Folks---
On my birthday, my wife ordered for me a Wilton 99177, a little 7" swing by 12" spindle length mini lathe with a 2/5HP motor. I had already procured a bench grinder and lathe tools, and had been agonizing over whether to buy that one now, save up for a Rikon, or maybe go for the Harbor Freight unit. Well, her gift has solved that problem for me... At least for now.
The lathe arrived on the following day. I had to clean up the computer room to free up a table I could take out to the outboard shed, where I thence proceeded to set up the lathe and grinder. I had some branch wood from a small tree we had to cut down in replacing our fenceline (it was fouling the shed and the fence). I lopped some lengths off and set them up between centers, practicing beads, coves, and other such, and coming up with small spindles that vaguely resemble chess pieces.
Well, as the days have progressed, and house cleaning has given me reason to reward myself, I've been going out to the shed and practicing. I decided to try something on a faceplate. The unit came with two: a 2" and a 3.5". Upon mounting up an interesting looking segment, I noticed how easy it is to have a lathe start walking about when an out-of-balance load is hooked up. It didn't fall, but I shut it off darn quick. I then tried a few more modest things.
The goal was to make a goblet. As it turns out, it took three tries.
The first piece was short, squat, about 1" high by about 1.75" wide, rather straight in the cup taper outside, a very shallow interior well, and a rather thick foot.
The second piece was a bit better---the outside resembled a coffee cup on a saucer, has a very thin foot, however the interior well is still rather shallow. It measures about 1.75" wide by 2" tall. Despite the flaws, I practiced with the finishing supplies I acquired (thanks to a gift card from the in-laws). Unfortunately I had forgotten to sand on the lathe, so I wound up hand-sanding through the grits (up to 600). It looks pretty decent with two coats of Minwax poly.
The third piece, I think, is truly what I was wanting to create. 5.25" tall by 2" in diameter, nicely curved outer cup, some detailing added to the stem with the majority being about .75" in diameter. The base is rather thicker than (what I shall call) the espresso cup, however I think it matches well with the stem. I also discovered that this dunno wood has some gorgeous figure in the heartwood/sapwood transition.
The amazing thing about all this is that when I go out to the shed, it must be at least 95F, if not hotter. Within a minute of entering I'm dripping sweat from the brow, which fouls my safety goggles. Despite this, I find myself entranced in the process... Even when I have to stop and sharpen a gouge or a skew chisel.
Once my wife gets back from France, I plan on starting a gallery... I'll surely be posting the pic of my first goblet!
The third piece, in my opinion, was a success.
On my birthday, my wife ordered for me a Wilton 99177, a little 7" swing by 12" spindle length mini lathe with a 2/5HP motor. I had already procured a bench grinder and lathe tools, and had been agonizing over whether to buy that one now, save up for a Rikon, or maybe go for the Harbor Freight unit. Well, her gift has solved that problem for me... At least for now.
The lathe arrived on the following day. I had to clean up the computer room to free up a table I could take out to the outboard shed, where I thence proceeded to set up the lathe and grinder. I had some branch wood from a small tree we had to cut down in replacing our fenceline (it was fouling the shed and the fence). I lopped some lengths off and set them up between centers, practicing beads, coves, and other such, and coming up with small spindles that vaguely resemble chess pieces.
Well, as the days have progressed, and house cleaning has given me reason to reward myself, I've been going out to the shed and practicing. I decided to try something on a faceplate. The unit came with two: a 2" and a 3.5". Upon mounting up an interesting looking segment, I noticed how easy it is to have a lathe start walking about when an out-of-balance load is hooked up. It didn't fall, but I shut it off darn quick. I then tried a few more modest things.
The goal was to make a goblet. As it turns out, it took three tries.
The first piece was short, squat, about 1" high by about 1.75" wide, rather straight in the cup taper outside, a very shallow interior well, and a rather thick foot.
The second piece was a bit better---the outside resembled a coffee cup on a saucer, has a very thin foot, however the interior well is still rather shallow. It measures about 1.75" wide by 2" tall. Despite the flaws, I practiced with the finishing supplies I acquired (thanks to a gift card from the in-laws). Unfortunately I had forgotten to sand on the lathe, so I wound up hand-sanding through the grits (up to 600). It looks pretty decent with two coats of Minwax poly.
The third piece, I think, is truly what I was wanting to create. 5.25" tall by 2" in diameter, nicely curved outer cup, some detailing added to the stem with the majority being about .75" in diameter. The base is rather thicker than (what I shall call) the espresso cup, however I think it matches well with the stem. I also discovered that this dunno wood has some gorgeous figure in the heartwood/sapwood transition.
The amazing thing about all this is that when I go out to the shed, it must be at least 95F, if not hotter. Within a minute of entering I'm dripping sweat from the brow, which fouls my safety goggles. Despite this, I find myself entranced in the process... Even when I have to stop and sharpen a gouge or a skew chisel.
Once my wife gets back from France, I plan on starting a gallery... I'll surely be posting the pic of my first goblet!
The third piece, in my opinion, was a success.
