• November Turning Challenge: Puahala Calabash! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Paul May for "Staircase Study #1" being selected as Turning of the Week for November 11, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

What’s on your lathe?

Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
802
Likes
1,228
Location
Sydney Australia
An ugly chunk of Acacia Melanoxylon, knots, cracks/splits, the sap wood has dry rot by the look of it. Throw it out you think?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3659.JPG
    IMG_3659.JPG
    470.8 KB · Views: 153
  • IMG_3659-tile.jpg
    IMG_3659-tile.jpg
    738.3 KB · Views: 153

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
7,250
Likes
11,243
Location
Misssoula, MT
Australian brown Mallee burl.....(click 2x to inspect the details)
IMG_1453.JPG IMG_1455.JPG

-----odie-----
 
Last edited:

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
7,250
Likes
11,243
Location
Misssoula, MT
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
802
Likes
1,228
Location
Sydney Australia
Hardly ugly, very nice looking piece. The photos and description made it sound like there wasn't anything good hiding inside. (or not without stabilization/resin) Nice work! :cool:
The Blackwood can be very misleading in appearance and I had perhaps an unfair advantage of having in my hands.
 

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
7,250
Likes
11,243
Location
Misssoula, MT
Australian brown Mallee burl.....(click 2x to inspect the details)
View attachment 50146 View attachment 50147

-----odie-----

The Australian brown Mallee burl was finished last night, other than it's still on the waste block waiting to have the foot done. The foot will be done in about 2 weeks time. The Danish oil has just been applied in these two photos......I came in from the shop past 1am last night.....which is pretty much normal for me! :)

The third photo is of my current stash being seasoned and waste blocks applied.....

IMG_1458 (2).JPG IMG_1459.JPG IMG_1456.JPG


-----odie-----
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2023
Messages
22
Likes
61
Location
Yardley, PA
The Australian brown Mallee burl was finished last night, other than it's still on the waste block waiting to have the foot done. The foot will be done in about 2 weeks time. The Danish oil has just been applied in these two photos......I came in from the shop past 1am last night.....which is pretty much normal for me! :)

The third photo is of my current stash being seasoned and waste blocks applied.....

View attachment 50165 View attachment 50166 View attachment 50167


-----odie-----
That's beautiful wood, Odie, and really like the bowl you've carved, especially the detail around the rim.

I assume you're waiting the two weeks for a reason related to the wood/finish/turning; if so, what will the two weeks allow time for? The Danish oil to penetrate, or ...?
 

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
7,250
Likes
11,243
Location
Misssoula, MT
That's beautiful wood, Odie, and really like the bowl you've carved, especially the detail around the rim.

I assume you're waiting the two weeks for a reason related to the wood/finish/turning; if so, what will the two weeks allow time for? The Danish oil to penetrate, or ...?

Howdy Greg.....

I have twelve bowls in the final stages of finishing. They are done two at a time. In order to complete this process, it usually takes a minimum of a couple weeks. The time it takes for the DO to fully harden might depend on the temperature and atmosphere they cure in. Overnight is usually long enough under the best of circumstances, but my two week wait is more from the process of completing twelve bowls in eight steps.

-----odie-----
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
1,198
Likes
639
Location
Evanston, IL USA
Exercise work: I drill a hole through the squares, mount them, and work on my gouge and skew skills. I end up with lots of beads for the kids to make necklaces. It's also good excersize for my Middle school students. When there is only one place to look-- the tiny spinning block-- it's easier for the kids to focus on their tool.

Raffan's idea.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1363.jpeg
    IMG_1363.jpeg
    536.6 KB · Views: 110
  • IMG_1366.jpeg
    IMG_1366.jpeg
    483.9 KB · Views: 109
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 14, 2007
Messages
5,714
Likes
3,052
Location
Eugene, OR
Ed, nice spin top! Where did you get that point for it? Did you use brass rod and turn it down, or buy one? I made some heavier ones and bought some Delrin, maybe half inch, and turned a point from it. It can be used on wood floors without much trouble.

Jay, as some one who uses a recess almost exclusively, the shoulder on that one is too narrow for my taste, especially if you are going to core, and that blank looks big enough that I would core it.

robo hippy
 
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Messages
1,138
Likes
1,668
Location
Parkersburg, West Virginia
Phil nice bowl and pen. One little tip with the bowl. When it is done you don’t want anybody to know how it was held on the lathe. It would be easy to turn the mortise into a foot.
 
Joined
Aug 14, 2022
Messages
42
Likes
147
Location
Atascadero, CA
Jay, as some one who uses a recess almost exclusively, the shoulder on that one is too narrow for my taste, especially if you are going to core, and that blank looks big enough that I would core it.

robo hippy
I agree with you 100% and I am going to attempt my very first coring with this piece. It is still a work in progress. I started the recess before I started the exterior of the bowl and removal of all of the bark. As I was removing the bark a recess was discovered that required that I change the exterior wall shape. Doing so resulted in the recess shoulder being turned away. Still need to turn more on the exterior to remove the entire defect that does not appear in the photo. When I end up with the finished shape I will correct the recess with an appropriately sized shoulder so that my first coring does not end in disaster. Thanks for looking out for me.
Jay
 
Joined
Feb 3, 2010
Messages
455
Likes
564
Location
Adelaide Hills, Australia
Phil nice bowl and pen. One little tip with the bowl. When it is done you don’t want anybody to know how it was held on the lathe. It would be easy to turn the mortise into a foot.

Whereas, I'm happy for anybody to know how I held my pieces on the lathe. I understood back when we were screwing blanks to faceplates to hold them on the lathe why we might want to disguise/turn away those irregular screw holes, but not why anyone would want to disguise or remove a nicely designed recess that was used to hold the piece on the lathe. A tenon with jaw marks, perhaps, but not a nicely proportioned and designed recess... :~}

OK, back on topic, the following is a very old redgum fencepost blank that is on my lathe for testing purposes. This wood is hard and tenacious. I'm currently doing some side by side edge durability testing on it of different commonly used gouge steels and metals. I may report on my results another time in another thread.

20230216_121022.jpg
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Messages
759
Likes
567
Location
Lummi Island, WA
A piece of straight- grain madrone that’s been hanging around as a roughout for far too long…
07B10D98-B0E8-4497-9BD5-B604999FF5B3.jpeg
As an aside - I’m in the same camp as Neil. At least 90% of the bowls I turn are footed. An open form bowl with a beautifully flowing curve from rim to foot appears to float above the surface it’s on - anchored only by the well executed foot. Its an illusion not shared by a footless form. Rant concluded…
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Messages
1,138
Likes
1,668
Location
Parkersburg, West Virginia
I prefer an indent over having a foot on a bowl. To each there own. No problem here.
Next project done is an off axis turning I saw online. I think it came out ok. Needs sanding and finish still.View attachment 50295
Sorry I didn’t mean to upset you or anybody else. Just trying to give some helpful advice because I thought you were new.
 
Back
Top