger instead of a hamburger joint on every corner. 3) Don’t be the cheapest guy on the block. Find out what the market price is and be somewhere around there. You might have to be creative to make a profit. 4) If no one is doing it, there is probably a good reason. No demand, impossible to make a decent profit due to the material cost or excessive labor. Before you bring something totally new to the market, get half a dozen regular items well established and selling consistently before you attempt to blaze a totally new trail. 5) You might be a perfectionist, but your customers won’t pay for perfection. They will pay for great or even good, but perfect is in the eye of the beholder. You can be perfect if you don’t mind making $2/hr. But that is not how you make a profit in the real world. 6) Listen to your wife. She loves you and wants you to succeed. She will tell you things your friends won’t. There are many more tidbits of advice, based on years of experience, but these are some of the important ones. Safe turning
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Next time, @Gerald, give us a heads up and we will stuff the ballot box! https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/august-2023-turning-challenge-final-results.21511/
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Please keep in mind we are having our community fund raiser. Check out the cool prizes- Our Patriot Turners- Our "What's On Your Lathe" thread had several additions this week- @forty_caliber, @nevinc and @HandyDan were busy- Check out what they were up to- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- ❗️For invitation to attend this zoom, simply send an email with the subject line “Invite Me” to [email protected]❗️ Keith was kind enough to share this from the Easy Wood Tools newsletter. The email is sent to the folks EWT has on file. If you don't get it, call @Jordan Martindale at (859)246-0294 and asked to be put on the list. For The Newbies- Some turning tips, hints and general information from Tim Yoder and Ron Brown- Expand Your Horizons- Richard Raffan- waste not, want not- And... Mr. Raffan also turns a lovely "breakfast bowl". Note in his description his formula for turning time to make a living! I'll never make it! Alan Stratton turns a beautiful shallow bowl leaving natures imperfections Carl Jacobson does a variation on the Mason jar vase lid- Woodworker's Journal published their monthly Woodturning Monthly newsletter. Some neat projects for all skill levels https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodturning-monthly/?utm_medium=email New Turning Items- From Woodturners Wonders a new item to help keep grinder dust under control- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/grinding-wheel-accessories/products/grit-grabber-magnet-with-sleeve?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Niles Stoppers posted a video describing their threaded inserts- Everything Else- Some interesting thoughts from Ron Brown's newsletter- Copying vs. Stealing in Woodturning This subject comes up frequently and is not very well understood. What, then, is morally permissible and what is wrong and probably illegal? “Art Plagiarism Defined: Plagiarists copy sketches, paintings, photos, and even sculptures. When you copy someone else’s art without consent or credit—you are stealing. Even mere using of filter, changing of color, and adding of clip art or text are part of this poor practice. Like literary plagiarism, art plagiarism also comes in many forms such as theft and tracing.” Source: College of Arts and Technology Q: Is it OK to copy well-known turners work? • Yes, provided you name the original artist as the inspiration for your version. • You don’t try to pass off or sell yours as a piece made by them. • Give credit where credit is due. • If the item is for your own private use or collection and it isn’t for sale, there are no limitations, IMHO. My first real venture into turning was making turned-lidded boxes for Christmas presents for all of the women in our extended family. I worked directly from the book “Turned Lidded Boxes – 50 Designs” by Chris Stott. I copied examples from his book as exactly as my inexperienced turning skills would allow. That Christmas I even showed everyone the book and the pages their present was displayed on. Everyone knew I wasn’t that creative on my own. By this time in my turning career, I’ve made thousands of different items. Virtually none of them were purely my own design. Each one was taken from something I’d seen in a magazine, book, or on YouTube. Yes, I added my own twist, but the core idea was almost never original to me. I am always quick to acknowledge the source of my inspiration by name if possible. As an example, the 10,000-plus spinning tops I’ve made are in the Bonnie Klien style. I added my own twist and used different texturing tools eventually, but I can show you the exact pages where the designs originated in her book. I even met Bonnie at an event in Provo, Utah where I was turning "her tops." As she looked over an assortment of about 50 spinning tops, her comment was “Not Bad”. Famous turners develop their own recognizable style over time and so will you. Think of Mike Mahoney’s Calabash bowls, David Ellsworth’s hollow forms, Cindy Drozda’s hollow forms with fancy finials, Dick Sing’s miniature birdhouses, and John Jordan’s turned and carved hollow forms. All of these styles are readily identifiable. It is normal and healthy to study the work of folks who have figured something out that is distinctive and outstanding. The very best way to learn something is by doing practice exercises; drill for skill. In sports, you run the same plays over and over until they become second nature. In school, we call that homework exercises. I would encourage you to copy work you admire, acknowledge their inspiration give them credit for the idea when showing it to others, and add your own twist when appropriate. Sometimes theirs can’t really be improved on so have fun and let everyone know who inspired you in the first place. I've been taking a hint from @Gerald and making "friendship bowls". Mimi has pretty much depleted all of the bowls I've had setting on the shelves. Some of my earliest ventures aren't of the quality I'd like people to see so I needed to replenish. Have some elm and some walnut from the woodshed. These are under 6" in diameter and have 2 more blanks this size. Then a couple about 8". The largest two will be for special gifts. Safe turning
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Middle of July, almost, and it feels like summer here in south central PA. Our Patriot Turners- @forty_caliber showed us a beautiful bowl made from Pyinma. In his post he tells us more about the species and the purpose of this little bowl. Forty is also working on his stash of pecan. Really gorgeous bread platter- Here's his post along with a bunch of great comments- And speaking of pecan platters, @Gerald is putting the finishing touches on one he started several years ago. Gerald answers questions on this one in his post- A platter wasn't the only thing Gerald was turning. He was successful in turning a circular form, that when cut apart, created a specific silhouette. I wonder what other designs could be made. Gerald's post- "What's On Your Lathe" had a little action this week. Both @Gerald, @nevinc and @teesquare posted their turnings! See all the images and more information at- What’s Coming Up- The AAW has a multi-part informative tutorial on doing demonstrations. You need to be a member of the AAW to take advantage of these lessons. Log into their site using your credentials to learn more. If you missed Cindy Drozda's tool talk last week, here is a replay- https://streamyard.com/watch/p2Dx5CgdwBbq From Todd Raines- https://streamyard.com/watch/D83QTW86cQcx?receiptful=64af360be3d57500388bb7b5&utm_source=CM Commerce&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-261&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=other&receiptfultype=newsletter For The Newbies- Alan Stratton shows us an inexpensive safety device to protect your fingers and knuckles when using a chuck- As an aside, the Easy Chuck was designed to reduce finger/knuckle scrapes. We've all heard the term "ride the bevel" but unless someone has actually shown you how, most description leave a lot to be desire. In steps Tim Yoder and as usual makes thing much easier to understand. Tim also gave us a lesson on how importance lighting while turning- Mike Peace turns a small, lidded box. Notice his use of shop made chucks and that, even for experienced turners, things don't always go as planned Still learning sharpening techniques? Richard Raffan has some help with your bowl gouge- Kent Weakley demonstrates just how much weight is lost when turning a bowl. I think this makes a good case for a bowl saver tool! Some good turning tips throughout- Expand Your Horizons- We've all been told DO NOT DO THIS! His spindle gouge has a really beefy tang. Richard also reviews the "burned" turning from last week- Carl Jacobson turns an apple wood burl vase- New Turning Items- Cindy Drozda's tool talk (above) demonstrated the use of the new Stuart Batty sharpening platform. Cindy sells these on her site- Check Cindy's site- http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/SBTplatforms.html Woodturners Wonders has a sale on lathe lights- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lamps?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Don't drool on the keyboard, but Mike Peace got himself a new lathe- Everything Else- Tim Yoder continues to experiment with his new laser- From Ron Brown's newsletter- One Universal Secret All Successful People Share When successful people try and fail, they understand that failure is part of the process that eventually leads to victory. Almost no one succeeds the first time they try. When you learned to ride a bicycle, you fell. You got up and tried again, and again. You eventually learned how to ride a bicycle successfully. The first several dozen times I tried to make elegant finials for my turned-lidded boxes and fancy Christmas Ornaments, they broke or looked like I turned them with a hammer. But eventually, I figured it out. Now I can turn a fancy finial that approaches a Cindy Drozda class finial out of ebony or African Blackwood without worrying that it will fly into a million pieces before I’m done. That skill level took many failures before I was able to call myself a successful fancy finial turner. You can do it too. It just takes practice and experience. If you are willing to practice, nothing is beyond your reach. I’m encouraging you to pick yourself up and try again. Success will come if you don’t quit. I must be an inventor at heart because I love figuring out ways to solve common problems for woodturners. As a long-time woodturner, myself, I share the same difficulties and frustrations you do. I’ve taken those challenges as my personal mission to invent unique solutions that make tasks easier, safer, and quicker. Safe turning
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Unbelievable, planted tomatoes last week supposed to be in the low 30's tonight! I hate this global warming! Our Patriot Turners- @Ron Altier brought us up-to-date on his epoxy finish for ornaments. Looks like he has pretty much perfected the process. Ron provides lots of tips on how he gets this mirror like finish- Several members posted in our "What's On Your Lathe" this past week. You can catchup with the new posts here- @forty_caliber added a couple and @teesquare added this beauty (and a couple of other pieces as well)- Do yourself a favor and check out all the new turning in the past week! What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration For The Newbies- Thinking about turning that first bowl or maybe just need some more pointers? Kent Weakley's video could be what you are looking for. I thought this one was particularly helpful with the dialog and tips throughout the presentation. Richard Raffan puts his spin in the natural edge bowl project- Something to think about from Ron Brown's newsletter- This Is Just The Beginning It is easy to forget how much you have learned along the way. New turners also have to learn the same things we did. Or, if you are a new turner, there is much to learn. You can learn to sail in an hour – It takes a lifetime to become a sailor It is the same with learning about a wood lathe. Just like any other craft, getting the machine is only the beginning. Let’s start with the Four Pillars of Woodturning: #1-The Wood Lathe Itself There is a multitude of quality wood lathes available to fit most budgets. The most common starter lathe nowadays is a 12 to 12.5-inch swing lathe with a 1 hp variable speed motor. Many folks will keep this lathe when they upsize to a larger lathe with swings of 16 to 25” and motors up to 3 hp. #2-The turning chisels Beginning turners will see much faster results if they begin with carbide-tipped tools. A sharpening station is not required for carbide tools. High-Speed Steel tools require frequent re-sharpening and require a suitable sharpening station (more in #4) The turner must learn a whole new skill set for sharpening in addition to learning woodturning. #3-The means of holding your work Most lathes come with a spur drive center for the headstock and a live center for the tailstock. Great for beginning spindle projects like baseball bats, lamps, etc. Most lathes also come with a faceplate mainly used for turning bowls. I consider a 4-jaw scroll chuck a basic necessity. I recommend extra jaws also Pin jaws for very small spindle projects #3 or 100 mm jaws for larger spindle work and for many larger bowls. #4-A sharpening station Slow-speed grinders (1750 rpm or similar) with 8” grinding wheels made to work with High-Speed Steel are recommended A sharpening jig specially designed for sharpening lathe tools is virtually a necessity when using HSS lathe tools. Note: Using only carbide-tipped wood lathe tools eliminates the need for any kind of sharpening station and eliminates 25% of the learning curve and initial expense. Folks trying their hand at any new craft are much more likely to stick with it if they can experience early success. Easy projects to learn on are pens, small bowls, spinning tops, and small lidded boxes. Someone can successfully make all of them with simple carbide tools. Some folks only turn bowls while others only turn pens. As long at they turn something, I’m happy for them. Most folks who begin using carbide tools eventually add HSS tools and a sharpening station down the road. I recommend that route to see if they are going to enjoy turning wood and if they are going to stick with it long term. It seems like you never have every widget you want, but over time you can accumulate most of them. Remember that you can turn small items on a big lathe, but it is much harder to turn something big on a small lathe. So get ready to see that huge smile on that kid’s face from ages 8 to 88 when you show them how to make their first slimline pen or maple bowl. There is nothing like it! Expand Your Horizons- In last week's post, one of the "What's Coming Up" events were classes on turning kitchen utensils. The classes were at Highland Woodworking in Atlanta, GA. Not everyone can travel that far to learn to turn a spoon, so I found a bunch of videos, if you'd like to give it a try. If kitchen ware isn't your thing, Mike Peace demonstrates how to add an insert to a turned box New Turning Items- Sorry, couldn't find anything this week Everything Else- Started working on one of the elm rough blanks. I have enough meat on the bottom to remove some of the thickness around the mortice. It will make the thing set a little lower on a surface and lighten up the piece a bit. Safe turning
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Pennsylvania Farm Show week. It's the largest indoor agricultural event in the United States: sixteen acres of displays and exhibits all under one roof. The Pennsylvania Farm Show is a week-long celebration of the state's leading industry - agriculture. Big doings around these parts. Our Patriot Turners- @Masonsailor posted another of his beautiful kitchen turnings. This ice cream scoop is absolutely lovely- Paul tells us more about the turning and has added a few more images in his post- @jthornton added some more content to his post on the segmented cutting jig- After making sure it was accurate, he started working on the segments for his "popcorn bowls" @HandyDanhad some read oak and turned it in to a beautiful little bowl- Dan thinks this species may not be the best for holding liquids- Dan had earlier turned some tiny little bowls after watching one of the videos we posted last week- Check out this link to what Dan posted- What’s Coming Up- Bunch of stuff coming up. Click on the images for links to more information and registration- For The Newbies- Richard Raffan proves you don't need a log to turn nice bowls. Expand Your Horizons- How'd he do that?? Check out this video!! New Turning Items- This has jig has been around for a while but the video from Niles Stoppers is relatively recent Everything Else- Looks like Rick Turns took the week off. I greatly appreciate you all posting your work, it make putting this together a lot easier- especially as I have double duty here while Mimi recuperates. Safe turning
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Just a couple of days left in our summer fund raiser. Please consider getting those raffle tickets, if you haven't already done it. Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald posted a fantastic walnut platter he just finished- Check out more images and the comments from our turners- @PostalTom moved his chess piece post into our woodturning forum. He has a great start on a bunch of the pieces. He is getting ready to turn the "Knights" and was curious about the procedure. Maybe you can help him with some ideas. What’s Coming Up- https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/2022VirtualSymposium/2022-Virtual-Symposium---Main.aspx?_zs=ceDib&_zl=kVAC3 For The Newbies- A chuck, stuck on the headstock threads, can be a real problem. In this video, Mike Peace discusses some of the ways to remove it and how to prevent it. Cindy Drozda hosts live tool chats from time to time. You can sign up for notifications when they will be available. http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/Signup.html This is the video she posted from her last presentation- This video, from Kent Weakley, is on twice turning a bowl. What I found interesting is the type of chuck he used to hold the bowl to get it ready for mounting on his chuck. Expand Your Horizons- Last week we posted information on cleaning CBN grinder wheel. @Gerald pointed out there is some disagreement on whether or not this is necessary. Not having used CBN sharpening products, I was not aware of this difference in opinion. I searched the AAW boards for some more information and found this- https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/cbn-wheel-cleaning.13014/ The discussion touches on several "cleaning" ideas as well as some other wheel care. Along the CBN lines, here's a video from Mike Waldt setting up a grinder with CBN wheels. Although the video is about a specific manufacturer, there are lots of great tips- From the AAW, a video on multi-axis spindle turning How does a true artist deals with the unexpected? Richard Raffan demonstrates- New Turning Items- Ken Rizza, from Woodturners Wonders, has a video demonstrating the Kodiak MAX sharpening system. Everything Else- The Richard Raffan video demonstrated how to work around the unexpected. Frank Howarth takes it to a whole other level. Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning
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OK, we are getting close to the end of our summer fund raiser and we are seriously short of our goal. If you haven't donated, please consider helping our site stay alive. Our very generous sponsors have donated some awesome items as prizes. Please head on over to this post and donate. Every little bit helps! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald started catching up on some older projects and in the process did some cleaning- Part of Gerald's post was a challenge to our members to show us some of the unfinished projects we are procrastinating about completing! One of Gerald's projects to be finished up was a turned vase that cracked. Instead of the burn pit, Gerald used this as a chance to turn it into spectacular embellishments. In his post, he shows us his process- @RustyFN Finished up a gorgeous lidded box. Perfect glue-up and centered on the lathe. Made from two of my favorite woods. In his post, Rusty explains a little on how he mounted it on the lathe. What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information- For The Newbies- Another informative video in the series from Mike Peace- From the AAW, a video demonstrating a beautiful turning from shop scraps- Alan Stratton posted a video turning a bowl from start to finish. A couple of things of interest are his reason for not band sawing the blank round at the beginning and his thoughts on drying. Check out his faceplate jig for uneven surfaces! Expand Your Horizons- Watch Mike Waldt turn a beautiful, shallow mahogany bowl! Off-center and eccentric turning are similar but different. In this video, Carl Jacobson turns an eccentric goblet. Notice he does this without the aid of jigs. Cindy Drozda posted a short video demonstrating sphere turning- New Turning Items- From Craft Supplies USA, their new turning smocks- Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning
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June 1 and it's 95° in the shade on the back deck! Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN let us in on a new finish he is trying- Several members expressed interest in more information. @Gerald added a post in the "Finishing Forum" that expanded on some of the ideas from what Rusty posted- What’s Coming Up- Pretty much caught up on all that is happening. This is the first time since Covid started that the AAW is having an in person symposium. https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/2022Chattanooga/2022-AAW-Symposium---Chattanooga--Tennessee.aspx?_zs=ceDib&_zl=uos73 For The Newbies- @Gerald added an interesting comment to last week's "Wednesday's..." concerning the types of screws used for fastening faceplates and faceplate rings to a turning. My favorite mounting procedure is similar but using the transparent device. Also, for marking the holes, I found that a #3 Vix-Bit drill center fits perfectly in the mounting holes of all of the Easy Wood Tools faceplates and rings. Mostly I use a oval head screw, as they have a little more "meat" around the drive slots. For smaller turnings, I may use a flathead screw Mike Peace has a nice video on bowl gouge sharpening- I've seen some nice instructional videos from Jim Echter. Unfortunately, these short videos aren't on YouTube. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, you can watch them there. Here's the Instagram link- https://www.instagram.com/jim_echter/channel/?hl=en and a link to his website- https://tcturning.com/ Expand Your Horizons- Tim Yoder posted a video on making a turned bird feeder. In the video, he demonstrates his ELBO 2 hollowing ring. One more from Alan Stratton on goblets. Several interesting jigs for us "jig junkies"- New Turning Items- Couldn't find anything interesting this week. Hopefully, there will be some new products shown at the AAW Symposium in a couple of weeks! Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- I've been using up some scrap white oak cutoffs to make some simple platters. All of my large shop make holders were designed around my old 14" Delta lathe. The new Jet is 16" and now I need some way to hold the pieces for reverse chucking. I could go the vacuum chuck route, but I'm "frugal to a fault". I love my Easy Wood Tools Cole jaws. Seemed a fairly simple task to make a set of extensions. Not quite perfect, but they work! The holders are from the smaller jigs I had. If I weren't so stubborn, this platter should have gone into the trash. The defect wasn't nearly as noticeable until most of the material was removed. as I tried to get into more solid wood, the bottom got really thin and weak- especially where the oak was soft. Added CA and some Alumilite resin to reinforce the weak area but was not enough. I have an idea on rescuing it but need to allow the finish to dry and harden before attempting it. Safe turning
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Starting into another month already. This is April and taxes are due in a little over a week. Hope our turners post their new tools purchased with those gigantic refunds! Our Patriot Turners- @Reese Aukee showed us some more of those cute little hedgehogs she turns. Reese received lots of positive comments and some questions about her turnings. Check out her post- @Gerald posted a comment in our sub-forum for Ring Master Turning. We have an ongoing thread in our woodturners forum discussing how we decide what to make from a chunk of wood. @Gerald suggested this topic and we have had several entries. Please take some time to see the thought processes (or lack thereof ) when trying to decide what to make. We look forward to seeing your turnings and how they came to be. If you are into turning miniatures, @kmealy showed us a neat portable lathe. He received lots of comments! ¹ What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to registration and more information- Cindy Drozda has been offering both paid and free online presentations. If you would like to receive notifications of her events, check out this link- http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/Signup.html For The Newbies- A hodgepodge of videos to help us be more knowledgeable as beginning turners- Have some wood from a downed tree? Ashley Harwood has a few tips on helping prevent logs from cracking- Of course you need to first get that tree cut into manageable chunks. Here Lyle Jamieson and Sam Angelo have some tips on using the chainsaw- In combination with a chainsaw, the bandsaw can be used to create turning blanks. Robo Hippy's informative video gives us lots of pointers- Expand Your Horizons- Once you get that tree log into a manageable blank, you can create a beautiful natural edge bowl. Lyle Jamieson shows us how. If a natural edge bowl doesn't thrill you, here, Kent Weakley shows us how to turn a "magnetic" paper clip bowl! With Easter coming up fast, a cool turning from Alan Stratton on turning the perfect egg- What is a Kuksa? And How to Turn One? Mike Peace does some turning, carving and shaping! Basket weave illusion bowls are quite popular. Carl Jacobson turned something a little more shapely using the basket weave process. New Turning Items- For the pen turners, Craft Supplies USA has a new pen kit- Hobble Creek Craftsman King's Camo Bolt Action Pen Blank Click on the image for the link to more information Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning ¹ Only available on April 1st.
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Beautiful day today, 67° and sunny. Tomorrow, winter weather advisory. Ahh, spring time in PA. Our Patriot Turners- @BillyJack asked our members for input on some turning tools. Several gave their recommendations on what he might consider. I hope he posts the tools he gets so we can all drool over his choices! @Gerald gave us a look at some of the turnings that were done at the last club meeting. Gerald posted several more images of turnings that were done during the demonstration. Gerald said their guest demonstrator was Matt Monaco. If you do Instagram, here's a link to Mr. Monaco's page- https://www.instagram.com/monaco_bowls/. Gerald also posted some images, in response to some thoughts from last week's "Wednesday's...", showing some of the embellishments he has done using various tools. See this post for more pictures- I appreciate Gerald's willingness to share his knowledge with all of our turners. What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links and more information. From the AAW- From Lyle Jamieson From Cindy Drozda- Not sure if you need a Facebook account to view this presentation- For The Newbies- From the AAW, a short video on sharpening- Mike Peace continues his series on lathe drilling. This video discusses drill bit selection- Expand Your Horizons- Cindy Drozda is asking for input on IRD content. She has developed an anonymous online questionnaire. Maybe you could help her by responding. Here's the link- https://us18.list-manage.com/survey?u=4fd7472bedaf1b07e398a732a&id=73c2cb5054&attribution=false Cindy also uploaded a video of the equipment she uses to do her IRD's and training videos. If you have thought about getting into this area, maybe her experiences might be helpful- Alan Stratton finishes up his series on the eccentric chuck and turnings with a video on making his chuck. Carl Jacobson turns a vase with an off-centered lid- New Turning Items- From Ruth Niles' latest newsletter- Click on the image for ordering. From the folks at Woodturners Wonders- FREE Shipping! https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/new-products/products/powermatic-3520c-lathe-100th-anniversary-edition Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- No turning for me this week. As the old saying goes- "No good deed goes unpunished". One of those-"if we supply the lumber will you donate your time". A little Free Library for the local state park- Just getting to the roof when the spring pin, in the table saw trunnion worm gear, decided to fall out. Of course everything had to fall down into the dust collector hose. It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood... Safe turning
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Don't forget, Valentine's Day is on the horizon. Time to start dropping hints for that woodturning item you have been eyeing! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald turned a replacement bed finial for a friend. He challenged us to see if we can tell his turning from the original- You can provide your guess here- What’s Coming Up- Lots happening as the weather warms and fear of the virus diminishes. Click on the images for links to more information and registration. Cindy Drozda is hosting an on-line event- Lyle Jamieson's latest IRD will be on turning a goblet- Lyle also posted this to his Facebook page concerning in-person symposiums during 2022- The AAW associated "Women In Turning" is presenting Tania Radda- Another AAW associated presentation is- From Craft Supplies USA- For The Newbies- Lyle Jamieson posted this tip on Facebook. Hope you can see the video without a Facebook account- https://fb.watch/b2Ksz13F-V/ If you are just starting out, Jim Rodgers creates some great tool use videos. This one covers the parting tool and fluted spindle gouge. Interested in bowl turning? Ashley Harwood helps understand the tools need. Keep in mind, Ms. Harwood sells tools. If you have been turning for a little while, this shop made sanding station can really be an asset to your shop- Expand Your Horizons- Alan Stratton continues his series on eccentric turning with more ideas using his shop made jig/chuck- Alan also, demonstrates how to turn the perfect sphere without the aid of jigs- Mike Peace added a video on the topic of toxic wood. I know many of our members have had allergic reactions to various species. Along those same lines, I came across this video of a turner, garage engineering an HEPA filtration system. Passing it along for your enjoyment This one is for @Steve Krumanaker and his honey dippers. A really cool turned and beaded "honey box" by Carl Jacobson. New Turning Items- From the folks at Woodturners Wonders- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/kodiak-sharpening-system Daryl Johns (Dread Knot Workshop) posted a review/demonstration of the new Robert Sorby Steady Pro for hollowing- Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Woodturning seems to run in fads. Everyone does bowls, then hollowing, then acrylics. Lately I noticed a lot of surface colors. I have to say, although they are amazing, I still prefer to see the natural color of the species. I found a couple of pieces of white oak left over from a gun rack I made for a friend. The pieces were cutoffs and about 12" wide and 1"+ thick. Thinking about making something- maybe a platter. Turning the years of storage dirt away, the wood was true to its name- white. The grain was nondescript. Played around a little with some coloring ideas. I thought maybe black toner cartridge dust might fill the pores- not so much- but it did make an almighty mess on the lathe. Then tried brown paste shoe polish- not bad. Then black opaque resin dye- about the same. Last was amber transparent resin dye- better. Keep in mind I was only trying to accentuate the grain pattern- not color the entire surface. Applied the color and then skimmed the surface. Brown shoe polish- Black opaque resin dye- Amber transparent resin dye- I might just use oil based poly to give the piece a nice mellow glow. Who says you can't get curlies from carbide cutters- Safe turning and stay well
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We are almost there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woodcraft, one of our generous sponsors, is helping us reach our goal by spreading the word on our annual campaign. Check out their blog- https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/woodcraft-supports-patriot-woodworker-to-thank-veteran Our Patriot Turners- Member @Larry Cutlip posted some of his awesome turnings for us to drool over. Larry's designs cover a wide spectrum of shapes as can be seen in his post- Our resident ornament designer, @Ron Altier gave us a look at one of his earlier works- Ron explains a little about this red beauty- @Gerald gave us an update on the bowl job on which he was working. These beauties are ready for shipping- @forty_caliber also finalized his monkey pod bowl for a customer- Check out the fancy laser engraving on the bottom! What’s Coming Up- From the AAW- https://community.woodturner.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=af6fae66-aa2c-45ce-bf24-18e8c3a5c442&Home=%2fevents%2fird-demonstrations&_zs=ceDib&_zl=bTDs2 https://community.woodturner.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=ddc59ff8-1a11-42f9-9043-155bb3347a48&Home=%2fevents%2fird-demonstrations&_zs=ceDib&_zl=cTDs2 From Cindy Drozda- http://www.cindydrozda.com/?fbclid=IwAR0LRPwo1BK3tK2rFy6PhTYyqqdWuwxBk1kte7gpG41BQGgFsxqNZ1fNp3A For The Newbies- Ornaments are the thing to do this time of year. A couple of videos recommended by the AAW- @Gerald gave me a heads up on the Richard Raffan YouTube channel. There are a few videos posted there. Not so much of "how-to" but just watching how efficient a profession turner works is a real pleasure- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2tEGrCP1GiVwfaT4K9bcNw/videos Want to turn a bowl but have some questions? This video from "Turn a Wood Bowl" may have the answers your answers- Expand Your Horizons- Our own @Steve Krumanaker recently posted his birdhouse ornaments. Steve is kind enough to share his knowledge with anyone who would like to have help making these. Here's a video from Mike Peace and his take on making this type of ornament and one on making his little birds- Steve also creates beautiful little birds to adorn his ornaments. This is from Steve's YouTube channel about putting the birds together- OK, get a cup of coffee, or your beverage of choice, and enjoy Frank Howarth make a Christmas ornament- Many of us follow Lyle Jamieson. He has a series of videos called Tuesday's Tips. Check them all out at- https://www.youtube.com/user/JamiesonLyle/search?query=tuesday Jim Rodgers has made yet another improvement in his technique for turning a scoop. The why and the what are explained in his video- New Turning Items- This is not a new turning item but a change in a turning product. This video, starting about halfway through, talks about Niles Bottle Stoppers and something that can now be made public- Everything Else- Rick Turns must be on vacation as he did not post his usual roundup of YouTube woodturning videos. Hopefully you can find something interesting within our post, this week. I finally put the finishing touches on those rolling pin holders. There is no lathe work involved with these so I'm going to bore you with the flat work. These start out as 3/8" x 2 1/4" x 23" pieces of walnut- Using a template for all measurements the pieces are marked Before they are shaped into ellipses, a dovetail is milled into each end to accept the rings to hold the actual pin. The rings are milled from maple and have the corresponding dovetail shape The top maple piece is an open ring- The bottom maple piece has a recess cut made with a Forstner bit Both are glued into place. Nine more to go, only took a couple of days- I'm not @steven newman Finish is next. 2 coats of oil based poly, steel wool rub down and an application of paste wax Next to install the hangers Locate the holes using the same template Drill for the nails Well this sucks. The shortest nail is too long. As Steven would say- "we have ways..." Hanger...Done! ...and finished- Safe turning and stay well
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Hard to believe that October is almost half over! Usually we have had a frost by now. Not too much happening, here, this past week- Our Patriot Turners- @forty_caliber finished up a gorgeous multi species bowl for his Mrs. He tells us more about the species, finish and how it got its name- @Fred W. Hargis Jr asked our turners for their input on bowl gouge use. Fred had started turning a bowl and was unsure of just how to get the best cut from his gouge. We had a very informative conversation with a lot of our turners. They offered their ideas, suggestions and links to resources - Head on over to the this thread and see if you can give Fred additional ideas- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to registration- From the AAW- For The Newbies- If you are considering purchasing carbide turning tools, please consider checking out our sponsor Easy Wood Tools. To learn more about using the EWT products, they have added an "EWT University" tab on their website. Check out this link! https://www.easywoodtools.com/resources Thanks @Jim from Easy Wood Tools !! Expand Your Horizons- The AAW has made available this video on multi-axis turning by Barbara Dill Ms. Dill has another video on the same subject- Wanna turn a BIG bowl??? Watch Mike Waldt- New Turning Items- Hang on to your lunch money, this week. Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- How about a little fun with Tim Yoder and this year's Halloween project!! After a go of antibiotics and industrial strength decongestants, I was finally able to get back into the basement shop. The first order of business was to make a dust collector "hood" to do the sanding on the last batch of rolling pins. I cobbled it from scraps around the shop but did buy a piece of acrylic at Hobby Lobby. The hood attaches to my PVC port that was built sometime back. This port can be positioned along the length of the lathe as well as placed close/farther from the turning. Front view- the "hood" is 24" long End view- Back view- Interface between the PVC pipe and the collector- Top View- Bottom view- the bottom is a piece of aluminum trim coil. Oblique view- Mistake- the acrylic bowed up as I bent it into shape. The heat gun idea to bring it down was not a complete success To attach the hood onto the PVC, I used a pin through the 1.5" thick interface block and into the PVC pipe- Now, will it work? A strip of what passes for toilet tissue these days IMG_0241.MP4 IMG_0242.MP4 I power sanded 6 rolling pins thru 3 grits and there was no dust on the white bottom. I'm pretty happy. Safe turning and stay well
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Well, last Wednesday in September. Hasn't been a great week, maybe a new month will chase away Mr. Murphy. Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald had some misfortune while turning a hollow form- He was looking for some suggestions on how to have the repair enhance the turning. Check out his post and see if you can offer any ideas- @bradleyheathhays is looking for suggestions on which type of bowl scraper to buy. Several of our turners added their thoughts; what are yours @Masonsailor turned some items for his reloading area. He shows us more of what he did in this post- A week or so ago @Gerald posted about a jam chuck. We are still getting input and inquiries about the chuck. If you made that chuck, please add your input to the conversation- I made a post asking for recommendations on air filtration masks. I really appreciate the input. I haven't decided on the route I want to take. I subscribe to the Alton Brown philosophy that every item should be a multitasker but they should also do those things well. If you have any ideas to add to the already suggested items, I would appreciate it- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- Mike Waldt works on that ash bowls. This is a live demonstration with questions and lots of good tips- Expand Your Horizons- If you are considering learning to cut threads, Mike Peace demonstrates a few tricks for setting up a thread cutting jig- New Turning Items- The Woodturning Tool Store has the NEW Elio-DR Safe Drive- See more at- https://woodturningtoolstore.com/product/elio-dr-safe-drive-2/?receiptful=614cfd7b710e56003dbee782&utm_source=CM Commerce&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-121&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=other&receiptfultype=newsletter Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Been fighting computer problems for the past several days so shop time has been non-existent. Before everything went south, I did manage to get the last batch of rolling pins shaped but not sanded- probably a good thing as I am still hawking up lugies and haven't gotten better dust protection. After the rolling pins are pretty much round and dimensioned, the tapering jig is used to shape them. I used to do this free hand but getting consistent results proved difficult. The base of the jig holds the taper guide at the bottom/back. The cutting is done with a handheld, sliding fixture that houses the HHS cutter and an adjustable follower (bolt). The cutter is removable for sharpening. I'm using a 5/16" square tool stock now. It seems to make a better cut that the 1/4" square cutter I use originally. Cutter and follower bolt- Cutter closeup- After the overall shaping is finished, The tapering jig is removed. Each end of the pin gets the shoulders rounded. I use either a small spindle gouge or the Easy Wood Tools rougher with an R2 cutter. The pins are now ready for sanding. Safe turning and stay well
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Saturday is the twentieth anniversary of 9-11. Tragic national events have a way of sticking with us and we remember exactly where we were. I have vivid memories of two such event. President Kennedy's assignation- I was in Memphis going to Navy electronics school. The 9-11 attack- I was teaching at the Vo-Tech school. Our Patriot Turners- @Fred W. Hargis Jr had a little misfortune with a small bowl he was turning. We never know just how deep some of the cracks can be in a blank- Fred asked our turners what they thought he should do at this point and he received lots of helpful advice. @Gerald teste his new laser on his hollowing rig! What a fantastic turning rig. Gerald said it is from Tim Yoder. He tells us more about this tool and some modifications in his post- Gerald was kind enough to give us information concerning some of the vendors at S.W.A.T. in a response to last week's "Wednesday's..." Our turners have also posted some of their work in other forums here on the Patriot- In the "What's On Your Weekend Agenda" section, @forty_caliber showed us a little problem he had with his lathe- Powermatic sent him a replacement for the handle. Forty also posted some turning he is doing, here- In our "Good Monday Morning" section, Forty posted a lid he is turning for the bowl pictured above- And, in our newly christened "Hump Day" section, @Fred W. Hargis Jr gives us a quick update on some handle turning- @forty_caliber made a design change in the lid for his bowl- @Gerald is setting up for a club meeting- What’s Coming Up- As a reminder, a couple of AAW associated on-line events coming up. Click on the images for links to registration. For The Newbies- New lathes usually come with a faceplate. That one may, or may not, be ideal for your needs. Alan Stratton shows us how to make several faceplates and why you might want several different types- Lacquer can make a nice finish on a turning. Here is Sam Angelo discussing use, application and thoughts on a lacquer finish- Expand Your Horizons- Carl Jacobson takes his beading and burning techniques to the next level! Has this happened to you? Someone asks you to make a turning but you discover that your lathe isn't long enough to make the piece. Here, Ernie Conover gives us techniques to overcome the problem- sorry, it's not buying a bigger lathe And, just for the heck of it, watch Tim Yoder turn a gigundous platter- New Turning Items- The folks from Woodturners Wonders have a new smaller 4-in-1 CBM wheel. This one is 6" in diameter- Check it out at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/6-inch-wheels/products/6-4-in-1 Everything Else- Rick Turns' list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Time to replenish my stock of rolling pins. The most time consuming part of them is making the walnut and cherry inserts- which does not require any turning. I had a cherry board in the shop but needed to drag up a few walnut boards from the wood storage shed. Each insert strip needs to be 10.5" long x 2" wide and .125' thick. I got started by ripping all the boards to the 2" width and 22" long. The thicknesses varied from about 1" to 1.25"- Next, surface plane to one good side- Then I need to re-saw the pieces into thinner slices. My old Taiwanese bandsaw doesn't do well with a rip fence so I scribe a line to follow. Just a tad under 3/16" Using a re-saw post and slice off a strip- After all the boards have the thin strip removed, it's back to the planer to smooth away the saw marks for the next strip. Wash, Rinse and Repeat until all of the boards have been converted into thin strips The strips have one smooth side- from the planer, and one rough side from the re-saw operation. They are all about 3/16" thick but have slight variations. To bring them to the final thickness and remove the saw marks, out comes the shop made drum sander. The drum sander was built just for this purpose. I used to use the oscillating spindle sander and a fence but I couldn't get consistent thicknesses along the length of the inserts. Notice there is no belt feed! Also, about the maximum I can remove with one pass is .01". This is gonna take a while!!! 3 passes thru and still need about 3 or 4 more to get to .125" Safe turning and stay well
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Dealing with the remnants of the hurricane. So far, not quite as much rain as predicted. Will have to wait to see ow it all works out. Lots of flash flood watches/warnings in the area but we live far enough from streams and rivers not to have to worry about that. We have had a little more activity, from our turners, this past week. Lots of new turnings! Our Patriot Turners- @HandyDan turned a bowl and gifted it to the neighbor who gave him the wood. This is such a wonderful way to have the tree's memory live on. Dan received lots of positive comments about his work- @Geraldhas been busy replenishing his stock in preparation for the craft show season. Gerald surely does some beautiful work and has a wide variety items. Too bad he lives in Mississippi, I'd love to visit his stand. @Ron Altier is our King of Ornaments. Here's his latest creation- This one has a special meaning, for Ron. Please see his post for the details on this one and how came about- @forty_caliber turned a couple of bowls from a pecan log. The color and grain of this wood is really beautiful Forty tells us a little more about the turnings and provides several more images in his post- @Fred W. Hargis Jr posed a question to our group concerning turning safety. Specifically, when to wear a face shield. As expected there were lots of comments and different thought on the subject. Give Fred your comments on what you feel is safe- What’s Coming Up- Lots happening in the coming weeks! Click on the images for links to the websites/registration. Lyle Jamieson is hosting a live interactive remote- From Hampton Woodturnings- From the AAW- For The Newbies- A nice little project that combines some spindle work and some basic hollowing from Carl Jacobson. These make awesome gifts! If you've been follow the "Wednesday's Wisdom" for any length of time, you know we advocate always making something for the "gifters" of free wood. Those gifters are often the tree service folks in your area. In this video, Tim Yoder shows us why it is nice to have contacts who own/use chainsaws and would e willing to cut tree pieces into managable chunks- Expand Your Horizons- @Gerald was fortunate enough to be able to attend S.W.A.T. last weekend. The gallery items were out of this world! New Turning Items- Hoping that @Gerald can tell us if the vendors at S.W.A.T. were showing off any new products. Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- I was able to finish up all of the Flame Box Elder bowls. All of the bowls were done with the same procedure. 1. Slab blanks cut from green log then sealed with TiteBond PVA glue. 2. Slabs cut round on the bandsaw when ready to turn. 3. Rough turned leaving overall thickness approximately 1/10 the diameter. Rough turned blanks were between 7" and 8". 4. Rough turned blanks submerged in soap/water solution for approximately 3 days. 5. Rough turned blanks placed in shavings for approximately 3 weeks. 6. Rough turned blanks removed from shaving and place in hotbox until weight stabilized. Time varied but generally in the neighborhood of a week. 7. Finish turning, shaping, sanding, embellishing and finishing. I found that a 50/50 mixture of gloss lacquer and lacquer thinner made sanding a little easier on the soft areas. The lacquer sealer is also suggested for use prior to applying the Yorkshire Grit. Some of the really punky parts I used CA to stabilize the wood. All were turned exclusively with Easy Wood Tools and finished with Yorkshire Grit and Hampshire Sheen. Bottoms were embellished with rotary tool from a Mike Peace video. Safe turning and stay well
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Wow, just had the last remnants of tropical depression Fred move through. Got a little over 1.5" of rain in less than an hour but no wind or other damage. Our Patriot Turners- We haven't heard much from @Ron Altier, but he has turned a beautiful ornament made from a matched grain glue up- Here's his post explaining what he did! @Gerald belongs to the Magnolia Woodturners. They often have competition turnings to challenge their members. Gerald showed us a box he turned for the upcoming meeting. In his post, Gerald tells us a little about the techniques he used to create this lovely item! @AndrewB continues working on his Dragon Egg. In this post he shows us the finished sanding/polishing. Your turners gave him lots of kudos on his work- In the Patriot "What's On Your Weekend Agenda?" @forty_caliber posted pictures of a couple bowls he is in the process of turning. This one with some brass inlay- And this one, which has a really neat shape- There were lots of comments and questions following each of Forty's posts. Check out what our members said following each of the entries. What’s Coming Up- Cindy Drozda has and IRD coming up. Click on the above image for the link to registration. Several AAW events. Please click on the images for links to registration For The Newbies- Woodturning Monthly is available from The Woodworker's Journal- https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodturning-monthly/?utm_medium=email Bottle stoppers are nice gift projects and can supplement your inventory if you do craft shows. In this video, Mike Peace makes a really nice display piece for those stoppers- If you are looking for a source for bottle stoppers, check out https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/ @Gerald showed us a turned box he made. Here's a recent video from Craft Supplies USA demonstrating the techniques for turning a similar box- Expand Your Horizons- Jim Rodgers has a 2 part video on making open segmented turning. He demonstrates the glue up techniques and shop made jigs that assist in accurate, repetitive steps. And- If you are a member of the AAW, a recent email and magazine articles deal with color on turnings. Here's an excerpt from the email- Considering Color Adding color to woodturned objects is a fairly recent phenomenon. And, according to the late collector Arthur Mason, "There is no question that color can be a valuable design feature in wood art and that it can enhance the beauty and appeal of the work. But it also can diminish the pleasing effects of the natural features of wood. An artist’s decision to use color results from balancing these considerations, as well as from his or her ability to use color to an artistic advantage."* While applying color may not be for everyone, it can make the impact of a piece more dramatic and expand the artistic possibilities for a turned work. This week’s picks encourage you to consider and explore adding color to your work. New Turning Items- Sorry, couldn't come up with any new stuff. If you checkout the "Vendors Showcase" in the What Coming Up section, there are some hints as to what we can expect. Everything Else- Rick Turns list of last week's YouTube woodturning videos- I received a request to turn some bowls for a lady with whom I used to work. They supplied the wood (flame box elder and walnut) got a few finished, still have 2 to go- So far, I am really liking the Yorkshire Grit and Hampshire Sheen. My biggest concern was if finish would "stick" to the Yorkshire Grit finish. I used a piece of hard maple as a test subject. Following the instructions for surface prep- sanding to 240, using sanding sealer and then "sanded" with the Yorkshire product. From left to right, one application and no buffing- Mineral oil/beeswax, acrylic paint, gloss brushed on lacquer, gloss wipe on ploy, gloss spray on lacquer. These are the finishes I use most often. The film finishes seem to be unaffected by the sanding paste. The oil/beeswax doesn't penetrate deeply into the wood. A better test will be something dark like walnut. The acrylic paint would definitely need several applications and then a top coat for protection. Safe turning and stay well
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Bowl blanks can be dried using "chemistry". Submerging the blanks in various liquids can actually facilitate the loss of moisture. Before the pandemic, denatured alcohol was readily and turners would soak their blanks in it. Several sources of information on this- From the AAW- https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/is-the-alcohol-drying-method-food-safe.9682/ From Mr. David Reed Smith- http://alcoholsoaking.blogspot.com/ and- http://alcoholsoaking.blogspot.com/2005/12/alcohol-soaking-q-and.html From David J. Marks- https://djmarks.com/drying-olive-wood-for-turning/ Alcohol should become more readily as the pandemic wanes. Another soaking method is using soap and water. As near as I can determine, this method was developed by Ron Kent- a Hawaii based turner. Even though he passed away several years ago, his website is still up and his original process is listed there. https://www.ronkent.com/techniques.php Using pretty much the same process, Ernie Conover discusses this in a Woodcraft blog- https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/soap-in-your-bowl The AAW also has a discussion on this method- https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/soaking-in-dishwashing-liquid.9087/ As well as the folks over at Sawmill Creek- https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?33726-Drying-green-wood-using-dish-soap I have personally adopted this method and find it works extremely well. At this time, none of my bowls have cracked and show very little deformation. This method is also very inexpensive. One final "chemical" drying is to immerse the bowl blanks in a desiccant material. These materials absorb moisture from the wood. This video, from Ernie Conover and The Woodworker's Journal demonstrates the procedure- Although initially expensive, desiccant can be reused by heating the crystals in the oven to "re-activate" them. A discussion from the AAW- https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/drying-green-wood-turned-bowls-in-silica-desiccant-beads.16924/ Although not as popular as some of the other methods, Some turners have tried to boil the bowl blanks. This PDF, from the Arizona Woodturner's Association and written by Bill Noble has some details- boiling.pdf In the final entry, we will look at sources that have lists of multiple methods of drying.
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Woodturners took a page out of the lumber industry playbook for drying their bowl blanks. If you can speed up drying lumber, why not a bowl blank. Turners have been building/repurposing equipment to create drying kilns for some time. The trick to incorporating this method is not to dry the bowl blanks too quickly. As with the previous methods, controlling the moisture loss to equilibrium is a balancing act. Too slow and you'll grow old waiting as well as mold can grow on the blanks. Too fast and the blanks run the risk of cracking. A quick Internet search will yield a plethora of ideas, videos and "professionals". I've tried to pick more authoritative sources for reliable ideas. This first exchange is from the American Association of Woodturners. The original poster inquired about a shop made kiln. The responses were from experienced turners and they offered good advice/ideas. https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/home-made-kiln.12618/ Following along with this post, led me to Cindy Drozda's site and her instructions on a drying kiln- http://www.cindydrozda.com/handouts_Pdfs/handouts/demo handouts/drying_kiln.pdf Another woodturning organization- The Baltimore Woodturners- wrote this article on how one of their members built/modified his kild- https://www.baltimoreareaturners.org/articles/bowldryingkiln.pdf All of the preceding ideas are based around drying a lot of bowls. Not every turner (myself included) needs to process a dozen or more bowls at one time. For me, I needed to find something that could dry a few small bowls (5" to 6" in diameter) or maybe 1 or 2 medium to large bowls. Rick Morris (aka Rick Turns) came up with a space saving idea using readily available materials. His kiln idea can be set up to dry a bowl(s) and then disassembled when done. With my small shop, this idea was really appealing. Rick's video goes shows how he made his kiln/drying box- Never one to let well enough alone, I had to add my twist to what Rick did. If the entire heat/air mechanism could be incorporated into one unit, storing it would be easier and I might not forget where I put all of the pieces. I used Sketchup to design a one piece unit To hold the unit snuggly to the card board box, there are a couple of long sheet metal screws that pierce the box and grab the cardboard. Some foam rubber, self sticking, air barrier tape makes a pretty good seal. I had to experiment with the bulb size to prevent the temperature from going too high. So far this is a workable idea. The Sketchup model is available to anyone who wants it. Kilns work by applying heat to the outside of the wood and migrating to the inside. What if we applied the heat to the inside and allowed it to migrate out? A turner, somewhere, thought- "the microwave heats like that!" Placing the rough blank in the microwave for a few minutes at a time can be used to drive out the moisture. This turner suffered severe injuries when his wife returned home and found him in her kitchen. If you decide to use this method- buy your own microwave! Again, I've tried to find reputable sources for ideas and tips. The first 2 are from the AAW and contain additional links to more information- https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/drying-wood-in-oven-or-microwave.6855/ And- https://www.aawforum.org/community/threads/microwave-bowl-drying.9555/ This video, from Kent Weakley, describes the process and provides a bunch of tips Another method of applying heat is to use a dehydrator. With the proper temperature settings this can also be a viable drying procedure Next up we'll look at some not so traditional methods of drying
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Just realized that yesterday was 55 years ago that I was discharged from the Navy. Left Treasure Island and took a 3 day train ride across this beautiful country. That was the year of the airline strike and there were no commercial flights anywhere. Our Patriot Turners- @AndrewB has been busy casting and turning resin. He showed us his cast blanks and they turned out perfect- Andrew describes the process in this post- From this casting he is turning a "dragon's egg"- More about the process in this post- @smitty10101 would like to do some "inside-out" turnings and asked our gang for some help. He has received several suggestions. If you do these types of turning, please hop over to Smitty's post and chime in- @HandyDan is always making such neat projects for his family. He posted these turnings- Our turners gave him lots of praise for making these! Check out Dan's post at- @forty_caliber has been busy in his workshop! In last Friday's "What's on your weekend agenda", he posted three projects he has in the works. The first is a jam chuck- Next is a bowl made from pecan. Some really beautiful grain in this one- A little more here- And, a handle for one of his turning tools- @Fred W. Hargis Jr Asked our turners for input on turning a pepper mill. Several of our members have turned them and were willing to give him some help. If you have any tips that can make Fred's first attempt any easier, please check out this thread- What’s Coming Up- The AAW reminds us of future events- More information at this link- https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/Events/AAW Virtual Events/Woodturner/Virtual-Events/Master-Series-Landing-Page.aspx?_zs=ceDib&_zl=guGi2 Craft Supplies USA has training workshops- More here- https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/205/7317/Workshop-Woodturning-201-with-Stan-Record-August-18-20-2021-(Deposit-Only)?utm_source=csusa&utm_medium=email&utm_content=record&utm_campaign=21-08-workshops Don't forget that S.W.A.T. is live this year- For registration- https://www.swaturners.org/swat-registration-2021.html For The Newbies- Here's a nice little project to add some piazzas to your desk. Mike Peace turns a cable grommet- Not everyone has this tool in their arsenal but it can create some interesting effects. Carl Jacobson turns a beaded bowl using a beading tool- Expand Your Horizons- How do you finish your turnings? Do you like no gloss, some gloss or maximum gloss? For maximum gloss and wear, some turners prefer a CA glue finish. Here's a video from Darryl Jones showing how he uses CA and obtains some spectacular results. New Turning Items- Not so much new, but some sale prices from Woodturners Wonders in conjunction with S.W.A.T. Check their site for prices and more goodies- https://woodturnerswonders.com/ Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- I mentioned that I had ordered some sanding/finishing products. They arrived yesterday and I had the opportunity to briefly try them. I need to do some experimenting with topcoats other than wax to see how they adhere. From what I've read, most any finish can be applied over the Yorkshire grit. That seems to fly in the face of convention as the sanding paste contains mineral oil and beeswax. I got a can of each Here is Mike Waldt's take on the product Safe turning and stay well
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