Rob Wyatt

[Rob Wyatt]

Hello all! I'm renewing my love affair with wood lately. I've always had a few tools around and been able to make simple stuff but I've never had or used a lathe until recently. I am really enjoying how the piece forms in front of my eyes and in my hands. (Well, close enough.) I've made a few bowls, a couple of boxes, and turned a slimline pen so far.

My shop had been fairly well outfitted already so I had lots of dimensional wood in stock when I bought the lathe and turned some of that. Also picked up a few blanks on sale. I tend to lean toward more technical aspects of, well, everything, and since I have a decent table saw, jointer and planer, I had to segment my second lidded box. That'll probably be the last time I laminate hard and soft woods.



Looking forward to participating in the forum. We have some local clubs here in Charlotte but Mom is 88 and recovering from a heart attack so we are doing the extreme social distancing thing to try to keep her safe. I'll be strictly virtual for a while. Grateful for such a thriving virtual community, though.

 

[hockenbery]

Welcome,
Stay safe


Nice box

 

[Rob Wyatt]

Thanks x 2! It was quite a learning experience. The maple was so much harder than the sapele that I had trouble with catching. I also separated the lid too close to the laminate which led to the sapele chipping out at the seam near the top. The lid is looser than I wanted but since there was no margin above the laminate I was unable to extend the tenon down and fix it. Also, I underestimated the size of the wound and discovered after truing that it runs the length of the work piece. I kept it between centers and took REALLY light cuts. All good lessons but when I started I didn't anticipate running into so many at a time so I was not in love with the piece by the end.

BUT...my wife confiscated it on sight and since she loves the smell of the natural sapele saved me the work of finishing the interior. It was our anniversary so when she said it looked like an infinity symbol I came back with "Uuuuh, yeah...that's to, uh, symbolize our eternal love. Yeah, that's what it is. Happy anniversary?" Now it sits on the nightstand and she opens it up and smells it every night like aromatherapy.

It went from clumsy, overly ambitious attempt at a lidded box to treasured anniversary gift so I'm much more pleased with it today than the day I put the finish on it. I also made her a pen and when my daughter saw it she called dibs on the next one. She runs an ultrasound department at a local hospital so I made her the Thin Red Line pen tonight. Now my son and sister-in-law want pens so it'll be a while before I get back to boxes. That is, I suppose, a great problem to have.


(And, yes, I see I have a lot to learn about the finishing. For starters, I need a better light at the lathe. I didn't see those dimples until I photographed it. More lessons learned. )

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[Russ Braun]

Welcome Rob! I am almost exclusively a Segmented Woodturner, soooo, the way I see it is; you get to learn about the ins and outs of wood types, aligning wood grain to minimize wood movement, wood color (freshly milled and one year later), contrast between woods, positioning of feature ring details among tons of other nuances, lol!
Add to that, you get to develop and refine your turning techniques, your development of your vessel’s form, sharpening your tools, reverse mounting your vessels and of course finishing them with myriads of different finishes among tons of other nuances, lol!!
It’s not as daunting as it sounds! You have arrived to the best place you can be to learn about all these things! You will definitely improve your turning skills here. Stick with it and you will become as expert as Al and Emiliano!
I am here to assist you with your segmenting questions; reach out to me via private chat for help! Now go back to having fun with your lathe!!

 

[Rob Wyatt]

Thanks Emiliano. Aloha!

Russ, you've scared me off. I'm closing my forum account! (Just kidding, of course.) That all actually sounds like fun and the offer of help is much appreciated. As my family are all clamoring for pens, it might be a while before I get back to bowls. And the closest I will get to segmenting in the pens at the moment will be to use the Spectraply blanks that came with my starter kit. BUT it is something I committed to enough to buy a couple of books. So much to explore, so little time.

 

[Russ Braun]

Thanks Emiliano. Aloha!

Russ, you've scared me off. I'm closing my forum account! (Just kidding, of course.) That all actually sounds like fun and the offer of help is much appreciated. As my family are all clamoring for pens, it might be a while before I get back to bowls. And the closest I will get to segmenting in the pens at the moment will be to use the Spectraply blanks that came with my starter kit. BUT it is something I committed to enough to buy a couple of books. So much to explore, so little time.

You’ve got many of the required tools Rob, jump in, the waters fine!