Turn, turn, turn 6.0

This is the best that I've made so far:

I really like this purple poplar wood, although this was much darker than the last ones - the dust from sanding was essentially black.  Gosh - variations in natural products!  Who'd a thunk it?

My skill is also developing.  I started this but had to stop it (ran out of time that day).  It was a mess - big jagged chunks broken off the lip, horrible ridges inside and out.  I was able to fix all of that, and I think it came out pretty nice.

One thing that was striking was how you get tiny droplets of water splashed all over your face when you turn green wood.  This was very green and basically soaking wet which I think led me to make the mistakes I made that first day.  It was a lot easier a week later when it had dried out a bit.  But that led to a different problem:

See the cracks on the rim at eleven o'clock and four o'clock?  Yup, unfinished wet wood shrinks and cracks as it dries.  There's a powder/epoxy product that my teacher says I can fix this with, which will continue my learning experience.  Hey, that's what it's all about, amirite?

But as I said, I'm pretty pleased with this one.  If you scroll back through all of these you can see a definite progression of skill.  Yay, me!

Turn, turn, turn 5.0

I took this (a blank of purple poplar):

And I turned it into this:

 

That's a salad bowl made out of purple poplar.  Oh yeah, I made a bunch of wood shavings and dust, too (35 grit sandpaper sure throws off clouds of the stuff).

It came out pretty nice.  Yay, me!

Turn, turn, turn 4.0

I made Christmas ornaments on the lathe today.  Need to paint them Christmasy colors, but it was interesting to make round shapes, and long pointy shapes.

The points originally pointed towards each other, as part of a single piece of wood.  When I cut them apart I used the table belt sander to point them off.  I also have to screw eye hooks into the top (once they're painted).  Then I can hang them.

My neighbor is a very good teacher for turning wood, and the local wood shop is outstanding.  I have to say that this is a lot of fun.

Turn, turn, turn 3.0

FredLewers asked a question on my last post: What kind of wax are you using?

I'm using Iddo Kimball's Wood Rub.  You can apply it while your piece is still on the lathe, after sanding.  The heat from the friction with the cloth melts the wax into the wood.

I don't have any relationship with the vendor, but my teacher thinks it works well.  It is so far.

Turn, turn, turn 2.0

 

Le bol est finis.  I added a thin coat of wax and am hoping that the South Florida heat on the lenai will melt it in a bit.

We have a bunch of blanks that we got this weekend.  I need to figure out the next project (either a slightly personal salad bowl, or a much bigger family salad bowl).  And to OldNFO comment - there was a metric ton of wood shavings.  the bowl started as a square blank and so I had to round it off.  The blanks we got this weekend are round so there should (hopefully) be less cleanup.

Oh, and if you're into wood turning, I can recommend Steve Parker's Wood Turning Blanks web site.  

Turn, turn, turn

I have a neighbor who has a lathe, and who is teaching me to turn wood.  Here's my first effort - a candlestick:

Today I'm going to try to make a bowl.  It's an interesting process, and makes a HUGE amount of sawduct and wood shavings.