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Past couple of days have been beautiful here in South Central PA. Too nice to even get into the shop. Fortunately, our turners have been busy. Our Patriot Turners- @Bob Hodge asked a question about a root ball he received. Please take a moment to check out Bob's post and see if you can offer any suggestions. @Gerald continues with his collection plate project. He showed us of his recent wood gathering expedition. Gerald also posed a question to our group about their ideas on using a reversing adapter to assist in truing up the bowl blank. If anyone can give him some ideas, I'm sure he will appreciate it. What’s Coming Up- The AAW Raleigh Woodturning Symposium is coming up soon! Click on the above image for the link to more information. For The Newbies- Cap't Eddie posted a nice little project that would be perfect for the seamstress in your life. The turning makes a nice transition project from spindle turning into small bowl turning. Expand Your Horizons- Mike peace has done a video on stabilizing wood. He takes us through the process and even some modifications of his vacuum chamber. Be sure to read the comments left by some of the viewers for additional useful information. New Turning Items- In the past, if you wanted to purchase the Yorkshire Grit/Hampshire Sheen products here in the states, there were very few sources. Spiracraft is now a distributor for these products. Brad McCalister, an Easy Wood Tools promoter, has his shop up and running! Check it out at- https://shop.spiracraft.com/product-category/wax-finishes-abrasive-pastes/ Everything Else- Living in the boonies, as I do, means a day trip to the nearest full-fledged woodworking store. A lot of purchases are made on line and often from Amazon. I use Amazon Smiles to support Home For Our Troops. I recently discovered that many of the more popular woodturners (YouTube turners) have their own Amazon "stores". If you make a purchase through their store portal, they receive a portion of the sale. If you use Amazon for your woodturning items, maybe consider helping them out. I'm sure there must be more but here's two- https://www.amazon.com/shop/thewoodshoptv https://www.amazon.com/shop/mikepeacewoodturning I posted this earlier as a separate item but in case you missed it, Easy Wood Tools are on sale from Craft Supplies USA. Check out the savings!! I'm sure @Jim from Easy Wood Tools will appreciate the business!!!!!!! http:// https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/t/131/Carbide-Insert-Turning-Tools?b=Easy-Wood-Tools&utm_source=csusa&utm_medium=email&utm_content=sale&utm_campaign=19-may-ewt The latest Woodturning OnLine newsletter is available at- https://www.woodturningonline.com/index.php?edition=052019 I found the first video interesting- Sometime back, I experimented with a similar idea- Alumilite and wood shavings. No pressure pot or vacuum chamber but it came out pretty cool. Safe turning

If you are hoping to get a great deal on those FANTASTIC Easy Wood Tools, here's your chance!! Don't miss out!!! https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/t/131/Carbide-Insert-Turning-Tools?b=Easy-Wood-Tools&utm_source=csusa&utm_medium=email&utm_content=sale&utm_campaign=19-may-ewt

Some interesting stuff happening this past week here with the Patriot turners! Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker turned a cowboy hat!!!!!!!!!!! He showed us some pictures and explained the process in his post. You gotta see this!!!!!!! @Mijohnson1984 showed us some really sweet mallet handles he turned. Lots of great comments were provided by our members. Read how he got the finish these- Matthew also asked for advice on storage of spalted wood. Several members provided him with their experiences and even a link to a video on the subject- @Artie asked a question concerning Easy Wood Tools. He is new to turning and inquired about where to purchase these them. Our members had lots of advice and information. As the discussion continued, it branched off to the area of safety equipment and this garnered even more comments from the group. What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to the registration/information page. Thanks to our friends at Easy Wood Tools for the heads up on this event. For The Newbies- Well, turning spindles can get old pretty fast (unless you try the Skew chisel and then it's always exciting). Here's a site that has lots of ideas for the new turner. Simple projects that make great gifts and will help develop your turning skills/experiences. http://www.stevefreemanonline.com/2017/01/wood-turning-projects-for-beginners/ Expand Your Horizons- I think @Steve Krumanaker has this one covered this week. Let's keep watching his post as he finishes up his cowboy hat! New Turning Items- Ruth Niles has introduced a new style bottle stopper. The "Cosmopolitan" series is available in both FDA grade stainless steel and brass. This product line has stoppers that fit both wine or whiskey bottles. Check out Ruth's site for these and all her great products- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/ Everything Else- A while back I mentioned reading about a procedure for preventing bowl blanks from warping/splitting/checking during the turning and drying process. Although it seems to fly in the face of common sense, part of the drying process in to soak the blank in a soap and water mixture. An acquaintance gave me two locust log pieces that had been recently harvested. Having had little success turning locust in the past, this seemed like an excellent opportunity to experiment. Within a day or two of picking up the logs, I converted them into round bowl blanks about 5" thick and a little over 10" in diameter. I coated the circumferences with TiteBond II. I got that idea from a Mike Peace video. It has been more successful in preventing cracks and splits that using latex paint. A couple of weeks went by before I had a chance to turn the blanks into bowls. In the meantime I scored a small dried cherry log section. So now I had two species to test. I turned the green locust blanks a couple of days apart. Turned each to the typical first turning dimensions with wall thickness of about 1/10 of the diameter. After turning, I put the rough blank in a solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid and water (1:6 ratio). The submerged blanks soaked for 3 days. At the end of the 3 days, I pulled the blanks and transferred them to paper bags of shavings where they stayed for 3 weeks. While I was waiting for the locust to hangout in the shavings, I started in on the cherry log. I turned it to a rough blank, put it in the solution for 3 days, pulled it and went straight back to the lathe. I was a little worried about the color change but very happy about the shape and absolutely no cracks. Mounting it on the lathe and starting the finish turning the true color of the cherry came back out- Completed the turning and sanded. Notice the shape. Virtually no warping! This piece is currently waiting a finish. Back to the locust. I pulled the first blank, from the shavings, on Saturday. I couldn't believe how much weight it had lost in only 21 days. Typically, 3 to 6 months are required to get to this point! The dark color, from the soak, had completely disappeared, too, and no warping!!! Bottom view of the recess for the chuck jaws. I stopped here but thought the walls could be a little thinner. This is about 1/4". Eventually the walls are turned to about 3/16". Bottom foot. Inside (with thinner walls). Here's where I messed up. When I turned the walls to the 1/4" thickness, I was called away and didn't get back to the lathe for a couple of days. During that time the bowl warped slightly so that during the final turning/sanding, the walls do not have a consistent thickness. I need to do the turning and sanding all at one then if there is any warping, it will not change the wall thicknesses. Beeswax and mineral oil finish. Safe turning

I missed putting this in the Wednesdays Wisdom... post. A chance to pick up the new Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) Micro Detailer from Woodcraft. You need to have a Facebook account to participate. A link to the facebook entry-

Starting with the bad news first- just 5 days left until your Income Taxes are due. Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker turned a bunch of garden dibbles as practice for a demo he was preparing for the turning club to which he belongs. Lots of comments and some questions about the project. Steve also followed up on how the demonstration went. See Steve's entire post at- @Ron Altier created more ornament magic with the colored plywood. He certainly is the master of these items- Ron explains his turning at- @Gerald continues to refine the offering plates he has been commissioned to create. He added to his post showing us the color and additional aspects of the project- Check out the updates here- Gerald also posted a nifty tip about filling holes in a turning. It is in our Turning Tips section. If you have a tip to offer or readers, please be sure to post it! What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to more information and registration. For The Newbies- Looking for a project that will make a nice gift and help you explore several woodturning techniques? Mike Peace posted a "how-to" video for making a screwdriver. He shows us a couple of ways to get the hardware- If you are a little more advance, or just want to see some techniques that may be new to you, David Marks' video on bowl turning techniques may fill the bill- Expand Your Horizons- In the patriot Woodworking forum, there has been an ongoing thread about creating an "old barnwood" finish. Sandblasting was mentioned as a possible method. Well, Tim Yoder uses sandblasting as a way to embellish a turning- making it look very old and weathered. This is a 2 part video set. Part 2 is linked from Tim's channel- New Turning Items- Recently, Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) released their new negative rake cutters for all of their turning tools. Designed for the turners who work primarily with resins and acrylics; these cutters also work awesomely on hardwoods. If you haven't tried them, you owe it to yourself to check them out. Carl Jacobson recently posted a video showing these cutters in action- Sometimes you just need a light in places where your light doesn't fit or you need that third hand to hold the light. Cindy Drozda has just the thing. A miniature, magnetized LED lamp- Specifications and ordering information is available on Ms. Drozda's site- http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/Microlight.html Everything Else- Rick Turns has put up the YouTube list of March woodturning video. This is a tremendous amount of work for Rick. If you check these out, PLEASE leave a comment for Rick- The April issue of the Woodturning OnLine newsletter is available. Check out the first video on creating a "half twist" bowl. It's really neat! https://www.woodturningonline.com/index.php?edition=042019 I did finally get a chance to finish up a couple of turnings and to do a little more Easy Wood Tools practice. The elm hollow vessel finally finished. I think I kept the Starbond company in business with the amount of CA used to keep this thing together- I was gifted some wood from an acquaintance whose father passed away. One of the smaller pieces was "Sweet Gum". This was my first experience with this wood. It was easy to turn and sand. This particular piece was a little punky- A little more finial practice. Just turned, no sanding. Maple- you gotta love those EWT negative rake cutters- Safe turning

Another lovely day here south central Pennsylvania. Maybe spring is on the way! Our Patriot Turners- Member @Bob Hodge asked us how we store our sanding supplies. Several members offered some suggestions. Please check out Bob's post and let him know what you do- Bob also asked for input on a lathe purchase. Specifically, our thoughts on belt driven vs. electronic speed controls. There were several opinions offered on what to look for and why. In the thread, @Artie expanded the question to include some advice on turning tools. The consensus seemed to be that Artie consider Easy Wood Tools because of their easy to learn/use and no sharpening required. Please head over to the post and see if you can add additional information- @Gerald added more information to his post on the Offering Plates he is prototyping. @Ron Altier did repair on one of his beautiful ornaments. Judging from the picture, you would never have known it was damaged! Ron explains what he did in this post- Our own @Steve Krumanaker is becoming quite the YouTube star! Here is a video he recently posted showing us a shop made "slip drive". Please leave your comments on his YouTube channel! It takes a tremendous amount of work to produce a video like this. Show Steve you appreciate what he has done- What’s Coming Up- The Mid Atlantic Woodturning Symposium will be coming up later this year. lick on the above image for the link to the symposium's site and registration information. For The Newbies- A couple of weeks ago we posted a link to the most recent issue of the Woodworker's Journal Turning Magazine. One of the videos, by Ernie Conover, was how to drill holes on the lathe. For those who missed it, here is the video. Lots of great tips and techniques- Here is a continuation of sharpening techniques, by Carl Jacobson. This video explains the use of additional jigs. Remember- EASY WOOD TOOLS never need sharpening (Big Grin)!!! Expand Your Horizons- I turn a bowl or vase and am pleased with the results. Maybe it is a little neanderthal, but I'm learning. Tim Yoder shares the work of Ron Fleming- abilities I can only dream of- New Turning Items- Lyle Jamieson is offering a new "Jumbo Bar" for his hollowing system. Here is the link to Mr. Jamieson's site and the system information- https://lylejamieson.com/shop/ Everything Else- Well, the rough turned locust bowl blank came out of the water/soap solution, after 3 days. No cracks, no warping. It is now resting is a paper bag/shaving environment. I turned a second blank (10" diameter, 4" tall and about 1" thick) soaked 3 days and it is also in a bag full of shavings. In about 3 weeks we will see if the experiment is a success. Safe turning

Just a reminder, Friday March 29th is Vietnam Veterans Day Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald is turning one of his beautifully colored bowls for a present. He received lots of positive comments on the project. Check out his post on the turning- @RustyFN was also in the bowl turning mode! He showed us his latest beauty- a large maple bowl Lots of positive feedback on this one, too! Head on over to Rusty's post and let him know how much you appreciate his work- Member @Big B posted images of a hollow form he recently turned. The wood is Camphor. There are more images of this spectacular piece in the gallery. Please check it out and leave your comments for Brian. In last weeks "Wednesday's Wisdom..." @Woodbutcherbynight showed us a new gobblet he is working on- Check out what he said about this turning- What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to the show's website and registration information. For The Newbies- As much as we'd like to believe that everyone of our turners use Easy Wood Carbide Tools, we know that most new turners start with a second hand set of traditional turning tools. Even us Easy Wood Tools users have a few HSS tools around! Traditional tools require sharpening (one of the disadvantages- hint, hint ). Carl Jacobson posted a nice video on sharpening, including some jigs and tips. Notice the CBN wheel on Carl's grinder. The folks at Woodturners Wonders have some excellent prices on these wheels- https://woodturnerswonders.com/ Expand Your Horizons- @Gerald gave us a heads-up on an awesome turning site. There is something there for everyone- tips, techniques, projects, tool making, jig making and more!!! Bookmark this site for future reference!! http://aroundthewoods.com/ New Turning Items- Ruth Niles has a Meat Tenderizers set. They are made of FDA food grade 304 18-8 stainless steel and are made in America. More information about this set is at Ruth's site- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/tenderizer-set/ Everything Else- To paraphrase "The Carpenters"- 'Rainy days and mondays always gets me to the basement shop' or something like that. I received a few big pieces of freshly cut locust. In the past, I've tried to make a large bowl from this species but it always cracked during drying. This time I'm going to try the water/dishwashing soap method. Started with this- Rough turned it to a 1" thick bowl and put it in the solution Monday afternoon. According to everything I read, I should be able to pull it out on Thursday and then move it to a paper bag full of shavings. Then wait 3 weeks to do the finish turning. The folks who gave me the locust wouldn't take any money for the wood so while I had the lathe fires up, I turned a wine bottle stopper as a gift. Safe turning hkjj

First day of spring!!!!!!!!! Let's hope Mother Nature cooperates with the calendar! Our Patriot Turners- @HandyDan has upped his game with the pens he makes. Dan shows us how he changes the finish on the pen parts- He explains the process using a video he found on YouTube- What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for a link to the show's web site. If you are anywhere near Lexington, KY this coming weekend, here's something you don't want to miss! A super chance to pick up some of those great Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools )!!! For The Newbies- If you are lucky someone will offer free wood from a felled tree. "Green" wood is really fun to turn. Shaving peel off in long ribbons and the natural beauty of the wood comes through. Most of us can't just drop everything and immediately turn the piece. Setting it aside for later is not a good idea. The problem with green wood is that as it dries it will crack, often to the point of being unusable. Prepping the piece is essential for getting the most from the wood. Carl Jacobson posted a video illustrating the proper techniques to saving your green logs for later use. Carl mentions using water and dishwashing liquid detergent for preserving the wood as well. I recently read about this article in the Woodworker's Journal explaining about drying your turnings. It includes the water/detergent method along with a few others. http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/options-for-drying-green-bowl-blanks/ Expand Your Horizons- Natural edge bowls always attract attention. They combine the beauty of nature along with the artistic lines of the turner. Recently Carl Jacobson posted a video of a natural edge "box". Carl's was made from a maple burl but any beautiful wood could be used- I'm thinking Manzanita Root! New Turning Items- The folks at Woodturners Wonders have put together a really nice sanding package. If you use compressed air sanding units this might be for you- Check out the details at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/specials/products/super-simple-sanding-bundle Everything Else- ...and sometimes the dragon wins... Safe turning

Busy week with substituting and Mom errands so not really much shop time. Our Patriot Turners- @HandyDan posted some fantastic pens he created from shell casings and inexpensive click pens. These are real beauties! Dan received lots of great comments on this one! Dan also showed us another inside-out vase he made along with a description of how he overcame a problem. @Ron Altier asked for our advice on a turning that has him stumped. Please head over to his post and see if you can give him some ideas- What’s Coming Up- The Woodworking Shows will be in Collinsville, IL this weekend February 8 thru 10. Our friends from Easy Wood Tools will be there! Click on the above image for the link to more information. For The Newbies- Mike Peace has been posting videos on various aspects of the scroll chuck. In this recent video he examines different methods of Reverse Chucking a bowl. He includes several shop made devices. The reverse chuck allows the turner to finish the outside bottom of a bowl. Expand Your Horizons- @Gene Howe sent me a link to this video on turning a "square" bowl. The author of the video spends some time at the start showing how to make wooden faceplates. These make excellent glue/waste blocks. Another method- with less work- is to get a tap that matches the headstock threads and cut threads directly into the wooden block. New Turning Items- I think I had mentioned this in the past but didn't really have any hands on experience with it. I spent my Christmas cash and this came today! I really like the versatility of this center. First, there is the ability to adjust the length of the center "point". It can be buried in the center and used as a cup center or adjusted to any length up to about 1". The longer, small diameter point lets the tools get closer to the center of the turning. The point is secured with a standard Allen wrench (included). Next is the threaded section for the addition of accessories like cones or larger point- both available from ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) The threads are 3/4 x 10 standard threads so a tap would be easy to get to create your own accessories. I made my own tap, for wooden accessories, from a bolt and Dremel tool. Of course, as with all Easy Wood Tool products it is made in the good ol' U. S. of A. Everything Else- Tim Yoder has a 2 part video on turning a handy kitchen item- a paper towel holder. Tim's videos are always enjoyable and great learning tools. Part 2 is linked from Tim's YouTube Channel- Safe turning

On January 3, I got a PM from One of our members, @Dadio, that literally left me speachless. (Doesn't happen often!) "Hi John, I am looking for home for the Raffle prize I won, the woodturning tools set. I am not a turner,and don't have a lathe, not interested in getting into turning any time soon,so I don't need the tools. If you would be interested, I will arrange with John for you to claim the Easy Tool Certificate. Herb" Upon recovering my composure, I got back to Herb and informed him that I would be DELIGHTED! Long story short, today a brown van stopped in front, and the driver handed me a long parcel. The best present I got for Christmas 2018! @John Morris has already informed me that I'll have to try them out and post about my experience, which I will certainly do, as soon as my little plumbing job is finished. It's been a few years since I turned anything, and I am really looking forward to it! Meanwhile, a big THANK YOU to Herb. I would have said he's one of a kind, but there are more like him on this site. Thanks also to Easy Wood Tools for their support of our site. John

Woodcraft has their Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) on sale until December 31, 2018- 10% discount!!! And, if you buy $35 or more they will throw in FREE shipping! Might be a great way to use some of that Christmas Cash that Santa left. https://www.woodcraft.com/categories/easy-wood-tools?trk_msg=EDTF891G0N2KLA5JPKOG98O730&trk_contact=QNSFAEQ45HFA1IHE09ORJKR45S&trk_sid=2DOUC4P1J1GC4CAVP8GMIA3TOO&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Easy+Wood+Tools&utm_campaign=End+of+the+year+means+an+end+to+these+deals

Well, I hope everyone is recuperating from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday and that you all got at least one thing you had on Santa's List. Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker posted a couple of bowls he recently completed. As always, Steve's design, choice of woods and finishes are impeccable . Steve's post has more images and descriptions of what he has done. Please head on over there check out the post in its' entirety- A couple of weeks ago, @hawkeye10 asked us how he could hold work pieces to make legs for a small table. He finished up the legs (and table) and it is gorgeous. There is so much great woodworking going on in his project, you just have to check it out for yourself- Here's the complete post including images of the table build- What’s Coming Up- 111 W. General Cavazos Blvd. Kingsville, Texas 78363 Click on the image for more details. For The Newbies- Big shout out to @HandyDan for the heads up on this video from Ernie Conover. It's all about drilling on the lathe. In many instances this is faster, easier and more accurate than trying to drill with a drill press. Expand Your Horizons- Back in October, @Steve Krumanaker spent a week enjoying a woodturning class from Glenn Lucas. One of the important aspects Steve mentioned was the shape of a bowl. Here's a video discussing bowl shapes. Steve stressed the importance of pleasing bowl shapes. This video is more about reading the wood and the eventual bowl shape. New Turning Items- Not exactly new but the Easy Wood Tools negative rake cutters are now available for all of the Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools). Craft Supplies USA has a short video demonstrating these cutters on man made materials. The finish is awesome! If your lathe doesn't have a built in indexing device, Mike Peace has a video illustrating how he built a really nice addition to his (or any) lathe. The index wheel (and a complete kit) is available from- https://www.chefwarekits.com/basket-weave-illusion-wood-burning-carving-tools/ez-index-wheel-steel-12in-dia-for-woodturning.html Everything Else- A two part video from Tim Yoder creating a hollow vessel, well sorta. Part 2 is linked from Tim's YouTube site. Safe turning

Been cold and windy here for the past couple of day but at least it hasn't rained. Mimi is in full Christmas decorating mode so I have been making myself scarce. Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN asked a question about scrapers and their use. He received several great comments. Please head on over to his post and see if you can add any more to the discussion- @HandyDan posted his "Ball Catch" toys. Dan turns these beautiful items as gifts for kids at the Akron Children's Hospital. Please give Dan your thanks for making sure their Christmas is a little brighter- What’s Coming Up- The American Association of Woodturners is having a symposium in Raleigh, NC, July 11-14, 2019. More information can be found here- https://www.woodturner.org/page/2019RaleighMain For The Newbies- As a new turner, one item that should be in your arsenal of tools is a Parting Tool. Our very generous sponsor Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) has a great one that never needs sharpening! Here's a video from Tracey Malady demonstrating the tool's versatility. This is a really great tool! Expand Your Horizons- Mike Peace recently posted a video demonstrating turning a hollow globe Christmas ornament. During the demonstration, Mike shows many shop made hollowing tools- New Turning Items- Last week's "Wednesday..." mentioned a new hollowing tool system. Here is the link to the tool/information- http://wtwtim.com/elbotool.htm Rick Turns" added a video where he creates a bowl. What I had never seen before was the device he uses to do offset turning. In this video, you can see the device at about 10 minutes. I know Ruth Niles sells a small offset chuck but it is nothing like this one- Everything Else- For your enjoyment- Carl Jacobson turns a penguin! The kids next door decorated the "lamp post" and called us over to admire their work. I think she did a really awesome job- I'm really running late on Christmas present making. Got this bowl turned and sanded and another one partially turned. Some more of that flame box elder- Safe turning

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker turned a couple of gorgeous pieces. I particularly enjoyed this one- Steve discussed what he did in his post and shows us several views of each piece- @Gerald found a neat lamp that will work well for turners Gerald supplied the link, for the lamp, in his post. Check out the background of Gerald's images for his really great tool setup- I've never met Carl Jacobson but I do enjoy his videos and post some of them in the "Wednesday's..." turners forum. Our very generous sponsor, Woodcraft, has a nice write-up about a hybrid turning Carl made using Easy Wood Tools. I posted about it earlier this week- What’s Coming Up- If you live in near Tampa, Florida, the Florida School of Woodwork holds turning classes. You can check out a complete list of instructors, courses and prices at- https://schoolofwoodwork.com/ For The Newbies- Figuring out how to hold a piece for turning can be frustrating. Not every new turner has a nice new chuck to make life a little easier. Mike Peace posted a recent video on glue blocks. They are a very versatile and inexpensive. Although Mike uses a chuck to hold the glue block, an inexpensive wooden disk can be used instead. Here's one that doesn't require the chuck- The thicker block is threaded to match your headstock. It is made from scrap hardwood. The glue base is just pine. As the pine glue surface is worn away a new one can be glued in its' place. There is a small finish nail center on the lathe axis that assists in centering the turning piece to be glued to the pine. Expand Your Horizons- Last week I mentioned Sanding Paste. Mike Peace has added another video on this subject. This video explains how to make your own! It's really quite simple and expands on Mike's Beeswax/Mineral Oil finish. New Turning Items- Tim Yoder has a new Laser product for the turners who do hollow forms. He previews it in this video- Everything Else- Tim Yoder also has a two part video on turning an "inside-out" Christmas ornament- The kids next door are into the "Crafty Momma" thing. The Mrs. asked if I could help with her latest project. She wanted one of these- but when she priced out a newel post from the Borg she found it was way more expensive than she thought. Guess who came to the rescue- I cheated on the ladder rest. I had some dowel stock, but I did turn everything else. She will add the lamp. As with all respectable Crafty Mommas, this will be painted. Safe turning

A lot of things happening here at the Patriot this week, so we'll get right to it! Our Patriot Turners- The Easy Wood Tools Christmas tree is going to be spectacular this year thanks to the talents of our turners. @Jim from Easy Wood Toolshas been keeping us up-to-date this the ornaments he has received from our members. The children of some of the employees decorated several of the ornaments they received- It looks like they really had an enjoyable time with this. Jim also showed us some of the other ornaments he received from The Patriot member @HandyDan The folks at Easy Wood Tools are putting up the tree on November 2 and Jim promised to post some images for us! If you haven't sent your ornaments, I'm sure it is not too late! Not only did @HandyDan help with the Easy Wood Tools tree, he went into production mode with his angels! Dan posted a really nice tutorial on how he made these beautiful little angels- Please checkout how he made them and some of the terrific comments he received. Ornaments were not the only turnings that were made. @RustyFN has been creating gorgeous apple wood bowls. The first one- And the second one- Head on over to his posts and see some of the great comments he got from our members. More bowls came from @DAB. That beautiful pine bowl has some interesting wood history. Read more in DAB's post- @PostalTom added to this week's bowl bonanza with this beauty- Tom used his Easy Wood Tools for this turning. In his post, he provides proof as to the sharpness of those EWT cutters! @Steve Krumanaker spent a week at the Marc Adam's Academy of Woodworking learning from Glen Lucas. Steve describes his experiences and some of the important takeaways from his week- While he was there, he started a bowl that he then finished, with "milk paint", when he returned home. Steve described the process in his post- "Just one more light pass" and then... We've all done it. Steve discusses what happened with this turning- For The Newbies- Continuing with the bowl theme, one of the problems we face when turning a bowl (or almost any turning) is grain tearout. Here is a video explaining what causes tearout and how to reduce/eliminate it. The video is by Lyle Jamieson- @hawkeye10 posted a question about Safe Drive Centers. Please see if you can offer any additional information and your experiences with this type of center- Expand Your Horizons- We are always looking for ways to speed up the drying process between the rough turn and the final turning. Carl Jacobson included a new to me method for drying in this video. My background/career in electronics should have led me to this idea a long time ago. Check out the use of the Easy Wood Tools, too! New Turning Items- I received an email from Woodturners Wonders featuring a new air powered random orbital sander. If you are in the market, it may be worth a look- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/random-orbital-sanders/products/pros-variable-speed-random-orbital-sander Everything Else- Safe turning

From summer to winter in 3 days. You gotta love Pennsylvania weather! There's still time to get your ornaments into Easy Wood Tools and @Jim from Easy Wood Tools! If you are making some basic ones that will need finished, they have volunteers waiting! Check out @John Morris's post for more details and where to send them- Our Patriot Turners- Speaking of ornament, or turners have been busy! @Ron Altier sent our friends at Easy Wood Tools these beauties- There was a bit of confusion as to the identity of the maker but it all got straightened out in the end- Ron also showed us a new type of design that did not require any turning- Check out his post in the General Woodworking forum- Last week Ron posted a thread on his "Inside-Out" ornament. Several of our turners added to the discussion by showing us some of their work and procedures. Here is the post again so you can catch up- Ornaments weren't the only thing happening here this week! @JohnM got himself a mighty fine new (used) lathe. He received lot's of comments about his purchase- John was not the only one getting new stuff. @RustyFN got a great deal on a new chuck and a bunch of jaws! @Cliff put his metal working lathe to work and redesigned his wood lathe dust collector system. Check out his post for additional information and the discussion from our members- @Steve Krumanaker turned one of the most beautiful maple bowls you will ever see. The grain in the wood is stunning. More images and our members compliments are here- @Ron Altier asked if any of our turners had ever worked with one of these pen kits- The discussion that followed ventured into the area of pressure pots and stabilization- @Gene Howe posted a link to a shop made jig for sharpening gouges. It is similar to the Wolverine jig. Here is the link, however, you'll have to copy and then paste it into your browser. Our site software won't paste it directly as a link- http://lumberjocks.com/projects/397921 What’s Coming Up- Virginia Woodturning Symposium Sponsored by the Virginia Woodturners, Inc. November 3 & 4, 2018, Expoland - Fishersville, VA http://www.virginiawoodturners.com/?utm_source=Regional+Event+Virginia+10+12++2018+&utm_campaign=regional&utm_medium=email For The Newbies- I really appreciate @Gerald's suggestion for items in this new area. One f the first techniques for a new turner is making a spindle. Mastering this type of turning leads to all kinds of interesting projects- rolling pins, candle holders, salt/pepper devices, etc. Here is a 3 part video showing the various stages of creating a spindle that eventually becomes a spinning top- Of course there are many, many sources for learning to turn. Hands on instruction can't be beat. If there is a turning club in your area or a Woodcraft store, check them out! Expand Your Horizons- Last week I posted a video from the WyomingWoodturner on bowl embellishment. Here is one more from Sam Angelo showing the process in more detail- New Turning Items- Although I've never made one, canes are a popular item. If you are thinking about this as a project, you may find this item useful- More about this at there site- https://www.treelineusa.com/e-z-cane-handle-fastening-system.html Safe turning

Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) carbide cutters are on sale at Craft Supplies USA until August 10th. 15% discount!!

If you been drooling over those Easy Wood Tools or need to get a couple of extra cutters, here's your chance- Click on the above image for the web page of the sale!

Sorry guys, not too much this week. Between subbing, doctor appointments, vet appointments and puppy training- shop time has been very limited. @PostalTom showed us a sweet little bowl he made for his woodturning club exchange challenge- Check out how Tom made sure the paper clips don't get away! @Gene Howe Sent me this link. It has some nice turning accessories, from Ron Brown, including several types of chucks. Check out Mr. Brown's website at- http://admailemail.com/view/47157c1/4881dc/ @Gerald asked a question about the finish we like to use on bottle stoppers. My personal favorite is oil based poly. It seems to stand up to handling and moisture. Why not checkout Geralds post and give him your favorite- Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) is presenting free tool demonstrations this coming weekend. If you are near Buffalo Grove, IL or Orland Park, IL, why not stop in and try out these fantastic tools! Mike Peace put up a short video with some turning tips. A couple of great ideas- Holding lathe work can often be challenging. Turner devise all sorts of jigs/chucks to be able to turn their projects. Captain Eddy put up a video a little while back demonstrating some ideas for holding work- Safe turning

Another busy week here for the Patriot turners! @Ron Altier asked a question concerning the angle on the skew chisel- curved or straight? Seems most of your turners prefer the straight cutting edge. Why not head over to Ron's post and provide him with your preference- @oldwoodie Asked for our input on assembling pen kits. He is concerned about installing the pen refill in an older pen kit- He was also unsure about whether pressed in parts need to be glued in place- I know some of you have turned pens and you may be able to help him out. I have always had trouble trying to make my turning look more elegant. They always seem out of proportion or clunky. I've read about the "Golden Mean" and how it can be used to create a visually appealing product. And then there is the "Rule of Thirds". Which to use??? Here is some reference material to help make that decision (or make it more confusing). I pulled these from the Internet and have left the authors details within each- http://www.westbaywoodturners.com/tutorial/pdf_files/Woodturning_Design.pdf This link show a plane for creating a "golden section gauge"- http://www.goldennumber.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/golden-section-gauge.gif Finally a detailed video explanation of the Golden Mean and why it may not be so important. Be warned, the video is quite lengthy- While answering an email from another site, I found this marvelous turning site- http://hampstevens.com/ Mr. Stevens will graciously provide instructions on how to turn these seemingly impossible spheres. If interested, he can be contacted at- hamp@hampstevens.com @Jim from Easy Wood Tools and our friend from Easy Wood Tools posted a video introducing the Easy Wood Tools with Tracey Malady. This is a great video for those interested in getting started with Easy Wood Tools. You may have recently read that the Easy Wood Tools are now available in the UK! Our fellow turners, across the pond, will finally get to use the best turning tools on the planet! Not only are the EWT tools available in the UK but also the absolutely awesome Easy Wood Easy Chuck! It's always nice to be able to make your own turning tools instead of buying them. Mike Peace shows us how to make a beading tool and a captive ring tool in a couple of his latest videos. Safe turning

Somehow I missed this in yesterday's "Wisdom" Click on the image for more information!

The latest winter storm tracked about 75 miles east of the predicted position. We got nothin'. Sorry @Cliff. Last week we posted a site that sold threaded inserts. @HandyDan was curious about the installation. I wrote to the seller inquiring about specifics and this is his response- Hi Lewis, I send a tips sheet with the inserts but no real instructions other than to relieve just enough wood for the body and flange to fit snug and not to mix the epoxy until you are satisfied with the dry fit. The lid I make by gluing a plug on a flat piece that I turn till the plug fits, again sneaking up on the fit a bit at a time till satisfied, then mix some epoxy. I don't do videos but have a ton of photos in albums on the Facebook shop site that have cleared up a lot of questions on how I use them making out urns and Beads of Courage jars. Hope this helps, thanks for asking. Along those same lines, @Gene Howe mentioned he has seen mason jar lids used for threaded turnings. If you missed it, the entire post is here- Also, last week we posted a thread about @Steve Krumanaker's new laser engraver. Steve added another video showing the more of the laser's operation- Every Monday morning @John Morris posts the question asking what we have done and what we plan for the week. Well, one of our turners- @PostalTom was busy modifying his lathe set up for easier cleanup and use. Check out the pictures he posted and maybe you can get some ideas for your own shop! Scroll to the end of the "Monday Morning" post for Tom's pictures. Thanks for sharing this, Tom! Many of our turnings involve a glue-up of some sort. Patriot member @Gene Howe posted a link to a video featuring an ultraviolet light sensitive glue from Titebond. This might be something useful for your next segmented turning- I subscribe to the e-Tips from woodsmith. Every once in a while they post one for turners. This tip looked pretty neat as we turners usually have several tools pulled from the tool rack when turning a project. Here's the link to the video- https://cdn.woodsmith.com/etip/2018/02/lathe-tool-rack-SD.mp4 There are some turning symposiums coming up on the east coast. Easy Wood Tools will be in Atlanta for the Woodworking Shows next weekend- http://www.thewoodworkingshows.com/atlanta.html. The The Mid Atlantic Woodturners Association will be in Lancaster, PA at the end of September. You can check out the details here- http://www.mawts.com/ I picked up this video from the Easy Wood Tools Twitter feed (Thanks @Jim from Easy Wood Tools). The turner uses several of the EWT tools as well as their awesome chuck. I also spied another Easy Wood Tool product that I had not seen before. The EWT Live Center. Here's the video on making a VERY large pepper grinder. And here is additional information on the Live Center- http://www.easywoodtools.com/live-center-3/ Turner Mike Peace did a video on the various texturing tools available, including some shop made versions. This video is from a live demonstration and is a little longer than most. Turner @HandyDan sent me a link to this video. There were several really neat things that caught my eye (besides the fact that OSHA wasn't there). I thought the turners hand position, with his finger under the tool rest probably gave him extra control of the tools. The brilliance of the organic colors was unexpected. And, around 4:50 of the video, the helper uses an oil can. I thought at first it was for lubbing the lathe but I think it was something to apply to the colors. Thanks, Dan! Finally, The Woodturning OnLine newsletter came. One of the articles was a tutorial in pictures for making a suspended box- The article is by Bob Hamilton. http://bobhamswwing.com/Articles/Suspended Bowl/Suspended bowl Page 1.html The entire newsletter is here- http://www.woodturningonline.com/index.php Relatives will be here, for a week, beginning next Wednesday. Not sure if I can get a few minutes to do a "Wednesday's Wisdom". Safe turning

It's been a nice couple of days here, but winter is scheduled to return to the northeast tomorrow. Our turners have been busy with projects, ideas and questions. So let's get to it! Last week @HandyDan showed us a really neat way to created threaded inserts for turned objects. I happened across this site that sells brass metal inserts for that special project- They have many sizes. Their site is- https://www.fromwalnuttoantlers.com/shop @RustyFN posted a rough turned bowl he made. It sure is gorgeous! Rust wasn't certain of the wood species and several members offered opinions. Check out the complete thread- @Gerald got some turning blanks prepped and started on a vase. Nice laser rig! Read about his plans for his vase- @Steve Krumanaker gave us a demonstration of his shop made laser engraver. Talk about an awesome piece of equipment! Steve even included a video of the operation in his thread @Buck Nall posted a question about turning bradford pear wood. Several members offered suggestions. Check out his post and give Buck your opinion- @Gerald is considering setting up a stand in a consignment shop. He asked for thoughts and opinions on this. Stop over at his post and see if you can add to what has already been said- I was trying to catch up on some of Capt. Eddies' videos and he mentioned the Southwest Association of Turners turning symposium for this summer. It's in Waco Texas in August. Here's a link for more information- https://www.swaturners.org/index.php Also, our most generous sponsor, Easy Wood Tools, will be part of the Woodworkers Show in Milwaukee, WI on March 9-11,2018. More information here- http://www.thewoodworkingshows.com/milwaukee.html Mike Peace put up an informative video on live centers. He looks at some of the characteristics and various vendor. Pretty interesting- Capt.Eddie did a similar review of a specific brand here- A while back, we featured Tim Yoder making a platter with a "cosmic paint" scheme. He recently posted a another platter but uses a different approach to applying the paint. While you are watching the video, check out the Easy Wood Chuck! Safe turning