Another newbie, both to the forum and turning. I have one of the inexpensive Harbor Freight floor lathes. Turning is something I've wanted to do for quite a while, but never made time for it.
My main workshop is around 25 by 13. This is where all the woodworking tools reside. I have a second room which I refer to the hobby room which is around 14 by 10. The hobby room is dedicated to non-dusty activities. Both rooms are currently a bit disorganized. My long term plan is to build workbenches and cabinets in both rooms to make better use of the space. In addition to getting started with turning, I'm currently working on the detailed layout for the workshop room.
The workshop has a pretty good collection of the standard workshop tools, including table saw, bandsaw, drill press, jointer, planer, dust collector, and the lathe. There are a few other things I want, but until I spend the time making the room work better, I won't spend any more money on additional toys.
I've been spending lots of time reading and watching youtube videos on turning. I also recently talked with a few friends at work about finding wood for turning. It's been like opening the flood gates. I started by cutting some wax myrtle from my backyard. Then a friend let me cut a small sugarberry from a lot he owns. He also gave me a 10 foot long cedar log that he's had for a year or two. I'm not sure about the cedar, it has a fair amount of cracking. I've yet to cut in in pieces to see what the inside looks like. A few weeks later we went to another piece of land he owns and removed a small cherry tree and part of a chinaberry. We need to go back eventually and remove the rest of the chinaberry. Not long after getting the chinaberry, another friend told me she had some eucalyptus that a relative had cut a while ago. She gave me a few pieces of that to try. And finally, yet another friend has some river birch growing next to his house that he wants gone. He cut some of it last weekend. So, now I have more wood than I can deal with. I haven't bought any sealer yet, so I painted the ends of all the green wood with some leftover latex paint.
A few weeks ago I got started trying to turn something.
These two things were my first attempts. They were from one of the chinaberry branches. I had no specific goal other than beginning to learn to turn some shapes. I didn't yet have the adjustable chuck, so I felt a bit limited with what I could do. When I finished, I coated them with mineral oil and left them out to see how they behave as they dry.
The next picture shows the larger chinaberry logs and in the lower right, one of the eucalyptus logs after a session with the chainsaw.
The eucalyptus has been cut for several years, but was stored without sealing the ends so it has a fair amount of checking. Before I tried turning any of the logs, I bought a Nova G3 chuck. This next picture shows an attempt at a bowl from one of the pieces of eucalyptus. Unfortunately, not long after this picture I got a fairly significant catch and tore a big chunk out of it. After some research, I figured out why I got the catch and hopefully will not make that mistake again. I haven't thrown the piece away, but if I try to finish it, I will need to turn it significantly smaller.
After the failed attempt with the eucalyptus, I switched to one of the wax myrtle branches. I don't know what to call this next thing, I decided on the shape as I went. The myrtle cut very easy and was fun. I sanded this to 400 grit, coated with mineral oil, and put in a box with shavings to let it dry.
And here is the final thing I've done so far. This is from one of the chinaberry logs. I started by cutting an appropriately sized cardboard circle and then trimming on the bandsaw.
Then I mounted it on the lathe using the woodworm screw that came with the G3.
And finally, the almost finished bowl. This has been sanded to 400 and coated with mineral oil. I left the tenon on it in case I want to fine tune the shape after it dries. After taking a few pictures, this went in the box of shavings along with the myrtle piece above.
Another pic of the chinaberry bowl. I left the sides fairly thick and it clearly needs more finishing, but I feel like I made decent progress.
That's all for now. Thanks for letting me join the site and I look forward to learning.
My main workshop is around 25 by 13. This is where all the woodworking tools reside. I have a second room which I refer to the hobby room which is around 14 by 10. The hobby room is dedicated to non-dusty activities. Both rooms are currently a bit disorganized. My long term plan is to build workbenches and cabinets in both rooms to make better use of the space. In addition to getting started with turning, I'm currently working on the detailed layout for the workshop room.
The workshop has a pretty good collection of the standard workshop tools, including table saw, bandsaw, drill press, jointer, planer, dust collector, and the lathe. There are a few other things I want, but until I spend the time making the room work better, I won't spend any more money on additional toys.
I've been spending lots of time reading and watching youtube videos on turning. I also recently talked with a few friends at work about finding wood for turning. It's been like opening the flood gates. I started by cutting some wax myrtle from my backyard. Then a friend let me cut a small sugarberry from a lot he owns. He also gave me a 10 foot long cedar log that he's had for a year or two. I'm not sure about the cedar, it has a fair amount of cracking. I've yet to cut in in pieces to see what the inside looks like. A few weeks later we went to another piece of land he owns and removed a small cherry tree and part of a chinaberry. We need to go back eventually and remove the rest of the chinaberry. Not long after getting the chinaberry, another friend told me she had some eucalyptus that a relative had cut a while ago. She gave me a few pieces of that to try. And finally, yet another friend has some river birch growing next to his house that he wants gone. He cut some of it last weekend. So, now I have more wood than I can deal with. I haven't bought any sealer yet, so I painted the ends of all the green wood with some leftover latex paint.
A few weeks ago I got started trying to turn something.
These two things were my first attempts. They were from one of the chinaberry branches. I had no specific goal other than beginning to learn to turn some shapes. I didn't yet have the adjustable chuck, so I felt a bit limited with what I could do. When I finished, I coated them with mineral oil and left them out to see how they behave as they dry.
The next picture shows the larger chinaberry logs and in the lower right, one of the eucalyptus logs after a session with the chainsaw.
The eucalyptus has been cut for several years, but was stored without sealing the ends so it has a fair amount of checking. Before I tried turning any of the logs, I bought a Nova G3 chuck. This next picture shows an attempt at a bowl from one of the pieces of eucalyptus. Unfortunately, not long after this picture I got a fairly significant catch and tore a big chunk out of it. After some research, I figured out why I got the catch and hopefully will not make that mistake again. I haven't thrown the piece away, but if I try to finish it, I will need to turn it significantly smaller.
After the failed attempt with the eucalyptus, I switched to one of the wax myrtle branches. I don't know what to call this next thing, I decided on the shape as I went. The myrtle cut very easy and was fun. I sanded this to 400 grit, coated with mineral oil, and put in a box with shavings to let it dry.
And here is the final thing I've done so far. This is from one of the chinaberry logs. I started by cutting an appropriately sized cardboard circle and then trimming on the bandsaw.
Then I mounted it on the lathe using the woodworm screw that came with the G3.
And finally, the almost finished bowl. This has been sanded to 400 and coated with mineral oil. I left the tenon on it in case I want to fine tune the shape after it dries. After taking a few pictures, this went in the box of shavings along with the myrtle piece above.
Another pic of the chinaberry bowl. I left the sides fairly thick and it clearly needs more finishing, but I feel like I made decent progress.
That's all for now. Thanks for letting me join the site and I look forward to learning.
