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Remembering all my Brothers and Sisters on this 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Welcome Home. Our Patriot Turners- @Headhunter posted some of his Ringmaster turnings in our sub-forum. Thought it would be nice to share them with the entire group. He also posted an awesome open segment turning. Headhunter was kind enough to add a photo of how he created the blank to create this beauty. @forty_caliber Has bee working with some spalted pecan. I really like the way he embellished the rim of this bowl- Check out his post to see what our turners had to say- Forty also posted an inquiry asking if any of our members had any experience with a specific type of knot/gap filler. Please check out this post and offer any additional help- Can't express how happy I am to see everyone adding to our continuing thread of "What's On Your Lathe"! Some of the recent additions include- This is about where we left off last week- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- For The Newbies- Found this article that compares these tools. https://turnawoodbowl.com/carbide-vs-traditional-hss-wood-turning-tools-high-speed-steel/ Alan Stratton's video on turning a box from tree to display. To add interest to the turning, Alan burns some detail lines. Check out his wire burning tool at 9 minutes- Expand Your Horizons- Carl Jacobson turned a small lidded box, and used the urn threaded rings. This was a live demonstration so it's a little long- Mike Waldt turns a hollow Mulberry hollow form- New Turning Items- Couldn't find anything new but checkout this week's Vendor Showcase (link above). Not sure what they will be doing. Everything Else- From Ron Brown's newsletter- Driving A Stake In The Ground Sometimes progress seems so slow that you have to drive a stake in the ground to see if you are moving. I first heard this phrase when I worked on the railroad as a long-haul trainman. The first half of our route took us from near sea level over a 4,000 foot high mountain range. Sometimes I could run alongside the train faster than it was moving! Developing our skills can be a lot like that. You want to be able to use a skew chisel like they do on YouTube and roll perfect beads, disks, and wonderfully symmetrical coves. But you get catch after catch and it seems like you are never going to figure it out. Or the grain tears on the outside of your bowl blank even with freshly sharpened tools. You wonder if you will ever be able to start sanding with 120 grit or higher rather than 60 or 80 grit. You look forward to the day you don’t have to spend so much time sanding. Practice makes perfect because each time you try, you get a little bit better. You develop muscle memory whether you know it or not. Suddenly, or so it would seem, you can roll a beautiful bead with that skew and not get a catch. Where is the stake now? I used spinning tops as my demonstration canvas on the Woodworking Show Circuit for 13 seasons. I glued up 1,200 top blanks at the beginning of each season and more when those ran out. All day long I would load a blank into the lathe’s collet chuck for my next demo. I used a skew to turn the disk to round in less than 3 seconds. Then I shaped the disk in preparation for texturing. That took another 10-15 seconds, one pass on the front, and one pass on the back. In one continuous motion, I shaped the stem using the same spindle gouge I had shaped the front and back of the disk. Then I made 3 cuts with the texturing tools and finished with various color combinations. I had developed so much muscle memory that I could carry on a lucid conversation and make the top at the same time. Elapsed time, less than 5 minutes including all of the decoration and coloring. It didn’t start out like that, but after the first thousand tops, it got easier. I’ve told you before that you don’t really know how to make something until you made 50 or 100 of the same thing. Then you begin to understand but still have much to learn. So, drive that stake in the ground, metaphorically, and watch as you get better each time you try again. Remember that wherever you go, there you are. Safe turning

First day of meteorological Spring and it felt like spring. Of course they are forecasting winter weather for the weekend. I apologize if I missed anyone's post for last week, wasn't receiving all of the notifications about your posts. I found at least one that will be in this weeks entry. If you see something I missed, please let me know. Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN did some shop cleanup. He got a bit of razzing about how often he does this. It was all in good fun. Here's the post- Rusty also posted a turning he will enter in his clubs President's Challenge. Hope it gets first place Rusty was gifted some large pieces of a tree and asked our turners to help identify the species. He posted several pictures to help. Hop over to his post and see if you recognize what he has- @Smallpatch showed us a nice setup for serving sweets! He thought maybe it could spark someone's imagination to create something similar out of wood- Check his post. I think he is on to something! @forty_caliber turned a sweet carver's mallet from Osage orange. It's almost too pretty to use! Our turners had lots of positive comments- Our thread called "What's on Your Lathe" continues to generate interest. Here's the most recent entries- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- You pulled the trigger on your first lathe. Now What! Richard Raffan leads us through our first spindle turning operations- This also fits in the "What's Coming Up" department. From Cindy Drozda, a live event on sharpening scrapers. MARCH 2, 2023! Link to Facebook Live event- https://fb.me/e/2K3r2bBYI Link to Live Stream Registration- https://streamyard.com/watch/vYqnGQ8DMXD3 Expand Your Horizons- Watch Mike Waldt turn an English Walnut hollow form- Four YouTube turners worked together on a collaboration challenge demonstrating how we may do things differently but still come up with similar end results. Sam Angelo, Mike Peace, Tomislav Tomasic and Richard Raffan each turned a cross grained vessel and posted their process. New Turning Items- Received my order of Easy Wood Tools negative rake beading cutters late this afternoon. Haven't had a chance to try them but reports from other turners are positive. Everything Else- No YouTube video report from Rick Turns this week. From Ron Brown's newsletter Small Beginnings Might Have Seeds Of Greatness It is easy to look at someone with minimal shop equipment, a small or older lathe, and only a few tools, in the corner of a basement or garage and discount the kind of work they are capable of. I began with a 12” Jet lathe with an eight-piece high carbon steel set of lathe tools. There was no bowl gouge in my set! Sometime around the year 2000, I bought a 10” jet 5-speed mini lathe. It took a couple of years before I got my first 4 jaw chuck. Now, nearly a quarter century later, the equipment in my shop is pretty impressive by most standards. I’ve made many thousands of turned pieces and helped untold scores of turners to do things better, faster, and safer around the world. I have helped some folks in person at woodturning shows and symposiums, and many others around the world via my YouTube videos. None of this would have happened if no one had bothered to introduce me to how much fun our craft could be. I didn’t even want to be at the demonstration in the first place. I was there out of a sense of duty to my friends. You never know who is carrying the seeds of greatness within, so don’t prejudge your audience. Rather understand that there is unlimited potential within all of us, young, old, male, and female, regardless of occupation or background. No matter how humble your beginnings or how moderate your own skill level or equipment might be, you have the power to spark greatness in other people. We all start somewhere, so bloom where you are planted and use the gifts you currently have. I’ve never met a single turner that I couldn’t learn from. Look for opportunities to share what you know and bless others and you will soon find them everywhere. Remember that wherever you go, there you are. I thought I had found a small maple branch at the landfill. It was freshly cut and no checking. Sealed the ends until I had a chance to get it on the lathe. Cut it into two blanks and started on the first one, Rough turned it, soaked it for 3 days and got it into my little drying box. Came out with only a tiny crack. My intention was to make a calabash style little bowl. First thing I noticed was how light (in weight) the dried blank seemed to be. Anyway turned it to the final outside shape than started to hollow it out. Like an idiot, I didn't use the calipers- only my fingers for measuring thickness. (Which definitely need to be recalibrated!) I don't think this was maple. very soft. The dark spot on the side is where the material crumbled when hollowing. It was pretty thin but not as thin as some vessels I've turned. Anyway I can practice making a round bottom to see how it comes out. The other blank is in the drying box now. We'll see what that turns out to be in a few more days. Safe turning

For everyone who got to know Jim Luley, from Easy Wood Tools, he posted this message to all our turners- Please drop by his post and wish him well. As @Steve Krumanaker said on another site, "he's the nicest friend I never met". Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN posted a gorgeous cherry bowl he has finished- Rusty tells us a little about the shape and finish in this post- In addition, Rusty is tackling a large walnut bowl! Can't wait to see how this one comes out- Rusty also asked us what type of sanding discs we used. Several of our members offered what they prefer. How about giving Rusty your opinion- @HandyDan got a really good jump on his Christmas ornaments- Check out his post for more images and what he used to create the colored stripes- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration. For The Newbies- Handy Dan gave us a look at his batch of Christmas ornaments. Here's a video from Rick Turns demonstrating how to turn another type- Mike Peace posted an video explaining why considering grain direction is important when making a turning. Thinking about learning bowl turning? Watch Richard Raffan turn one from start to finish. Lots of great details. Expand Your Horizons- @RustyFN showed us his rounded bottom bowl. Here's Lyle Jamieson demonstrating turning a similar bowl with a natural edge. Turning a bowl from wet/green wood is mostly a two step process. Rough turn and then allowing the moisture to equalize before finishing. Here is Sam Angelo's process- Last week we mentioned a method of sealing bowls/vessels using milk. This is an update from Debbie Coull Experiment in sealing wood with milk update: IT WORKED !!!! Woohoooooo! The wood surface has a waxy feel. Smooth. Absolutely no odour. The wood was sycamore, but I doubt it matters. Stone age man would have used whatever was the local wood. I will now use this daily and plan to make more. Maybe a cup to see if it adversely flavours tea, but I doubt it. The method the worked was I submerged in milk and simmered for 2 hours, then left in the milk overnight. I used semi skimmed, but I doubt that matters as it's the milk protein (casein) that seals the wood. The next day i rinsed with fresh water and left to dry. It was incredibly heavy now, having almost doubled it's original weight. I left it to dry for a few days. Here is the porridge test (scientific test used by bears). Perhaps others could maybe use this for their food bowls. I'm really pleased this worked, and I would have persevered until I figured it out. Ancient techniques may be lost in time - but they definitely have their merits. For the Instagram Post- https://www.instagram.com/p/CkGFH0-jNhx/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D For Facebook- https://m.facebook.com/groups/229189982049033/permalink/662821255352568/ New Turning Items- More on the Yorkshire grit sanding paste from Easy Wood Tools- Turning a natural edge bowl- like the one shown by Lyle Jamieson, has special challenges. Some reverse chucking methods could damage the fragile natural edge. Ron Brown has a solution. Check out his site at- https://www.ronbrownsbest.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=47&product_id=865 Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning

but I'm liking the way this is looking. Fourth coat of gloss wipe on poly, still wet. Probably will get two more coats. Flame box elder about 8.5" tall and hollowed to about 1/4" box elder vase.mp4

I've got a pretty special piece of wood on my lathe this morning. Funny, it's been laying outside my shop since last fall and I almost threw in the fire pit. Cut a chunk off this morning and decided to do a little hollow form. Was very surprised by the ambrosia. It's near final shape but not quite there. I had stepped back several times and thought it was pretty good. But there is nothing like a picture to let a person really see. I can see it's a little fat at about center and I'll address that for sure. If I don't blow this up or go through the side it's going to be special I think. About 9" tall and around 6" major diameter. I'll leave as much bark as I can, I think it'll be a nice contrast to the color.

We are into February already. Yesterday the temperature was over 60° but today back in the 30's. Typical Pennsylvania weather! Our Patriot Turners- @Woodbutcherbynight showed us a really well thought out wire burning tool. This one can be used with one hand! Check out his post for a detailed description of the build and all of the great comments Gunny received! @Masonsailor continues the process of turning the pieces for his "vertical lazy susan". He has completed the three tulips- His complete thread, showing the progress, is at- @Ron Altier posted a beautiful blue ornament. As always, Ron's work is spectacular. I think he finally has a handle on that UV finish- Please check all of the great comments he received on this one- What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to the show website and registration information. Check out who is going to be there- Chris Caliendo- president of Easy Wood Tools! Thanks @Jim from Easy Wood Tools for the heads up!!! For The Newbies- As with most everything, there's more than one way to accomplish a process. Mounting a bowl blank, on a chuck, is no exception. Some turners use a recess while others will use a tenon. Here is video from Sam Angelo explaining his take on which to use- If you are looking for classes to improve your turning skills, Craft Supplies USA may have something available. Here's the link to their complete list- https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/t/205/3-Day-Woodturning-Workshops-(Deposit-Only) Expand Your Horizons- I found a rather interesting video from Lyle Jamieson. He discusses the requirements for "reach" in turning advance shapes. New Turning Items- Woodturners Wonders has a couple of new items available. Along with their CBN wheels, they are now offering diamond wheels. They are also offering a new, two prong drive spur- All their products can be found at their website- https://woodturnerswonders.com/ Everything Else- We often mention embellishments to our turnings and have shown several methods to accomplish this. Mike Peace posted a video showing the tool he uses on small projects.- In addition, here is the link to a printed handout with sources for the parts needed to make the tool- http://www.mikepeacewoodturning.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Rotary-Texturing-tool-01282020.pdf Rick Turns has uploaded his list of YouTube turning videos for January. Why not give Rick a "Thumbs Up" and a positive comment, on his channel, for his efforts- @Cliff posted a neat video showing how one turner engineered the mechanics necessary to make specialized turnings. I remember a while back @BillyJack asking us about a more simple solution. Enjoy! Safe turning

Finally got to try a deep hollow form, not real deep, about 13". First time I've tried something like this and there is lots to learn. The laser diode I was using wasn't the best choice and it wouldn't stay in one spot. Because of that and my own inexperience this piece is just too thin in a couple areas. It won't get much sanding because there is a very real possibility of sanding through. Still, for a first effort, I've got to be happy with the results. I also know there is a lot of room for improvement, especially in the form and getting a consistent thickness. Anyway, here is my first effort and a short video of the hollowing process. The base could be a little smaller and the funnel could also be smaller I think. I was surprised how difficult the big cove was to do and I can see there is room for improvement there as well. Wife says she loves it and I have to finish it but you know how they are. Thanks for looking Steve

I've got a beautiful piece of walnut on the lathe, trying to do a hollow form about 14" deep and about the same major diameter. Drilling to start hollowing this morning and when I backed out to clear chips this is what I saw. No drill bit, this is a bad thing. At this point I'm over 10" deep with this bit. Fortunately I was drilling in steps and had made a good portion of the hole larger already. What now? Couldn't reach it with anything and there are chips packed tight around it. My first thought was, no way to save this. Still, I started picking at the shavings and blowing them out until they were pretty well clear, that took about an hour. After several failed attempts with rare earth magnets, screw drivers, etc. etc. I got the idea to make a loop in a piece of tie wire and slip it over the shaft. Held the wire with a pair of vice grips and ran the lathe slow. With a little help, the wire wound tight enough I could wiggle the drill bit a little using the wire and a screw driver. After about two hours I was able to get a purchase on the bit with a pair of deep reach needle nose and worked it the rest of way out. Next time, I'll be sure to clear chips more often and make doubly sure the set screws in my extension are tight. I think it will be faster that way. Steve

Needed a hollow form to display flowers in new booth . Had a piece of spaulted magnolia so started on it . The first for me is to turn a hollow form from beginning to parting off on one day....actually 2.5 hours.

Here is another oak hollow form with black and orange dye. Was supposed to have a collar but it warped too much so opened the top a little. It is about 4 inches in diameter.

A problem that occurs occasionally is to have a natural or oops created hole in a hollow form that you do not want to leave as a hole. Now the question is "do I fix it and if so HOW?" The answer is use a balloon . Find a balloon that will fit inside the piece and inflate it inside the apply filler of your choice to the outside. As an alternative you can use a plastic bag inside and fill it with sand.

October already but the weather is more like early September. At least it isn't raining! Please checkout @John Morris's announcement concerning the Easy Wood Tools ornaments. Let's all pitch in and help load up the Easy Wood Tools lobby Christmas tree! You don't have to be the most experienced turner to create some neat items for their tree. Here's a couple of really easy spindle type items- Remember, you don't have to paint/decorate the turnings. @Jim from Easy Wood Tools told me they have volunteers who can do that. Our Patriot Turners- @Jim from Easy Wood Tools has been honing his hollowing skills. Check out this beauty- his first attempt! Jim posted his description here and received lots of positive feedback- @Ron Altier has created another gorgeous ornament. Ron always finds creative ways to embellish his turnings. He received lots of comments and Ron exposes his source for some of his materials- @RustyFN posted a fantastic seam ripper he made as a gift. Lots of interest in his technique and he answered questions about how he produced such an awesome finish- We had a couple of questions this week. @hawkeye10 asked about purchasing turning chisels. The group is pretty much split between the standard tools (gouges, etc.) and the newer carbide tools. Please head on over to Hawkeye's post and give him your insights and experiences. Hawkeye also posted images of his newly cleaned/restored lathe. It sure is a beauty- @Ron Altier asked about the cushioned micromesh sanding abrasives. Ron was curious about sanding speeds and what materials could be sanded with this product. Check his post and the responses. If you have any tips or hints that will help him, please give him the information- @Gerald posted two excellent videos on lathe maintenance. I know I need to do preventative maintenance more often. From The Internet- Our friends from Easy Wood Tools shared a video from Tracey Malady. In this one, she turns a bowl with an internal rim. You get to see the EWT hollowing tools in action! On my old lathe, I had a honing wheel mounted to the "left" side of the headstock. It was really handy for honing tools during turning. Mike Peace demonstrates how to make one of these for sanding or honing- Tim Yoder put up a video about turning a pumpkin. I'm sharing it here not so much for the project but for Tim's concern for safety when turning large pieces. Everything Else- I did get to spend a little time at the lathe. I'm working on the last two ornaments to send to Jim Luley for the EWT Christmas tree. The first one is made from a piece of spalted maple. The "finials' are also maple but ebonized with india ink. The second one is from a blank I glued up a while back that was intended for salt/pepper grinders but that never happened. It's a combination of walnut, maple and cherry. I used a jig designed by Mr. David Reed Smith to create the balls. Everything was completely turned with Easy Wood Tools. Safe Turning

We are about half way through the Patriot Raffle period but we are only about 64% of our site goal 😥. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, Please head over to this post and take a chance on one of the wonderful prizes- Major thunderstorm passed thru and another on its' heels. Home the UPS holds up! Our Patriot Turners- @HandyDan posted a free wood score he made! Looks like it could be cherry or maybe even walnut. What do you think?? Dan has also been busy in the shop turning pens- He creates these beauties out of inexpensive, bought pens. @Gerald posted his gorgeous hollow form turned from Live Oak. Gerald discusses his turning and it color in his post Gerald also posted a bowl he made using the ringmaster system- See what our turners had to say about this gorgeous piece- Our own @Steve Krumanaker received a well deserved honor recently. His maple "Rock" bowl was given the "Judges Award" at a show presented by a local art council. We all know Steve has awesome talent and now his community does, too. More images in Steve's post- What’s Coming Up- I had the very pleasurable experience of demonstrating Easy Wood Tools ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ) to the Lancaster Woodturners. They are participating in the Mid Atlantic Woodturning Symposium, September 28-30, in Lancaster PA. More information is available at their site- http://www.mawts.com/ . From The Internet- Rick Turns has the July list of YouTube turning videos ready- Mike Peace added another sanding video. He describes additional techniques non-spindle pieces Along those lines, last week I mentioned using Abranet sanding screen. I found a website that has a similar product and not as expensive. These folks carry a wide variety of turning accessories- https://woodturnerswonders.com/ Everything Else- Several weeks ago we featured a project finish called "water droplets". The latest issue of American Woodturner magazine (August 2018) has a How-To for doing that finish. As it is a copyrighted article, I won't put it here but you may be able to get a copy of the magazine to see additional information about this technique. I finally finished up the little mixed media turning. It didn't come out like the picture I had in my head- but then my turnings rarely do! The base is a piece of walnut. Overall height is about 5" and the "glass" is about 1.25" in diameter at the top. Finished with wipe on poly. I call it "Half Full"- Safe turning

Started roughing a Beads of Courage Bowl and noticed that this blank may allow for a natural edge or bark on side , just an area about 2 inch wide by 3 to 4 long. Question is has anyone had good luck doing a bark side on a hollow form?