I sometimes do something near the rim on the bottom for a better grip with the fingers.
JKJ
-
It's time to cast your vote in the April 2026 Turning Challenge. (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Ted Pelfrey for "Cherry Blossoms on Cherry" being selected as Turning of the Week for April 27, 2026 (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?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
I sometimes do something near the rim on the bottom for a better grip with the fingers.
JKJ
You inspired me to make the heart shaped bowlsThey look great Don! I don’t think I’ve ever inspired anyone to do anything before!
And you both still owe me $5.00
And I’m doing a demo on the heart bowl in May
And you both still owe me $5.00
And I’m doing a demo on the heart bowl in May
Didn’t I tell ya, the checks in the mail.
Of all of the things I’ve had on my lathe over the years, this is my favorite!
Over this past month I have been working through some of the old unmade pen kits I have had laying around. Photo is from tonight with a second USAF theme pen just completed on the lathe. I will match it up with a Sierra style kit to match the other US Armed Forces themed pens. The Curly Maple pen is a modified slimline without the center band.
Last edited:
Ebony finial, The shaft closest to the chuck is 1/8 ".
The finial is two part, the body and lid of the box is cast epoxy. Twist the lower part of the finial, the box unlocks, push the upper part of the finial, the box locks.
Last edited:
A little while back @John K Jordan gave me a really nice chunk of super dry Black Cherry. Found a calabash bowl inside. Will be about 7.5” diam and 4.5” tall. I have been mostly turning small things lately, so even though this isn’t too big, hollowing the bottom of the bowl was challenging. Knocking off the rust haha. Beautiful piece of Cherry. Thanks John!
Last edited:
I’m planning on making some cutting boards and charcuterie boards this summer and working on a cutting board design I can make on the lathe.
This is my first attempt and figuring out the best process.
This one is made from KD hickory, measures 1-1/2” thick, 15-1/2 total diameter, and 12-3/8” cutting surface with juice groove. The outside rim is 1/16” lower than the cutting surface to prevent the knife from hitting the edge. I put a little curve on the edge to help with picking it up and a foot on the bottom.
I wet the surface to raise the grain and will finish sand and oil tomorrow.
This is my first attempt and figuring out the best process.
This one is made from KD hickory, measures 1-1/2” thick, 15-1/2 total diameter, and 12-3/8” cutting surface with juice groove. The outside rim is 1/16” lower than the cutting surface to prevent the knife from hitting the edge. I put a little curve on the edge to help with picking it up and a foot on the bottom.
I wet the surface to raise the grain and will finish sand and oil tomorrow.
That’s a nice looking bowl. I’ve never turned a calabash for some reason but now I want to try one, and it’s your fault
4x7 Manzanita burl. A very hard, dry and dusty monster. Outer shape distorted as I hollowed it out to just under 5/32".
Very pretty, and nice chunk of wood. Is it a “calabash” to KD standards? I don’t detect the traditional inflection point of the inward curve as it nears the rim. Please don’t read *any* negativity into my question
Nice! I haven’t turned Manzanita before, but I like it every time I see it.
@David Wyke oh no, my condolences. Don’t catch the calabash bug! Haha, kidding, go for it. Would love to see one.
@Ron Solfest thank you! Made me chuckle a tad bit. This would be what Kelly calls a Pat Kramer style calabash. I’m planning on some embellishment on the outside, and for that I prefer the closed style (at least for my plan).
Ok. Nothing spectacular, and not on the lathe, but fresh off. I got a few small sections of a small, fallen Sassafras and decided to see if cross sections would make interesting mushroom caps. I made the mistake of watching Mike Peace turn some mushrooms and thought here's a project I could be able to have some fun with. As mentioned the caps are Sassafras and the stems are Paper Birch which I've had since dirt was new. I might make a few more - they are addictive (but I presume not harmful).
Cheers.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
Cheers.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!
Attachments
Nice mushrooms @Barry Larson! The Sassafrass works well. @Mike Peace is a gem!
I love sassafras. Yesterday I was using the excavator to clean up some fallen trees that had been down a long time - one was sassafras about 12" dia and in good condition. It's hard to get sassafras to rot on the ground. And it's quite stable.
Anyone interested in sassafras wood come visit with a truck or trailer - I have a couple of "largish" trees that need to come down. Probably enough small limbs for 18,000 mushrooms.
Anyone interested in sassafras wood come visit with a truck or trailer - I have a couple of "largish" trees that need to come down. Probably enough small limbs for 18,000 mushrooms.
I agree with you on letting the cherry shine! What’s the inside grain look like?
Great minds!
Inside grain looks pretty much the same. Pencil lines are just for the layout of something.
90% of my stuff is intended for some type of embellishments or carving . But every now and then you get a piece like this and you have to say no. Especially in cherry.
Persimmon HF today. I started getting hairline cracks just a quarter of the way in so I sprayed the outside with water and wrapped it in plastic which helped a lot. Left the top rim a little long for a design I’m thinking of adding. If it doesn’t work out I’ll sand it down.
Odie
Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Red Mallee burl. This one was completed twice because a chunk of wood came loose along the rim. The original design looked better, but I'm lucky to have salvaged this piece.
=o=
=o=
A friend gifted me a madrone burl. It had been sitting in his shop for close to 20 years. All advice pointed to firewood due to severe cracking. I decided to see what I could do with it. 5x14
Attach files
Attach files
If I have a piece that cracks it definitely gets the embellishment treatment.
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2021
- Messages
- 278
- Likes
- 1,161
- Location
- Silver Spring, MD
- Website
- www.transpirationturning.com
I collected a lot of spalted beech over the weekend. Starting the roughing of the larger pieces. This is roughly 18" diameter. Looks like it all pretty much the right side of punky.
My sassafras all seem to be dying to the blight.I love sassafras. Yesterday I was using the excavator to clean up some fallen trees that had been down a long time - one was sassafras about 12" dia and in good condition. It's hard to get sassafras to rot on the ground. And it's quite stable.
Anyone interested in sassafras wood come visit with a truck or trailer - I have a couple of "largish" trees that need to come down. Probably enough small limbs for 18,000 mushrooms.
I've never heard of the (Laurel Wilt) blite that attacks sassafras, had to look it up.
I have dozens of smallish sassafras that have died 20 years ago. I just thought some sassafras were just short lived. But all the large sassafras trees I find on my place Iare alive and look healthy. Makes me wonder if the blight came through this areas years ago then moved on.
Same with the pine beetle. In this part of TN the southern pine beetle killed 100s or 1000s of pine trees. However, somehow it missed our farm like it passed around us. I have one 2 acre pine stand that were never affected. Odd.
I have lived a dual life as a longtime arborist and woodturner. Which is why I get calls like today’s asking if I would like the logs from a 2.5 ft dbh (diameter at breast height) holly tree (yes!!!!).
It is also why a member of this forum asked if I was the same person from an arborist forum who sent a condolence card to the widow of a certain Danish arborist. (yes, again).
Next month we’ll be visiting friends in Denmark, and what is on my lathe today is a memory bowl for that widow - a gift we will deliver in person in memory of her deceased husband.
He came to the US, specifically the Pacific NorthWest to climb. He loved being up in the tall Giant and Coast Redwoods. He was an active member of the arborist forum and always generous with his knowledge and experience.
This memory bowl I am making to honor him is from a piece of Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) which I collected in California while visiting our son and his family.
It is also why a member of this forum asked if I was the same person from an arborist forum who sent a condolence card to the widow of a certain Danish arborist. (yes, again).
Next month we’ll be visiting friends in Denmark, and what is on my lathe today is a memory bowl for that widow - a gift we will deliver in person in memory of her deceased husband.
He came to the US, specifically the Pacific NorthWest to climb. He loved being up in the tall Giant and Coast Redwoods. He was an active member of the arborist forum and always generous with his knowledge and experience.
This memory bowl I am making to honor him is from a piece of Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) which I collected in California while visiting our son and his family.
Attachments
This is a fail, I tried to float the gold epoxy on to the blue, to get a striped effect, but ended up with a marble pattern.
Lignum Vitea finial, 3 1/3 by 7 1/2 inches
Lignum Vitea finial, 3 1/3 by 7 1/2 inches
Tonight I did some spindle turning making a few magic wands. On the lathe is Jatoba, and then on the lathe bed are embellished Cherry with "Tree Wood", Peruvian Walnut, and Black Limba. Right after this they all received a rubbed in coat of wipe-on poly. As usual the mess under the lathe... it never seems to go away...
This is the time of year my green turning slows down and second turnings begin. However I will turn green to replace what is second turned just to keep inventory balanced.
This one turned this morning, walnut, 12-3/4” x 5” with undercut rim.
This one turned this morning, walnut, 12-3/4” x 5” with undercut rim.
Love the shape and under cut rim….and the wood ain’t half bad either.
Very nice,
Bob
Beautiful David! What do you use for finish?
Cherry burl piece. Turned on Tuesday.
Hollowing out some walnut urns. I’m trying a different hollowing method, hollowing from both the top and the bottom. I find this method is better than hollowing from the top only. This reduces
reduces the amount of tool overhang by 50%. I’ll plug the bottom up later during final turning after the blank has dried.
reduces the amount of tool overhang by 50%. I’ll plug the bottom up later during final turning after the blank has dried.
Last edited:
Love the form of this one.
Thanks Dan, most of my bowls are finished with Mahoney’s products, walnut oil and the walnut oil and wax mixture or Tried and Trues Danish oil and Original. Usually walnut oil on walnut and maple but for this one I switched to Danish oil. I’ll do at least two coats and then apply one coat of the Original.