Yeah, that's definitely padauk. If your shop is covered in a fine neon orange dust despite all efforts at dust collection, it's definitely padauk!
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
If I didn’t have my Peke Powercap I’d look like Ronald McDonald.
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2018
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- Baltimore, MD
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- loujacobswoodturning.com
My latest pierced bowl. I don’t know how often I can do this as I’m finding the piercing pretty tedious. The finished bowl is over in the gallery. I think before I do another I need to visit the opthomologist and update my prescription. 
Working on a segmented bowl
Dave Landers
Beta Tester
Opthomologists do prescriptions for patience?
- Joined
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- Baltimore, MD
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- loujacobswoodturning.com
Eye strain leads to frustration to lack of patience, so yeah, indirectly.
Not on the lathe yet but will be in the future. Big box oh wood! Not bad for 60ish bucks! Plus shipping and sales tax brought it to 80.
Also picked up another Nova chuck to hold my 3 inch jaws. Gives me a total of 5 Nova's 1 record power and 2 cheapo's that I got when I bought the machine years ago.
Also picked up another Nova chuck to hold my 3 inch jaws. Gives me a total of 5 Nova's 1 record power and 2 cheapo's that I got when I bought the machine years ago.
I think this is some wood that was from the power company trimming trees by power lines this spring. I don't know what it is but it cut real easy and the bark has stayed on nicely.
I left enough on the bottom to carve feet on it, at least that is the plan.
I left enough on the bottom to carve feet on it, at least that is the plan.
That maybe basswood.
Grabbed a chunk of Walnut I had sitting around.
Sliced it in half and glued the two pieces together.
Mounted up on a glue block first and started turning. Lost the glue block pic.
This will be as rustic as I can leave it.
Sliced it in half and glued the two pieces together.
Mounted up on a glue block first and started turning. Lost the glue block pic.
This will be as rustic as I can leave it.
Beautiful bowl James!
This is a good sample. Covers most of the ones i know (you can google "Merovingian swearing in French" if you want to get a translation"
Sis mentioned the other day she would like a yarn bowl. I had a red oak burl that I thought would be the right size. After knocking the bark off it was apparent with all the bark inclusions it would not make a suitable yarn bowl. But since it was on the lathe I decided to make something.....
I didn't think I could hollow it without it blowing apart so I wrapped with shrink wrap and a few wraps of glass tape on top of that.
Turned the tenon off by using a jam chuck. It's done now waiting for me to finish.
I didn't think I could hollow it without it blowing apart so I wrapped with shrink wrap and a few wraps of glass tape on top of that.
Turned the tenon off by using a jam chuck. It's done now waiting for me to finish.
I asked my friend that grew up at the house where the tree was cut down and he said that it is Horse Chestnut. That seems to fit.
Small birdseye walnut sushi bowl, in progress.
Wife found a chunk of oak in the road and brought it home.
She said can you make something?
Water was flying out as I turned it. Going to let it dry and finish it up later.
She said can you make something?
Water was flying out as I turned it. Going to let it dry and finish it up later.
Wife brings wood home? She’s a keeper.
Not all bowls need embellishments. That's a really pretty piece.
Finally finished sanding the monster Ambrosia Maple NE bowl today. Not sure what kind of finish to put on It yet. The other bowl was a odd blank mostly sapwood from a hickory tree that was salvaged 2 years ago. Tried and true finish one coat.
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Been trying to organize and clean out basement shop and I found this pice that I started a while ago and he fell on the ground and was forgotten about so I took some time and this is what I came up with? It’s not finished yet still needs to be hollowed out and finished better!
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First turning of 2024. Nothing fancy; a small base for a jar candle I gave my charming wife for Christmas that we didn't seem to have a base for. A good excuse to turn something don'cha think? Something a wee bit different, and I have some ideas for the future using this technique. Not as fancy as Michael's "cereal" bowls, but one has to start somewhere. I did have a bit of trouble with vibration because of the thin wood, so I'll likely try out a steady rest on the next one. Birdseye maple laminated with walnut wedges; 8 inches diameter and 1/4 or so thick (as turned) - the material started out as a 7/8 inch thick blank.
Cheers.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
Cheers.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
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Claro walnut 9 inch diameter and 5 inch height. One coat PTO. Still needs work. Got to use my new Robust tool rest. 
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A few pages back, I showed this ash bowl, in progress, that I wanted to keep as white as possible, to avoid the darkening and yellowing that happens when finishing. My plan, this time around, was to use two part wood bleach followed by shellac, the lightest I could find.
Simple enough, but the devil’s always in the details.
The bowl was sanded to 800, then bleached. Bleaching was straightforward enough, directions are easy. The bleaching liquids really soak in deep. The wood was quite wet. I let it dry longer than the directions suggest, two days. I really think that I should’ve let it set for a week or two for the fibers to go back to the dry state.
I resanded and brushed on a one pound cut of ultra blonde shellac, from flakes and dna. Let dry overnight, resanded and recoated for three coats. I buffed the last coat with white non-woven pads while on the lathe.
I like it, think the process was mostly good. And the result is close to what I wanted.
Ive debated giving it a top coat of something more handleable than just shellac, but am not sure it’s necessary, and don’t want to add yellow at this point. Maybe just a coat of wax for that extra pop will be enough for the uses it’s likely to see.
Sanded lathe white
After bleach
Wet shellac. I was kind of concerned!
After shellac dried and sanded
The finished photo is in the gallery
Simple enough, but the devil’s always in the details.
The bowl was sanded to 800, then bleached. Bleaching was straightforward enough, directions are easy. The bleaching liquids really soak in deep. The wood was quite wet. I let it dry longer than the directions suggest, two days. I really think that I should’ve let it set for a week or two for the fibers to go back to the dry state.
I resanded and brushed on a one pound cut of ultra blonde shellac, from flakes and dna. Let dry overnight, resanded and recoated for three coats. I buffed the last coat with white non-woven pads while on the lathe.
I like it, think the process was mostly good. And the result is close to what I wanted.
Ive debated giving it a top coat of something more handleable than just shellac, but am not sure it’s necessary, and don’t want to add yellow at this point. Maybe just a coat of wax for that extra pop will be enough for the uses it’s likely to see.
Sanded lathe white
After bleach
Wet shellac. I was kind of concerned!
After shellac dried and sanded
The finished photo is in the gallery
Marc:
Thanks for the details on the finishing process. The result is very nice. Something to put on my list for future experimentation as I have a large rack full of white ash.
Cheers.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
Marc have you looked into a waterbased finish? They are supposed to resist yellowing to a high degree.
Working on a 15” bubinga shallow bowl/platter. This is the bottom after sanding to 320, teak oil followed by lacquer spray, polishing with Yorkshire Grit and another coat of lacquer. If the topside looks this good I’ll have a winner.
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Yep Tried & True original is quite thick, it being a blend of linseed oil & Beeswax (I find it comes out better if you put your first coats on being T&T Danish Oil or Varnish, with Original being the last coat - T&T Danish oil is the quickest to deal with at the beginning, I think) T&T Original only needs a very thin coat per application , Can't really flood it on, and then it would take forever to cure if you layer it in too thick, and a lot gets wasted wiping it "dry" after, so I usually just dab a bit of rag and apply lots of elbow grease to rub it in until it won't rub in any further out, then dab a bit more, until full coverage is achieved. Which is why it seems to go a bit faster starting with their Danish oil (soaks in and wipes away excess relatively quickly - 15 minutes compared to the 1 hour soak time for Original & Varnish) and then the Original coats on much easier with the D.O. underneath it. JMHO - but their website instructions on the use of each kind is a huge help over trying it "by the seat of the pants".... (Plus, if you later decide on a different oil finish , nothing will stick to the oil & beeswax properly, but it can be applied over the D.O. and Varnish oils)
Kevin Jesequel
TOTW Team
I agree with Brian, and use the original as the final coat after two of the T&T Danish oil. I have thinned both the Danish oil and the Varnish oil 1:1 with Limone D citrus solvent. I will generally use the thinned version of either as the first coat. I find it penetrates and “pops” the figure faster. I do sand to a high grit, which may be why the uncut versions don’t penetrate as well.
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Thanks for the information on Tried & True oils. Wondering will the Doctors Woodshop oil work as well as the Tried and True danish oil for the first 2 coats. Does have some wax in it
6” wide, 3” tall spalted maple bowl with lid, for a friend who wants a container for coarse salt.
First time I ever attempted a lid for a bowl.
First time I ever attempted a lid for a bowl.
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No, Gary, I haven’t. I’m still very new to all of the different finishes. I’ve shied away from water base finishes because I think they are surface only, and reports are that it doesn’t do much for enhancing grain. Something I should try though. Also I haven’t used lacquer either. Info from other threads here suggests that it could be interesting and fun.
I don’t see either of these to be good options if the bowl will be used and washed, which I‘m not concerned with on this piece.
I roughed out a couple of English Walnut bowls from some wood I got a few months ago. It is already starting to spalt. I got one core from each piece.
I looked up fungi in "Hoadley's Understanding Wood" came across this text between two illustrations and I quote "As certain white rots develop, dark zone lines form as on this piece of sugar maple above. This type of decay is called spalting. Below, turning of spalted maple, by Mark Lindquist".
This is where I first was introduced to the term and what I think of as spalting, but I realize that the definitions on line seem to categorize all forms of rot under the term SPALTING.
Anyway I have never seen spalting zone lines in walnut and it doesn't appear that they are present in your bowl, but I have seen white rot similar to your bowl in black walnut. Note Understanding Wood was first published in 1980 by Taunton Press.