• Congratulations to Alex Bradley winner of the December 2024 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Gabriel Hoff for "Spalted Beech Round Bottom Box" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 6, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

What’s on your lathe?

Vincent Vogel said:
End table red oak, 19" top 16" base, 24" tall
Click to expand...
Hi Vince:
Well executed piece. Gives me some inspiration for using a round piece of oak (red oak as well, I think) that I was given years ago and couldn't bear to throw out. I like the pedestal - not too ornate, but it has a pleasing shape - well to my eye anyway. Well done!
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
 
Almost forgot that Black Ash bowl with the big worm hole, it was a difficult piece to turn, kept plucking pieces out and would not cut clean no matter which tool I used.

So after all the tries and the then best result was cleaned with a scraper and sanding, I hope to never get another piece that is such a difficult wood to turn.

Actually it is not the Black Ash wood, as I have turned it before and there was no problem with those, just this one.

Black Ash with hole.jpg
Black Ash bowl plug shown inside.jpg
Black Ash with plugged hole.jpg
Black Ash bowl bottom.jpg
 
Leo's worm hole looks interesting at least.
This one is just a mess. It doesn't look good enough to leave as is, the detail makes it pretty hard to use a liquid epoxy so putty it is because there is another spot 180 degrees that has more of an ingrown knot with a hole that will require liquid.

Anyone used that 3m wood filler that looks like some kind of Bondo?

I'd use Lilliput but the colors wouldn't look right with it except black maybe or white with some streaks in it but I read somewhere that lilliput doesn't tint well.

Other suggestions? Thought about thickening up regular epoxy to a putty with cabosil but I didn't have good luck the last time I tried that.

And when I turn the inside it's going to show as well whatever I put in there.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20230926_225349116_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20230926_225349116_HDR.jpg
    226 KB · Views: 22
Sam Fleisher said:
Leo's worm hole looks interesting at least.
This one is just a mess. It doesn't look good enough to leave as is, the detail makes it pretty hard to use a liquid epoxy so putty it is because there is another spot 180 degrees that has more of an ingrown knot with a hole that will require liquid.

Anyone used that 3m wood filler that looks like some kind of Bondo?

I'd use Lilliput but the colors wouldn't look right with it except black maybe or white with some streaks in it but I read somewhere that lilliput doesn't tint well.

Other suggestions? Thought about thickening up regular epoxy to a putty with cabosil but I didn't have good luck the last time I tried that.

And when I turn the inside it's going to show as well whatever I put in there.
Click to expand...
Sam I would probably take some of the same wood and make a near fitting plug, fill in around with coffee grind and CA, which make it look like bark inclusion, just an ID

holesto fill.jpg
 
Leo Van Der Loo said:
Sam I would probably take some of the same wood and make a near fitting plug, fill in around with coffee grind and CA, which make it look like bark inclusion, just an ID

View attachment 56029
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I don't have any boxelder laying around. This was a rough turned bowl so best I could do is some shavings. Maybe pack it full of shavings and let some color of epoxy settle into it? With a hot glue dam around it to raise it up to the height of that radius in the middle of the hole?
 
Monty Ivy said:
Outstanding form! Really like that column. How did you attach the spindle to the table top and the base?
Click to expand...
Thanks Monty, I haven't attached anything yet since I have to make another one that's identical for my best customer (wife). I'm going to use epoxy and screws up through the bottom for the base and epoxy/finish nails put in at an angle from the bottom side for attaching the top. It took quite a bit of wood to make this, one whole slab 2" thick x 20" wide x 8' long to make one. It took quite a bit of playing around to get the design right. I made a drawing first and modified it from there until it looked right.
 
Barry Larson said:
Hi Vince:
Well executed piece. Gives me some inspiration for using a round piece of oak (red oak as well, I think) that I was given years ago and couldn't bear to throw out. I like the pedestal - not too ornate, but it has a pleasing shape - well to my eye anyway. Well done!
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
Click to expand...
Thanks Barry, wife and I like simple things, sometimes less is more. Get your slab out and go for it.
 
Sam Fleisher said:
Unfortunately, I don't have any boxelder laying around. This was a rough turned bowl so best I could do is some shavings. Maybe pack it full of shavings and let some color of epoxy settle into it? With a hot glue dam around it to raise it up to the height of that radius in the middle of the hole?
Click to expand...
if I didn't have any branches of same wood, I'd treat it as a dense knot and use pretty much any small branch wood I had laying around (as long as its growth rings were not too much of a contrast) Maple, Lilac, Rhododendron, what have you.... Worst case, run to hardware store and buy some wood dowels in approximate sizes needed, drill out to whatever size and drive the plug in with glue/epoxy/whatever mixed with dry coffee grounds or fine dark sawdust - just a thought..
 
My wife wanted a pumpkin to hold mason jar style candles. I had a big chunk of walnut laying around. I turned it pumpkin shape. Then installed an indexing tool I made. Marked it out for 20 equal lines. Then carved them out with an angle grinder with an 80 grit flapper wheel. She was originally going to paint it but said she likes it better natural. I forgot to add that I hollowed it to 3/8” thick.IMG_0657.jpeg
 
Rusty Nesmith said:
My wife wanted a pumpkin to hold mason jar style candles. I had a big chunk of walnut laying around. I turned it pumpkin shape. Then installed an indexing tool I made. Marked it out for 20 equal lines. Then carved them out with an angle grinder with an 80 grit flapper wheel. She was originally going to paint it but said she likes it better natural. I forgot to add that I hollowed it to 3/8” thick.View attachment 56039
Click to expand...
 
Sam Fleisher said:
Unfortunately, I don't have any boxelder laying around. This was a rough turned bowl so best I could do is some shavings. Maybe pack it full of shavings and let some color of epoxy settle into it? With a hot glue dam around it to raise it up to the height of that radius in the middle of the hole?
Click to expand...
Sam I have also used ground bark to fill with, an CA to keep it in, I tried and do not like Epoxy mix, there is really only a limited amount you can mix in or the epoxy won't work.

So that is why I use the filling material to pack tight into the opening, then use CA to fill the gaps in the packed material 1thumb.gif
 
Yes on the first guess.
The upright bracket is holding a block of wood with a pencil run through it to mark the potential slot paths. By advancing the index ring and also the chain over toothed gears of different sizes I work out amplitude, frequency, and location of the waveforms on the piece. Once I get the spacing right the pencil block comes out, the router goes in, and the slots get cut.

IMG_6977.jpeg
 
Pat Wisniewski said:
Yes on the first guess.
The upright bracket is holding a block of wood with a pencil run through it to mark the potential slot paths. By advancing the index ring and also the chain over toothed gears of different sizes I work out amplitude, frequency, and location of the waveforms on the piece. Once I get the spacing right the pencil block comes out, the router goes in, and the slots get cut.

View attachment 56056
Click to expand...
Thanks Pat! Neat looking device. That took some engineering to work out!

Barry
 
Pat Wisniewski said:
Yes on the first guess.
The upright bracket is holding a block of wood with a pencil run through it to mark the potential slot paths. By advancing the index ring and also the chain over toothed gears of different sizes I work out amplitude, frequency, and location of the waveforms on the piece. Once I get the spacing right the pencil block comes out, the router goes in, and the slots get cut.

View attachment 56056
Click to expand...
Looks a lot like the Harvey Fein set up. Just not as complicated.
 
Ready for the OVWG Symposium!! Top photo is my work I am donating to the Silent Auction and bottom photo is my brother's work he is donating. Two BOC Boxes along with two lidded boxes, two basket illusions, two pieces of wood and two Instant Gallery pieces all making the trip south in a few weeks!!
IMG_20230928_104137.jpgIMG_20230928_104152.jpg
 
This California Oak burl bowl has been on the lathe for the past 4 days, and has been giving me a lot of trouble getting nice clean cuts..... This is because of the erratic and intense burl figure, and complicated shape. Lots of voids and bark inclusions to deal with, too. It did require some extra sanding in the interior, where a patch of burl end grain was right in the bottom, and not cooperating. All the rules for getting good clean cuts were tossed out the window on this one! It all turned out OK, though! 🙂

-o-

20230927_223022.jpg 20230927_223040.jpg 20230927_223104.jpg
 
Last edited:
Odie, I notice you use a sacrificial glue block on the bottom of your bowls. Do you use this same technique on green wood by using gorilla glue or something compatable with damp wood?
 
DON FRANK said:
Odie, I notice you use a sacrificial glue block on the bottom of your bowls. Do you use this same technique on green wood by using gorilla glue or something compatible with damp wood?
Click to expand...

No, I don't Don......I use a chuck to do the first turn roughouts on twice turned bowls....

-o-
 
Not on my lathe yet but got these two pieces of cottonwood burl that have been drying in my yard all summer ready to go. I won’t turn cottonwood green, can’t take the small. The small one is 12 1/2 x 7. I see large hollow forms in them but would also make nice open bowls.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1188.jpeg
    IMG_1188.jpeg
    125.8 KB · Views: 15
Larry Mercier said:
Charles, I've been turning many years but catches, big or small, always takes my breath away. Were you able to finish turning the remainder of the piece?
Click to expand...
Not yet. It's suppose to be a stein I'm working on for my niece. I had to removed 3 layers of wood. I'm going to glue up and attach some replacement wood but first I'm going to make sure what I have is true, it seems a little wonky when I spin it on the lathe.
 
I like to torture myself turning ancient, super dry redwood burl. After I took this, I had to resand the finish off and start over. Water base or alcohol base finishes do not work well on redwood. I ended up using my arch nemisis...wipe on poly. The shame!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9694.JPG
    IMG_9694.JPG
    890.6 KB · Views: 18
  • IMG_9696.JPG
    IMG_9696.JPG
    640.4 KB · Views: 17
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top