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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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For Christmas I made birdhouses to stand among the mushrooms. I used the larger Linden/Basswood branches from my tree out back. They stood about eight inches tall. After Christmas I played with some short pieces and made Gnome home doors for them. Didn't drill for the birds in these. I put a door in the one I kept for myself too. I made the doors and frames as an assembly and let them into the turnings. I found I would never make it as a carver. Can't explain how the bark sticks to them but never lost a single section of it during the turning and carving.
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Long time ago store bought picnic tables were made with the lumber from ages old Redwood trees. They were great in the weather and pretty much bug resistant. In my 20s I would see them out at the curb on trash day because they were falling apart. The wood was still good except where metal fasteners were used. The wood turned black and deteriorated where they were placed. I brought many of them home and salvaged them. 15 or more years ago I made a bunch of acorn shaped birdhouses and gave them as Christmas presents. Recently I came across the scraps from then and decided to add them to my little bowl collection. The number of growth rings is just amazing. I counted 24 in a one inch span and when I think of how big some of those trees were I can only imagine how long they took to grow. These bowls are three inch in diameter. Used WOP to finish them and they sucked it up like paper towels. The finish passed all the way through to the outside in spots when I put the first coat on the inside. The birdhouses have six inch diameter bodies with eight inch diameter White Cedar caps and nine inches high.
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Well, I've graduated to Headquarters Driver but still TAD to Ships Laundry and assistant Coop cleaner. Mimi goes for her follow-up 2 week appointment with the surgeon tomorrow. Probably remove the staples and start therapy as well. Our Patriot Turners- @John Morris posted an inquiry on the popularity of pen turning. Turners seem to follow trends and pens were all the rage a while back. Our turners had several thoughts on the subject- I had missed one of John's post from back in December. He wondered, if given a choice, what would be our favorite three traditional turning tools- Check out what several of our members chose and while you're there tells us what you would select- @forty_caliber finished his drying kiln. He has really thought this through and looks like the internal environment will really do the job- There's a bunch more photos in his post along with descriptions of the controls he is using- @jthornton continues to work on his chevron bowls. He took the time to perfect the accuracy and it shows in the alignment of the design- JT's post takes us along through the glue-up and turning process. Please check it out! You may remember from last week that JT's original idea for this design was to create "popcorn bowls". As with all turners, design changes are part of the game. Check out what JT decided to do with the popcorn bowl design- JT was also one of the lucky winners of our Ward 57 raffle. He tells us about the prize we won - @HandyDan posted information about a great deal from Penn State Industries and gave us a look at how he modified a set of chuck jaws to suit his needs. From PSI- The link-https://www.pennstateind.com/store/CUG3418CCX.html?utm_source=Google_Shopping&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=&utm_term=CUG3418CCX&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq5meBhCyARIsAJrtdr70ldWCA_YmLJ606Nrzu2Q_cEi44g6K3bWv-v2lWtTpmg-0b7wwgpAaAksvEALw_wcB @Steve Krumanaker can't wait for Christmas! He has already started on his ornaments for 2023! I love these little birdhouses. What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- Cindy Drozda does a lot of free online programs. Her only request is that you signup for her emails. Click on the image to get to the signup page For The Newbies- Keeping your lathe Morris Tapers clean is important to ensure the centers don't slip. You can buy brushes but Mike Peace shows us how to make one- Lyle Jamieson demonstrates how to create an Koa crotch bowl with undercut rim. This is a piece of beautiful wood. The techniques can be used on any species. Expand Your Horizons- From the AAW, this quite long video from a live demonstration by Al Stirt. He demonstrates carved square platters Adding threads to a lidded box can add another level of pizzazz to your turnings. The following three videos offer several considerations. @jthornton showed us his segmenting procedures. This video from Jim Rodgers shows his methods of designing, cutting, gluing and turning. Within the video, there is mention of software that can be used to assist in design and calculations. The link to WoodturnerPro software- https://www.woodturnerpro.com/ New Turning Items- Not specifically a turning item but Starbond Adhesives has released a new odorless thin CA. From their website- NO-05 Starbond Infiltrant Odorless Thin CA Glue is a 3D printer infiltrant that is fumeless, odorless, and hypoallergenic. This watery-thin adhesive is perfect for getting into those hard-to-reach hairline fractures, pores, and narrow slots. Our NO-05 is ideal for porous materials such as foam, soft wood (balsa), ceramics, unpolished minerals, and fossils. Often used as a glossy finish, this glue can be sanded, then polished to perfection! Using capillary action, the NO-05 glue works wonders on inlay applications as it penetrates and stabilizes the material. Click on the above image for the like to the product page. Everything Else- Not sure what happened to Rick Morris (Rick Turns). His weekly list of YouTube woodturning videos has been missing for a while. Hope he is OK.
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Put some birdhouse ornaments in the kitty for next Christmas. Gives me a little jump on the season.
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Can you believe it? November already!! Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker Finished up his turned, carved and pyro embellished platter. It is incredible- Check out this post for other images and the positive comments from our turners- Steve also showed us some really special ornaments he turned from his scrap bin- I really love these birdhouses! Included in his post is an image of some really nide ornament display stands. Check it out- @Ron Altier created an angular ornament that has some lathe work, too. Ron shows us how he created the pyramid shaped top- @RustyFN finished up a beautiful pecan bowl. Really spectacular grain patterns- See his post for more images @Headhunter spent some long awaited quality time at the lathe using his Ringmaster tool. Looks like he has lost any of his skills while away! These are some real beauties!! Check out more of his bowls in this post- We've also had a couple of questions posted this week. First comes from @smitty10101. Smitty is trying to match the headstock spindle to some of his accessories. Seems like his lathe had metric threads and he needs to adapt to Imperial threads. Please check out this post and offer any suggestions for sources- The second question came from @Jlockard1 and was posted in a thread started by @Ron Altier on stainless steel measuring cup kits. Jamie found the quality of the PSI cups less than satisfactory due to poor quality of the welds. He wondered if anyone could provide a source for a better quality kit. He explains in his post to Ron's thread- If you know of a source, please give him a heads up. What’s Coming Up- If you missed Cindy's live hollowing presentation, using Lyle Jamieson's equipment, she posted it to YouTube- From the AAW, Todd Raines will have an lesson on turning candlesticks. Looks like these will make super Christmas presents- For registration- https://community.woodturner.org/events/event-description?CalendarEventKey=4c1e49a4-b327-419c-8977-83da01e77a45&Home=%2fevents%2fmanage-events&_zs=ceDib&_zl=npbJ3 Picked this up from social media. Our very generous sponsor, Easy Wood Tools, is helping out with the Small Turning Expo! Registration and more information from this link- https://www.accelevents.com/e/mpg-small-turning-expo For The Newbies- Looking for some ideas for Christmas gifts? Christmas ornaments might just be the ticket! From Alan Stratton- Burls (burrs) can be used to create some gorgeous turnings. Mike Peace has posted a video covering some of the information to help you get started- Picked this up from Ron Brown's Newsletter- "The Divot – A Turner’s Secret Weapon Def: a small dent: a small depression or hollow Some things are intuitive and just obvious, but the importance of the divot was not one of them for me. I had been turning for quite a while before Chris Stott, a well-known English turner looked at me with amazement and asked, “Why don’t you leave the divot?” Chris was spending a week with me during one of his annual summer trips to America. He is the author of “Turned Lidded Boxes – 50 designs”. That book became a springboard for my turning career because it laid the foundation for so many basic skills one needs as a turner. Chris is the same professional turner who asked me on the second day if we were friends yet. I said yes and he replied, “Everything you are doing is wrong!” Let’s learn the right way. And so it began. Chris explained how incredibly handy leaving a divot until the last possible moment could be with all sorts of projects. Bowls, plates, platters, hollow forms, etc. When you turn the tenon on the bottom and form the outside, make a divot in the very center of the tenon and leave it there for now. During the last step, cleaning up the bottom and removing the tenon, the divot will act as an easy center-locating device. No matter what device you use to grip your project for the last step, using the divot and a cone center in the tailstock will help you perfectly re-center it quickly and easily. This applies to Longworth-style chucks, doughnut chucks, friction chucks, all kinds of jamb chucks both internal and external, Cole jaws, Nova chuck jaws, and vacuum chucks. Spindle turnings – turned lidded boxes, acorns, Christmas ornament globes, spheres, etc. For spindle-turned projects that require you to turn them end-for-end to work on what was the headstock end, a divot can be incredibly useful for quickly aligning it to run concentrically when you turn it around. As an example, let’s consider any small turned-lidded box project. There are two pieces to plan for: the base and the lid. Both will need to be flipped end-for-end, once to finish the inside and once to finish the outside. A divot speeds up this process immensely rather than the old turn and tap method. My turning life got much less difficult when Chris taught me this simple trick. Just as a divot helps us keep our turning work centered, our faith in the One who holds our tomorrow helps keep us centered when our day-to-day world tries to get out of alignment. For that kind of divot, I use my daily guide for living. Remember that wherever you go, there you are." Expand Your Horizons- These videos are from the AAW and provide maybe a little more information than you ever wanted to know about spalting. New Turning Items- Niles Bottle Stoppers has a new stopper design. These can really help focus on the stopper tops you design. Check them out at- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/ss-7000-bottle-stopper/ Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning
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I posted this in a separate listing in the Turner's Forum earlier this week but am adding it here to help spread the word. During SWAT, our most generous sponsor- Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) donated the profits from a special T-Shirt sale to the Vetsturn program provided by ToolMetrix. The Vetsturn program is looking for 8 additional qualified veterans to participate in their next session. They have posted this YouTube video with the information and additional details. Please watch this video at the YouTube site and check out the links provided for additional information and links. In addition, the following link will take you to an article in The Woodworker's Journal detailing the program- https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/vetsturn-helping-heal-ptsd-through-turning/ Our Patriot Turners- @HandyDan was kind enough to create a detailed how-to on his baby rattles. The complete steps are here- Thanks, Dan! @forty_caliber worked on rough turning some pecan bowl blanks. These surely have some gorgeous grain- More about each one can be found in these posts- "Forty" also posted a picture of some bowl blanks from which he is going to turn presents for his Mrs. The blanks are from Cook Woods- Check out his post for more about the species. @aaronc posted images of some maple limbs he cut and set aside for turning. The dark and contrasting light colors should make for some fantastic turnings. Check out his post at- @Steve Krumanaker started a large platter on which he will perform his pyrography magic! In his post, Steve shows us a bit his plan for the design- What’s Coming Up- Last week we mentioned the 2022 Christmas ornament contest was about to start. Here's the video with all of the necessary information- For The Newbies- The screw chuck is often overlooked as a method of holding pieces on the lathe. In these two Richard Raffan videos, he demonstrates using this method for several types of turnings Expand Your Horizons- Picked this up from the AAW. Using the beading tool to create some nice designs- Last week we posted a video from Alan Stratton where he turned a vase from OSB. He has since improved the end results by stabilizing the material. Bird house turnings make fine Christmas ornaments. With the ornament contest just starting, this video from Mike Peace may give you some ideas for an entry- New Turning Items- Woodturners Wonders has a sale on lights- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/weekly-sale Everything Else- Whether you are doing an IRD, in-person demo or instructional video, these are some great tips from Ron Brown. Copied and pasted from Mr. Brown's newsletter: Start At The End That sounds backward. There is a very famous quote from Napoleon Hill, “What the mind can conceive, it can achieve.” Scripture tells us that “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” If you will take the time to see the end, the finished project, and the final result before you ever begin, all you have to do is figure out how to get there from here. If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll get there every time, and all too often, you won’t like where you ended up. In this age of YouTube, Vimeo, and TikTok videos, it aggravates me to no end when folks present a video of them making something. They start at the beginning without any preview of the finished project. You most often have no inkling of even what they are making until almost the very end. And about 90% of the time, it was something I had no interest in viewing. My plea, especially in this age of hybrid meetings including Zoom, is to begin at the end. Have examples of the finished project, or at least illustrations so folks know where you are going. Then show them how you get there. Your presentations will be much more effective when your audience knows where you expect to end up. That approach also keeps you focused on the end result of your process. As an example, let us use something as simple as turning a natural edge bowl from green wood. It could even be a limb or a branch. 1. Show a finished natural edge bowl so folks know what you are talking about. 2. Begin with a half log with the bark still attached. 3. Mount the blank in the lathe between centers with the bark side toward the headstock. 4. Bring up the live center and shape the outside of the bowl including a tenon at the tailstock end. Be sure to leave a divot in the center of the tenon. You will need it later. 5. Sand and finish everything but the tenon. 6. Turn the blank around and mount it in a 4-jaw chuck. 7. Remove the inside and turn the walls to final thickness leaving the bark attached. 8. Use a jamb chuck to press against the inside of the bowl and turn it around with the tenon toward the tailstock. 9. Use the divot you created in the center of the tenon. Place the point of your live center in the divot and lock the bowl against the jamb chuck. 10. Carefully shape, or remove, the tenon down to a small nub and finish the outside of your bowl. 11. Remove the bowl from the lathe and finish the nub by hand. 12. Since the blank was green, it will go oval. Expect it, celebrate it, love it. 13. You can leave the bowl unfinished, but my preference is to apply a few coats of Walnut Oil finish. You began by showing folks a finished Natural Edge Bowl so they knew what it should look like. Then you executed all of the steps to make one before their very eyes. When you finished, they knew what to expect and how they can do it themselves. You are a master!!! You may have been the most effective demonstrator they ever saw. Follow this recipe and you will have great success every time. Remember that wherever you go, there you are. Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning
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and thought if any one is thinking of wanting bird houses up in the air then this is great if you can weld. This type of set up makes cleaning and repairing the bird houses very easy to bring them down to the ground for maintenance instead of falling off a ladder like you might do. These are oil field pipe which is 1/4" thickness walls of both the 2 3/8" and also the 3 1/2" walls which is the common sizes and very useful for a welder for everything I have here except the house was made with oil field pipe as the back bones of my dock, the dock walkways, the garage, the shop and the three decks around the house is all pipe as the starting points. The break over pole is about 20 foot long. You can see the bolt in the middle of the smaller pipe and an extra pipe has been added down at the bottom of the swinging pipe to offset the weight of the platform and the bird houses on the top so when ready to lower the houses to the ground simply take out the bolt through the pipe down at the bottom after you have attached a rope to that end so you can gently let out some rope till the houses touch the ground. I had installed a large I beam on top of the retaining wall when we first moved herea few feet back from the water and this is what I welded the shorter large pipe to for the foundation of said breakover set up...
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Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. Not sure if that's good or bad news. Seems like winter has been wasted around here. When it's cold there's no precipitation. It warms up and then we get rain. Our Patriot Turners- Our resident ornament master is at it again. @Ron Altier posted some things he created from just scrap pieces. Ron sure has an eye for design- Check out his post for additional details and some of the comments left by our members- @Steve Krumanaker picked up some elm from his son. Steve turned some lovely bowls. As always, he adds his personal touch to the bottoms- Steve showed us more images in his post- Steve also found a way to keep busy when it was too cold to work outside In his post, Steve explains how he attaches the removable roof @Bundoman Has been teaching his daughter about turning. Looks she is a natural and has created several imaginative pieces- Head on over to this post to see what he and his daughter have made- @Gerald decided to try his had at making a scoop shown in a video from last week's post- You can check out what he said here- What’s Coming Up- Click on the image for the link to more information- For The Newbies- A couple of turning safety videos from Mike Peace- I recently saw another turner use this method of reverse chucking a roughed out bowl to finish turning. Here's Richard Raffan showing us who it's done- Wondering how to dry that wet wood turning? Tim Yoder tries a different way. Check out Tim's use of those Easy Wood Tools! ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) Expand Your Horizons- The Woodturners Worldwide Online Symposium offered many interesting presentations. This one from Cindy Drozda on turning a sphere- Mike Peace has a 2 part video on embellishment and embellishing tools. These were made available through the AAW. Richard Raffan turns a beautiful wide rim dish- Alan Stratton continues his series on offset turning. The beginning of this video describes the modifications he made to his original shop made jig- New Turning Items- From Turners Warehouse for the pen turner (click on the image for the link)- Package deal for bowl turners from Woodturners Wonders (click on the image)- Craft Supplies USA has some new kitchenware items (click the image) Ruth Nile has Penn State Pizza Cutters back in stock! Check Ruth's site- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/pizza-cutter-2/ This past weekend was the on-line symposium from Woodturners Worldwide. Cindy Drozda did an informative presentation on live tail stock centers. Although these are not new, it should provide guidance for those in the market for one- Everything Else- From the AAW, a tribute to Stephen Hogbin- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning and stay well
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Our annual Adopt A Wounded Warrior campaign is going gangbusters! We are at about the 3/4 point in our goal. If you haven't made your pledge, please consider doing so in the next week. That gives our "Santa" a chance to do the necessary shopping to fulfill the Christmas wishes. Our Patriot Turners- Over the weekend, @forty_caliber posted one of his pecan bowl turnings. He added copper enhancements as a way to fill some voids. His post turned out to be one of the best conversations we have had in a long time, here in the Turner's Forum. I think you will find a lot of great comments that pertain not only to turning but also to creative thinking for any project. Another topic that crosses over from one forum to another was posted in the General Woodworking forum by @Gene Howe. Gene asked about our favorite wood species with which to work. Lots of great content and some super images. One of the images- @Bob Hodge is considering upgrading his lathe. His primary turning projects will be larger bowls, platters and hollow vessels. Bob asked the forum's thoughts on what might be a good lathe for his upgrade. Check out his post, our members comments and see if you can provide some input- Bob also took the time to share a couple of jewelry towers he has made. These would make excellent gifts for any wife or girlfriend (or both) who has a lot of bling! @Gerald updated us on the progress on some commissioned bowls. Looks like they are about ready to ship! Gerald also posed a question to the group asking if anyone had ever turned a full sized "Nut Cracker" soldier. None of members could really offer much in the way of useful information (although lots of wisecracks were offered up). If you have done this, or know someone that has, maybe you could help Gerald- @Ron Altier has been busy cranking out projects. The first one he showed us was some fantastic earrings. Ron has the awesome ability to combine the most gorgeous wood combinations- Ron also posted a new ornament he just finished! And speaking of ornaments, @Steve Krumanaker has made a bunch of birdhouses, Some of these are a new design for Steve and they are fantastic! He received lots of great comments and he offered additional information about how he makes the little birds. @Masonsailor is starting on his Christmas presents- I think I should take the hint! What’s Coming Up- If you are quick- Lyle Jamieson has an IRD, tomorrow (Thursday December 9, 2021), on turning natural edge, hollow forms. https://lylejamieson.com/product/december-9-2021700-930pm-eastern-time-thursday-natural-edge-hollow-form/ https://woodturningtoolstore.com/event/woodturners-retreat-six-turners-live-12-turnings-of-christmas/ For The Newbies- Hand made toys are always a treat for the little ones and with Christmas fast approaching this is a timely video from the AAW- We must be cautious when creating these, especially for those who might be thinking about chewing on the toys. The AAW has a short article with guidelines and some embedded links to more information- https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/Resources/Safety-Materials/Safety--Turning-Safe-Toys.aspx?_zs=ceDib&_zl=k8mr2 Lyle Jamieson has some tips on lathe speed- Expand Your Horizons- A live edge bowl from "Turn A Wood Bowl" Richard turning a little bowl. Just nice to watch his skills- New Turning Items- Craft Supplies USA has ornament kits available. A short video showing some of the products and turning a snowman. https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/t/62/Ornaments?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=videos Ruth Niles has a new bottle stopper design. It is functional as a stopper as well as being able to show off the stopper top- Check it out at Ruth's site- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/ss-1000/ Everything Else- Rick Turns list of last week's woodturning videos on YouTube-
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I will tell you up front. I stole this idea. I belong to a turning group on mewe and one of the turners there posted pictures of some birdhouse ornaments. They were stunning with a really different roof and a superb glossy finish. Anyway, I knew I had to try and figure out the look. It took me a couple attempts before I realized, the roof is nothing more than a very small natural edge bowl, almost. This is my first successful attempt, rough, with no finish but it's definitely a look I'll explore further, probably next Christmas season, good Lord willing. The body is from a small sycamore limb and the roof is the same of mulberry. Both are essentially still green so it will be interesting to see how it warps or destroys itself!
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Added some little birds to a few of the birdhouse ornaments. They are quick and fun to turn but gluing them up and on is kind of tedius.
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Beautiful day here in south central Pennsylvania. Got my garlic planted and the leaves raked. Our Patriot Turners- @PostalTom added this to the general woodworking forum but it applies to turners, too. We all use glue! Thaks, Tom for a great discussion. Although he was away for a while, @Steve Krumanaker hasn't lost a bit of his turning talents. Steve gave us a peek at his birdhouse ornaments- He also posted one of his segmented birdhouses Please check out both his posts and give him your comments! @FrederickH posted an update on the African Blackwood Spill Vase. You may recall he originally wasn't too pleased with the color. After some time, the color has changed. Rick tells us more about it in this entry on his post- What’s Coming Up- In case you missed it, the David Ellsworth natural edge bowl demo is still available- Click on the above image for more details. Woodcraft is looking for volunteers for their turn pens for our troops. If you live near a Woodcraft store, you can participate at the store. You can also turn a pen at home a get it to the store. Woodcraft will give you a pen kit for each one you turn. It's a win-win all the way around! More information is available here- https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/woodcraft-seeks-volunteers-to-turn-pens-for-troops?fbclid=IwAR35Fn82vh63TcyeLqoO-nDXvWQbXAnC2D6kmfM9Ed-6OKUe0ku3PxKkq40# For The Newbies- Last week we included a short video from Lyle Jamieson on turning speed. Here's another author discussing the same subject- Sam Angelo put together a video describing how and when to use certain turning tools. Looking for a nice gift idea? The patterns are free and available from- https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/turned-spatula-and-spoon-pattern/ Expand Your Horizons- Carl Jacobson turned a large hollow vase. Notice the use of some of the recently available Easy Wood Tools @Jim from Easy Wood Tools . The new parting tool and the new larger hollowing tools. All are available at the Easy Wood Tools website. Mike Peace has a video demonstrating a bandsaw jig for processing logs. If you've ever tried to feed a round log through your bandsaw and had it grab, you'll appreciate this jig- New Turning Items- Looking for a new lathe? I have just the thing! If you use CBN wheels on your grinder, Ken Rizza (Woodturners Wonders) has a product that may help you extend the life of the wheel- While you are checking out the Slick Stick, look at their Outlet Products- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/outlet-products Ruth Niles has a new stopper specifically made for larger openings- Check out her website for more details- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/cosmopolitan-ss-1000/ Everything Else- One turner we feature here often is Tim Yoder. Well Tim has some really big news! Looks like we will beeing lots more of his tremendous videos! Rick Turns list of Youtube turning videos from last week- I haven't had much time to be in the shop these last couple of week and when I did get there it was not all pleasant. As I mentioned before, I've been experimenting with soap/water soak on rough turned bowls. For the most part, the results have been very positive as far as cracking/splitting during the drying process. I'm also very please with the small amount of warping taking place. I made a bunch of small cherry test bowls. These were between 5" and 6" in diameter. After they reached moisture equilibrium I checked the roundness. The red circle is a tracing of the bowl opening and the pencil circle was drawn with a compass. Slightly warped but not much. Unfortunately, these two bowls had other ideas about what they were going to do- The one on the right may be salvageable with some sort of a creative embellishment. Before all this happened, I was have great fun with the finishing cuts on the outside of the bowls. I was comparing the the finish left from a freshly sharpened bowl gouge- using a shear scraping cut and a new carbide cutter on my full sized Easy Wood Tools finisher. Easy Wood Cutter- Bowl Gouge Pretty similar. Safe turning and stay well
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I have made dozens of segmented plywood Christmas globes for ornaments but had never done a birdhouse ornament with segmented plywood. I like the idea but this one is a little clunky I think. Will have to explore this further!!
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Some one mentioned maybe doing this to their poles. I originally built the tall pole for just one bird house but then I decided to add another house and a larger platform. So to offset the extra weight at the top I added the extra pipe on to the bottom of the swing away pole. You have to experiment with the right balance. To work right the top has to be just a little heavier than the bottom . I welded two flat pieces to the bottom of the both poles with holes lining up for a bolt to tie the bottom ends together when in position..To get the houses down, tie a rope on to the bottom of the swinging pole, remove the bolt and have one person pushing the pole out while you stand back holding the rope. Start pushing the pole out and hang on to the rope. To work right you should feel pressure but not enough to be uncomfortable doing it. There is a bolt welded to the pivot point sticking through a hole in the other pipe with a spacer welded in the middle ..I think I used a 5/8" bolt and nut. Now I have to trim some limbs on the two trees before it will come down far enough to get the houses all the way to the ground. These houses have been up 17 years and are of metal so only thing a person has to do is let them down and clean them. Wood houses don't last very long and are not worth anything outside... You can buy a little metal break from HF for the bending or like I did for a long time, use two 2 x4"s clamped together for a break. I do use a wood bottom of the houses and I do cup out the wood of each house so the eggs will stay in the middle of each house. Martins only use a very few big sticks so this helps.. The book I read said to bury the wood for a good time to be used to remove any odors that might be too stout for the birds. Martins like metal houses and they won't use one if it has any odors in the wood.. Close to water, up high and have clear falling areas for the young birds coming out of the houses... for their learning to fly....And I do keep the limbs cleared in the drop zone. Its also better to keep the houses covered so other birds can't use them then when the black males show up in the spring they will stay around for a week or so then un cover the houses. The males will leave and go back to where they spend the winter and get the females and here they come back.. They will use the same houses each year. Swallows will stay twice as long as Martins. Martins go south in the middle of summer where the swallows stay until in the early part of winter then leave. The swallows we have will not use bird houses of any kind.. They make their own nest under our dock roof and make all kinds of poop on the walk ways.. That's okay for the amount of insects they eat in my way of thinking is worth it.. All the books I have read says all it takes for people to attract Martins is lots of trees and a body of water close by. The trees will have insects. They like to be next to water. I have 8, 8 room metal houses and most don't have the cupple out wood floors. I got lazy there for a while. It is important to keep the houses covered or where the birds can't get in and only open them when the martins around.. or else sparrows and eastern starlings will take over.. and then the martins will fight the other birds all the way to the ground and still be fighting...
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Howdy yall,been awhile since I have been alot has happened,Lost my Father this June,but had a great Military service for him,,I have been doin some work in the shop,added a new edition to it but still need more room lol,have been making a few things,will post them,am trying the Pallet road right now,hoping yall will like them
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Dad couldn't make it to our Thanksgiving dinner, he was feeling under the weather and the drive down the mountain would have been a tad precarious, as he was feeling dizzy from the medications he's on. So we told him not to fret, we'll bring him some Thanksgiving the next day. My wife packed up a nice care package of food for him, and my son and I headed up the mountain with his food. We like going up there, it's the mountains. I thought I'd share with you all my Dad's place, it's a neat home, situated up on a ridge over looking some wonderful scenery. Dad showed us some of the bird houses he's been working on. These are his creations that he will sell locally at the gift shops and to individuals as well. Here is pops, with my son, his grandson. Dad lives a nice no nonsense life, he's been a bachelor for about 45 years, he doesn't have much room for the frilly stuff, he uses that stove to heat his home, and when the electricity goes out, he'll put a pot of stew up on that old stove. Since his appliances are all electrical, when the power goes out, it's the stove! He has some birdhouses sitting on the side waiting to be painted, he paints them in his home where it's nice and warm. Don't worry, the stove aint on right now, the paint is fine! Here is a view from the front of his home. This is looking out the window at the stove area. He has birdhouses all over his property, he built this wind screen a few years back and put a bird house atop it. By the way, the dog is Suzy, his Beagle, best friend, and profound varmint hunter. Dad standing in front of the shop he and I built back in 2005. This is where he'll hang most of the day, building, inventing, and just staying out of trouble. This day, I have never seen his shop look so clean, he typically has about a half foot of shavings and dust on the floor. Here's a shot of his cutoff table and general work bench. An ol Unisaw we picked up at a garage sale, and we outfitted it with a Biesmeyer. His assembly table for the birdhouse and other crafts and woodworking. His ol Delta scroll saw. Old Craftsman band saw, I gotta tell ya guys, this ol saw has a ton of features on it, I can't name them right now, but I remember there were just some really cool things going on with this old saw. Another shot of his work bench and wall. He uses this PC belt sander to shape and smooth edges with. Here is a neat view looking out of his shop to the front. Dad's home, an ol single wide built in the 60's. We've had a ton of fun, in this old home. My dad and I lived in a trailer a third of the size of this one throughout my teens up to the point I joined the Army. After I ETS'd out of the Army, I returned to live for a while longer in our trailer till I was steadily on my feet. Dad was and is always there for me. Some more of his birdhouses. These stairs he made from leftovers he found around the neighborhood, they get us down to the lower level of his property. My dad does things like this, he'll build for minimum needs, and it works! He is a true minimalist. Here is a nice image of his home, with the shop. A couple more birdhouses he built Thanks for following along my pictorial of my dad's place and his shop. There isn't much he can't do. He's from the old school of thought, and I love him dearly for it. His philosophy is "use only what I need, nothing more nothing less". I have seen him stretch a pot of stew over 5 days, and make a 20 dollar bill last a week. He was raised on the farm in New York and his family later moved into the city of Aurora ILL. where his dad blue-collared a life. My dad served in the Navy, he was a corpsman stationed in San Diego's Balboa Medical Hospital in the late 50's. He's just a great ol soul, I love him.
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Last week I wrote that I had cut and drilled a piece into a precise form only to drop it one the cement floor. I'm sure there are still some pieces there. I looked at the two larger pieces and tried to come up with a way I could still use it. It wasn't happening, until I saw Steve's bird house ornaments. It seemed that each step resulted in a failure of some king. I kept at it, not wanting to admit defeat. So here is the bird house ornament that resulted from so many failures. It has a lot of problems, but I don't dare to so any more with it. It is like a jinx
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It will be a couple weeks before I can turn anything new but Christmas is coming!! Time to start turning ornaments! Here's a few from last year. . .
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