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

At long last, a pepper mill!

Well, it finally happened. I took my class at the Homestead Woodworking School in Newmarket, and I learned a lot that can be applied to the making of more than just pepper mills. I worked on a full lathe, too - not the mini lathe that I have at home - and that led me to think that someday I may want one. Not yet, though - there is nothing that I would be working on for a while that would require something that large.

I also learned that my knowledge of my own woodturning tools has been a bit deficient. Even after two years, I apparently had been using a bowl gouge as a spindle gouge, and had never really used the spindle gouge at all. I never even realized I HAD a bowl gouge! I felt really ignorant when I found this out, but at least I know.

During the all day course, I also learned how to make a "jam chuck", turning a piece of scrap wood so that one end of it can be held by a chuck in the headstock while the piece (in this case, the main part of the pepper mill, with the holes already drilled) could be "jammed" onto the other end. In essence, it allows a piece that would not fit onto the regular chuck to be turned on the lathe with support.

The skills learned in the class can, I think, be easily applied to turning boxes and ornaments and such. I used the spindle gouge (now that I know what it is - I still cannot believe my ignorance on that one) to do most of the shaping of the mill. I also learned a bit about how to sharpen my roughing gouge (some of which I knew, but sharpening tips are always good) and my parting tool (which I had never really sharpened on the grinder - I have been using a diamond stone). My bowl gouge will need to be re-sharpened professionally before I use it on any bowls.

I have not sold any more pens through consignment, which is no real surprise given the economy, but I did sell a couple to my mom, who gave them to friends as presents, and they were well received. Supposedly, I will be getting other commissions for pens this holiday season, but I have not gotten them yet, and time is getting short.

So...the pepper mill. I really enjoyed making it. My wife tells me that it has the look of a chess pawn, which was not at all intentional. I was trying to emulate a photograph that they had in the classroom of a particular style, but I deviated from that style and made it my own. If I had somehow been working vertically instead of horizontally on the pepper mill, I could see how I would have intentionally made it into a chess piece, but I had no idea of the resemblance until I brought it home.



I have been told that I should put a layer of beeswax on it, but I am not sure exactly how to do that. I may do it, and I may not.

Woodturner's Club meeting

Last night I went to the local Woodturner's Club meeting, and once again marveled at the various ways that people use their woodturning skills. I met someone who decided to START woodturning by making billiard cues. I love to shoot pool, but I cannot even fathom starting at that point. Of course, he has a full-size lathe, but still...

For the first time, I helped to turn a piece of "found wood" (complete with bark, at least at the start) into something that could, with luck, become a bowl or at least a hollow form. I realized how far behind I am (at least in relation to those who were there last night) when I was given the creation to finish, and I had to ask what I should do with it. At this point, I do not even have bowl tools - no bowl gouge, no scrapers...the good thing is that the holidays are coming up kind of soon. I don't even have any wax to seal the piece with until I decide to do something with it. At the advice of some of the folks at Woodcraft, I am sealing it inside of a ziplock bag. That is supposed to work until I can seal it with something like wax.

Tonight I went back to the cylinder - the one that could possibly become a pepper mill - but things did not go so well. I did find two pens to give to my mom for the commission she gave me, though.

More on the pepper mill stuff later - time for bed for now.

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.

Tales of pepper mills and such

I realize that it has been a while since I have posted (Amazingly, there is someone out there reading this who cared enough to email me and tell me to post more! :-)), but the truth is that I have not done much turning in the last couple of months. I have made a couple of pens that came out okay but not great, and learned how NOT to remove glue from the black parts of a pen kit, and I have also attempted a pepper mill for the first time.

First, the pen related issue: When assembling a pen that I made recently, I got some glue on the outside of the black cap that was part of the pen kit. The cap seemed to be made of some sort of plastic, and I was not sure how to remove the glue from it. I thought of using a glue solvent, but I was not sure what that would do to the wood, or to the glue that I MEANT to use on the cap of the pen.

So, I hit on the idea of sanding the glue off. Using a bit of 150 grit sandpaper, I rubbed lightly on the spot...thereby rubbing off the black and revealing the copper-coloured piece underneath! The black on the cap was only on the surface, and now the pen looked horrible. (black cap with a streak of copper scratched into it) I decided to sand the entire cap, to see if maybe the look could be improved by having a pen with a copper cap, but the result was not anything I could sell. I will have to use the solvent after all in order to remove the cap and put on another one if I want to try and sell it. A true bummer, as the wood came out amazingly well.

So, on to the pepper mills. I bought a Nova chuck to hold larger items (winestoppers, pepper mills, bowls when/if I get to them). At first, I was a bit perplexed, because the chuck can only hold items with a diameter of 2 inches or so, and the piece of wood that I was starting with (a standard piece available at Woodcraft) was 3" by 3". The chuck could not even hold it. I knew I was missing a piece of the puzzle, but I was not sure what it was.

it turns out that, in order to use the chuck on large pieces, you need to turn a tenon at one end of the piece that is smaller than the chuck jaws. Then the jaws grab on to the tenon, and you can work the rest of the piece. So, I needed to turn the whole piece between centers to get it rounded, and then turn a tenon at one end. I did this, and it seemed to go okay, at least to start. I got a rounded piece that fit in the tenon and was being held by the chuck.

Next up....drilling into endgrain, using Forstner bits.

Shakey Le Tree...at a store near you?

Big news! I went to a store downtown, a store that sells very cool crafty type items, and spoke with the owner (Evelyn) about possibly selling pens there on consignment. She seemed very much into the idea, and has been thinking of having more stock around that could be aimed towards "gifts for men". She thinks that the Classic American (and maybe Wall Street) pens would fit the bill for that. She also seemed to think that the slimline and broker pens would be good for "gifts for women", which gives me a bit of a reason for making more slimline pens.

She seemed to think that my getting $35+ per pen was not unreasonable (I told her $35-40 and up, based on the price of materials used to make the pen), as it would allow her a markup of 30% and would still keep the price point where she wants it.

One thing she mentioned was that I would need boxes, so I looked up boxes on the net and found some nice metal boxes that should work. I had to order them in a block of 24, so I hope that this whole thing really works!

I am nervous and excited about the prospect of actually selling the pens...it could allow this hobby to start paying for itself in terms of materials. This could allow me to start doing wine stoppers and pepper mills and such without being that much out of pocket. And what is the worst that could happen? They do not sell, and I have that much more stock to sell elsewhere. I am researching what kind of legal agreement I should put together to sign so that both parties know what is expected of them.

In other news...yesterday I received the kit for a pen I am making for my uncle. Along with the kit, I ordered an extra set of tubes, so that I can try to turn a couple of different types of wood and see what looks best. The kit costs $40, so I want to make sure that the turning comes out great before I assemble the pen.

Last night we went to Woodcraft, and I found a neat piece of Maple Burl that I could use for ornaments or winestoppers or...pen blanks. I am going to turn a piece of the maple burl AND a piece of cocobolo for the emperor pen, and see which comes out best.

So...a bit of financial outlay this week:
$70.95 for the Emperor Pen Kit
$17 for the Maple Burl
$11 for a kit to make a pepper mill at some point
$48 for the boxes
Total: $146.95