It looks like a UFO bowl!
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
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Looks like a uniform randomness! Can't wait to see your completion of (ritz) crackers!
Big Brother is watching (listening)!! My Dad had one of these in his backyard circa 1992!
Thanks Bernie! It's always a bit challenging to balance order and chaos haha. And now I'm hungry again. 🙂
Hahaha. We had a massive satellite dish in one house growing up. Like 8' diameter or so. I think my dad ended up converting it into a raised garden bed or something similar.
That stuff is great
Working on stocking stuffers for the family today.
Yesterday I had the cherry lidded vessel with it's first application of DO under my fan for about 4 hours and that appeared to eliminate the solvent smell. The connection between the fan and the AC adapter was completed to eliminate the 12VDC dry cell.
The second application of DO was let sit for about 2 hours, wiped down, put under the fan from 8:00 PM 12/6/24 to 10:00 Am 12/7/24 and again the solvent smell appears to be gone.
Second attempt at a woven illusion. Better than the first one, but still quite a bit to figure out.
hollow form from 6x6 Douglas Fir construction scrap headed for the landfill - resin coated inside & out so can be filled with water for cut flowers...
pepper mills that my cousin has been cranking out for xmas - last 2 are sanded to 600 but have yet to be finished & polished...
pepper mills that my cousin has been cranking out for xmas - last 2 are sanded to 600 but have yet to be finished & polished...
Quick story, but I sold a 16' car trailer and had used a scrap block of maple as a wheel chock. Once the trailer was gone, I tripped over the wheel chock for a couple months when I noticed it had some potential. None the less, this is the second vase from the wheel chock. I'll post a picture when it's done. I've attached an image of the first vase.
Natural Edge Maple vase, 10x4.
Natural Edge Maple vase, 10x4.
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I'm still trying to save this one. I broke off two tenons barely touching the interior. actually, the last tenon cracked badly but didn't break off. I'll soak it with CA, but I don't have a lot of hope. I'll have to cut off that neck to have a fighting chance of hollowing this piece.
Those discoveries are fun.
I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out.
I have been working on this one for about a week. First time working with Roasted Walnut. Jury is still out on if I like it.
Try a mortise.
It can't hurt. I'm basically stuck at this point.
Maybe you could attach a glue block, and use it to make a solid tenon.
Nah, there are a lot of tunnels in this rabbithole. Makes it easy to miss something 🙂
I've learned a lot on this walnut bowl/platter. I rough turned it and set it in the drying box for 6 weeks. Being the pro that I am, I neglected to weigh the piece going into the box. I figured it was dry enough. Nope. Lesson one learned.
It has a small void that I attempted to fill with 5-minute epoxy. This was my first time doing so. It ain't pretty and I need to work on it some more. Also, by this time there's no way to turn off the excess epoxy because the bowl has warped pretty dramatically.
I forget how big this bowl is, but I think 14". This will be my largest bowl to date. It's wet with a coat of shellac sanding sealer in this shot.
It has a small void that I attempted to fill with 5-minute epoxy. This was my first time doing so. It ain't pretty and I need to work on it some more. Also, by this time there's no way to turn off the excess epoxy because the bowl has warped pretty dramatically.
I forget how big this bowl is, but I think 14". This will be my largest bowl to date. It's wet with a coat of shellac sanding sealer in this shot.
If in doubt, weigh and then microwave 2 1/2 minutes. Reweigh. Won’t lose weight if dry.
Piece of ash w wenge coins—going to do a HF on a pedestal! At least I won’t go through the bottom. 
Working on coffee scoops. This one is ambrosia curly maple. Next step is to reverse chuck it with rubber stoppers and turn the bottom round. The hole for the handle is seen on top.
Cherry burl
A bunch of roughed out wooden components I’m making up for a local sculptor. Still a ways to go with all of them. Claro walnut branches provided by her, all with pith and accompanying checks included except for the smallest one second from left. Very dry though. The three tall ones will have tenons top and bottom and act as structural supports, while four smaller pieces will be suspended from their skinny ends.
The finished piece will include a large piece of cast glass and some cast bronze as well. I’ll likely post some photos of the finished work and maybe some of the concept sketches, but I want to check with the artist first.
Next step will be mounting this chunk on a faceplate to deepen the carved-out recess on top by a little bit. It’s quite large, full of cracks, and will be very out of balance since the recess is off-center. Just shy of 30 inches, so tomorrow morning I’ll be dropping the bed extension down to its lower mounting position for the first time. Slightly daunting but exciting!
Where's your burl, Ted?
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Though I spent the majority of today building drawer boxes for custom dressers - I ended the day by getting back to finishing a piece Mark Hancock had started during the Mid-Atlantic Symposium back in September, which he had placed in the silent auction. The bottom is a bit rough as I did not want to obliterate his signature. Forgot to get a photo while it was still ‘on’ the lathe…
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Flattened out the back of this large piece this morning. No drama, but I’m not impressed with Powermatic’s extension post for the tool rest. I could easily flex it at least 1/16” with one hand. Got the job done though, and the back is now flat to within less than 1/64” over the whole surface, minus where the faceplate is screwed on.
I was very pleased with the faceplate. Oneway Versa-Mount. It’s a two piece system designed specifically for large, heavy blanks. Once it was screwed to the wood, I was able to mount the blank unassisted in about 30 seconds. Definitely a step up from standard faceplates or chuck-mounted rings.
Small Honduran Mahogany calabash that is one part of my pre-holiday swap piece. I should be finished with the piece tonight, and hopefully in the mail Saturday.
Neat shape Michael! Question....Will you fill the pores or leave it to absorb a finish. I always find that if I don't fill them, the finish will cause a white "liming" effect. Or will you use the dust and ca method?
Thanks Gabriel! Great question. I’m not filling the pores in on this one. I’m finishing with oil/varnish, so I’m not too concerned. If it was a lacquer finish I’d definitely fill via the dust/CA method.
Nice piece, Michael! I like the dark bottoms that end grain bowls always have when they’re finished. Did you leave any extra thickness in the bottom?
Thanks Isaac! I do as well (the dark bottoms).
I do usually leave the bottoms thicker. Usually around 2x the wall thickness (if thin walls), ish. This one has some unique features though, so I left it extra thick.