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What’s on your lathe?

A maple burl bowl finished up late last night.......

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Lots of great figure, but along with that is drying separations, voids, bark inclusions, worm holes, and various other
obstacles to a refined cut......but do-able! 🙂

=o=
 
Odie said:
A maple burl bowl finished up late last night.......

View attachment 70723 View attachment 70724

Lots of great figure, but along with that is drying separations, voids, bark inclusions, worm holes, and various other
obstacles to a refined cut......but do-able! 🙂

=o=
Click to expand...

Another one of your beautiful bowls. It’s nice to see you back at the lathe.

Bob
 
@David Wyke, it looks like chocolate and caramel sauces oozing down from the rim of your bowl. I bet a couple scoops of ice cream would look great in that bowl.
 
Tonight, copper is on my lathe. I'm cutting two 1" copper pipe couplings
(1-7/32" OD, 1-1/8" ID) into four tool handle ferrules for 3 new Carter scrapers I ordered today. They have 3/4" round tangs.

I found my little wheeled pipe cutter thingy was good to only 3/4" pipe, and my hacksaw blade was about toast. I put the coupling in the spigot jaws on my Talon, ran it backwards at 100rpm, and VERY carefully ran a Dremel cutoff wheel (a couple of them) to slowly part it in two. My Stott 1/8" parting tool wanted nothing to do with that hard copper. Then filed, sanded, steel wool buffed, and reamed the cut ends. I feel like a jeweler now.

Something deep back in a dusty, dark corner of my memory is telling me that copper couplings are a harder alloy than hard copper pipe (such as K and L copper pipe). Maybe the little wheeled cutter wouldn't have cut it anyway.
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This one was saved from the fire, literally. I had a big bonfire to burn up all the crowns from trees I have cut down and some odds and ends. Most of the fire was done when I went to bed. The next day there were a few unburned logs. A sugarberry crotch was among the unburnt. Apparently it wasn't interesting enough for me to turn it when I threw it on the pile, but when I saw it I couldn't pass it up. It's a bit punky but salvageable.

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Something a bit different. I’m collaborating with someone on a project where we are creating a bunch of individual tiles. Many different styles and degrees of simplicity/complexity. Here is one in the works. Peruvian Walnut tile (2-3/8” square), acrylic gouache paint, and betel nut jewel attached with a 1/4” dowel.

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Just got this one off the lathe. I turned the outside and started the inside just enough so I could flatten it with a sanding board then glued a ring of mahogany on that I had hanging around for a few years. Finished the turning then wiped it down with Watco Teak Oil followed by Deft lacquer satin spray. After it dried good I polished it with Yorkshire grit. As soon as I took it upstairs my wife claimed it for her chairside table.
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Robert Lindstadt said:
Going to try the blackened look with the steel wool in vinegar
How long does the mixture have to stand before using it ?
Well it now has a become a plate do the being so dried out that every time I tried to true it it spit pieces out from the edge! Oh lord good god!
Click to expand...
I made steel wool/vinegar once about a year ago for some white oak. I let the mix sit 24 hours before I fished out what was left of the pad, then ran the liquid through a hardware store disposable paint strainer. Put on a rubber glove so it doesn't stain your fingers. That white oak went very dark, very fast as I wiped it on. Wipe on evenly over your surface, it will darken as it dries. Try a second coat to see if it gets darker. I recall the dried surface then looking like it was slightly midnight blue when fully dried, but then I oiled the surface and that went away, back to not quite black. It's a cool effect to watch. I should try it again sometime. Use oil-free steel wool.
 
Mtn. Ash (Rowan) miniature jars/boxes (1 1/8" tall)

I sold one for $2, which was unfortunate because the time and effort to make them wasn't $2, however, it was my best friend's 7-year-old sister. The lowest price on anything was $5, and she came to my booth with $7. She picked a miniature carved dog, I told her it was $5, and then she asked what she should get with the other two. I didn't know how to tell her that the box was worth more than $5, and she didn't understand that it was larger and more complicated than a miniature dog, so I told her I would make her a special deal. This was after she came to my booth and explained that because I turned her family a Christmas tree last year, evidently I had to make something else this year. Luckily, she knew just what her mom wanted (both of her parents are teachers at my school), and how to make it. I probably could have explained to anyone else that the price was higher, but how could I say no to a 7 year old?

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Isaac Litster said:
but how could I say no to a 7 year old?
Click to expand...

When I go to a show, It’s with my club. We always include a demo space. I make a point to bring things I can make for the kids. Normally tops, but sometimes miniatures or snowmen, etc.

I may never be good enough to break even or (gasp!) turn a profit, but I would not be able to put a price on the joy their smiles bring me!
 
Paul Paukstelis said:
Hexagons are the bestagons. The foot is cut as a hexes as well. After I did the first two on the rim I realized I had made a calculation error since I had planned for the hexes to be continuous around the rim. Trying to decide if I should cut inlays or just leave them.
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Pretty cool, Paul. May I ask how the hexagonal reliefs were cut/made?
 
John Kananis said:
Pretty cool, Paul. May I ask how the hexagonal reliefs were cut/made?
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Thanks, John. It was done with an embellishing tool of my own creation. I call it the LatheEngraver. It is basically a CNC machine that bolts directly to the lathe. I'm going to have them for sale (**looks at watch**) soon. Very soon, I hope.
 
John Kananis said:
This is pretty awesome; how do I follow progress? Is there a dedicated thread? And thank you for sharing.
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Thanks again. I'll certainly make a post on the forums to let people know more. If you want to know when the website goes live you can go to www.transpirationturning.com and leave your email there.
 
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