It has been an absolutely crazy few months. The woodturning class was cool for a while, but when health issues and then work interfered with two classes in a row, I gave it up. I did produce a cool-looking egg cup and the beginnings of a bowl, and I learned a lot, but I was getting the feeling that the stuff I would want to do would take much more time and expense than I am willing (now, anyway) to throw at it.
I made a pen and pencil set for my high school's auction, and it came out really well. the high bid at the auction was $130, and the person who got it said that it was the only thing he wanted out of all of the items there. That was a great thing to hear, and it made me feel proud to have made it.
What I really want to work on next is how to do a pepper mill correctly without being in a class at the time, and how to do lidded boxes. Unfortunately, I have not been on the best of terms with the folks at the local Woodcraft (their pen kits and advice, on two occasions, left me wanting), and a search for similar stores in the area has turned up nothing. I am really looking for books that show in detail how to do the boxes and the pepper mills, and then I want to start making some.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Catching up...
Well, due to many events involving felines and family members, I have not been able to do much turning over the last couple of months. However, recently I have made a couple of Wall Street II style pens. This style is efficient because you can make two of them from a single 5 1/2 inch pen blank. I made two out of Tamboti, and gave one to the vet who took care of our cat Carmen during her last couple of months. Now we have introduced our new cats, Herbie and Domino, to her, and she will be their vet too.
I have started another class! There is a woodturning class at the Homestead School in Newmarket, taught by the same guy that taught the pepper mill class. This class covers all of the aspects of basic turning, and meets every other Thursday for eight sessions. I have only had one session so far, but it is a lot of fun and I think I will learn a lot too. I got the class tuition as a holiday present this year.
Surprising bonus at the end of the year - four of my pens at Nuance sold! Apparently people thought that my pens would make a good holiday gift. I had no idea that they had sold until I got a check from the owner of the store. What a great surprise that was!
My old high school is having an auction in April - I went to the last one a couple of years ago and it was a lot of fun. This year I might donate a pen/pencil set or something similar to be auctioned off.
My in-laws got me a dust collection system for the holidays that can be hooked up to my Shop-Vac. I have not set it up yet, but I plan to do so this weekend so I can see if it fits the tools that I have in my shop.
That is all for now - next class is on the 5th of February. The first class we practiced doing coves and beads on spindle work. We turned pieces of wood that were still wet - they came from local trees, and they had not dried out completely yet. It was an interesting experience - the shavings that come off of a wet or "green" piece of wood are much different from those that come off of a kiln-dried piece like a pen blank or exotic wood blank.
I have started another class! There is a woodturning class at the Homestead School in Newmarket, taught by the same guy that taught the pepper mill class. This class covers all of the aspects of basic turning, and meets every other Thursday for eight sessions. I have only had one session so far, but it is a lot of fun and I think I will learn a lot too. I got the class tuition as a holiday present this year.
Surprising bonus at the end of the year - four of my pens at Nuance sold! Apparently people thought that my pens would make a good holiday gift. I had no idea that they had sold until I got a check from the owner of the store. What a great surprise that was!
My old high school is having an auction in April - I went to the last one a couple of years ago and it was a lot of fun. This year I might donate a pen/pencil set or something similar to be auctioned off.
My in-laws got me a dust collection system for the holidays that can be hooked up to my Shop-Vac. I have not set it up yet, but I plan to do so this weekend so I can see if it fits the tools that I have in my shop.
That is all for now - next class is on the 5th of February. The first class we practiced doing coves and beads on spindle work. We turned pieces of wood that were still wet - they came from local trees, and they had not dried out completely yet. It was an interesting experience - the shavings that come off of a wet or "green" piece of wood are much different from those that come off of a kiln-dried piece like a pen blank or exotic wood blank.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Varied pen-related stories
Recently, my mom bought a couple of my pens to give to friends and relatives as birthday presents. One of the recipients liked his so much that he commissioned three more! An unexpected bonus this holiday season.
Last night, I went to the monthly Seacoast Woodturners Club meeting. The topic of the evening was "Segmented Pen Turning". There is a guy there who does wonderful work with segmented bowls and such, and he had put together some pen blanks based on the pieces that he used for one of his bowls. I mentioned that I had been turning some pens this week (see paragraph above), and when no one else volunteered I was asked to turn the pen for the demo, in front of the club!
Now, I have taken part in the turning at the club before, but usually we are turning a bowl, and I am learning much more than I am teaching. Last night, though, I was able to show some of the tips that I had picked up over the last couple of years. I even decided to be daring and start using the skew chisel, which many experienced turners shy away from because of the tearout that can result. The other members seemed impressed that I was able to use the skew without any mistakes. For the first time, I really felt like I was contributing to the meetings of the group. It was a great feeling.
Of course, I have had my setbacks recently too. While making a pen last week, I put the first two parts of the kit together backwards. This made the entire kit unusable, and was something I had never done before. I just wasn't thinking. I have put together dozens of pens, and had never made that mistake. I also put together a beautiful cocobolo Classic American pen, only to find that when it was assembled, the top would not turn. I had a nice-looking non-functional pen-like sculpture. Luckily, THAT one got rescued by Don at Woodcraft and is usable now.
The pen I made at the meeting of the club is a slimline style pen that is tapered at the top, bottom, and middle, and fat otherwise. I have never made a pen with that style - all of the slimline pens I have done have been thin all the way across - and it was very interesting to make. I do not like the finished style as much, but I was given the pen when I finished turning it, and I use it in my home office as a nice reminder of the evening at the club.
Due to other issues around the house this fall, I have not progressed with the ornaments or pepper mills (I had wanted to do another one right after the class) at all, but starting in January I have signed up for another woodturning class, which meets every other week on Thursday nights from January to April. I am really looking forward to it. We will be doing spindle and bowl turning. The class is my holiday present.
Last night, I went to the monthly Seacoast Woodturners Club meeting. The topic of the evening was "Segmented Pen Turning". There is a guy there who does wonderful work with segmented bowls and such, and he had put together some pen blanks based on the pieces that he used for one of his bowls. I mentioned that I had been turning some pens this week (see paragraph above), and when no one else volunteered I was asked to turn the pen for the demo, in front of the club!
Now, I have taken part in the turning at the club before, but usually we are turning a bowl, and I am learning much more than I am teaching. Last night, though, I was able to show some of the tips that I had picked up over the last couple of years. I even decided to be daring and start using the skew chisel, which many experienced turners shy away from because of the tearout that can result. The other members seemed impressed that I was able to use the skew without any mistakes. For the first time, I really felt like I was contributing to the meetings of the group. It was a great feeling.
Of course, I have had my setbacks recently too. While making a pen last week, I put the first two parts of the kit together backwards. This made the entire kit unusable, and was something I had never done before. I just wasn't thinking. I have put together dozens of pens, and had never made that mistake. I also put together a beautiful cocobolo Classic American pen, only to find that when it was assembled, the top would not turn. I had a nice-looking non-functional pen-like sculpture. Luckily, THAT one got rescued by Don at Woodcraft and is usable now.
The pen I made at the meeting of the club is a slimline style pen that is tapered at the top, bottom, and middle, and fat otherwise. I have never made a pen with that style - all of the slimline pens I have done have been thin all the way across - and it was very interesting to make. I do not like the finished style as much, but I was given the pen when I finished turning it, and I use it in my home office as a nice reminder of the evening at the club.
Due to other issues around the house this fall, I have not progressed with the ornaments or pepper mills (I had wanted to do another one right after the class) at all, but starting in January I have signed up for another woodturning class, which meets every other week on Thursday nights from January to April. I am really looking forward to it. We will be doing spindle and bowl turning. The class is my holiday present.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, October 20, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, September 22, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Deficit spending
As I deposited the check from my latest sale yesterday, I was in a dangerous mood going into Woodcraft tonight. I knew that I did not need any wood (did not keep me from looking, though), and I thought I would buy some more opener and magnifier kits. The irony of the evening was evident in the fact that I did not want to pay more for the kits (they seem to have gone up about $2 each!), and so I ended up in a conversation with one of the many friendly salesfolk about buying a chuck for the lathe. The chuck would be my first step away from just doing spindle/mandrel work (like pens, ornaments, and such) towards things like pepper mills and (eventually) bowls. The pepper mill was my stated reason for wanting the chuck, as my wife has been wanting a pepper mill and I said a while back that I would make one for her. I think, though, once I start working with the chuck, I may find all kinds of projects for it.
The salesman (he is more of a woodturner that happens to work at the store - calling him a salesman does not do him justice, though he is quite good at selling) helped me to put together the chuck, too, which means that I would not be sitting at home thinking that I was putting it together incorrectly to start with. Why is this relevant?
Well, one of the reasons I went to Woodcraft tonight was to exchange my adjustable mandrel. It got stuck easily, and I could not get it to adjust at all. It turns out that they ship the adjustable mandrel with a small (but important!) part placed on the mandrel BACKWARDS. There is no documentation accompanying the mandrel, so unless you KNOW that it is backwards, you adjust and tighten the mandrel in such a way that it never becomes unstuck. Yet another time when I was thinking that I must have been doing some beginner idiot thing, when all along it was an easy mistake to make. Luckily, I was able to exchange it out for a new one, and Chris (the salesman) showed me how to put it together correctly.
Why they put it together backwards in the box, without any docs, just baffles me.
Chris also showed me how to keep from having pieces of wood fly off when using the parting tool (which is what happened with the dyed orange pen I tried to make recently). He suggested using the point of the skew to dig into the point where the parting would take place, as a guide for the parting tool and to keep the parting from tearing along the grain when you do not want it to. I also found out tonight that I have been sharpening my parting tool a bit incorrectly, but it can be corrected with diligence.
Started three pens and a magnifier and a letter opener last night. Tigre Caspi for one of the pens, and the magnifier and opener. Pink ivory on chrome for one pen, and a reddish cocobolo on chrome for the last one.
The salesman (he is more of a woodturner that happens to work at the store - calling him a salesman does not do him justice, though he is quite good at selling) helped me to put together the chuck, too, which means that I would not be sitting at home thinking that I was putting it together incorrectly to start with. Why is this relevant?
Well, one of the reasons I went to Woodcraft tonight was to exchange my adjustable mandrel. It got stuck easily, and I could not get it to adjust at all. It turns out that they ship the adjustable mandrel with a small (but important!) part placed on the mandrel BACKWARDS. There is no documentation accompanying the mandrel, so unless you KNOW that it is backwards, you adjust and tighten the mandrel in such a way that it never becomes unstuck. Yet another time when I was thinking that I must have been doing some beginner idiot thing, when all along it was an easy mistake to make. Luckily, I was able to exchange it out for a new one, and Chris (the salesman) showed me how to put it together correctly.
Why they put it together backwards in the box, without any docs, just baffles me.
Chris also showed me how to keep from having pieces of wood fly off when using the parting tool (which is what happened with the dyed orange pen I tried to make recently). He suggested using the point of the skew to dig into the point where the parting would take place, as a guide for the parting tool and to keep the parting from tearing along the grain when you do not want it to. I also found out tonight that I have been sharpening my parting tool a bit incorrectly, but it can be corrected with diligence.
Started three pens and a magnifier and a letter opener last night. Tigre Caspi for one of the pens, and the magnifier and opener. Pink ivory on chrome for one pen, and a reddish cocobolo on chrome for the last one.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Not much to show, so much to tell!
Where to begin? There is so much going on. I guess I will just reflect in the order that things occur to me:
1. I now have the domain shakeyletree.com registered! When several of my email addresses stopped working due to the interruption of swordmoon.com, I decided to take the plunge and register shakeyletree.com as a site to host my emails and pictures of my finished products from the lathe (and maybe some links too). If you would like to send me an email related to woodturning, you can send it to woodturner at shakeyletree dot com.
2. Partly because I have not been getting email for a while, and partly because I just think it is a cool store, I stopped in to Nuance today, to find out that the pen-and-letter-opener set that I made out of Tigre Caspi sold ten days ago! This is now my second sale through the store...and was such a wonderful, unexpected surprise!
3. Work on the lathe has been uneven - I was recently working on a dyed (orange) Classic American pen that I think could have come out pretty well, but a chunk of it sheared off just before the sanding step. I also noticed that the dyed woods smell a bit like acrylic, which means that I should probably wait for a cool day when I can open the garage door before I work on them again. However, I did make a beautiful magnifier using cocobolo:
Not only did the grain and colour of the wood come out really nicely (due to the wood, really, not to anything I did), but I tried something new. It is kind of hard to tell in these pictures, but I added lines near each end of the wood, as a bit of decoration. They came out even better than I had hoped.
Here is another picture, just concentrating on the stem:
Again, kind of hard to tell, but you can see them a bit. I actually made the lines using a beading tool...I have not yet made any beads with the tool, but as I was playing around with it, I found that it made nice parallel lines in the wood, much like I have heard that wire burning would do.
After it cools off, weatherwise, I hope to work more on pens and such and maybe get a chuck to make some stoppers or a pepper mill or something.
1. I now have the domain shakeyletree.com registered! When several of my email addresses stopped working due to the interruption of swordmoon.com, I decided to take the plunge and register shakeyletree.com as a site to host my emails and pictures of my finished products from the lathe (and maybe some links too). If you would like to send me an email related to woodturning, you can send it to woodturner at shakeyletree dot com.
2. Partly because I have not been getting email for a while, and partly because I just think it is a cool store, I stopped in to Nuance today, to find out that the pen-and-letter-opener set that I made out of Tigre Caspi sold ten days ago! This is now my second sale through the store...and was such a wonderful, unexpected surprise!
3. Work on the lathe has been uneven - I was recently working on a dyed (orange) Classic American pen that I think could have come out pretty well, but a chunk of it sheared off just before the sanding step. I also noticed that the dyed woods smell a bit like acrylic, which means that I should probably wait for a cool day when I can open the garage door before I work on them again. However, I did make a beautiful magnifier using cocobolo:
Not only did the grain and colour of the wood come out really nicely (due to the wood, really, not to anything I did), but I tried something new. It is kind of hard to tell in these pictures, but I added lines near each end of the wood, as a bit of decoration. They came out even better than I had hoped.
Here is another picture, just concentrating on the stem:
Again, kind of hard to tell, but you can see them a bit. I actually made the lines using a beading tool...I have not yet made any beads with the tool, but as I was playing around with it, I found that it made nice parallel lines in the wood, much like I have heard that wire burning would do.
After it cools off, weatherwise, I hope to work more on pens and such and maybe get a chuck to make some stoppers or a pepper mill or something.
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