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What’s on your lathe?

Joined
Aug 14, 2007
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Eugene, OR
Alan, probably bay laurel/myrtle. It generally has a sweet kind of spicy smell when you are turning it. I have had some that smells like a horse stall because it was starting to rot. It is one of those woods that really glows the higher your sanding grits go to.

robo hippy
 
Joined
Feb 7, 2023
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Gardner, MA
I have a chunk of Cedar and a chunk of Maple. Sliced them in half on the bandsaw so I can get 2 dishes each instead of making mostly sawdust.
These were given to me by the saw mill for the price of making him 1 dish out of all of it.
[ I have enough stock to make 10.]IMG_7358.jpgIMG_7365.jpgIMG_7359.jpg


Got 1 turned. Needs final sanding and finish. Center of dish is a knot. I had to glue all three of them.
IMG_7361.jpg
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2021
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Location
Kingsville, ON
As thin as I have ever attempted 1/8" wall thickness with the bottom a tad thicker for some stability. Ambrosia Maple. Had to fill and work on the knot which took some doing. Finished using Tried and True original single coat for now.
 

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Joined
Sep 12, 2017
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Marietta, Georgia
A small slab of cedar I had laying around. Just got through removing a tenon from a pecan bowl and decided to play a bit. Slapped the flat side onto the vacuum chuck and turned a tenon, turned it round and chucked it then made a natural edge dish. Letting the lacquer dry a bit before setting up the vacuum chuck again for the bottom.
image.jpg
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2023
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496
Location
Strasburg, VA
I just joined a northern Virginia Facebook woodworking group. They’re holding their first “Maker’s Trade” next month and about 15 of the group’s members are meeting to trade mallets they’ve made for the purpose and invited me to join them. Most (all?) of them are bringing mallets made by traditional carpentry and jointery techniques, and some of their entries are quite exquisite:
IMG_8850.jpeg

I kinda feel inadequate with my meager lathe skills compared to that lol!

But I picked up some small wenge and yellowheart cutoffs, laminated them between some hickory and turned that for the mallet head.

For the handle I stacked hickory and walnut 2”x2” squares on all thread, glued them and screwed them tight on each end to clamp them, then turned the resultant handle.

This is the initial fit test:
IMG_8847.jpegIMG_8844.jpegIMG_8846.jpeg
 
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Joined
Oct 13, 2016
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Location
Rainy River District Ontario Canada
I think I've turned 4 bowls so far out of three different trees but they all were dark before the finish.

Interesting grain just not a pleasant overall color to me anyway. I guess I just got used to all the walnut I turned being "usual" dark wood and the rest I turn is light wood. Ash, maple etc..
Sam I have perused some more info on the Catalpa tree species, and my opinion is that what you are turning is Southern Catalpa, and what I have turned and showed is Northern Catalpa.

It looks like the northern is lighter in color than the southern, I found a quite extensive study and info on Catalpa, but basically it's all about the southern species, I added some of the info here as well.

Nothern Catalpa wood.jpg northern-catalpa 2.jpg Catalpa wood.jpg.
then here is the info and a picture of large Catalpa slabs that (to me) could be southern Catalpa (I'm not sure about that)

the 4 picture limit made me combine the last two pictures so-as to get all the info and the large slab picture.

Two pictures into one.jpg
 
Joined
Sep 5, 2023
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Location
East Northport, NY

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Joined
Dec 29, 2022
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West Central, IL
Sam I have perused some more info on the Catalpa tree species, and my opinion is that what you are turning is Southern Catalpa, and what I have turned and showed is Northern Catalpa.

It looks like the northern is lighter in color than the southern, I found a quite extensive study and info on Catalpa, but basically it's all about the southern species, I added some of the info here as well.

View attachment 59445 View attachment 59446 View attachment 59447.
then here is the info and a picture of large Catalpa slabs that (to me) could be southern Catalpa (I'm not sure about that)

the 4 picture limit made me combine the last two pictures so-as to get all the info and the large slab picture.

View attachment 59451
Not sure of southern or northern. I'll bow to experience on that.
This bowl was roughed out end of March last year. To me anyway it doesn't have the same color as your pictures but it does match the other three trees I've gotten wood from.
I don't think they grow naturally around here, maybe they do but I know at least two of these were planted one was a huge old tree from the cemetery that a storm took out.

The second pic the bowl has been shortened. And I'm pretty sure the third pic is the same bowl that I finished the other day. Wet with DO.
 

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Joined
Oct 13, 2016
Messages
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Location
Rainy River District Ontario Canada
Not sure of southern or northern. I'll bow to experience on that.
This bowl was roughed out end of March last year. To me anyway it doesn't have the same color as your pictures but it does match the other three trees I've gotten wood from.
I don't think they grow naturally around here, maybe they do but I know at least two of these were planted one was a huge old tree from the cemetery that a storm took out.

The second pic the bowl has been shortened. And I'm pretty sure the third pic is the same bowl that I finished the other day. Wet with DO.
Yes that is quite a different color Sam, and it shows that it was a very fast grown tree, that last picture looks pretty, mine did not change a lot in color, it is a little darker, still a pretty bowl, LOML has a crush on it :D, it is often on the dining room table :)
 

odie

TOTW Team
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Very hard and dense, East India rosewood has a very unforgiving end grain that tends to be "grabby". Must be very careful with this species.

20240117_224226.jpg 20240117_224304.jpg
 
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Joined
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West Central, IL
Yes that is quite a different color Sam, and it shows that it was a very fast grown tree, that last picture looks pretty, mine did not change a lot in color, it is a little darker, still a pretty bowl, LOML has a crush on it :D, it is often on the dining room table :)

LOML = lady of my life?? I still say we need a thread with the acronyms.

or love I bet.
 

odie

TOTW Team
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
I like lines you added plus the rest of it!
Thanks Robert..... :)

In retrospect, I think I overdid it, and had too many detail grooves in the band.....but, someone will like it, and buy it, since the quality and execution went extremely well. I have had that many detail grooves in other bowls, and it looked just fine, but to my thinking, it didn't work as well with this particular bowl. I'm not really sure what it is that makes me think this......possibly the difference is with intense burls, as opposed to the more plain grain pattern in this East Inda rosewood, and the visual impact created by those differences. Five or seven detail grooves would have had a better look to it, I think.

-o-
 
Joined
Jan 6, 2013
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Location
Delaware
Phil,
I mounted a piece of walnut not knowing where I was going with it… and ended up with an octagonal tray. I’m not going to incise this like I did my last piece as the grain is pretty nice and I don’t want to lose that. I thought I’d just do a thin ring embellishment around the top edge.
What do you call that single line, like a progressive sine wave pattern which runs around the top edge of a platter and after five or seven revolutions meets up at the beginning?
 

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Joined
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Thanks Robert..... :)

In retrospect, I think I overdid it, and had too many detail grooves in the band.....but, someone will like it, and buy it, since the quality and execution went extremely well. I have had that many detail grooves in other bowls, and it looked just fine, but to my thinking, it didn't work as well with this particular bowl. I'm not really sure what it is that makes me think this......possibly the difference is with intense burls, as opposed to the more plain grain pattern in this East Inda rosewood, and the visual impact created by those differences. Five or seven detail grooves would have had a better look to it, I think.

-o-
I know, you were picking up the psychic emanations I was putting out a week ago... Believe it or not, I used the same rationale...Someone will like it.....
 

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Joined
Feb 7, 2023
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Location
Gardner, MA
Phil,
I mounted a piece of walnut not knowing where I was going with it… and ended up with an octagonal tray. I’m not going to incise this like I did my last piece as the grain is pretty nice and I don’t want to lose that. I thought I’d just do a thin ring embellishment around the top edge.
What do you call that single line, like a progressive sine wave pattern which runs around the top edge of a platter and after five or seven revolutions meets up at the beginning?
Very nice looking chunk of wood! Not sure on line.
 

odie

TOTW Team
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Somebody drilled right thru the piece of wood when they were supposed to drill a 1/4 inch deep for the circle jig pin!

^^^^^"Somebody"?????

Uh huh.....OK......I've done plenty of dumb things like that, too! :)

-o-
 
Joined
Jan 23, 2023
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Location
Calgary, AL
Somebody drilled right thru the piece of wood when they were supposed to drill a 1/4 inch deep for the circle jig pin!
Cut the hole out and mounted in a piece of Walnut. No finish applied and still needs final sanding.

View attachment 59513
View attachment 59514
Phil:
Nice save. Reminds me of the ones I'm working on as a design exercise.

Cheers.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
 

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Joined
Feb 18, 2023
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Orange, CA
after I added to my funnel collection with a really nice piece of wood due to once again trying to get too thin with the interior working on a bowl with a mortise, I turned this little piece, probably ash, I think. I used a tenon this time to give me some safety room. IMG_4953.jpegIMG_4952.jpegIMG_4950.jpeg
 
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