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Please checkout the update on our Operation Help a Hero Christmas Project Fundraiser 2024. There has been an additional prizes added to the raffle! Our Patriot Turners- Please welcome new turner @DE Turner! He sent me a couple of pictures of his beautiful work- Say Hi and encourage him to post more of his pieces! In our site's "Good Monday Morning..." forum, @Gerald posted a cool Christmas tree turning- His post can be viewed here- We have had a few additions to our continuing topic of "What's Off..." this past week! @User74 and @calabrese55 both added turning projects- Catchup on all of the new projects at- What’s Coming Up- Cindy Drozda's tool talk "I'm looking forward to spending some time online with you at my free Tool Talk Livestream. It's this Friday, December 6th, at 2pm Eastern (19:00 UTC)" https://streamyard.com/watch/6QBkMFj5Crnh Live Interactive Remote Demonstrations December 10, 2024, Tuesday, 7:00-9:30pm, Eastern Time, Details of Hollow Form Turning https://lylejamieson.com/product-category/live-interactive-remote-demonstrations/ For The Newbies- We post a lot of the activities from Cindy Drozda. This past week she shared a tour of her shop. It's great to get to see how other turners' shops are equipped and laid out- Mike Peace posted a video discussing techniques for drying wood for turning. This video from Mike Mahoney, made available through Fine Woodworking Magazine, shows how to sharpen various woodturning tools. I don't think you have to subscribe to the magazine to view the video. https://www.finewoodworking.com/2015/03/25/episode-2-sharpening-turning-tools Expand Your Horizons- With Christmas fast approaching, a couple of season related turnings. One from Alan Stratton and one from Sam Angelo. The "4-Ways" collaboration turning series posted these videos. This month's concept is to demonstrates how to turn an enclosed vessel with a height greater than its diameter, using readily available tools. New Turning Items- Not new but on sale- Bowlsaver Max4 Coring System Save $100.!! https://woodturningtoolstore.com/product/bowlsaver-max4-coring-system/?receiptful=674cfd640a220e4070fe56ec&utm_source=CM Commerce&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-408&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=other&receiptfultype=newsletter Everything Else- Safe turning
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Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please don't forget that we have started our annual Christmas project to help a veteran and their family- Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN posted an inquiry about a lathe stand for handicapped turners. If you have any plans, or know where plans can be obtained, please let Rusty know- @Gordon asked our members a question concerning bowl finishes appropriate for specific uses. He received some input from our members. Hop over to Gordon's post and let him know what your favorite bowl finishes are! @DAB turned some cute little ornaments. He posted it here- @Fred W. Hargis Jr had turned a Christmas tree finial. This is where he used it- Pretty cool project. Fred explains more, here- Fred's project prompted @JimM to show us his version. Notice the "finial" on his tree- Jim's post is just a few entries down from Fred's. What’s Coming Up- Signup at- https://community.woodturner.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=421c6cad-b842-4f3e-8278-01934ad538d5&Home=%2fevents%2fird-demonstrations&_zs=ceDib&_zl=eLHJ4 For The Newbies- Just starting out and looing for a simple but useful project? How about a Garden Dibbler (Dibble). Watch how Mike Waldt creates his- Expand Your Horizons- A cool project from Glenn Lucas that will test your sphere turning skills! Carl Jacobson does a live demo on turning a lidded box using the bronze threaded inserts. If you are planning to do something like this, there are some good tips- Some more Christmas ornament ideas from Alan Stratton- @Steve Krumanaker does a lot of "Bee Specific" turned items. I saw this in a news letter from Niles Bottle Stoppers and thought I'd share it- Steve also turns birdhouse ornaments. For his work, he also turns the little birds that live in them. This Craft Supplies USA video demonstrates turning birdhouses along with a source for tiny premade birds. Visit- https://woodturnerscatalog.com/collections/new-products/products/mini-mushroom-birds-4-pack?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=product_shelf for the birds. New Turning Items- Nothing new but I did notice there are lots of "Black Friday" sales running at most of the woodturning sources Everything Else- Safe turning
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Looks like we might have to opportunity to help a deserving family for Christmas! Our Patriot Turners- @AndrewB updated us on his new lathe purchase. Really nice lathe stand for his new Jet. He mentioned there was some vibration as certain speed. I'm wondering if it might be a "heavy spot" in the bowl blank he was turning and creating a resonance vibration. Check out Andrew's post here: @Headhunter posted some of his Ringmaster turnings in our Ringmaster Sub-Forum He received lots of comments and some questions about the pieces. Check out his work at- @Bob Hodge posed an interesting question about an item he was asked to duplicate. After a lot of input, ideas and guesses, Bob decided to decline the request. We had some really interesting input! @RustyFN gave us an update on the beautiful winged bowl he turned. He said the picture is of the "unfinished" piece! Wish my unfinished turnings looked that good! We've had some entries on our "What's Off..." this week! @Gerald posted several of his recently completed items. Catchup with all of the images here- And, we've had entries in the "What's On..." too! @calabrese55, @Gerald and @Fred W. Hargis Jr added to the continuing post! There are a lot more images at- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration Lyle Jamieson is hosting an IRD on hollowing, December 10, 2024 Friday, November 22, 2024 at 2pm EST For The Newbies- Texturing tools can add a new dimension to your turnings. In this video, Mike Peace compares and contrasts several of the available tools. A short video from Alan Stratton on designs and where to get inspirations. Expand Your Horizons- Tim Yoder turns a HUGE piece of Osage orange JumBowl.mp4 A little late for Halloween and Thanksgiving but it gives you plenty of time for next year New Turning Items- Nothing for this week Everything Else- If you have been turning for any length of time, you will probably recognize the name Nick Agar. Nick has been diagnosed with cancer. Here is more information- The link to the Go-Fund-Me page https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-nick-agars-fight-against-cancer Safe turning
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Well another election is in the books. I, for one, will be glad to return to commercials for Ozempic and Liberty Mutual car insurance. Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN picked up some great looking Sycamore logs- He received lots of comments on the popularity of Sycamore for turning. Check out the comments at- Rust also made a super score at his local Woodcraft store. Our resident Ring Master turner, @Headhunter, posted some awesome bowls he has completed! Head on over to Tony's post and see more images and the comments from our gang- @Fred W. Hargis Jr was perusing some of our older topics and posted an observation about a commonly turned wood- @DAB turned a nice little bowl from a wood I had never heard of- Ohia. I found this from an Internet search- https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/plants/ohia-lehua/ He has some interesting stuff he is thinking about storing in this one! @forty_caliber has several serious hobbies along with turning. It's fantastic when you can meld them together. In this post from "What's Off Yor Lathe...", Monty turned an adapter to help build his short wave radio antenna farm. Also, in the "OFF" topic is a really nice bowl posted by @user74- The new items start here- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration For The Newbies- Safety video from Craft Supplies USA. PSA- not just for Newbies!! With Christmas coming, a gift idea from Alan Stratton @Steve Krumanaker Practice your spindle turning and a little hollowing with this item from Mike Waldt Expand Your Horizons- The "4 Ways" collaboration is back! A winged box!! A neat project for the seamstress in your life from Carl Jacobson- New Turning Items- I think we posted this before from another source. Here is Tim Yoder's assessment of the Tru-Arc tool Everything Else- Safe turning
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Now don't be eating all of the candy for tomorrow night's Trick or Treaters!! Our Patriot Turners- @Masonsailor posted a follow up on his turning class. His students turned some tool handles and a segmented bowl! Check out Paul's additional information and more images here- @Gordon is working on some of that silver maple he scored! He has a beautiful blank on his lathe and gave us a peek at how it's going- See more images and comments here- From OFF the lathe and finished, a "Wave Bowl" in cherry and walnut. The design concept is from John Beaver. What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration For The Newbies- @Ron Altier makes knitting/crocheting needles for his Mrs. If you know a quilter, Alan Stratton shows us how to turn a quilting tool. Great project for practicing your spindle turning! A close up view of using some of the typical woodturning tool, Tomislav Tomasic. This might be helpful to the beginning turner to be able to see just how the cutting edges interact with the wood being turned. Cute Christmas ornament from Mike Peace- Expand Your Horizons- Jimmy Clewes is a world renowned turning instructor and many of us would love to be able to attend one of his courses. Well, Popular Woodworking has done the next best thing. They have paired with Mr. Clewes to create a video course. Click on the image below to the registration site and more information! "Electrified" Christmas ornament form Carl Jacobson- New Turning Items- From Ron Brown, more information on his "Bowl From A Board" tool- Everything Else- Last week @Gordon asked a question about the variations in his bowl wall thickness. Several of our members gave possible reasons for this. Just happens that I had the same thing happen to me, yesterday, when turning a sycamore bowl. I was doing the second turning and had sanded and finished the outside. Had gotten started on the inside. I was giving extra thickness to the walls to allow some waste as the wood was quite soft and needed stabilized. I used some shellac and CA to strengthen the wood and would turn away any staining to reach the final thickness. As it so often happens, an "emergency" showed up at the front door. By the time I got back to the lathe, the bowl blank had warped. The blank had been dried to moisture equilibrium. Turning it to the final thickness caused the rim to have thinner areas. If I hadn't put finish on the outside, I could have touched up both the outside and inside to correct the problem, but alas, I'm lazy. Moral- don't stop half way through! Safe turning
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Summer ain't over yet- 94° and heat index a little over 100! Our Patriot Turners- New member @Gordon posted a scary image of a bowl he was turning. Fortunately, the bowl was the only casualty. Check out Gordon's post for more about what happened- @kreisdorph and @User74 added to our "What's Off Your Lathe..." You can catch up on all the images and comments starting here- @AndrewB continues to revamp his shop. He is currently working on his sharpening station. Read more here- @Masonsailor was back at his lathe to finish up his door project. Checkout his post to see what he has made! What’s Coming Up- @Gerald was lucky enough to be able to attend SWAT last week. For those of us stuck at home, Cindy Drozda gave us a video walk about- Cindy is also hosting a Live Tool Talk on Friday August 30- Registration is here- https://streamyard.com/watch/3Ajs9A8vghKr For The Newbies- Considering getting into bowl turning? A very informative video from Craft Supplies USA- Expand Your Horizons- Mike Peace shows us how to turn a Hair Stick- Alan Stratton is still turning out spheres- New Turning Items- There were some new items presented at SWAT. In Cindy's video tour, she gives us a glimpse of some of the items. Everything Else- I hardly every remove my chuck from the lathe. The EWT chuck jaw changes are so fast and no screws to drop. But when I needed to use a sanding pad, the Jacobs chuck require the EWT chuck removal. Enter Rube Goldberg- I wore out one of those angle drill/sanders from Woodturners Wonders. Removed the small chuck from it and made tis jig.- Sanding while the chuck is still in place! I mentioned my brother had back surgery. I've started making a cane. I found a "how-to" by "mmh". Some of you may remember her from "that other" woodworking site where she posted her custom canes. Her how- gave lots of tips and much needed assembly techniques. I got the shaft turned and rough sanded today- The taper is 5/8" over 32" length I discovered my LED, ala Alan Stratton steady rest wouldn't adjust small enough for the small end of the shaft. Had to fall back on my original steady. The old steady had inline skate wheels and the rubber has dried and fallen off, but it worked. Next up will be to form the handle. Finally, from Ron Brown's newsletter- The Argument For Carbide-Tipped Tools I met Craig Jackson around 2008 in Gainesville Georgia at a turning symposium. He was in the very early stages of introducing Easy Wood Tools with their carbide-tipped cutters. Craig is the founder and original owner, he is the “Father” of this category of turning tools. Others made similar tools but they never really caught on. Craig was finally able to make carbide-tipped tools a mainstream product. I got to know Craig over those 4 days and I let him know in no uncertain terms that I thought he was ruining woodturning by promoting scraping tools over traditional high-speed-steel tools that cut wood fibers rather than tear them savagely. We agreed to disagree. Over the next few years, I made a discovery and went from a strong detractor to a strong supporter of carbide-tipped turning tools. There is a fundamental truth that applies to everything in life. If something seems easy people will try it. If it looks difficult, they are less likely to begin at all. Using carbide-tipped scraping tools is easy. Just grab one and go. You don’t have to own a low-speed grinder and an expensive sharpening jig, or take the time to learn how to use it all. You don’t have to know different grinds or the difference between a bowl gouge and a spindle gouge. You don’t have to know about sharpening at all. Craig’s success ultimately led to many more folks being willing to get started in wood-turning because it was so easy. What if it took longer and didn’t give as good a surface finish? They could still turn beautiful pens, pepper mills, bottle stoppers, turned-lidded boxes, bowls, and anything else one can make on a lathe. They were tuners just like everyone else. Many of the folks who started with carbide-tipped tools later went on to acquire High-Speed-Steel tools and the associated sharpening station after all. But if they had not first begun the easy way with carbide-tipped tools and got hooked on turning, they would never have made it to this level. Rather than ruin a whole generation of woodturners, Craig Jackson’s Easy Wood Tools actually increased the number of turners adopting woodturning as a hobby. I saw Craig a few years after our first meeting and apologized for my lack of vision. I thanked him for expanding our membership in the woodturning fraternity. Craig eventually sold Easy Wood Tools and went back to being an expert machinist. Thanks, Craig! My advice is don’t hesitate to start someone out with an inexpensive set of carbide-tipped turning tools. HSS tools can come later. Make it as easy and affordable as possible for them to get started in turning wood. It may well lead to a lifetime of joy in the workshop. I see turning clubs offer free pen turning at public events and they almost universally offer a radiused square carbide-tipped tool to each total novice. And they get excellent results indeed! Safe turning
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August is coming to an end. Our local schools start back tomorrow. Our Patriot Turners- We have a new member at the Patriot site. @Gordon joined this week and posted some of his turnings. He does some beautiful work! If you haven't already welcomed him, please take a minute to stop by his post and check it out! @AndrewB continues to rehab his shop and posted some more images of what he is doing. Pick up here from last week- What’s Coming Up- If you missed Cindy Drozda's most recent live tool talk, she uploaded it for replay- For The Newbies- Mike Peace demonstrates turning a clamshell. During the turning process, Mike encountered some grain tear out. He has a pretty neat way of handling the problem. His solution is at about 9 minutes into the video. Captain Eddie posted a short video on the importance of keeping the lathe's Morris tapers clean- John Lucas discusses techniques for sanding the inside of hollow vessels Expand Your Horizons- Lyle Jamieson provides tips on matching grain between the bottom and top of a turned lidded box and why grain orientation is important. When I learned to turn bowls I used a mortice to hold the blank to the chuck. It just seemed that it wasted less material on the bottom of the blank. I could easily convert the mortice into a foot for the bowl. Alan Stratton uses a similar technique to turn a Sapele bowl- How about embellishing your turning with clouds! Tim Yoder shows us how- New Turning Items- Last week we posted a link to the Niles Bottle Stoppers tenderizing kit. Since then, Carl Jacobson produced a video on turning handles for those items- Everything Else- From Ron Brown's Newsletter= The Difference Between Perfect And Good Enough Perfect Definition: “Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be.” In life, things are seldom perfect. When turning wooden objects, things are rarely perfect. I recommend that you strive to be better this time than last time. Three main areas within your control always make a huge difference in the final product and require surprisingly little extra effort. Shape Learning what shapes are pleasing is a lifelong quest for most of us. When you are making something for someone other than yourself, you have to consider the shape. It must be visually pleasing with the proper proportions. The curves must be fair and the separations must be sharp. A great way to develop an understanding of pleasing shapes is to study ceramics and glass vessels similar to the projects you undertake. There are tons of resources on classic shapes that have been around for centuries. There are good reasons for certain shapes to remain popular over the centuries. If you try to swim upstream for too long, you will soon tire and fail. Sanding This is an area most easily and quickly improved. 1) Half a Grit: if you start with 100 grit sandpaper, don’t go finer than 150 grit next. Then don’t go finer than 220 grit and so on. 2) Take time to visually inspect that all of the 100 grit scratches are removed before you finish with the 150 grit. If you don’t remove all of the scratches at each step, they will show through in the final finish. 3) I recommend using compressed air to blow off all of the sanding dust along with a strong raking light to inspect your work before moving to the next grit. If you are working with very hard wood i.e. ebony, cocobolo, African blackwood, padauk, acrylic, or epoxy, this is especially important. Take extra time to get it right now or you will have to do it over. 4) NOTE: I stop sanding wood at 320 grit. When using finer grits, friction can overheat the lignin in the wood and make it resistant to film finishes adhering to the surface causing the finish to fail much sooner. Finish 1) If you rush the finishing process, you will have ruined all your hard work. 2) Film finishes (lacquer, varnish, shellac, epoxy, friction finish-shellac) are more durable than wax finishes. But they take more time and effort. 3) Wax is a quick finish that will dull over time and need to be renewed either by reapplication or more buffing. Wax finishes are quick to apply and look shiny and sparkly in the short term. Wax is perfect for projects where saving time is important and the durability of the finish is of no significance. Wax or oil is mandatory for utility vessels such as salad bowls or kitchen utensils. 4) Multiple coats of lacquer (10 to 30) applied over several days and when allowed to cure for 30 or more days, can be polished to a brilliant mirror-like finish. This is the finish of choice for art and display-only pieces bringing top dollars such as in a gallery. Try to do better each time than the time before and you will quickly reach Master Status Skill Sets. Consider the end use for what you are making and decide how much time you can devote to making something perfect or just good enough. Safe turning
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Some nice mid-August weather. Mid-August can you believe it??? Our Patriot Turners- @kreisdorph added a new item to our "What's Off Your lathe...". A really nice piece of elm. In his post, Kent explains the function and added some really neat photos! @AndrewB has been keeping us up-to-date on the progress of his shop make over. Getting everything into just the right place can be challenging. Check out his most recent post on what all he has done- What’s Coming Up- Bunch of stuff coming up as the summer winds down. Click on the images for links to more information and registration. For The Newbies- Looking for a nice project? Richard Raffan turns a plate from some beautiful piece of wood. Plates/platters are fun to make and can be decorative or useful. The blank doesn't have to be several inches thick and hollowing is much shallower. Make a bunch from inexpensive wood and use them to support those flimsy picnic paper plates. Check out the oil finish at the end! For something (and someone) a little smaller, Mike peace turns a baby rattle- Expand Your Horizons- Alan Stratton turns and hollows some spheres. His method of laying out/turning the blank into a ball is really interesting. Mike Peace turns a mystery, no holes salt shaker. Check out the secret! New Turning Items- Niles Bottle Stoppers has their meat tenderizer set on sale. https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/tenderizer-set/ Everything Else- Safe turning
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We have a little over a month left in our summer fund raiser drive! Some great prizes from our very generous sponsors. Get your raffle tickets here- Our Patriot Turners- Please welcome back a forum member who checked in this week. Great to have @AndrewB posting again and getting all of us caught up with what he has been doing! @John Morris posted about a turning artisan he follows, Jarrod Dahl. Mr. Dahl's video created a question that got lots of responses from our group. Jump over to John's post and see if you can add more to the conversation- Another great week for our "On/Off Your Lathe" running post! From "On"- @Gerald's spalted maple plate. Beautiful wood and lovely shape! And from "Off"- Gerald showed us his finished sculpted lidded vessel. Talk about a beautiful work of art!! I can't imagine how much sandpaper he must have gone through!! Our gang gave him a huge thumbs up on this one! What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration. Cindy Drozda's Tool Talk this Friday Cindy and Todd Raines Zoom Sharing Meeting- For The Newbies- When it comes to bowl turning, the grinds on a bowl gouge can be confusing. Which one is best? Which one should I use and where? Sam Angelo has some information that may help you answer these questions- Turning a bowl, box or any hollow type form requires the turner to know just how deep into the wood they can go before making the inside larger than the outside. Richard Raffan shows us how to make a simple tool to help with judging the depth. When hollowing out turnings with straight sides (i.g. boxes), the box scraper can help to make more precise cuts. Mike Peace takes a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of some of the tools- Expand Your Horizons- Don't have a nice piece of wood to turn a larger project? Alan Stratton has the answer- New Turning Items- Woodturners Wonders has a sale on lighting. https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lamps?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk.VJvU8R Everything Else- Still working on those rolling pin blanks for a demonstration. Received the last of the wood an hour ago. Going to be in Leesburg VA at the Catoctin Area Turners club tomorrow evening for an Easy Wood Tools product demonstration ( @Jordan Martindale ) Safe turning
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Picked up a wild dose of the back door trots. Our Patriot Turners- @keithlong did his first craft show and picked up some additional turning work. Keith is looking for curly Koa. Check out his post and see if you can point him in the right direction! @Ron Altier picked up some cypress from his local thrift store. Ron is our resident ornament maker and this one doesn't disappoint! Check Ron's post for the wonderful comments from our members- @Gerald posted a cart/rack for holding his new Jaho jig. This jig is bigger than I realized and certainly heavy! More pictures and information about the build in Gerald's post- @kreisdorph put his new Rikon lathe through it paces! He tells us about it here- @smitty10101 is working on a bowl from a board. He has some questions about cutting the angles and a few other things. I know some of our turners use this technique, I you can help Smitty out, head on over to his post! In our "Good Monday Morning" forum, @John Morris posted a really amazing turning video. Checkout some of the custom made jigs for applying finish! We've had some entries on or continuing posts of ON/OFF your lathe From ON- @Gerald posted this one Catchup up on all the comments here- And from OFF- @Gerald, @kreisdorph and @lew Head on over to the topic and checkout the comments What’s Coming Up- This was last week but if you missed it, Cindy Drozda posted the video of her "Tool Talk"- https://streamyard.com/watch/CyvKGNCGNujG For The Newbies- A video from Mike Peace on the various types of drive centers- Sam Angelo demonstrates the use of the spindle gouge. From Tim Yoder on the roughing gouge- Facebook video.mp4 Expand Your Horizons- Lyle Jamieson discusses balancing the grain and color when turning a bowl- For some reason this video isn't showing up for me. Here is the YouTube link https://youtu.be/VtHVrf-1xlQ?si=n28y_i4yw_IKFfTY Alan Stratton makes a unique box that looks like a stacking toy! An interesting design on a cherry bowl by Kent Weakley Jim Rodgers makes a really neat one piece pen- New Turning Items- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/threaded-rings-for-urns/ Everything Else- Safe turning
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May is quickly coming to a close. I think about my teaching friends and how busy they are at this time of the year. Our Patriot Turners- @HARO50 gave us a look at a display he saw at a gift shop. Lots of interesting turnings, including some turned, wooden hats! Check out John's post for more images and our turner's comments- Again, I'd like to extend my personal thanks to all of our members who take the time to post their works in progress and those that have been finished. You all keep our "What's ON/OFF Your Lathe" topics humming along! This past week's projects are awesome! From "ON"- @calabrese55, @Gerald, @Fred W. Hargis Jr and @kreisdorph gave us a look at what they are making- Check all their images and comments beginning here- From "OFF"- @kreisdorph finished up a couple of beautiful natural edge bowls- The new projects and comments start here- What’s Coming Up- For registration- https://www.cindydrozda.com/ https://mawts.com/ For The Newbies- Turning away end grain can be challenging. Richard Raffan demonstrated how it can be done while avoiding chip/tear out. Richard Raffan shows how to shorten or turn away endgrain without splintering the internal grain..mp4 Expand Your Horizons- I have recently been looking at John Beaver's work and considering attempting one of his wave bowls. (His bowl, not mine!) https://www.johnbeaver.net/wave-bowls I'm not sure if I'm more intrigued by the actual bowl or the elaborate processes involved. Anyway, Alan Stratton just posted a video on creating a multipurpose jig that used Mr. Beaver's process as part of the inspiration for the new jig. Hmmmmm.... Talk about "pucker factor"!! Melted Burl Platter.mp4 New Turning Items- Our very generous site sponsor, Woodcraft, has a sale on turning tools/products! Rikon Lathes Easy Wood Tools Ron Brown has a new gauge for measuring the thickness of a bowl bottom. Looks well made and universal for all lathes and chuck/jaws. https://longworthchuck.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=75 Woodturners Wonders has added the "Hold Fast" product line to their inventory. https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/hold-fast?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQGZ2p91Dzyb6Hq8u86HRP26F2J3AVp8xSSqd_hTF8cT.VJvU8R Everything Else- Safe turning
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Please keep @John Morris and his family in your prayers. John lost his Dad this week. Our Patriot Turners- @kreisdorph received a new toy this week- Please avoid drooling on the unpainted surfaces- we don't want no rust! Thanks everyone for the continued support of our 2 running post of "What' On/Off Your Lathe"- ON- @Gerald and @calabrese55 added their projects and some updates Catch up up here- And OFF- @User74, @RustyFN and @kreisdorph posted what they finished- More images and information about each of these projects are at- What’s Coming Up- Click on the following images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- Jim Rodgers demonstrates how to make a couple of helpful turning tools to add to your arsenal- Craft Supplies USA posted a nice video using some of their exotic species for making projects. Some good tips on working with exotics. Expand Your Horizons- Mike Peace demonstrates several embellishing tools- Alan Stratton turns some unique flowers for mothers day. Check out the materials he uses for the stigma and stamen! @Gerald's hollow form reminded me of this one turned by Carl Jacobson- New Turning Items- This item has been available from Woodturners Wonders for awhile. Mike shows how to set it up and runs it through its paces. Also from Woodturners Wonders, a sale on Yellowhammer HSS turning tools https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/yellowhammer?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk.VJvU8R Everything Else- Trying to use up those little pieces of wind shake cherry by making tiny vases for Mimi. I tried pure beeswax on these an buffed them with an old T-shirt but they feel sticky. I think I will burnish them with shavings, again, and see what they look like. I have some Hampshire Sheen wax that might be better. My predicament now is how to reverse chuck them, to finish the bottoms. The entry holes are not identical in diameter. Thinking on making an expandable piece to fit into the holes The piece will need to be adjustable to take care of the minor variations in diameter. Safe turning
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Lots happened this past week! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald posted more images of his "Frig Magnets". His Jaho jig really creates some spectacular designs! Here's where the new entry starts- @John Hechel made a couple of posts in our sub-forum for Ringmaster Turning. He showed us some of his glue ups and some absolutely gorgeous bowl! Check out his posts here- @RustyFN posted an update on his new McNaughton Bowl Coring System. He created some measuring devices to help setup the system for different sized cores. Thanks, Rusty for the update! I love all your posts on our "On/Off Your Lathe". It is so enjoyable to see the development and finishing of the projects. From "ON"- From @kreisdorph and @Gerald Catch up from last week starting here- From OFF- @kreisdorph and @User74 The latest entries start here- What’s Coming Up- If you missed Cindy Drozda's Tool Talk last week, she posted the video on her YouTube channel- Click on the following images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- The bowl gouge can be confusing for the new turner, especially when it comes to the type of "grind" on the tip. Professional turners seem to have individual preferences and provide that grind style on the tools they recommend/sell. Lyle Jamieson discusses his preference in this video. Jim Rodgers creates another custom pen. Check out some of the jigs he uses to create the pieces. Expand Your Horizons- Alan Stratton turns a bowl as a keepsake for a tree that needed to be removed. Most of us do this when we are gifted wood. What I found interesting was Alan's use of UV epoxy instead of the typical epoxy/acrylic. Here's the entire video- the UV information is at about 4:30. The "4 Ways Collaboration" continues. This month they turn multi-sided plates Mike- Tomislav- Sam- Richard- New Turning Items- From Ron Brown- Glue Press for Bowl From Board or Segmented Rings https://longworthchuck.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=536 Everything Else- My experiment with the turned blank from last week was a miserable failure. That turning became this- The prototype for a passive amplifier. There was a barely noticeable increase in volume but it looks neat. Biggest mistakes- don't use a spade bit for long holes, cutting an angle and rotating is not produce as nice as cutting 2 angles. As in Alan Stratton's video, I did turn a little bowl from our Crab Apple tree that is dying by inches. Planted it in 1969. Safe turning
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Relatives gone but the remainder of the week already scheduled with appointments. Our Patriot Turners- Our turners have been busy with projects and new journeys @Gerald is learning the ins-and-outs of his new JaHo jig. He posted a couple of cool bowl images and asked our opinion on the painting scheme- His post received lots of comments. Our turners are not shy offering their opinions! Check out his post and give him your input! @keithlong asked us for some leads on mechanical pencil kits. He has been asked to turn a special type of pencil. If you have any ideas for sources for these kits, Keith would appreciate any input- @Fred W. Hargis Jr has started down the slippery slope of wood turning ! He asked our group for some ideas on turning knobs. Specifically, how is the best way to hold the knob during the urning process. A lot of us chimed in with various suggestions and information sources. Fred's setup looks like this- Check his post/questions and our responses and give him some of your ideas- Our continuing post of "What's On Your Lathe" got a couple of hits this week! @kreisdorph posted images of a beautiful cedar bowl. New entries begin here- What’s Coming Up- Cindy Drozda has a free, live tool talk on Friday April 26. Registration link is- https://streamyard.com/watch/MJdeXdGa5fNC For The Newbies- Mike Peace gives us a refresher course on the various live centers available. If you are thinking of upgrading your center, he offers some good information. Sam Angelo gives talks about how to safely use the spindle roughing gouge- Lyle Jamieson has some tips on tips on wet wood storage and wet wood turning- Expand Your Horizons- Richard Raffan turns a lovely little jewelry box from "Sheaok". I had to look that up on the web. Interesting species. Also, watch how Mr. Raffan takes setbacks in stride! Alan Stratton turns a rose bush root ball. Someone said life is too short to turn crappy wood. I'd say the results were well worth the effort. New Turning Items- Found this in the Niles Bottle Stoppers newsletter- Here's the link- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/bottle-stoppers-blanks/ Everything Else- Safe turning
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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
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Spent the day rototilling our little garden and planted onions. Garlic has sprung up and looks like most of what I planted survived the winter. Harvest won't be until mid summer. Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald is turning some really neat refrigerator magnets! He has been practicing with his new JaHo jig to adding very interesting embellishments to some of these items. Please hop on over to his post and see what our turners thought of his work- Gerald also posted about these magnets in the "Monday Morning" forum We've had some additions to several of our continuing posts. From "What Lathe Are You Using"- @RustyFN, @HARO50 and @Steve Krumanaker From "Off The Lathe"- @kreisdorph- From "What's On Your Lathe"- @calabrese55- And, from "What's Your Favorite Wood..." @RustyFN, @keithlong and @Cal @keithlong is looking for a specific crafting item. He is making keychains and needs to find a part. Please check out his post and see if you can suggest a source for the part he needs- Keith also added to @Fred W. Hargis Jr's post about Easy Wood Tools rougher cutters. Looks like he found a pretty good price on cutters- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- For The Newbies- Turners are always seeking new ways to amp up the visual effects of their turnings. In this video, Sam Angelo uses various tools to create interest on the turning's surface. He also adds some color to highlight the embellishments. Expand Your Horizons- Several of our members make "Beads of Courage" boxes for kids with cancer. Mike Peace recently did a short video spotlighting the Gwinnett Woodworkers as they prepare segmented blanks for their Beads of Courage Box initiative. A really worthwhile cause. Alan Stratton shared a video where he turned a bird's beak natural edge bowl. What I found interesting was his method of holding the turning when reversed chucking. New Turning Items- Not new but on sale from Woodturners Wonders- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lathes?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQGZ2p91Dzyb6Hq8u86HRP26F2J3AVp8xSSqd_hTF8cT.VJvU8R Everything Else- From Ron Brown's Newsletter, struck home with me as this was the way I was raised: I Can’t Because I Don’t . . . When someone says I can’t because I don’t have something I will need to do it, the money, the accessory, or just about anything else, I wonder how anything ever gets done. I grew up in a working-class poor family. We always had food, although a lot of the time it was because we had our own chickens, rabbits, and pigs. We were taught not to waste. I learned very early that you can almost always find a way if you want to make something happen. When we wanted to go fishing, we first dug the worms, caught the grasshoppers, or made our own doughballs. Bamboo fishing poles with a cork float and one old hook worked fine. We had hours of fun and usually came home with a basket of fish. Catch and release, what is that? You already have a lathe and a few tools, add wood from the firewood pile and you are in business! You can make anything if you want to. Use what you have on hand, until you get something better. Figure out how to use what you already have in new and creative ways. Lots of things will do double duty nicely. No matter how much stuff you have, you will always want something better. (I usually have the solution just so you know). My point is when you think you can’t because you need something else, the adventure has usually just begun, if you get creative and figure out how to accomplish the task by using something else in an unconventional way. Don’t spend your precious shop time being frustrated because of what you don’t have. Do something while you save up for the miracle tool, jig, or fixture that will make all the difference. I’ll be here when you are ready. How do I know this works? I learned how to write because I have never been able to pay someone else to write for me. I know how to publish mass emails because a publicist charges way more than I can afford. I know how to edit photos, drawings, and videos for the same reason; I can’t afford to pay someone else to do it for me. I know how to program all of my CNCs, my lasers, and my 3D printers myself because I’ve had to learn to do it if it is going to get done. I know how to upload my edited videos to YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram along with shorts and reels because I made myself learn to do it. My point is don’t be so eager to accept defeat. Use your God given talents to figure it out. You will surprise yourself when you make a second and third effort. One of the greatest forces in the world is persistence. I've been playing with shapes and proportions. None are finished, a couple need hollowed. This is some of that wind shake cherry. 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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A little early with Wednesday's post. 71° outside and I've just been informed I'll be cooking supper on the grill tonight Our Patriot Turners- @John Hechel posted in our Ringmaster Sub-Forum showing us an awesome bowl he fabricated from a neat glue-up. Check out his post for more information- We had activity on both our continuing posts about projects on and off the lathe! From "On" the lathe- From @calabrese55, @RustyFN, @Pauley and @kreisdorph showed us these beautiful pieces! Catch up on all the action and comments beginning here- From "Off" the lathe- Both @RustyFN and @Gerald shared their fantastic projects- More here with comments from our group- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- For The Newbies- I always struggle with the concept of "Form vs. Function". Lyle Jamieson gives us his thoughts in this short video- Richard Raffan adds another chucking idea for hard to hold pieces- We sometimes post links to the Woodturners Wonders site for their products/sales. I found this link with videos about many of their products. (Full Disclosure- I am not affiliated with Woodturners Wonders. I do purchase some sanding supplies from them from time to time). https://woodturnerswonders.com/pages/videos?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQGZ2p91Dzyb6Hq8u86HRP26F2J3AVp8xSSqd_hTF8cT.VJvU8R Expand Your Horizons- If you do the Craft Show circuit, Carl Jacobson shows us a project that might be an addition to your product line. This project from Mike Peace would make an awesome gift and could also be a craft show article. It lends itself to design customization- When I saw this from Alan Stratton, I thought of some of the embellishments done by @Gerald. New Turning Items- Couldn't find anything this week Everything Else- Something I need to learn more about, from Rom Brown's Newsletter- Technical Skills or Wisdom and Discernment? When you see a finished piece that is visually stunning, do you ever wonder what made it that way? Perhaps the end result was because the maker has superior technical skills with lathe chisels. It is much more likely they got the proportions just right, presented a balanced form, and knew when to stop and call it done. A great form can make even a bland piece of wood appear pleasing. If the material is ordinary, that is an opportunity to add embellishment such as painting, carving, or texturing to the great shape. Out of balance shapes, non-fair curves, sloppy transitions, deep sanding scratches, tool marks, and torn grain all contribute to a less pleasing finished piece. While technical skills go a long way toward reducing the time and energy needed to complete a project, I’ve seen many beautiful pieces completed by much less skilled turners who developed an eye for forms, paid attention to details and worked on the finish until they got it right. That means having the wisdom to know what shapes go together to make a pleasing finished item. A prime example where discernment is key might be a lidded hollow form, lidded small box, or Christmas ornament. Getting the finial in balance relative to the piece, or a lid and knob combination that compliments the box can be challenging. Discernment is knowing when to stop and move on to the next step. Those of us who have a loving partner will benefit mightily by asking their opinion on how a project can be improved. Ask for their honest observations and tell them you can only learn by seeing through someone else’s eyes. They won’t want to hurt your feelings, but this is a time for brutal honesty if you really want to improve. “Technical skills are important, but a discerning eye is importanter.” I would encourage you to develop your understanding for the things that result in a pleasing form along with your technical expertise. I studied shapes in other media including pottery and ancient vessels that survived the ages and it really helped. Don’t forget how important the Fibonacci formula is throughout nature. Safe turning
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March already! Some of the trees are starting to show signs of waking up and I have garlic greens showing through the mulch! Our Patriot Turners- @Fred W. Hargis Jr posted an inquiry about a new tool rest. He asked particularly about the curved type used for turning bowls. Several of our members offered their opinions. Maybe you could hop on over to Fred's post and provide additional insights. @HandyDan posted a link to a site for turning tool handle inserts. If you make your own handles you might want to check it out. The site is for Trent Bosch tools and there are lots of other items there. Here's the link to his site's home page- https://trentboschtools.com/ @Gerald showed us the setup for his new JaHo jig in the "Good Monday Morning" forum- There is additional information in his post- Our continuing thread on the "What's On Your Lathe" post continues to showcase new and beautiful items. This past week @teesquare, @kreisdorph and @Gerald all posted projects! Catchup on all the activity at- In addition to the ones still on the lathe, We had entries into the "What's OFF Your Lathe And Finished". @Gerald and @kreisdorph both added their finished items. The new entries and comments start here- What’s Coming Up- Click on the image for the link to more information and registration- For The Newbies- Not quite ready to make the deep bowl? here's an intermediate step from Alan Stratton. Reading a post on social media from a turner who upgraded to a larger lathe. He was lamenting that his expensive Cole Jaws were small and would not allow him to use the maximum swing of the new lathe. One person recommended this video from Alan Stratton- Expand Your Horizons- Several of our turners give back to others by participating in events such as Turning Pens For Our Troops and Beads Of Courage Boxes. This month the turners participating in the "4-Ways" turning collaboration are making Wig Stands. Anyone who has suffered the ravages of cancer and chemo would certainly appreciate one of these items. New Turning Items- Many turners tint their epoxy/acrylic work with various products. Up until now, tinting CA glue was limited due to the reaction between the glue and the tinting substance. Starbond has released an assortment of materials to tint their CA glues. Check it out at- https://starbond.com/collections/powders-inlay-supplies?utm_source=1. Starbond Newsletter Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SB - TOTD Mica Mix (01HR9F16QNEP00ZFQF4704JB87)&_kx=UWBjOrBvGqdgxjbKJKjzdYtukO2Hko9tBjUvyv5yRmCPEYlA8GzGmWiEh-BS_64B.KAnW2a Wasn't sure where to put this but Woodturners Wonders is having a give-a-way contest- If you do that sort of things, here's the link- https://woodturnerswonders.com/pages/giveaway?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk.VJvU8R Everything Else- From Ron Brown's Newsletter When Size Matters What is the second major difference between a 12” swing wood lathe and a 16” swing wood lathe? The first difference is obvious, the 16” lathe can swing a 4-inch larger vessel. The second major difference is in the motor or horsepower. The smaller lathe is most likely equipped with a ¾ or 1 horsepower motor while the larger lathe will typically have 1-1/2 to 2 horsepower motor. Why does horsepower matter anyway? When all you turn are pens, wizard wands, and bottle stoppers, HP doesn’t matter. But when you are roughing out bowl blanks, plates, platters, drilling salt and pepper mills, or virtually any hollow form, the extra HP keeps the lathe from stalling. The larger the diameter, the more HP is needed because you lose the advantage of leverage. Imagine going up a steep hill with a heavy load in high gear. With the smaller HP you are forced to take lighter cuts and can’t be aggressive without stalling the lathe in its tracks; been there done that. You can turn little stuff on a big lathe, but it is much more difficult to turn big stuff on a little lathe. It can be done, of course, it’s just not as fun, safe, or easy. I have discovered recurring patterns after observing many thousands of turners over a few decades: 1) Most new turners start with a mini-lathe if they buy it new. 2) If they inherit the lathe from a relative or purchase it used, they are likely to get a larger machine to start with. 3) Although they planned to sell the smaller unit when they upgraded, they most often kept both lathes. I had 5 at one time. Now I’m down to only two. 4) These days, 2020 and later, most new turners start with carbide-tipped tools rather than the High-Speed Steel traditional tools. They are easy to use, quick to become proficient with, and they don’t require frequent sharpening or an expensive sharpening station. 5) After the new turner decides to pursue turning as a hobby, (1 to 3 years later) most will undertake learning how to use and sharpen HSS tools. They will invest in a fully equipped sharpening station including a slow speed grinder and sharpening jig. A no-fail way to introduce someone to turning wood on a lathe is to help them turn a wooden pen using a carbide-tipped tool. They treasure that pen and use it every day. They can spend the minimum amount of money and easily make lots of pens to give away or sell to their friends and associates. Their sense of accomplishment is validated often and they will have firmly joined the family of wood turners. Just like everything else in life, we all have to start somewhere. Me too. If you recognize the path each of them must walk on their journey, you will be better able to help and advise other turners who are not as experienced as you are. Experts were once beginners too. That is why we are always ready to help whenever we can and invite folks to call with their turning questions. Where are you on the path? Safe turning
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Lots happening this past week! Our Patriot Turners- @keith long stopped by to say "Hi". He is busy with life and doing well. He had some questions about lathe parts. Check out his post and see if you can add to what has been said- Keith also had a question about what wood species would be best for making duck calls. If you make them or know what would work best, maybe you could help him out- @kreisdorph resurrected an older post about bowl drying. He added some great additional information. Check out the entire thread here- Kent also gave us a nice review on a book for identifying wood species. Thanks!!! @Gerald is recovering from knee surgery and snuck back into the shop to work on some projects. Hope he got back into his recliner before the Mrs. got home See what else he did at- Our "What's On Your Lathe" thread continues to generate awesome projects. @kreisdorph, @teesquare and @RustyFN showed us some fantastic work. Start here to catch up on all the projects- @StaticLV2 continues to work on his segmented turnings He posted this one in the "What's On Your Weekend Agenda" And, from our "OFF The Lathe and Finished' thread- @kreisdorph and @RustyFN posted some gorgeous turnings. Catch up with all these items here- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- Ask ten turners what is the best finish and you will likely get at least 15 different answers. One finish that often mentioned is shellac. This video from Kent Weakley explains why shellac is appropriate. This is the link to his article on shellac and how to mix it- https://turnawoodbowl.com/make-shellac-wood-bowl-finish/ Turned wooden boxes make nice gifts. Sam Angelo demonstrates turning one from start to finish. Looks like Sam needs to turn the heat up in his shop. I don't endorse wearing gloves, but that's just me. Craft Supplies USA has a step by step video on turning a pepper mill. Expand Your Horizons- Richard Raffan demonstrates turning one of his signature scoops. Awesome skew work and check out the shop made, lathe mounted sanding disc. Lyle Jamieson provides tip for preventing vibration when turning finials New Turning Items- Ron Brown has a new parting tool to use with his "Bowl From A Board" jig- Everything Else- This past week, in another Patriot forum, there has been a very informative discussion on liability for the stuff we make. This video, from Alan Stratton, addresses some of the regulations for a specific item. Safe turning
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Our member @Gerald is recovering from knee surgery and some complications. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker decided to get a head start on next years Christmas ornaments! Steve does awesome turnings and embellishments. Check out our member's comments- @RustyFN asked a question concerning a specific bowl saver system. If you can give him some information, I'm sure he would appreciate it. @knockonit posted some of his recently turned rolling pins in the "What's On Your Workbench" forum. You can see his post at- @Grandpadave52 gave us a heads up on a video from Tom Silva (This Old House). Tom makes a segmented bowl. Dave's post is here- We've had entries in both our continuing threads of lathe projects. From "What's On Your Lathe" an almost finished platter And from the "Off The Lathe And Just Finished" thread- @RustyFN showed us his sweet pyrography work on his latest bowl- Also posted was a little, odd shaped walnut bowl- You can catchup on this thread at- What’s Coming Up- Just after the first of the month and the "4-Ways" video series continues. From Sam Angelo From Tomislav Tomasic From Richard Raffan- From Mike Peace- Free web presentation from All Things Woodturning- Registration link- https://streamyard.com/watch/gGs2fUP3i5Fq?receiptful=65c254ccf68490003ed627d1&utm_source=CM Commerce&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-314&utm_term=newsletter&utm_content=other&receiptfultype=newsletter For The Newbies- A turning tip for finishing, from Lyle Jamieson- Expand Your Horizons- I saw this finished item on a couple of social media sites and was intrigued by how it was made. Then this popped up! Tim Yoder turned a "bowl from a board" In the video he used a device from Ron Brown's Best. https://longworthchuck.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=64 Kind of a neat idea from Alan Stratton. I'm always amazed at how easily he make it look to turn spheres. New Turning Items- From Ron Brown's Best- And a sale on sanding supplies from Woodturners Wonders- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/ultimate-sanding-system?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Everything Else- Today was laser day in my shop. Had several turnings and other stuff that needed signed/dated. The little scissor lift works really well for focus adjustments. I usually wait until I have several items as it requires a little space to set up everything. Safe turning
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End of January already. Friday is Groundhog Day and in 2 weeks it's Fastnacht Day! Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker posted images of a bird turning. This one is different than the small birds he adds to his bird house ornaments Check out Steve's post for his description and inspiration for these lovely likenesses. Keeping with the bird theme, @HandyDan posted some awesome birdhouses/gnome houses Dan has gotten those tiny birds down to an science! See his post for more images and additional information about these fantastic turnings! @Fred W. Hargis Jr posted a safety oriented video that reminds us there are dangers lurking when using the lathe! I, for one, will take this video to heart. A few things were added to our "What's On Your Lathe" continuing thread. You can catchup with all the comments and more images starting at- A gorgeous ring box made by @calabrese55 An incredible lighted turning from @teesquare And a walnut bowl along with a white oak platter with a Pewa patch What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to more information and preregistration. For The Newbies- If you are considering using traditional tools for bowl turning, you may be confused by all of the different "grinds" or shapes for the bowl gouge. In this short video, Lyle Jamieson discusses his signature grind and why he uses it. Here are a few more resources for learning about the various grinds- https://turnawoodbowl.com/bowl-gouge-basics-beginner-guide-parts-use-sizes-grinds-inforgraph/ https://turnawoodbowl.com/bowl-gouge-sharpening-angles-illustrated-guide/ https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/video-understanding-bowl-gouge-grinds/ https://stuartbattytools.com/free-videos-%26-articles#11a33c77-bf25-4de7-9257-fd1dbc667a1c When you first start down the slippery slope of turning, it is tempting to purchase expensive exotic woods for those beautiful pieces you've seen. In these two videos, the common thread is to use "green" (freshly cut) wood. Green wood turns much easier than dried wood. It is less expensive than the exotics. And, you'll often be surprised at the beauty hiding within the pieces. Expand Your Horizons- Add some finesse to your next lidded box with a finial! Lyle Jamieson discusses finial design considerations- Mike Waldt has started a multi part in-depth guide for turning a lidded box- Part#1 New Turning Items- Woodturners Wonders has become a dealer for Easy Wood Tools Check out the products at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/easy-wood-tools?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Everything Else- Safe turning
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This month is quickly coming to an end! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald posted a beautiful bowl he finished. This one has some gorgeous embellishments on the bottom and the rim. Gerald received lots of positive comments on this one! Please keep Gerald and his family in your prayers. He had a knee replacement done recently. @calabrese55 is working on a staved bowl. He built a really nice steady rest to do part of the turning. This was posted in our "What's On Your Lathe" continuing thread- Check his comments about the wheels he used and see more images! We've had an additional post in the "What's Off Lathe And Just Finished" What’s Coming Up- This is the video of the recent Tool Talk from Cindy Drozda, in case you missed it live. She demonstrates Hook and Cygnet mini hollowers. Cindy and Todd Raines will be hosting free Q&A session. Click on the image for the link. From the Keystone Woodturners via their Facebook page. Click the image for the link to more information. For The Newbies- Some things about making turning more safe. Over the years, I've heard and read about something called "shake" or "wind shake". However, I had never had a piece of wood that displayed the characteristic split. Recently, the tree man called and said they were taking down a cherry tree and was saving me a couple of pieces. As I was making blanks from the logs, one of them plainly showed the results of wind shake. The beginning of this video, from Tim Yoder, address the potential dangers of turning wood affected by this and other types of defects. This short video illustrates why it is a good idea to grasp the Jacob's Chuck when using it for drilling, on the lathe. I usually hold it when advancing the quill. Now I'll hold it for movement in both directions. Expand Your Horizons- Some weeks back we posted a video, from Carl Jacobson/Niles Bottle Stoppers, demonstrating the use of the Joyner Offset Jig. Mike Peace decided too build a similar device to do offset embellishments. Alan Stratton is still making goblets. These are done in three pieces. New Turning Items- Woodturners Wonders continues with their weekly sales. https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/weekly-sale?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Everything Else- Safe turning
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Been really cold here, compared to last winter, even had some snow! Our Patriot Turners- @PostalTom asked a question about vacuum chucks. He received several responses on various brands. If you use a vacuum chuck, please help Tom with your experiences to help him make an informed decision. We had another entry into our "What's On Your Lathe" thread. What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to more information and registration or you can use the following link- https://streamyard.com/watch/pNG2QZxkG2uY Picked this up from the Niles Bottle Stopper Newsletter- Live Remote Video Demos As you all know, we are doing live remote videos of any Niles product for turning clubs free of charge. There are presently 7 club videos scheduled, you can ask questions or comment and you do not need to be at the meeting, you can watch from home on your PC, smart phone or tablet. We also discuss other aspects of turning or can try to help with problems or techniques and finishes. Here is a list of the clubs we have scheduled so far for 2024. You can contact one of your officers for the link to get access to the video. Wed. Jan. 17 = Gold Country Woodturners, northern Sierra Nevada foothills. Threaded bronze urn inserts will be the subject. Thurs. Jan 18 = Georgia Assoc. of Woodturners, Metro Atlanta area. The Joyner Jig will be demonstrated with many of it's uses. Thurs. Feb. 15 = Diamond State Woodturners, Jacksonville, Arkansas. Bottle stoppers and other kitchen utensils. Sat. April 20 = Oregon Coast Woodturning, cover the whole coast of Oregon. Demo on various embellishments for your projects. Thurs. June 13 = Willamette Valley Woodturners, Oregon Threaded bronze urn insert rings is the subject. Thurs. July 25 = Beaver State Woodturners, Coburg, Oregon. The Joyner Jig is to be demonstrated. *note: We are working on a "Calendar" or "Events" page on our website where all club demos will be listed as they are scheduled. This will give you time to get the link to attend. For more information or to schedule a demonstration, contact Carl Jacobson at "[email protected]" or call 503-939-4565. For The Newbies- If you spend anytime watching turning videos, or visit another turners shop, you'll probably notice that the turner has an impressive assortment of chucks. We are not talking chuck jaws but complete setups. In this video, Richard Raffan discusses his collection. Ask "why" and they will tell you that they do not like taking the time to change jaws. If you haven't purchased a chuck, yet, consider a chuck that doesn't use screw to hold the jaws. Hint: the Easy Wood Tools "Easy Chuck"- I know, I know but I couldn't resist after seeing the video. Lyle Jamieson's Tuesday Tip can help with clearing chips when turning hollow pieces that have an entry hole smaller than the inside diameter of the piece. Expand Your Horizons- If you have a nice laser setup and thinking about making a segmented turning, Alan Stratton has you covered! @Gerald does a lot of embellishing using various tools. Mike Peace recently posted a video on making a chatter tool. Unlike tools that use wheels that are crosshatched or spiked, this tool uses vibrations to create unique patterns. New Turning Items- Not really new, but a recommendation from Tim Yoder about a supplier for turning blanks. I know some of our members are customers. If the Easy Chuck is not in your future, Woodturners Wonders has the Axminster Systems on sale- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/axminster?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Everything Else- Safe turning
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