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So maybe my load of bargain wood wasn't such a bargain after all. Here's what happened, I mounted a small block to turn a bowl. Nothing fancy, this was my attempt to rough one out and let it dry a little. Anyway, after shaping the outside I turned it around to work on the inside...then it sat on the lathe for a few days (3) while I took care of life's necessities. So I come back to do some more work on it and these cracks appeared on the outside. There is another set much like this 180 degrees on the other side. So, is this something that just happens sometimes? I was able to stick a feeler gauge blade into one and it's about 3/8" deep. Now, this is just a practice piece so I haven't lost anything but I'm curious if I'll face this with a lot of the chucks I bought.
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ONE DAY LEEFT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald started a new topic for our turners! I hope we can make this one as popular as the one @RustyFN started for showing what's on our lathes! So far we've had two members add items. Let's make this topic sail to the "Most Posts" list! Our other continuing topic of "What's On Your Lathe" also had activity! @RustyFN and @forty_caliber both added some of what they are working on! Check out this post for more images! @forty_caliber also posted a nice little "catch-all" bowl. I think these bowls are so useful. Not too large to take up a lot of space but large enough to hold most small items. Great for pocket dumps! See more images here- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration Well, it happened last week, but if you missed it, Cindy has posted the video- For The Newbies- How fast should I turn is a question we often hear. There really isn't a hard and fast rule. Ron Brown has some thoughts in this video "short"- Mortice or tenon to attach the bowl to the lathe. Ask 10 woodturners and you'll probably get at least 15 different answers. My personal choice in a recess and use it to incorporate the foot. Here's what Kent Weakley thinks about it- Of course, if you don't have a chuck, there are other ways to attach a bowl blank to the lathe. Sam Angelo shares his thoughts on some methods of securing that blank- Expand Your Horizons- It's just past the first of the month and the videos from "4 Ways" is available. This month Richard Raffan, Tomislav Tomasic, Sam Angelo and Mike peace each turn their version of a natural edge bowl. Tim Yoder turns a beautiful Flame Elder platter. He eve uses some of his Easy Wood Tools in the process! It is not too soon to start thinking about making Christmas ornaments. Alan Stratton creates one that is out of this world! Craft Supplies USA has an idea for something that the ladies in your life might enjoy- New Turning Items- Ron Brown has a new Ladle Chuck System- Safe turning
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Just 2 weeks left is our fundraising drive. Please consider donating and taking a chance on wining one of our sponsors' awesome prizes! Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker continues to supply his unique turnings for a local "Bee" business- Steve's post has more images of some of the custom things he makes! @RustyFN scored some Bradford pear and showed us his blank preparation. Looks like some awesome bowls in his future Check out Rust's post- @Gerald has been busy replenishing his craft show stock- Check out his post to see what these are! @PostalTom updated us on the chess set he made. Tom included a closeup of the turned chess pieces, in his post Tom also posted some kitchen utensil items in our "What's On Your Workbench" forum- Our "What's On Your Lathe" continues to showcase our turners' projects! @nevinc, @forty_caliber and @Gerald all shared images of what's happening What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links- For The Newbies- A variety of topics from around the web- From Tim Yoder, a couple of short video tips- From Mike Waldt, help for using my old nemesis- the Skew! This is a live demo so it is really long- Have you ever tried to cut a round blank on the bandsaw? Not a bowl blank, but rather an end off of a cylinder shape. If not secured properly, the blade can grab the piece and even break the blade. Mike Peace cautions about this and shares a video on making it safer. Expand Your Horizons- Craft Supplies USA created a video demonstrating the use of the Easy Core One Way Coring System. This is a rather long video but does demonstrate using the system. In the description, the presentation is broken down so the viewer can select sections to view. We've noticed several discussions about finishing, on other Patriot forums, and the subject of shellac pops up frequently. This link, from Kent Weakley, is to an article on making and using shellac as a bowl finish. https://turnawoodbowl.com/make-shellac-wood-bowl-finish/ I think everyone here knows my love of carbide turning tools. @smitty10101 posted about using Easy Wood Tools ( @Jordan Martindale ) to turn a bowl. The video is from Craft Supplies USA New Turning Items- Ron Brown has been creating and posting videos, on his YouTube channel, discussing his hollowing stabilizer. You can check them out at- https://www.youtube.com/@Ronbrownsbest/videos With SWAT happening this weekend, there will probably be some new products shown. Be sure to check out the Vendor showcase listed above for live feeds of some of the products. Everything Else- From Ron Brown's Newsletter, something I think we all have struggled with from time to time- What Is It Worth? I’ve had lots of questions about pricing one or two special pieces. For the vast majority of woodturners, it is a hobby, they never intend to sell anything they make. Some folks are interested in turning as a side gig but have no idea how to price their work. As someone who has experience in just about every conceivable selling venue, I would like to pass along what I have learned. Any object is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. When I’m considering how to price anything I’ve made or plan on making, there is a formula I use: Cost of material + Time @ desired labor rate = Hard Cost Hard Cost X 4 = Suggested Retail Selling Price Hard Cost X 2 = Wholesale Selling Price Average Market Price For Similar Items; Am I Close? This is only a starting point. Determine the “Market Price” for similar items depending on the selling venue, are you in the ballpark? The Market Price in an Arts & Crafts Gallery is very different from the Market Price at a street craft fair and those prices are different on Etsy, eBay, your own website, or Amazon. Don’t forget about the associated cost for each venue. The last measure is a selling price that I feel good about. In other words, it is a Win-Win; the customer is happy at that price and I was happy to make it for them. An absolute fact of life is that everybody loves a bargain. (See the scripture below). Your “Retail Price” should be some amount above the price you hope to sell it for. Every retail store on the planet understands this and so should you. If you are selling one-on-one, you can comfortably offer a deal if they take it now and still earn what you needed in the first place. If you are selling online, this is the perfect scenario for a sale with either free shipping or a percentage discount. You must also consider why you want to sell at least some of your work. Perhaps you want to fund additional tool purchases. In that case, forget the time you put in and consider the amount of profit dollars such a sale will contribute to your “new widget” fund. If the income is important as a supplement to other household income, it needs to be worth your time. If you are thinking of this as a main income stream, you need to maximize the return on your capital and your time and this will require counsel and careful consideration. Try to pick items that are fast, easy, and cheap to make that you can sell tons of i.e. pens, bottle stoppers, pepper mills, spinning tops, utility bowls, cutting boards, kitchen utensils, etc. The bottom line is complicated depending on your specific situation. Only you can make that determination. I recommend setting your initial asking price higher than you think you should. Often someone else thinks your widget is worth more than you do. You can always lower the asking price, but it is difficult to raise it. As I said before, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Here is a true quick story. I used to sell fancy laser-cut Christmas ornament kits and made finished samples for display at The Woodworking Shows. I got many inquiries from folks wanting to buy the finished ornaments that I really didn’t want to sell. I finally put a price of $150 on each one figuring that would stop all of the questions because nobody would pay that much for a Christmas Ornament. The first year we sold 12! Don’t sell yourself short Safe turning
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Got some Bradford pear from a friend. Got it all ready to rough turn.
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We are almost half way to our Ward 57 goal! If you haven't donated yet, please don't delay! Your donations will help the Forney family and get you entered into our raffle for some fantastic prizes! Our Patriot Turners- @Masonsailor has been cranking out a wide variety of Christmas presents. He showed us some of what he had started for last week's "Wednesday's...". Paul has added several more images of his turnings as a continuation to that post- Have a look at the other beautiful turnings Paul has completed! @forty_caliber has a bunch of turning blanks all sealed up and awaiting their turn on the lathe! Forty also showed us the results of a bowl he started a little while back. The color is fantastic! Check out where it all started- He also posted a quick update on a Pecan bowl he is roughing out. Really nice shape- @RustyFN posted his really neat bottle stopper turnings! There's gonna be some very happy folks at Christmas! Rusty got lots of great comments and answered some questions in this post- Rusty's Mrs. really keeps him busy cranking out presents (I know the feeling) and this one is a winner- Rusty explains more in his post- @PostalTom completed the chess set for his grandson. This will surely become a family heirloom. Tom explains there were a lot of "firsts" in this project- What’s Coming Up- Click on the image for more information- If I ever won the lottery, I know what I would spent some of it on- For The Newbies- Some sanding tips from Richard Raffan- Cute little turned characters from Mike Peace- Expand Your Horizons- Make a neat ornament and practice you thread chasing skills with this Mike Peace project- Looking for ways to enhance your turning designs? Alan Stratton has some thoughts- New Turning Items- The bronze threaded rings are now available from Niles Bottle Stoppers- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/threaded-inserts-for-urns/ Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning
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Drying Methods One By One- Bags, Boxes and Shavings
lew posted a blog entry in Bowl Drying Adventures
Bowl drying, without cracks, is accomplished by slowing down the escaping moisture until moisture equilibrium (emc) between the bowl and the ambient air is achieved. As a turner, we can improve the odds of successful drying- regardless of the method used- by assuring the roughed out blank walls have a consistent thickness and round over sharp corners/edges before starting the drying process. One of the earlier more successful methods of achieving slow drying was to surround the blank with a barrier to prevent the moisture from escaping too quickly. Various containers can be used as a barrier. Mostly we find paper grocery bags or cardboard boxes being used. In addition, the shavings from the blank turning process are packed around the rough blank to slow the drying and help absorb some of the escaping moisture. Blanks should be checked for mold and moisture as the process takes place. When the blanks have released the majority of their moisture, they can be removed from their container and placed on a shelf to reach final equilibrium. The storage are should be free from a lot of air movement and out of the sunlight to allow the blanks to dry evenly. Checking for moisture can be done with a moisture meter or with a kitchen/mailing scale. Using grams instead of ounces will provide a more accurate indication of moisture loss. If you are using a scale to check for moisture, when the weight of the blank remains constant, it is dry. For moisture meters, refer to the instructions to determine the moisture content. There are some turners who use plastic bags for the barrier. These bags do not transfer the released moisture into the surrounding air. Every few days, the bag should be opened, turned inside out and the moisture shaken off and then put the blank back into the bag. Shavings can be used to help absorb moisture. This video from Sam Angelo, WyomingWoodTurner, illustrates these methods- Tim Yoder mentions using a garbage bag in this video. He said this particular method was from Ron Fleming. This is just the segment of the video that deals with drying- One of the major drawback of this technique is the time involved. Depending on the size of the blanks, drying can take several months (or longer). Turners are inherently impatient people. Turning offers almost instant gratification for a project. Waiting for months to see a turning to fruition isn't something we enjoy. So, we will investigate other methods that promise faster, successful results and see how they stack up. Some of the terminology used throughout this blog can be found at this link- https://uwoodcraft.com/a-glossary-of-wood-drying-terms/ -
The Spoon Crank is a global initiative looking to bring together people who share a passion for spoon carving. Apart from giving the chance to the beginner spoon carver to learn from the experienced and talented carvers, we want to enable the physical connection with the masters of the craft through a physical object. The spoon blank. The spoon blank is the foundation of the wooden spoon. We want to give access to what we believe is essential for a new carver to grasp. We want to give easier access to the fundamental and underlying geometry of what to become a finished hand carved wooden spoon. Source....
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Check out this CraigsList add. Wood turners dream. https://youngstown.craigslist.org/grd/d/berlin-center-hardwood-block-firewood/7236001163.html
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I was starting to run out of exotic wood blanks and decided to go slightly out of isolation and visit Woodcraft. It was a chance to get out and it was a very nice day. There were more sales people there than customers. As I was walking thru, I saw acrylic bottle stopper blanks with some neat designs in them. I don't really like turning acrylics much, it creates such a huge mess of plastic strings everywhere on and near the lathe. I got 3 and a nice piece of figured cedar. It was so figured that the sale guy asked if I was sure I wanted it. I think he thought it would be weak and would break easily. The picture is the first turning. It came out OK. I think it does look Christmasy. (Sort of) I can get two ornaments out of one blank. It also seem to me that prices have gone up again on tools, etc. It was nice to get out and enjoy looking at woodworking things again.
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First Use of tung oil finish and the next three projects lined up
AndrewB posted a topic in Wood Turners
So I've used tung oil finish the Minwax tun oil brand.... for a finish. That of course is what Lowes had on hand and it was the least expensive. Either way this is the second application of the finish. I completely forgot about my buffing wheel so that will get some new life and new use.... Yes it's a harbor freight buffing wheel and it works quite well I just have to bolt it down to the bench. in the short run of things I also have the next three projects lined up after I finish the purple hearts. A myrtle wood blank a maple blank and a padauk blank. Thought Id never be working with that stuff again but I liked the orange coloring. Either way. I think even with the longer drying times of the tung oil I think I like it over the mineral oil. I know I shouldn't have used it on the exotic woods but its working. I'll probably be applying a 3rd coat after the second dries.
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Okay..... Seeing that Rockler was a Northwest company I figured Id have a look into their bowl blanks. I've ordered one to test out how well and how fast they ship and process orders. If they come through and are quick about it and in expensive for an order of 5 or 6 I'll order a bunch through them. The pre cut blanks put less work on myself in order to make sure its square. I ordered the 5x5x2 inch block of Walnut Claro. So that should make a nice little bowl. All I just have to do is make sure I center the faceplate correctly and then cut the tennon for the chuck the right way. This is the blank I ordered the other day https://www.rockler.com/walnut-claro-turning-blanks I've also got a hollowing chisel from Savannah tools on the way should be here either late today or tomorrow. So I look forward to receiving this bowl blank. We shall see how it works. Fortunately Rockler uses Amazon Pay so it makes things a lot easier to work with when ordering.
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Spent little time last few nights to come up with some wine bottle blanks.
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Had a interesting afternoon. Got some wood on shop floor stating to crack so had to do something. Decided on platters, yes it is big. This first in pecan is 15 inch. Had to split this one with saw and there was a bit of something slowing the cut which I discovered was two nails. One half will be maybe small bowls. This is the front and back of the pecan. Has some nice color. This is the bradford pear . A crotch with two junctions and flame and curl. Hope to finish this one tomorrow
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Time for another tip from Magnolia Woodturners . Many times the bandsaw will present problems on cutting blanks for the lathe so in this article are a few tips and how to to make that job easier and safer. http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_750.shtml
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got a couple huge hunks of wood a while back. Kept 'em in plastic. Turned one rough set aside to dry and the thing warped so badly that I am unsure that I have enough wood to take the warp out . I'm thinking of methods of re warping it back a little. Water hear band clamps an inner frame?? Any one tried doing this to save a blank?
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Does anybody here make their own acrylic blanks? I have been doing a lot of research on resin, molds, vacuum chambers and pressure pots.
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