New to wood turning new to this forum

[Bruce L Jones]

Hello everyone I thought I would try my hand at turning.
So in May I bought an HF Central Machines 36" lathe; I started w/ soft woods like Aspen, Cedar, and pine, then I found a source for some hard woods.
Here's what I've been up to since may.

 

[Bruce L Jones]

I'm not sure how many photos this site lets you post at a time?
Here's some more photos.

 

[Bruce L Jones]

These are Mahognay

 

[Bruce L Jones]

This vase is Sapelle

 

[Bruce L Jones]

This Walnut vase is 16.5 tall 8.5 at its widest point and was made from 9 pieces 8 were 2" thick.
It has a few coats of Tung oil rubbed in.

 

[Bruce L Jones]

This was the one on the lathe in the first set of photos and a lamp I've made also.

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Here are a few more pieces I've made.

 

[hockenbery]

Hi Bruce,
Welcome to the forum.

If you haven't done so already check out the local AAW clubs

Chesapeake woodturner said in Annapolis and the Baltimore county clubs are two you should visit.
Both have excellent turners and great demonstration programs.

They can help you in many ways from ideas, critiques, mentoring, supplies of wood.

Have fun
Work safely,
Al

 

[Bruce L Jones]

And a few more pieces in Teak

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Thank you Al I'll look in to those; here's a few more in Walnut.

 

[Odie]

Great stuff, Bruce.......

You did all that in 2 months, and they are your first efforts? Wow, that's terrific!😎

ko

 

[Richard Coers]

We have a newbie section here as well. Not sure of the photo limit, but you had to come close! LOL

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Thanks Odie Yes those are My first pieces; the all Cedar first photo was my very first, the checker board Cedar Aspen was my second and the Native American looking bowls were 3&4.
I've just picked up another load of wood this week some figured Maple, figured white Oak and some curly Cherry as well; I'll be segmenting these w/ the Walnut, Sapele and Teak I already had.

In all fairness I didn't tell you that I've been a cabinet maker for 35 years; but this is my first go at the lathe.

There will be more coming soon; I leave for my vacation tomorrow and will be taking the 16' Cedar strip canoe I built this past fall.
I have a build log of it if anybody would like to see it step by step, I SCRATCH built it in 2 months by myself my girl friend helped w/ the Epoxy mixing and spreading but I did the rest, have a look at her (Serenity) is what I named her.

Bruce

 

[Douglas Ladendorf]

Hi Bruce, nice to see you found your way here. Welcome! Definitely look for a club(s) in your area. Turners tend to be a top notch bunch and I think you will enjoy the demos. Clearly you have hit this slippery slope hard!

Best,
Doug

 

[Mark Hepburn]

Hi Bruce, and welcome to the forum!

I'll tell you this, one club you don't need to go to to learn from is a canoe building club. That is a fine piece of work

 

[Mark Hepburn]

Oh, I was pretty blown away by the canoe and forgot to comment on your lathe work which is very nice.

 

[john lucas]

Excellent work. Your joinery kind of gave me a clue that you had been a flat woodworker in another life. 🙂 Welcome to the turning vortex. Your shapes are also better than the typical novice which should have also been a clue but I didn't pick up on that at first. Also your sanding skills show off advanced techniques as there aren't any sanding lines in any of them. Glad you found us.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome, Bruce. it's obvious that you are a very competent woodworker. I love the canoe. I think that the sapele vase would be my favorite. There is some beautiful chatoyance in that piece of wood. The corners on your pagoda box meet at a perfect point ... very well done. The fact that you did the large vases on a Harbor Freight lathe is quite impressive. And, your segmenting skill is evident also. I will also echo what others have said about the benefits of joining a club.

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Thank you very much Doug, Mark ,John and Bill ; I'm working w/ a very strict budget so I don't think I'll be joining any clubs right off;
I would rather buy more tools a proper band saw and jointer are in my line of sight, as well as a few more chisels and extra chuck.
I already have the next segment bowl under way this one is figured maple / tiger Maple and Pommele Sapele.
I'm hoping to learn here on these forums usually when I see something done I can emulate it in to my own way.
You mentioned my HF CM Lathe I've been very impressed w/ it so far it's not an American Beauty but neither was the price tag! LOL 😀

I'll be back turning by Tuesday,

Bruce

 

[Bill Boehme]

Thank you very much Doug, Mark ,John and Bill ; I'm working w/ a very strict budget so I don't think I'll be joining any clubs right off;
I would rather buy more tools a proper band saw and jointer are in my line of sight, as well as a few more chisels and extra chuck.
I already have the next segment bowl under way this one is figured maple / tiger Maple and Pommele Sapele.
I'm hoping to learn here on these forums usually when I see something done I can emulate it in to my own way.
You mentioned my HF CM Lathe I've been very impressed w/ it so far it's not an American Beauty but neither was the price tag! LOL 😀

I'll be back turning by Tuesday,

Bruce

The dues for the club that I belong to is $24 per year, prorated if you join after January. I think that is fairly typical of most clubs. Our club doesn't mind if somebody just wants to attend meetings as a visitor. So, cost shouldn't be an obstacle. Also, most clubs provide mentoring for free to new turners. I think that it would help you advance your skills considerably. Also, the monthly demonstrations that most clubs offer will expose you to many facets of turning as well as useful techniques.

That particular HF lathe is surprisingly good as far as HF products are concerned. They have some other lathes that are real dogs. The only thing to be concerned about is the variable speed Reeves drive. The lathe was made primarily for light duty spindle turning, so bowls and vases put a heavier load on the drive pulleys. It will help if you perform frequent maintenance on the pulleys and keep the shafts and slide mechanisms lubed with fresh clean grease.

 

[hockenbery]

Most clubs welcome visitors and encourage prospective members to come to a few meetings before deciding if it is right for them.

Dues is set by each chapter and varies according to expenses, income other than dues. The lowest I have heard is $0. The highest $45.

Al

 

[Douglas Ladendorf]

I will third what Bill and Al have said. My club's dues are $25 annually, but it is a pretty laid back, no pressure environment focused on sharing. I think you would appreciate the show and tell portion, bringing in a piece or two and seeing what other turners in your community are working on. I'm sure they would not want money to be a barrier to anyone's participation.

Doug

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Thank you guys; I was thinking about my RC Airplane hobby, the fees are hundreds of dollars to join a club.
This is good to know I'll look around and see what's local.

Bruce

 

[john lucas]

Woodturners also often have equipment for sale so joining a club might benefit you in that way. I demo at lots of clubs around the country and the highest one I've been to was $45. Like Bill said most are around $25.

 

[hockenbery]

Here are two web pages to check out


http://www.baltimoreareaturners.org


http://www.chesapeakewoodturners.com

Montgomery county and Capitol area clubs are worth a trip if they have an out of town demonstrator.

Al

 

[Bill Boehme]

I don't know about other clubs, but membership in my club gives members a 10% discount at the local Rockler Hardware and Woodcraft stores that is good for almost anything except for power tools (like lathes). This more than makes up for the annual membership fee of $24. Our club also buys Anchorseal in 55 gallon drums and then members can get it for ten dollars per gallon which is essentially a break even cost for the club. Every month somebody brings some FOG wood to the club. Clubs have turners who can teach the basics such as tool control and sharpening to beginners. Members share ideas about style, techniques, different things to make, etc. Many clubs have monthly demonstrations on just about anything related to turning.

 

[hockenbery]

I don't know about other clubs, but membership in my club gives members a 10% discount at the local Rockler Hardware and Woodcraft stores Every month somebody brings some FOG wood to the club. Clubs have turners who can teach the basics such as tool control and sharpening to beginners. Many clubs have monthly demonstrations .

Went to our club meeting last night. We are doing a club buy on bandsaw blades, Ernie from sanding glove made a visit sold a bunch of sanding supplies, gave a gift bag to our raffle and made a percentage of sales donation to our club.

Our club has a demonstration every month except December when we have a party.
The majority if our demonstrators have denied at regional symposiums and the AAW.
Last night we had treat watching a member's first demo ever in a club setting and he did a pretty good job.

This is one benefit of club membership works both ways we give our members a chance to develop and the club gets another quality demonstrator to call on.

Had a great show and tell.

Also dues is only $20 but we have a raffle every meeting. 6 tickets for $5.
The first 5 numbers drawn took away terrific blanks and gift bag from Sanding Glove We won a 2x2x8 piece of eucalyptus.
In a woodcraft store it might retail for $6-8 dollars. It grows in yards here so not a great acquisition.
I think we moved it from a shelf I someone's shop to a shelf in ours. We will either use it or re- gift it to the raffle in a few months.

al

 

[John Torchick]

Nice turnings! I had one of the HF lathes. If it has the Reeves drive, keep it functional. I let mine sit for a while and the RD froze up. Used that as an excuse to buy a new lathe. 😱

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Thank you everyone for all of this great info & links, I will surly look into the clubs; I just got back from vacation and will be back to
making sawdust tomorrow;I'm working on blanks foe segmenting Pommele Sapele & tiger Maple bowls along w/ a few others.

I'll post more when I have something to show; if there's anyone interested in seeing these blanks as there made and assembled, please let me know and I'll post photos as I do this.

Bruce

 

[hockenbery]

Thank you everyone for all of this great info & links, I will surly look into the clubs; I just got back from vacation and will be back to making sawdust tomorrow;I'm working on blanks foe segmenting Pommele Sapele & tiger Maple bowls along w/ a few others. I'll post more when I have something to show; if there's anyone interested in seeing these blanks as there made and assembled, please let me know and I'll post photos as I do this. Bruce

I am not a segmenter but,
It looks like some of your segmented pieces mix in solid wood and some segments vary a lot in size.
In most cases the solid wood and segments don't mix. At best these pieces are prone to glue creep where the joints can be felt
And at worst a delamination or cracked segment.

The differences in grain direction and sizes mean the segments will move in different directions as they expand and contract. Something has to give.

Segmentation works best if the grain in all the segments points in the same direction.

Most segmenters cut segments so the long grain runs tangent to the bowl showing face grain or side grain all around.

You may be aware putting end boards on table tops with floating dovetails. Sort of the same


You are getting some great shapes

Al

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Thank you Al.... I've had no troubles w/ the wood grain direction so far; these next few will be pushing it a bit farther, I really prefer simple curves
w/ natural wood grain but I'm seeing where I can go at this point.

Bruce

 

[Bruce L Jones]

Well I'm back and it took me some time to get up and running but I now have 4 projects going; 2 segmented bowls / vase, another bowl w/ an inlay and a canister.
No photos this time I post new threads for each project as I get them to the stages worth showing you guys how I'm doing them.
I read up on the grain direction while doing segmenting; I'll be doing most that way but for desired effect I'll be running some vertical w/ others horz. face grain, I'm trying to show the flip flop in the grain of the Tiger Maple & Pommele Sapele.
The in lay will all be hand done; inlaying a 1/4' thick piece into the bottom of a Sapele dish; cutting the shape out w/ a band saw and hand routing it in.

Bruce