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Turning spheres (balls)

did not know the short tools are carbides.
I don’t know that for sure. Just looked like carbides to me.
Edit- see Gerald’s post below it is appears to be a mortising chisel

not a fun way to turn a ball!

I do like using the hunters for endgrain hollowing of boxes and goblets
 
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I don’t know that for sure. Just looked like carbides to me.

not a fun way to turn a ball!

I do like using the hunters for endgrain hollowing of nixes and goblets
John Lucas gave me my first Hunter tool. I made sure nobody was coming to the shop that day, I turned with the doors closed and the curtains were drawn. That sums up what I used to think about carbides! LOL Now I have just about every single tool @mikehunter makes! I don't turn many goblets, I have a few to do, I will try the carbides, I know I love them for my boxes with threads.
 
You would enjoy seeing Michael Hosulak turn a “baseball” with a skew.

He can turn with the carbides and makes some really nice pieces. He can’t use a gouge effectively. The carbides also let people with limited skills get some enjoyment from turning.



Al I checked the video in slow mo and that is not a carbide too it is a chisel and you can see it by freezing just before he touches wood with it. Also look at 4:00 thru 4:15 and you will see the bevel on a mortising chisel and the square sides of the bar. MORTISING CHISEL
 
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That's painful to watch. This is why YouTube gets such a bad reputation. Wrong tools, wrong cuts, wearing gloves, one tool looks like a chisel or a screw driver. And he makes a video of it all....

too bad you got hurt by this video.....He wears gloves and a coat because he has no heat where he is working.
Also too bad you are so against Yourtube,,,,,I figure it is never to late to learn something new.
 
You would enjoy seeing Michael Hosulak turn a “baseball” with a skew.

I agree with a caveat-
The guy in the video did succeed in getting a close to round ball. Be interesting to see if it would roll a straight line.
The carbides have their place. One friend of mine has limited range of motion. He can turn with the carbides and makes some really nice pieces. He can’t use a gouge effectively. The carbides also let people with limited skills get some enjoyment from turning.

I much prefer using tools that do the work while I cradle them.

Scrapers used for wood removal, including the carbides, tend to beat up the body a good bit. Sadly those scraping with carbides never enjoy the beauty of effortlessly shaving the wood.

I really disagree with your comment that carbides are for people with limited skills.
 
It’s really too bad that so many of you reject carbides, without fully knowing about them,,,One of you said they only scrape, they don’t peel nice shavings.............WRONG!.. I can get beautiful shavings with my carbides. And I can get a finish that doesn’t even need sanding. It’s all in learning how to use them....I like that when I have an hour, I can spend an hour turning with carbides, instead of spending 45 minutes sharpening to turn for 15 minutes. Rikon makes specialized carbides that will do anything HSS tools will do...Learn them,!
 
I like watching this guy, I don’t know his real name. He did a sphere using skew, I would end up with a nice decorative spiral shaped block of wood if I tried it.

View: https://youtu.be/7FSlQIVBbJ4
He is a British woodturner named Steve Jones. His company (B.A. Jones) has been in business for several generations.
 
I really disagree with your comment that carbides are for people with limited skills.
I did not say that.

The carbides have their place. One friend of mine has limited range of motion. He can turn with the carbides and makes some really nice pieces. He can’t use a gouge effectively. The carbides also let people with limited skills get some enjoyment from turning.
 
Ken, everything has it's place, some of us here get a little heavy handed, and some responses could use a pinch of salt (as in "take that with a pinch of salt") Nothing wrong with a comeuppance, but then you go on to say,
I can spend an hour turning with carbides, instead of spending 45 minutes sharpening to turn for 15 minutes.
I love teaching sharpening, not "do it this way because I say so" but the hows and whys. If this is working, why is it working, if not, why not. Never timed my sharpening, but it's less then a few minutes an hour. I stop long before the tool is dull, touching up a very sharp tool to very very sharp in seconds... I think face to face, folks might agree more then they disagree...
 
It’s really too bad that so many of you reject carbides, without fully knowing about them,,,One of you said they only scrape, they don’t peel nice shavings.............WRONG!.. I can get beautiful shavings with my carbides. And I can get a finish that doesn’t even need sanding. It’s all in learning how to use them....I like that when I have an hour, I can spend an hour turning with carbides, instead of spending 45 minutes sharpening to turn for 15 minutes. Rikon makes specialized carbides that will do anything HSS tools will do...Learn them,!

You have missed the many long discussions on the forum about carbides.
I use the hunters some. Other forum contributors have posted videos on their use.
 
I did not say that.
And I did not say I'm against YouTube, LOL
I'm against unsafe videos, or videos that do not teach the right technique. Am I the only one thinking like this? NO. That's why we have a list of approved safe videos with good content, chosen by turners with lots of experience. You can find this list on the main AAW site. Also, if you have to spend 45 minutes sharpening to turn 15 minutes, I would recommend some sharpening lessons with an experienced mentor. I also use lots of carbide tools. I can also add that Al Hockenbery knows what he's talking about, weather be traditional tools or carbides, there are not many turners in the USA with his experience. We are lucky to have him here, giving advice to everyone. Thank you Al for all that you do for all of us woodturners, beginners and experienced alike, we all benefit from your knowledge. Aloha from Maui
 

This video of a demo has some great video. Some gremlins got into the sound recording. The sound in the room during the demo was fine. However the recorded sound varies in volume and seen
Ms to go mute in a few places. I had been planning to spot record onto the video a few places but haven’t gotten around to it.

Try this link.
three center turned Napkin Rings -
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys4tMzwh7jE
I
 
Is there more information available on completing the ornament? Thank you.
I don’t have anything prepared.

It easier to do a lot of the work on the ornaments off the lathe.

sanding the faces on disc or belt sander. Sand the hole With a drum sander ( I use one in a foredom) a drum in a drill press work well.
I drill a hole through the top ( and sometimes on into the bottom). This is easiest to do on a drill press with some vee blocks. You can grip the ornament between the jaws of a Chuck - this centers it side to side really well but takes a lot of fiddling to get it centered the other way. I Mark where j want to drill with a scratch awl. I either drill through a point or through a face. I put the tailstock center point in the scratch awl hole and advance the tail center to seat the ornament in the Chuck then use a Jacobs chuck and small drill bit.

if you really get into production. It is faster and material saving to turn the 3 sided cylinder without parting in, drill a deep hole and slice the ornaments off in the bandsaw.

then I turn a small bell or finial to hang from the top or a Christmas tree, snowman, or candle to sit on the bottom.
These all have tenons to match the drilled hole. 1/8”

you can also put 30mm or 40mm glass cabochons over the holes.
Use double sided tape to hold the ornament on a round piece of wood with a hole in the center,
To center the ornament I use a small cone of the tail center to center it on the wood the point goes into the hole in the wood’s center. Turn or drill a recess to hold the cabochons. Glue the cabochons intro the recess with 10 minute clear epoxy. plain clear cabochons can look nice. but...
The cabochons maginify things behind them a bit so you can out objects inside, glue small pictures etc.
Paint the flat surface in the cabochons with red or green nail polish with glitter in it. Take 2-3 coats.
Then you have a shiny red or green eye catcher.

hope this gives you some ideas.
 
Been busy this week, only turned a few balls. Helped a friend, a salesman at Woodcraft, he needed 70 beer taps turned, so I turned then, he drilled them.
Did take 20 balls to a friend’s art/craft shop,,,,,she sold 6 of them in one day,, wants more. She’s in a small summer tourist town, so slow traffic in winter,,,,pretty good. That also solves my problem about the one day art fair in her town too.
 
John Lucas gave me my first Hunter tool. I made sure nobody was coming to the shop that day, I turned with the doors closed and the curtains were drawn. That sums up what I used to think about carbides! LOL Now I have just about every single tool @mikehunter makes! I don't turn many goblets, I have a few to do, I will try the carbides, I know I love them for my boxes with threads.
Just finished these a last week. done completely with Hunter carbides!
 

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Please be careful with sassafras......it can cause severe respiratory issues! Use breathing protection for your health's sake.....hope you're already aware and doing that. Just trying to be helpful, so hope you take this info in the good spirit I mean it in! :)
and it makes you want to go get a root beer float!
 
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