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Congrats to all of those who participated in this summer's annual fund raiser. Thanks for the donations and the help in keeping our site alive. As @Gerald pointed out last week, we are in the summer doldrums. Not much turning taking place. This week's post is all about videos. Hope you find something interesting among them. Our Patriot Turners- What’s Coming Up- Something from Todd Raines- Click on the image for the link to registration. For The Newbies- A bandsaw is probably the turners second most used power machine. Kent Weakley offers this video for Bandsaw safety. As turners, we typically reach for the "old standby" tool for a specific task. Turning a spindle? Spindle gouge. A bowl? Bowl gouge. Here are videos that use some not so typical tools for turning- Richard Raffan- Craft Supplies USA- Expand Your Horizons- August brings another installment of the "4 Ways" series. This month the topic is turning a wheel. From Tim Yoder- A short video on using colors to enhance your turnings- New Turning Items- From Mike Peace, a 6Pc M2 Cryo HSS Woodturning Tool Set Review- Everything Else- From Ron Brown's Newsletter- In A World Full Of Problems, Be The Solution- There is plenty to complain about every day. I am issuing a 7-day challenge: every day for the next 7 days address a problem that has been bothering you and implement a solution. Here are some common challenges that every woodturner faces. I bet you can think of plenty non-turning problems you can fix too. 1) If you are having difficulty because your tools need sharpening and you are not very good at sharpening them yourself, find someone to teach you how to sharpen them properly. If you need a sharpening jig, buy one and learn how to use it. 2) If you always get catches with a skew chisel, watch some YouTube videos or spend a minute with someone who knows how this tool works. Then practice until you can show someone else without getting catches. 3) You always get torn grain on the inside of a bowl and sanding to remove them takes forever. Watch some videos on shear scraping and practice until you can sand the surface beginning with 180-220 grit. You might have to learn to use a negative rake scraper to get the results you expect. 4) You would turn more but the wood is too expensive. Visit the owners of a tree service company and make a deal to get free green wood in exchange for a few salad bowls. This is a perfect solution when you have more time than money. 5) Your shop has so much sawdust that you can’t walk. Take time to sweep up the shavings and save them for your flowerbeds. Be careful with each dustpan full, there might be long-lost treasures (spur drives, sockets, T-handle Allen wrenches, scroll chuck jaws and/or screws!) 6) Your scroll chuck is hard to operate, open, or close. Take time to disassemble and clean your chucks and jaws. Re-oil and reassemble. 7) The banjo sticks and is difficult to move. Clean and wax the bed ways often. I prefer ceramic car polish. Turning green wood coats them with a lot of moisture. You might have to do this every day or two if you turn a lot of wet stuff. 8) Your tools stick and don’t slide on the tool rest anymore. Dress the top of the toolrest with a file to remove the nicks. This is basic maintenance. 9) Turned-lidded boxes are always a crowd favorite with threads or without. You can use exotic timber, branchwood, glued-up blanks, or domestic timber, they all look marvelous. Practice until you can get a suction-fit lid or, if you are up for the challenge, learn to hand-chase the threads. 10) If nobody participates in show-and-tell at your turning club, bring extra things yourself. If you have trouble getting guest presenters, volunteer yourself. These are obvious issues, but the point is that someone has to do something, it might as well be you. Safe turning
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- richard raffanmike peace
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Looks like things are picking up, now that the holidays are over. Let's get to this! Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN is participating in his turning club's annual contest. He has posted a couple of images as he begins to create his entry. Rusty has more in his post at- @forty_caliber gave us a look at another one of his Hays County pecan bowls- Monty supplied some additional information about his drying process- There have been a couple of new entries on our "What's On Your Lathe" continuing thread. @calabrese55 added some process images of this - Also posted was a red oak platter- Check out all the comments starting at- @Gerald is making a design change on his little spinning tops. I really like the new design and the colors he uses. In his post, Gerald added a picture of his previous design for comparison- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for more information and registration- Todd Raines continues his presentation on the spindle gouge- If you missed Cindy Drozda's live tool talk last week, here's the YouTube video- Also from Cindy- For The Newbies- The skew chisel is a powerful tool, once you have mastered it. Richard Raffan shows us how that done- Mr. Raffan goes further, in this video, demonstrating using the skew to turn finials- There are several ways to chuck mount a bowl. Two of the more popular ways are the Mortise and Tenon. I typically use the mortise because it allows me to finish the bowl bottom with my preferred method. The mortise, however, is not without pitfalls as Kent Weakley points out- Jim Rodgers demonstrates how to make a bottle stopper. Unlike the metal stopper kits, Mr. Rodgers uses corks to seal the bottle. Also check out the home made mandrel at the end of the video- Tim Yoder offers up a short video on turning a curve Although a chuck is a really nice piece of equipment to own, especially when making small items. Lyle Jamieson shows us the chuck is not the only way to to accomplish it. Expand Your Horizons- If you are ready to move up to bowl turning, Craft Supplies USA has a nice video illustrating the process step by step. The bowl blank in this demonstration was partially dried commercially- Never too early to start those ornaments for next Christmas! Here Alan Stratton creates an 8 point, 3 axis item! @Steve Krumanaker turns items for artisans in his area. Recently he started making "drop spindles" for a craftsperson who works with wool. I thought this might be another thing Steve could use as a money maker From Woodworker's Journal, a Three Winged Jewelry box. The how-to article is at- https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/project-three-winged-jewelry-box/ Check out what Tim Yoder does with a small 3 branch crotch piece- New Turning Items- A sale on Woodturners Wonders LED lights https://woodturnerswonders.com/ Everything Else- From Ron Brown's newsletter- You Are Called To Be A Mentor You have to know something about your subject. First-hand experience is helpful. If you can explain What, How, and Why so a 5th grader can understand it, you will be a good mentor. It only takes a very small portion of your time (15 minutes to 1 hour) here and there to show individuals or groups of folks what you are talking about. You might need to take an occasional phone call to clear up misunderstandings. In this day and age, you might need to answer a text message or send a YouTube link addressing the issue. Unless you are a paid demonstrator, you must accept that you most probably will receive nothing material in return from those you help so unselfishly. Some won’t even say thank you and some will argue that you are wrong. A few of the people you help will go on to accomplish even greater things than you did. Some of the students will indeed go on to become the teachers. You need to accept and appreciate that others gave of themselves to help you achieve the things you know. Even if you learned most of what you know by yourself (so-called self-taught), chances are that you watched YouTube videos, attended a trade show demonstration, or a club demonstration. Perhaps you were just a member of the crowd and not in a one-on-one situation. Someone took their time to show you something you didn’t know in a way that helped you be more successful. Sometimes folks will want to be paid for their advice. They are still exercising mentorship. I was very fortunate during my early turning career to encounter some very talented and generous mentors; Nick Cook was the very first and Don Russell gave of his time and energy unselfishly on numerous occasions. I hosted Chris Stott from England for a full week! That turned out to be a magnificent chapter in my turning career. Kirk Deheer of Craft Supplies in Utah gently guided me over a period of several years and I will be ever grateful for his wisdom. Mike Mahony offered guidance and freely answered my list of 20 questions over dinner many years ago. Others have given their time and energy and are wonderful examples of mentorship even when they didn’t realize it. Of course, it required me to put their advice into practice to make it my own, but, as they say, the way you get to Carnegie Hall is practice, practice, practice. A mentor simply guides someone willing to learn. It is really that simple and anyone can and should do it when given the opportunity. Safe turning
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October is almost in the books! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald was busy turning out some really neat projects- He posted these in "Friday's Weekend" thread. See his post for some other colorful items- He even managed to score some beautiful cherry over the weekend- There are more pictures at- And he managed to get at least one piece underway- Our resident Christmas ornament professional, @Ron Altier, posted some beautiful maple items. I think he used his patented epoxy finish on them. Check out his post for more about where he got the wood- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information and registration- For The Newbies- New turners typically have difficulty getting proficient with the skew. I still haven't mastered it! Watch Richard Raffan make it look easy- Mike Peace demonstrated how to do some tool "makeovers" Woodturning Monthly was published by the Woodworker's Journal. Some nice projects and articles- https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/woodturning-monthly/?utm_medium=email Expand Your Horizons- Alan Stratton is always coming up with unusual turning ideas and this one is no exception- Wish you had a Genie? Well Carl Jacobson has turned a Genie Bottle in case you ever find one New Turning Items- Niles Bottle Stoppers has added a couple of new items- https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/artisan-coffee-scoop-kit/ https://nilesbottlestoppers.com/product/artisan-rasp-grater-kit/ Woodturners Wonders is having a sale on their lathe "Track System". Check their website at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lathe-track?_kx=gV5SF2As_3IwtBi5TrpHVQM0F3UvGVbQKzhWGippDlk%3D.VJvU8R Everything Else- From Ron Brown's newsletter- Side Gig – Sage Advice I had a long visit with a friend who will be retiring in 5-6 years and is thinking about starting a woodworking business to keep busy and generate some extra income. I have been hearing from more folks than usual about generating a little cash from a side hustle in view of the current economic situation with a dollar buying less every day. I’ve made extra income from my side hustle for the last 55 years. Even when I was in the corporate world, I still made and sold wooden items on the side. Sometimes for pocket change, sometimes as a second income when the first one wasn’t enough. I’ve picked up a few things along the way that you might be interested in or passing along to a friend. 1) Demand – don’t just make and try to sell what you love, make and sell what they want to buy (even if you don’t particularly like it). I tell my family that I would sell dried cow patties if that was what the demand called for. a. In general woodworking the good sellers might be cutting boards, stove top covers, 2x4 basic bunk beds, etc. b. For woodturners it could be pens, tops, pepper mills, salad bowls, etc. I’ve learned from experience that just because I’m wild about something, doesn’t mean it will sell. 2) If an item is in high demand and everyone else is doing it, don’t be afraid to make them also. a. A prime example of this is metal tumblers like the Yeti. In the laser engraving world, there are thousands of people making laser engraved tumblers, wrapped tumblers, or personalized tumblers. I know, my kids have given me several every Christmas for the past bunch of years. My church even gave me a pair. b. Hamburgers are another great example. If people were afraid of making something someone else made, there would only be one place to get a hamburger instead of a hamburger joint on every corner. 3) Don’t be the cheapest guy on the block. Find out what the market price is and be somewhere around there. You might have to be creative to make a profit. 4) If no one is doing it, there is probably a good reason. No demand, impossible to make a decent profit due to the material cost or excessive labor. Before you bring something totally new to the market, get half a dozen regular items well established and selling consistently before you attempt to blaze a totally new trail. 5) You might be a perfectionist, but your customers won’t pay for perfection. They will pay for great or even good, but perfect is in the eye of the beholder. You can be perfect if you don’t mind making $2/hr. But that is not how you make a profit in the real world. 6) Listen to your wife. She loves you and wants you to succeed. She will tell you things your friends won’t. There are many more tidbits of advice, based on years of experience, but these are some of the important ones. 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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Well 2022 is drawing to a close and that means our Ward 57 event is very near the end, too! It is not too late to get those raffle tickets for those awesome prized donated by our generous sponsors- Our Patriot Turners- @John Hechel Posted a thread about some custom rolling pins he was asked to create. These are awesome! John tells us who will be using them, and more about the build, in his post- @forty_caliber got himself a new toy from Tim Yoder! In his post, Forty gives us an in depth review of the hollowing rig and shows us what if can do- @Gerald is adding the finishing touches to his lathe accessory stand. You can never have too much storage space (or too many clamps!) What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to registration and more information- For The Newbies- Ahh Skews, my old nemesis! Mike Peace fills us in on everything you ever wanted to know about this instrument of the devil! This is from one of Mike's IRDs so it is a little long. Just starting to learn the lathe? Sam Angelo's video about spindle turning and the tools used might give you some insights- And, speaking of the skew, a video from the Kirk DeHeer by Craft Supplies USA turns a mallet using one- Expand Your Horizons- A little late for this year's Christmas but a way for us turners to have our own method of delivering Hershey's Kisses. Check out how Alan Stratton lays out the blank for turning spheres without a jig- A while back @PostalTom turned a chess set for his grandson. Wish I had access to this video to give Tom some ideas at the time. This is another Mike Peace IRD video- New Turning Items- I see that the folks at StarBond (the CA folks) have added a line of sanding disks. I haven't tried them but the prices look competitive- https://starbond.com/products/starbond-premium-grade-5-inch-8-hole-hook-and-loop-sanding-discs-pack-of-100 Everything Else- Even the pros can have a bad day. Check out the end of this video- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from the last two weeks- Safe turning
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Our Ward 57 Christmas project is underway! We've made it to about 20% of the way to our goal! If you haven't donated yet, please checkout this link- Also, Easy Wood tools has added some awesome prizes to the Ward 57 raffle! And, speaking of Easy Wood Tools, we have a new member to our turning forum. Please welcome @Jordan Martindale! She is the Administrative Assistant & Sales Support person at Easy Wood Tools. Jordan is also working to expand Easy Wood Tools' involvement in the social media world of things. Our Patriot Turners- Last week's posted video on the skew prompted @forty_caliber to challenge us to show the eggs we created. @HandyDan accepted the gauntlet and posted this- Fantastic work, Dan!! Leave it to @Steve Krumanaker to create another awesome mechanism for embellishing a turning. This one is so cool! Thanks, Steve!! About a year ago, @smitty10101 posted a question about turning end grain and how to handle tear out. New member @Bill Blasic picked up with the posted and added his thoughts. Check out the additional comments- What’s Coming Up- Click on the images for links to more information/registration- For The Newbies- Mike Peace continues with his series of videos covering the use of turning accessories- Richard Raffan demonstrates turning a small cross grain box. Expand Your Horizons- We mentioned last week about Cindy Drozda's live presentation of using a camera to assist in hollowing. If you missed it, she posted the video on YouTube. Couple of weeks ago, @HandyDan was looking for a video on turning a natural edge wine glass. Not quite a wine glass but maybe this will help- What to try ebonizing? Really short video from Richard Raffan- Alan Stratton reuses a bandsaw jig to add interesting details to his turnings- New Turning Items- Niles Bottle Stoppers has added a new product. Carl Jacobson demonstrates the new bronze threaded inserts. Woodturners Wonders is having their Black Friday's sale for the entire month! https://woodturnerswonders.com/ Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Finished and delivered the walnut bowls. Nothing special. I really need to get more experience with the Sorby spiral/texture tool. I've watched Darryl Jones ( https://www.youtube.com/Dreadknotwoodshop ) and Jeff Hornug (https://www.instagram.com/jeffreyhornung/ ) to try and understand how they get those beautiful designs but so far mine are miserable failures. I used the sanding paste, Yorkshire Grit from Easy Wood Tools ( @Jordan Martindale ). Love the results! The lady was happy o I guess that's what matters. Safe turning
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Our annual Operation Ward 57 is underway! Please checkout this post for more information on our selected family. Our Patriot Turners- @forty_caliber turned another bowl from Pecan. That species sure does have some beautiful grain and color. Please hop on over to his post and see some of the great comments from our members- New member @Bill Blasic commented on one of our older "Tip" entries on the woodworm screw. He made some great points in his post. Please check this out and give him a warm welcome to our forum- @HandyDan found some inspiration from last weeks "Wednesday's..." and turned some sweet little projects- Dan offers more information in his post- Sorry, Dan, I looked all over the place and couldn't come up with the wine glass turning. What’s Coming Up- Check this out for tomorrow, Thursday November 10, from Cindy Drozda. A live tool talk on using the camera for hollowing. Our own @Steve Krumanaker has been using his camera to do hollowing for quite some time. For The Newbies- Another presentation from Cindy on creating the 40/40 Bowl Gouge grind. Some great lighting tips from "Robo Hippy" Rolling pins are easy to turn and make excellent presents. Nice article, with tutorial, from the Family Handyman. It also features the use of Easy Wood Tools for turning. https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/wood-turn-a-rolling-pin/ Expand Your Horizons- Want to give a big shoutout and THANKS to @forty_caliber for the heads-up on this video on creating eggs. Using the Skew has always been my downfall but this turner makes it look so easy. Sam Angelo demonstrates creating a basic basket illusion Carl Jacobson turns an absolutely gorgeous pedestal vase. Lots of turning and some carving- Master Woodturner Kirk DeHeer takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a Calabash Bowl in this video from Craft Supplies USA- New Turning Items- OK, not a tool but a useful resource that I recently discovered. From StarBond Adhesives- Starbond_eMagazine_Oct_2022_E1.pdf The link to the source-- https://starbond.com/blogs/tutorials Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Been hectic around here but the 2 little walnut bowls reached moisture equilibrium and have moved to the lathe. We are supposed to get some rainy weather on Friday so maybe I'll get a chance to finish them- Safe turning
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Frantic week here, unfortunately absolutely no time at the lathe. Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN rough turned a bunch of bowls- In his post he tells us about the type of wood and shows us some of the blanks- Rusty also finished a beautiful mahogany bowl Check out the nice comments by our turners- Last week, @forty_caliber picked up some really nice bowl blanks. He created some awesome pieces from them Check out more from his continued post- What’s Coming Up- Lots happening in the near future. Click on the images for links to more information and registration. For The Newbies- This is copied and pasted from Ron Brown's latest newsletter. Good advice for new turners when selecting tools. Should You Use A Butter Knife For Everything? Why not? Because there are times when a butter knife just won’t cut it. Sometimes you need a butcher knife to cut up chicken, steak, or a pork roast. You might need to peel a potato or an apple or cut up ingredients for a chunky salad. It is the same thing with lathe tools. Sometimes you need to slice, other times you need to scrape, and sometimes you just need to make a lot of material go away. When I first began to learn about turning, my turning buddies thought the key to turning like the professionals was having their tool with their grind. So, I bought a new tool with every new demonstration I watched. Turns out, it isn’t the tool! I began to analyze High-Speed Steel lathe tools and it didn’t take long to realize that there are only 6 basic categories for HSS tools; 7 if you include tools for hollowing. There are many different sizes within each category and many different grinds within each category. I even developed a helpful chart so you can better visualize each one. I’ve made it available as an Instant Free Download here: We call it “Turner’s Reference Guide.” You will have to be registered, also free, and logged into your account. I recommend you print this out and post it in your shop. My recommendation is to acquire a limited number of HSS tools in each category and add different sizes and grinds as you need them. Simply having 100 HSS turning tools doesn’t make you a better turner. This I found out the hard way. Here's the link to register for Mr. Brown's newsletter. Once registered, you can download the reference guide mentioned above. "It's Free"!! https://www.ronbrownsbest.com/index.php?route=account/register Want to expand your creativity? A video from the AAW on turning a mushroom- Turned beads are a great way to add interest to almost any turning. In this video, Mike Peace demonstrates some of the tools for turning beads- Turning a bowl from a log can be done several ways and it's always good to see the method used by other turners. Here Kent Weakley demonstrates his style- And, Richard Raffan's method- Expand Your Horizons- Need to turn a thin spindle? Jim Echter shows how it's done. Awesome skew work!! Always fun to watch Mike Waldt create a new item. This is part 1 of an elderberry vase. Yet another scoop version from Alan Stratton- I happened upon this on a social media site. We are always looking for food safe methods of finishing turnings. This may, or may not, be an effective but it sure is interesting. This is a copy and paste from Debbie Coull's Instagram post ( https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj3BgYgjbrC/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D ) so all can read it. "Sealing a food safe vessel with hot milk. No idea of the exact process as I struggled to get anything online for doing this with wood. Lots about how to do it with earthenware. So, since this is an ancient technique, I figured, keep it simple. Sycamore cereal bowl (hopefully), turned and sanded to 320. Exterior sealed with wax, interior left naked (I know the wax exterior will wash off after it's been in use and washed). Milk was heated till I burned the tip of my finger, then poured in till it lipped the rim. Now leaving it to cool. The process requires the casein protein in the milk penetrating and sealing the wood grain. I know there will be several folk comment about the milk going rancid, but I'm trusting the process. If it didn't work, then it wouldn't have been practiced for centuries." New Turning Items- Woodturners Wonders has expanded their product line to include CA adhesives. You can check out their complete selection at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/adhesives Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning
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OK, gang, here's the deal. Whether you are a regular reader, casually drop by, Patriot member or a guest, you should know that every Christmas we adopt a Wounded Warrior Family. Last year, we had the privilege and honor of helping the Hine family have a most memorable holiday. Now we hear that Mrs. Hine is having medical issues. Please see the following post for additional information. The point here is The Patriot site is going to donate a large portion of the summer raffle to once again help the Hine family. PLEASE consider donating to the raffle to help the family who have given so much to keep this country free. Here's the link to the summer raffle- Our Patriot Turners- @RustyFN has been making segmented turnings. He found an online calculator to help determine the angles needed to cut the segments. @Gerald turned some neat little vessels and then adorned them with pyrography and inks! Check out Gerald's post for more images- @forty_caliber posted his first turned vessel and it's a beaut! Please read his post and see all of the positive comments and encouragement from our members! What’s Coming Up- With pandemic restrictions being lessened more and more events are being held. Many are still interactive over the Internet but I am seeing lots of in-person stuff happening as well. Click on the image for the link to registration Click on the above image for the link to more information. Click on the above image for the link to registration and more information Click on the above image for the link to Cindy's page and registration Click on the above image for more information Click on the above image for the link to registration For The Newbies- More on using the skew chisel. Video by Robbo Robertson. This is Part #1 with more parts linked from his YouTube Channel- Expand Your Horizons- @RustyFN's adventures into segmented turnings led me to several sources of information for anyone wishing to give it a try. Here's an older video on some ideas and jigs- products can be found at- http://www.segeasy.com Jim Rodgers continues his series on segmented turnings- If segments aren't your thing. How about a deep vase with pyrography and dyes from Rick Turns- Or, maybe putting feet on the bottom of your next bowl. Mike Peace shows us how he does it- New Turning Items- And, as it happens, a new item on the market for the segmented turning enthusiast- @forty_calibermentioned he just purchased a Longworth chuck. I found this earlier this week- https://buffalowoodturningproducts.com/products/bwp-longworth-style-chuck-12-24?utm_campaign=emailmarketing_114143166546&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email The folks at Woodturners Wonders now have a new CBN sharpening product- Check them out at- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/featured-products/products/cbn-dowels Rob Crosman posted a video covering some of his favorite woodworking "gadgets". This caught my eye as a pretty neat replacement hose. The video starts at the hose demonstration- Everything Else- Tim Yoder started a project that will take several months to complete. Aside from the turning, Tim provides useful tips on drying and information on wood defects. This notice came in an email today. Just passing it along - Finally, Rick Turns compilation of last weeks turning videos from YouTube- Safe turning and stay well
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Hey gang, don't forget, we are into our site fundraising raffle. We started off like gangbusters but we have a long way to go! If you haven't already purchased your tickets, please consider checking out the fantastic prizes! All the proceeds from this fundraiser go to the operating costs of this site. Here's more: Our Patriot Turners- @Steve Krumanaker set up a really cool way to visualize wall thicknesses when turning hollow forms. He mentioned it last week and had an opportunity to get his vase turned- Beautiful shape and colorization. Steve tells us more about this turning and also posted some images of the hollowing tools he made- Steve was out at one of the nation's largest "yard sales" and snagged a honey of an old turning caliper- Steve shows us more images and a little about his shopping experience- @AndrewB continues to create beautiful pepper mills. Here is his most recent piece- Andrew shows us some other views in his post- Andrew posted a couple of process shots in our "What's On Your Workbench" forum. Thought I'd add them here as well so you cans see what this pepper mill looked like along the way- Last week I posted a video of @Gerald's work but couldn't remember how I came across it. Gerald was kind enough to steer me in the right direction. The club Gerald belongs to is called the Magnolia Woodturners. They have a YouTube channel with a bunch of demonstrations. Check it out at- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxqC3z3zrAP-cICGwP-wiDw/videos @John Morris provided a link to download a portion of the September-October Workbench Magazine- the plans for a turned cherry planter. A simple project that could be turned from just about any wood. The PDF file- Workbench Magazine September-October 1967 Cherry Planter.pdf And the link to John's post- What’s Coming Up- https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturner/Events/Annual-Symposium---Conference/2021-Virtual-Symposium/Woodturner/2021-Virtual-Symposium/2021-Virtual-Symposium-Home.aspx?_zs=ceDib&_zl=NKsb2 Here's the link for signing up- http://www.cindydrozda.com/html/Signup.html For The Newbies- It's no secret that the skew is my archenemy with which I have a love/hate relationship. Mike Waldt has added another beginners guide to lathe tool use with this live demonstration and question/answer video. It is quite long but very informative- The forth in a series on lathe maintenance from Record Power- Expand Your Horizons- A nice kitchen project that involves some not too difficult offset turning from the Woodworker's Journal https://www.woodworkersjournal.com/project-double-offset-bread-knife/ Alan Stratton makes a wooden goblet from walnut- Everyone here knows my fondness for the Easy Wood Tools products ( @Jim from Easy Wood Tools ). I use their tools for almost all of the items I turn. The folks at Easy Wood Tools will be the first to acknowledge that having many types of tools (Carbide and HSS) in your arsenal is beneficial. What really bothers me is why many experienced turners tend to diminish the roll of carbide tools and their users. I recently came across 2 videos where the authors compare/contrast carbide to HSS. Both turners are well known and highly respected. Both expounded on what HSS tools can do and what Carbide cannot. In the first video, in my opinion, the presenter hasn't spent equal time learning the ins/outs of Carbide vs. HSS. It's disappointing because his was the first lathe book I ever had. This second presenter is more receptive to the idea that Carbide has advantages. It's still skewed somewhat to the HSS allegiance, but, that is to be expected as the presenter has their own line of HSS tools. END OF RANT. New Turning Items- From Woodturners Wonders a really nice sanding bundle at a great price. Note: this is a air powered device- https://woodturnerswonders.com/products/pros-wonder-weave-snubber-hose-bundle From Craft Supplies USA, a new item for those who make rings- https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/58/7376/artisan-White-Ceramic-Inlay-Comfort-Fit-Ring-Core-8mm?utm_source=csusa&utm_medium=email&utm_content=white&utm_campaign=21-05-ceramic Everything Else- Rick Turns list of YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Safe turning and stay well
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I don't know why they make a beading tool to begin with how ever you don't really need one just a waste of money I think. Why use that when a Skew works just perfectly fine. While working on the next mill project, I did some more beading work. Still needs practice but this was nothing but skew. I still need a lot more practice doing it but hey it is what it is.
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Walked down to the garden this morning and I see the garlic is starting to poke through the leaf mulch. I guess spring can't be too far away. Don't forget to turn your clocks forward this Saturday night or you will be late to Sunday School! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald took some time to rearrange his turning area. No easy feat and he will probably looking for where he put stuff for some time to come! Our members all sympathized with the amount of work required to do this. You can see their comments in Gerald's post- @Masonsailor Took a break from his media room redo and played on the lathe. Paul decided to turn a Top and it's a beauty. Our turners had lots of questions and comments about how the hardware and his processes. Check out Paul's post, here- A couple of weeks ago @Bob Hodge was asking about wet sanding techniques and products. Well, Bob made the leap and he tells us about his results. We appreciate Bob's follow-up and giving us his findings- @RustyFN Tried his hand at segmented turning. He said it was his first time at this but judging from the results, I have to wonder . As you might expect, the kudos were flying for this beauty! Rusty also gave us an insight into some of his processes for cutting the segments- In one of our other forums, Rusty shared his lumber score. You know some guys can fall in "it" and come out smelling like a rose. That's our Rusty!! Just look at what he picked up! He already has it broken down into turning blanks! A little more on his good luck here- @AndrewB is working on another pepper grinder. He is turning this one from Bhilwara. It is a beautiful wood and should look awesome on the table! In his post, Andrew also describes a new parting tool he purchased- More about the turning and the new tool here- What’s Coming Up- Click on the above image for the link to more information and registration Click on the above image for the link to registration and other demonstrators. For The Newbies- Several videos on sharpening and using bowl gouges and skew chisels- Expand Your Horizons- Rusty showed us his segmented bowl. Here's a recent video, posted by Woodworker's Journal, on some of the process that can be used to get you started. Resin casting and turning still remains popular. Our sponsor, Woodcraft, posted a tutorial covering products, procedures and safety. Here's the link to the web post- https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/cast-resin-turning?trk_msg=TIMUEHUKAFJ4HB9QSEB8OHLPNG&trk_contact=GSF9RJJ1I54ES16EDIULIN24MG&trk_sid=SJ2JKIDH3D265LJPCLOE09EL80&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=WCMAG+Cast+Resin+Turning+-+Free+Article&utm_campaign=Catalog Here is the PDF file- 76_ft_Resin-Turning_FINAL.pdf New Turning Items- It's been difficult to find any new and unique turning products. I guess everyone has scaled back due to the restrictions. The folks at Woodturners Wonders are having a Saint Patrick's Day sale. If you need sandpaper, might be wort looking into- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/sales Everything Else- Rick Turns YouTube woodturning videos from last week- Well, my Psychedelic Psteady Rest is finished. I used LED in-line skate wheels and the material seems like it won't mar the turnings and yet is firm enough to keep the turning in place. Right now I am finishing up the Sketchup drawings that I used as plans. Probably not necessary but I need the Sketchup practice. A short video of the first test run. Not quite finished here but you get the idea- IMG_0977.mp4 Safe turning and stay well
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I know you probably don't want to hear this, but Christmas is only 2 months away. Lockdowns and job layoffs are really affecting everyone. Again, this year, we will have the opportunity to make one family's Christmas not so bleak. Please check out this information on our annual Adopt-a-Family project- Also, reminding our turners to please add tags to their posts. Those tags help us all when searching for specific information. Our Patriot Turners- Today, @Gerald added an extremely informative blog on drying turned wood. I had asked Gerald what his techniques were and he offered to put together the information. Please check out what he has done. Lots of great information! @Ron Altier showed us a couple of his recent projects. First up is one of his beautiful ornaments. Ron generally creates his own blanks but with this one he tried something different- Ron tells us about this one in his post- He also made some turnings from an aromatic wood- Lots of comments about uses for it- @Masonsailor put the finishing touches on the fireplace utensils stand. It sure is a thing of beauty- Paul shows us the final steps- @PostalTom gave us an update on his lathe. Tom and Gerald had been working together to solve a problem. With Gerald's help and a Jet technician, he is back up and running! It's wonderful how our turners can "turn" to each other for help and advice! @AndrewB cranked out a couple of pine bowls from a Home Depot board He showed us some of the progress pictures in his post Andrew also refined his lathe bench after removing the standard Harbor Freight metal stand- What’s Coming Up- Cindy Drozda has another online demonstration coming up. This one is her signature finial box- Click on the above image for the link to Cindy's site and registration information. For The Newbies- The skew chisel, what can I say?! An often ignored tool but in the hands of a master it is a wonder to behold- A nice project that can have you practicing learned skills and maybe developing some new ones- Expand Your Horizons- This is quite a lengthy video from Sam Angelo on embellishing turnings. Sam demonstrates various tools and techniques. When I first saw the picture, I thought- "only Tim Yoder would attempt this on the lathe"! It's a pretty neat project. When I was subbing at school some of the kids were doing this with 3-D printers- New Turning Items- The folks at Woodturners Wonders have a Pro Sanding kit put together. If you are thinking about upping your sanding game, this might be for you- Here's the link- https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/random-orbital-sanders/products/pros-pro-pack Everything Else- Last week's YouTube videos from Rick Turns- Last week I posted a couple of closeup pix of repaired knots in the cherry bowl I was finishing. This is the bowl as it came out of the bag of shavings- Turned, sanded and mineral oil finish- @Gerald's blog on drying originated from a question I had about drying green wood- specifically for this project. This large bowl dried without cracks but I needed two smaller bowls as well. Last week I mentioned that I found Rick Morris (Rick Turns) had a couple of videos on a simple dryer that could speed up the process. It was a simple build, everything needed was in my spare parts stache. A quick Sketchup drawing to get the idea- Then the build- ...and the results are in... Not exactly what I had hoped for. What went wrong??? First, I think I had a too high wattage bulb. I grabbed a 60 watt bulb which I think generated too much heat in the box. Second, the little bowls were about 5.5" in diameter and about 2.5" deep. I left the wall thickness at about 1/2" which is around 1/10 the diameter (see Geralds blog). This is typical for the bag/shaving process but I think it was too thick for this application. I'm on the second attempt, now. I reduced the bulb wattage to 40 watts and turned the bowls to a wall thickness of about 3/8". After 24 hours in the dryer, no cracks have appeared. Fingers crossed!! If you are interested in Rick's process, Safe turning and stay well
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Well the weather here in South Central PA is finally starting to look more like spring. Only 3 days in the last 4 weeks have had above average temperatures. Maybe I can get some plants into the garden! Our Patriot Turners- @Gerald turned a gorgeous vase from chestnut oak. Not only does it have a beautiful shape, Gerald also finished it with various stains to create fantastic depths of color. Gerald explains more about his process in his post- Gerald also posted some of his turnings in our gallery- What’s Coming Up- Cindy Drozda is having a special live video demonstration! "On May 23, 2020, I will be offering a Live, Interactive, Woodturning Demonstration where I show you how I turn my signature Finial Box. This is an internet presentation that you can watch from your home, on a computer or TV. You will be able to ask questions and I will answer you in real time. After the demo, I will be online to chat. Come join me!" For The Newbies- Sharpening traditional turning tools can be a challenge. Here, Mike Peace demonstrated how to sharpen a both a standard and curved radius skew- Sanding a turning is my achilles heel. No matter how hard I try and how long I work, there always seems to be those obvious scratches. The folks at Woodturners Wonders have a blog section on their website and I found this article to be interesting- https://woodturnerswonders.com/blogs/news/41247428-the-art-of-sanding Expand Your Horizons- Not everyone is a fan of gloss finishes. I discovered that when I sent a little walnut form to a friend as a gift- after he said how much he liked it. He stripped the gloss finish and made it matted and cut the finial length in half. Anyway, if you do enjoy glass like finishes, Mr. M. Saban has a three part video set on his methods. These were live demonstrations so they tend to be a little lengthy. Part#1- Parts #2 and 3 can be found at- https://www.youtube.com/user/workingimage/videos New Turning Items- Woodcraft, one of our site sponsors, has some new forstner bits. They are available in both metric and fractional diameters. They are supposed to stay sharper longer. Everything Else- Rick Turns has started publishing his list of YouTube videos in a weekly format. My idea of the ebony feet on my arch nemesis bowl was a complete failure. My thoughts were to keep the feet small so as not to be the focal point. I just don't have the talent for graceful proportions. I think I'll just put a finish on it and call it done. Inside- Outside- Safe turning and stay well
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Happy Birthday America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our Patriot Turners- We continue to have a great discussion on @Gerald's post on what we need to know to get started turning. If you haven't been following along, please head on over to that post and see what is happening! @Artie has asked a question about turning needs that closely related to Gerald's post. Artie's question generated lots of comments and discussion. Please check out the post and see if you can help out- @Danl found a video, by Richard Raffan, explaining how catches occur. The video concentrates on the skew chisel and the gouge. What’s Coming Up- http://www.turnonchicago.com/ For The Newbies- A follow up to @Danl's post on catches, these video should help the beginner- or any turner- get more comfortable using the skew chisel- This is a seven part series by Ian Robo Robertson. All of the parts can be found at- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeV9fORSV0QAc-25uxshDPw Mike Peace developed a nice little video illustrating a jig to size tenons. These little jigs really speed up the tenon prep- Expand Your Horizons- Tired of turning spindles and bowls? Check out this neat item from Tim Yoder! New Turning Items- @Steve Krumanaker uses pyrography to embellish the bottom of his bowls. Robert Sorby has partnered with Peter Child in releasing this new pyrography machine. This pyrography system supports two lightweight pens. The pens heat up from cold in two seconds. Pen tips can be purchased or homemade. Making homemade tips is easy using nickel chromium wire. The unit is available from Amazon. Everything Else- I really need to get back to the lathe. So many interruptions and people calling wanting things done. Off and on I have been playing with an idea to help me improve the wall thickness consistency of my hollow turnings. I've made a few "wire" type thickness gauges and they work for part of the turning sides. But inside, around the neck, it is difficult to get a measurement. Of course there must be a simple, easy to use device but... Don't laugh! I'm not a metal worker. My metal-working tools consist of a hacksaw and a file. The "device" is a fully adjustable laser indicator. The laser is one of those "pet lasers" that uses 3 batteries. I calculated that a 5v USB charges could be used to power the laser if I added a silicon diode (1N4000 series) in series with one of the USB power leads, The diode drops just enough voltage to safely power the laser. Mounted the laser on a sliding holder. Articulated the measuring end to get around corners. In action Made mostly of aluminum and brass except for the articulated arm which is steel key stock. Sliding parts fixed with thumb screws. I should have bypassed the on-off switch but I can loosen the clamp, holding the laser, and slide it down under the clamp. Safe turning
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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- [email protected] @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
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I watched the video on proper use of the skew chisel (lew posted) and noticed how he had his sharpened with a slight curve, rather than a straight edge. I haven't see the curve before and it looks like a better way. I don't use the skew much, when I first started I ruined things, didn't know how to properly use it. Is your skew edge curved?
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