Steve Schaefer

[Steve Schaefer]

Greetings

I’ve been thinking about getting a lathe for a while. I just never pulled the trigger. I figured I had a lot of other woodworking projects that I wanted to do, and a lathe would only distract me.

Well, I found a used lathe for a reasonable price on craigslist and brought it home, and I was right. Since I set it up in my shop, that’s the only thing I’ve been doing.

I’m going to have a lot of newbie questions. I try to research the issue before I post, but please have patience.

Thanks

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Welcome to the addiction. We may not have all the answers but there are a lot of them here. You might want to find a club for some hands on advise, there are several in your neighborhood.

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Gerald I just looked at your photo page. You do amazing work.

 

[John Torchick]

Welcome. The camera outfit in the avatar tells me you will not only be turning some nice things but show them as outstanding photos.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome aboard, Steve. I see by your white "L" lens that you are a discriminating photographer who knows quality.

Woodturning is definitely addictive. The only known therapy is to turn more wood. We have many very knowledgeable members who are eager to answer your questions. The best way to get up to speed with your turning skills is to join a local club where you can get one on one mentoring.

There are a couple woodturning clubs in the Atlanta area. Here is a link where you can search for a club: https://www.woodturner.org/search/custom.asp?id=1509

 

[hockenbery]

Steve,
Welcome. As Bill said try to connect with one or more of the local clubs.
The clubs near me all have a Christmas dinner instead of a December meeting so if their next meeting is December call to see if they are having a meeting.

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Welcome aboard, Steve. I see by your white "L" lens that you are a discriminating photographer who knows quality.

Woodturning is definitely addictive. The only known therapy is to turn more wood. We have many very knowledgeable members who are eager to answer your questions. The best way to get up to speed with your turning skills is to join a local club where you can get one on one mentoring.

There are a couple woodturning clubs in the Atlanta area. Here is a link where you can search for a club: https://www.woodturner.org/search/custom.asp?id=1509

Thanks, Bill

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Welcome. The camera outfit in the avatar tells me you will not only be turning some nice things but show them as outstanding photos.

Well I turned and finished a few bottle stoppers and thought I would take a quick photo to post. That glossy finish is hard to deal with. I am going to have to work on that technique. If there is a photo question I am happy to help when I can.

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Steve,
Welcome. As Bill said try to connect with one or more of the local clubs.
The clubs near me all have a Christmas dinner instead of a December meeting so if their next meeting is December call to see if they are having a meeting.

Thanks Hockenbery

 

[Gerald Lawrence]

Gerald I just looked at your photo page. You do amazing work.

Thanks Steve. I will not talk about the failed attempts but I still have a ways to go to match some on here.

 

[Lamar Wright]

Welcome to the forum Steve. You'll get a lot of help here and can't wait to see some of your photographed work. Happy turning!

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Welcome to the forum Steve. You'll get a lot of help here and can't wait to see some of your photographed work. Happy turning!

Well it may be a while before I am confident enough to post a turning projects here. I've been working on making bottle stoppers because it seemed like the easiest project to start with. To date I've managed to superglue the mandrel twice to the bottle stopper. I think I have a lot of learning to do.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Steve,
If you like turning bottle stoppers, you can also turn a similar item (Fire Starters) using a ferro rod pressed or glued into the handle.
These are cheaper to make and the outdoor people pack them when they go out in the wilderness. The Ferro rods average about a dollar a piece compared to the wine bottle stoppers that can run between $5-$10 each. I install a miniature compass into the end of the handle to make it a multipurpose tool.

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Steve,
If you like turning bottle stoppers, you can also turn a similar item (Fire Starters) using a ferro rod pressed or glued into the handle.
These are cheaper to make and the outdoor people pack them when they go out in the wilderness. The Ferro rods average about a dollar a piece compared to the wine bottle stoppers that can run between $5-$10 each. I install a miniature compass into the end of the handle to make it a multipurpose tool.

Great Idea Mike. Where did you get your ferro rods?

 

[Mike Johnson]

Steve,

There are plenty of listings on eBay and Amazon, I usually purchase multiple packages of 10 at a time as I turn a number of these each year and give them away to co-workers and clients. They make these in different diameters and lengths, I usually get the 5/16 or 3/8 inch diameter by 3-4-inch long ferro rods. 1-inch of the rod pressed or glued into the handle is plenty to secure it to the handle.

 

[Steve Schaefer]

Thanks Mike