Look, no holes!!

[TEP]

Living dangerously Pete? Have you got a pilots licence for sending bits into orbit?

Some unusual shapes, and I do admire your stamina working with spalted wood all the time, it can be a real pig to cut clean and finish. You'll have to treat yourself to some real wood one day :lol:

 

[Paul.J]

Some interesting pieces there Pete.
Like little urn
Did you do all these with your lathe still on full speed,or have you fixed it now :?
Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Some interesting pieces there Pete.
Like little urn
Did you do all these with your lathe still on full speed,or have you fixed it now :?
Paul.J.

Thanks Paul, I am still working at full speed. I make sure that I have the tail stock up against it when I am starting up and I am not doing anything that isn't balanced well....until bits fly off that is. They are all small light pieces as well I may be daft but not stoopid.... :lol: Needless to say I also stand to one side as well.

Axminster are sending up the part that they think is causing the problem and I am waiting it's arrival before stripping the thing down.

Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Your a braver man than me. :shock:
I haven't even turned mine upto full speed yet while turning :shock: :shock:
Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Your a braver man than me. :shock:
I haven't even turned mine upto full speed yet while turning :shock: :shock:
Paul.J.

I'm not really brave, and I must admit I was very nervous going at full speed at first but someone mentioned that it was easier to rough out and that you got a better finish at faster speeds. I start at slowest when turning anything that isn't balanced and if it is over about 4" diameter and then creep up as I feel it evening out. Mind you my fastest speed is only 2000 some of the guys on here go a lot faster than that (so do their lathes!!!}. I get a lot less digs as well at the faster speeds.

Pete

 

[Bodrighy]

Your rustic collection grows Pete, although hand sanding can take as long as the turning the results are usually more than worth it.

Don't know that I would try turning some of those those at full speed myself 8-[

My 'rustic collection' as you politely call it seems to be the thing that people are attracted to Chas. They like the fact that they are individual and as one person put it' real wood' Not quite sure what they meant.

Turning them was a bit daunting at first but I have made a set of different shaped scrapers which I use to cut very lightly where there are voids. Means sharpening them a lot as they are old carbon steel tools but it seems to work and I can get quite a good finish except where the end grain is open.

Out of choice I would start them slowly before revving up but have found that as long as I am careful I just have to watch out if there are faults or bark in the wood. Invested in a face mask just in case. Turning them slowly has proven to be harder in fact as the tools are more likely to dig. I cut on the ghost, if that's the right term and cut lightly.

Sanding is another matter....no way am I going to stick my fingers anywhere near those edges and as I don't have a power sander it's a case of stop the lathe and do it manually. Slow but I still have ten digits and mean to keep it that way :lol:

Pete

 

[CHJ]

Pete, once I had been at it long enough to get over the nervousness of turning at higher speeds I found the same thing, I now turn at the fastest speed I can, especially on interrupted cuts, because as you have found it shortens the hand/tool reaction time and picks up the cutting surface again before the tool has time to advance into the void.

Only thing now is to try and keep reminding myself not to get over confident, but this is a problem that comes with any machine operation when it starts to become second nature.

On the Rustic items front, I too get people going in raptures over what I once might have thrown in the firewood as not good enough to finish, I think it is a reaction against the consistent repetitive blandness of everyday items that causes some people to appreciate a piece of nature as is, warts and all.

 

[Bodrighy]

Definitely a day for weird shapes

Friend came over with a small log of pine...."Can you turn something with this" he says. I had a go. Woke up this morning to find that it had warped overnight....just 8 hours



Nice bit of driftwood.....turned real slow well as slow as the lathe will go, think it's 6oorpm for a CCL. Had to leave the bottom wider 'cos I found some softish spalting there. Turned round to pick up some sandpaper and ...crack, the stem broke. Put it back with SG but it ended up like this. Can't see the crack but it definitely has 'character.'

Bit too rustic, even for me



Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Bodrighy wrote
Bit too rustic, even for me
Never
Pete i like these pieces that move all over the place.
The goblet looks like the piece on top is too heavy making it buckle under the weight
I 've turned a few green pieces that have gone this way too.As i say i like em.
Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Bodrighy wrote
Bit too rustic, even for me
Never
Pete i like these pieces that move all over the place.
The goblet looks like the piece on top is too heavy making it buckle under the weight
I 've turned a few green pieces that have gone this way too.As i say i like em.
Paul.J.

Hi Paul,

I usually do as well. Have you seen Steve Howletts site?Some of his stuff from green wood is incredible. Have a look at gallery 1 & 2. He has a section on how he does it as well.

Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Thanks for that Pete.
Interesting site.I think i will start to turn more green items meself now.
Love the example in his how to.
Wouldn't it be good though to have an almost endless supply of decent timber to pick and choose from :roll:
I'm sure it makes all the difference.
Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Thanks for that Pete.
Interesting site.I think i will start to turn more green items meself now.
Love the example in his how to.
Wouldn't it be good though to have an almost endless supply of decent timber to pick and choose from :roll:
I'm sure it makes all the difference.
Paul.J.

When I look at sites like his, the wood isn't the only thing that is green :mrgreen: I have an endless supply of wood but it tends to be smaller stuff, scavenged from the woods, the beach, friends who are builders etc. Most of it tends to be small and it is hit and miss whether it is of any use. Half the fun for me. I live in hope of finding a couple of bowl size pieces of purple heart or lignum vitae on the beach :lol:

In turning green wood, I have found that the heat generated by turning can dry and distort it and sometimes when you rechuck to do the bottom or something you find that it is no longer central. Can make for some interesting shapes. It also gets very hot, very quickly when sanding which can cause it to crack. Got a bowl at the monet that was perfect when I started that has developed a huge crack down one side. Waiting for it to dry to see what I can do with it.

Pete

 

[Bodrighy]

Made from the other end of the driftwood (as the goblet) Not meant to be 'rustic' but the knot in the lip fell out. Glass insert is a long glass from the Pound shop. (3 for a pound great source for all sorts of things like this) It's actually below the level of the lip but can't go lowr due to the taper of the vase.

12" tall, 2" dia at top. Unkown driftwood.


Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Very nice Pete.
Yep it does send you green.
I did mean to have larger pieces to turn,but than again need the lathe etc to handle it all.
Pete do you put any sort of finish on your items,and aren't you worried about turning unknown woods found on the beach :?:
Paul.J.

 

[Bodrighy]

Hi Paul,
I usually put sealer and wax on but I have run out of wax so at the moment I am just putting sealer on. My cameras aren't giving a good picture at the moment, they are both due for an overhaul or replacement.

I presume you are referring to the potential toxicity of the wood Paul. The thought crossed my mind but as it has usually been waterlogged for X amount of time and as I use a mask and face guard I am not too worried. I looked at the listings of woods and their potential dangers when I first started this 'obsession' and most of the wood that I am likely to find on the beach is going to be fairly ordinary stuff. It's what has happened to it that makes it interesting. It gets bleached, distorted etc. I am more concerned about the wood I pick of for free from builders etc. If I don't know what that is I am very careful.

These I know,

The first two from the left are hazel, the last two are elder. remnants of the council hedge trim a couple of weeks ago.


Pete

 

[Paul.J]

Very good Pete.
They look as if they've grown their
Paul.J.

 

[PowerTool]

Like the vase,Pete - and thanks for the link;interesting site,although most pieces aren't to my personal taste (I prefer "practical" to "artistic") I can still appreciate the skill involved in making them.

Andrew

 

[Bodrighy]

And finally for today.....


This started out as a bowl but was too far gone. Nearly threw it in the scrap bag, sure some of you will say I still should. :lol:
I had an incense candle in a glass on it but SWMBO put this one instead...bit risky IMHO will change it back when she's not looking


and to show that I do do more normal things as well
a floating dogbowl.
Don't know the wood but it's 10" dia and 3" high including the hidden foot.





Pete

 

[CHJ]

and to show that I do do more normal things as well
a floating dogbowl.
Pete

I hope you are not going to be mean and make the dog fetch more wood before you fill it. :lol:

 

[Bodrighy]

and to show that I do do more normal things as well
a floating dogbowl.
Pete

I hope you are not going to be mean and make the dog fetch more wood before you fill it. :lol:

I haven't got a dog anymore Chas, just a geriatric cat and if she fills it she's out!!!

Pete