Turning Lessons!

Well, once again, much time has passed since I last posted here. The main event that happened was my birthday present from my wife. She found someone in Maine who does one-on-one woodturning lessons. So, the first weekend in June (about a month after my birthday, but I had to wait until both the teacher and I had availability) we headed for Stonington, Maine - a picturesque (at least in summer) fishing village that is home to a lot of artists.

The teacher's name is Joaz Hill of ShapeShifter Woodturning (http://woodturning.maine-web.com/shapeshifter/index.html), and I had a great time learning from him. He has been teaching turning for about three years, and I am the first student who wanted to just learn boxes and pepper mills. Most of his other students have wanted to learn how to turn bowls and such.

I wanted to get an in-depth understanding of what tools to use to make boxes and pepper mills. I had watched a DVD on making boxes, but the turner on the DVD did not spend much time on the basics (what tools he was using, what speeds he was turning at, that sort of thing). And, of course, I had taken a class in pepper mill making, but that was a while ago and I never really got a sense of what I would need in order to start making them at home.

With Joaz, we used the tools that I already had, to the extent that they could be used in the project at hand. He showed me how to sharpen each tool, and I was able to practice that until I had a bit of confidence with it. Until now, the only tool I felt comfortable sharpening was the roughing gouge (well, and any tool that could just be honed). What I mainly found out was that, while I had a good set of tools, they are (mostly) not hefty enough to handle the end-grain work and hollowing that boxes need. I now have a list of tools to get, which is not really a bad thing :-)

We made a small box on the first day (Friday) and then started on a larger one. That one we finished on Saturday morning, and we spent the rest of Saturday making a pepper mill.

One aspect of turning the boxes and such caught me by surprise. The lathe we were using was a nice full-size Powermatic lathe that had variable speed. That means that you could run it at any speed from 0 to about (guessing here - we always stayed on the low end) 4000 RPM just by adjusting a knob. We spent just about all of our time in the 150-350 RPM range, and that seemed to be the right speed for what we were doing.

Here is the problem (issue?): My Rikon mini-lathe, while it is big enough to handle the size of the boxes and pepper mills that I would be making, has 5 speeds - the lowest of which is 430 RPM. So, I would have to do all of the box-making and such at a speed that is higher than what I was comfortable working with. I am willing to try to do this, but I have also been looking into getting a mini lathe that does variable speed and starts at a low enough speed to be useful.

I posted a question on www.woodcentral.com (recommended by Joaz - it seems like the people there are very friendly and very helpful) about variable-speed mini lathes, and got two recommendations. The first (and slightly more recommended, though not by much) is a Delta 46-460, which from all accounts seems like a pretty cool machine. The problem is that it is so new that it is not available in a lot of areas. I do not really want to buy something like that without at least getting a firsthand look at it. The second lathe is a Jet 1220VS, which gets high marks from those who use it.

Of course, just as I was figuring out how best to get one of these and sell my existing lathe, someone posted that they have no problem drilling holes and turning at the speeds that my Rikon uses. So, I guess the best thing to do would be to try the Rikon out first, and see if it is feasible now that I (sort of) know what I am doing.

If I am going to turn boxes, I need certain tools though. The next decision to make is where to get those tools from. Joaz recommends Packard Woodworks, and also has used Craft Supplies USA (which I have also used for pen-related stuff). I would have to know exactly what to get, but you can often get free shipping if you buy several tools at once, or at least a discount. I could also go to Woodcraft, especially if I have a discount there. I would have to make sure that they are not marking things up, though.

Next Up: Thursday Night's All Right For Turning

Second class, and other thoughts

So we had the second class last week, and practiced more spherical, or at least rounded, spindle work. Same tools, just a different technique. We also learned a lot about sharpening, though I do not know if I will be very confident until I have sharpened all of my tools with the instructor watching. I hope to do that next class, which is a week from tonight.

I have set up some of the beautiful burl pen blanks that my brother sent to me to be made into pens. They have been cut and drilled and glued...only the barrel trimming and the lathe-work is left. Then, of course, putting the pen together, which is always a bit nerve-wracking.

I have signed up for the Woodturning Symposium in NH on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. It is looking like it should be a great time - lots of woodturners demonstrating, and lots of vendors. No hands-on work, but there will be a lot to see. It was recommended by the teacher of the class I am taking. The last one was three years ago - coincidentally, the weekend that we moved into our house. I knew nothing about woodturning then.

I have been debating about what to make for my high school's auction. I think I will do a pen and pencil set. Maybe even two of them. I will leave out the letter openers for now.

I have been looking into making lidded boxes. I have a blank (from when I attempted a pepper mill at home) that would be perfect, but I need to get more tools. I do not have the tools that I think I need to hollow out the box.

On the road to a pepper mill, hopefully

I have been travelling quite a bit over the last few weeks, so I have not been doing much with the woodturning. The main project has been an attempt at a pepper mill, which (as stated in my last post) was not really going all that well. Since that post, I have watched a really good video on how to turn boxes, and some of the techniques in that DVD can probably be used in the pepper mill project.

I have also enlisted the help of my friend Kurt at Woodcraft. He is a great guy who attacks projects fearlessly and is always happy to help me and answer questions. When I explained to him my issues with the pepper mill project, Kurt first showed me the different qualities of different types of Forstner bits. The ones that I had bought were fairly cheap ($5-10 each), and unfortunately it seems that with these (as with most things) you get what you pay for. Kurt showed me some carbide-tipped Forstner bits that drilled like a dream. Of course, they are each over $25, and I have to see if I will be making enough pepper mills to justify purchasing them.

Being the adventurous type, Kurt decided to see if he could make a pepper mill using the instruction sheet from Woodcraft. He soon found that there were issues with the sheet! So, he has been working on a modified set of instructions for me. I hope to pick them up soon.

In the meantime, when at the Portsmouth Farmer's Market on Saturday, I got to talk with a guy who had his own booth there. He had all sorts of woodcraft on display - carving, turning, chainsaw-carving...all of it was beautiful. While we were talking, he told me about a place nearby that does woodworking courses. They have a Pepper Mill course on November 15th. I really want to do it...I think that once I do one, I should be okay with doing more. Unlike a lot of classes, which start about halfway through the project, this one seems to be a "beginning to end" course. Should be perfect.

He also told me about a place to get some wood - I found where the place is, but I have not been able to visit it yet. It might be a way to get some local wood for less money than I have been paying for the exotics from Woodcraft. The exotics are beautiful, but the local stuff can be gorgeous too, and finding less expensive materials is a good thing.

I have been commissioned to make a couple of pens, so I may go back to that for a week or two, and concentrate on making the pepper mill and maybe a box after the middle of November, assuming I take the course.

I have received some wonderful feedback from someone who just happened to find this blog online. I am very glad that I can have a positive effect on people whom I have never met. Although I was never sure it would happen, it was (and still is) one of the intended goals of this blog.