My learning piece thread

[Rhossydd]

They're OK. I got mine following a recommendation on the forum and am very happy with it. It's such a simple design it's difficult to see where you could go much wrong.

 

[Stiggy]

Is this the sort of thing you mean by going passed the rim Rob?

(Disclaimer - this was a test piece and not meant to be finished, but got carried away with myself and did some detail.)

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

That's it exactly

Nice work fella

 

[markslathe]

Stiggy, your work is brilliant,i am very new to turning,and my work is dreadful at the moment,i am improving very slowly,my main issue is probably lack of patience and blunt tools,i am also learning how to sharpen them on a grinder,i don't seem to be getting the hang of it yet,but i will.
Anyway,crack on with what your doing it all looks great.

 

[beganasatree]

Hi Stiiggy,
You seem to have flair for this,how much time do you spend practicing?


Peter.

 

[Stiggy]

Hi Mark and Peter, thanks very much for your kind comments.

I bought my lathe from my Dad's friend who has Parkinson's disease for £50 on the 31st October, got home and had it mounted on a newly made bench within the hour. I made my oak goblet after testing cutting the next day.

How often do I practice? Pretty much every night when I get home after dinner for about 3-4 hours. Some nights I don't turn much as I'm either watching Youtube videos, practicing sharpening tools, preparing future projects. I do take the occasional night off so I can play computer games with my son!

I like making things beginner's shouldn't do - things far too advanced for my skill level, but then I like stretching myself!

One thing Mark, I made my first few items with the chisels I got with the lathe which were (as I know now) horrendously blunt! All I can say is that I've learnt sharpness is everything. Make some jigs out of scraps like I did and practice on the grinding wheel. If you want photos of my jigs, send me a PM.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Stiggy came round my place this afternoon and I can vouch for the progress he's made in his skill in a very short time. The jigs he's made out of off cuts to get repeatable grinds on gouges etc are absolutely the way to go for someone new to the art. Good, practical, inexpensive barrier removers that accelerate the consistency. Couple that with the hours of practice he's putting in and I have to say I'm really impressed with his dedication and single mindedness. He has one advantage, he trained as a joiner so has a thorough understanding of wood and grain but beyond all else, he's just going fast by consuming knowledge at a geometric rate and putting in the hours behind the lathe. Really nice to see

The old adage "when the students ready the teacher will appear" has never been more relevant than in this case.

 

[damo8604]

Good to meet you today Stiggy and I agree with Bob, your work is excellent especially considering the few short months you have been practicing.

Thanks for the helpful advice Bob, it was great to meet you today and I now have a sense of direction and confidence to start turning without worrying about ripping my arm off! I took a look at the Chronos stebcentres but they are out of stock.... on everything!

I'll definitely invest in a new Chuck and forget about the antiquated gear I got with the lathe. Once again thanks for the help and I'll see you next month at the open evening.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

you're welcome Damian, was a pleasure to meet you too. In fact I was going to suggest that if you do make that trip to Axy Basingstoke to ping me as I'll probably come too. I'm long overdue a visit for various bits and I can give you a tour through the chucks and jaws etc. As we discussed today, the Axy chucks (British made) always get positive reviews here by very experienced turners.

One question for the forum...has anyone tried one of the new Record SC chucks yet? They were shown at the D&M tool show in the Autumn, an entirely new range (chucks and jaws) that RP have designed and also engineered here in Blighty. They were good value and compatible with the Nova series jaws....but I've not tried one myself. Damo is in the market for a new chuck and I wondered if anyone felt in a position to recommend one first hand?

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I looked at the chronos stebs too, out of stock on literally everything in the range.....a sure sign that Sorby aren't going to sell many more I rather think!! Since the patent expired it's clearly been open season on the Chaiwanese imports...and for a tenner I'm not at all surprised. Rhossyd and Spindle, both experienced turners of this parish have recommended them from memory so they're on my shopping list too. I only bought the headstock version that fits in a chuck ie no morse taper but I'd like that option as well so I can mount spindle stock with no chuck in the way for smaller projects where you need access up that end.

 

[markslathe]

Thanks for the advice stiggy,you have a PM.

 

[Dalboy]

I looked at the chronos stebs too, out of stock on literally everything in the range.....a sure sign that Sorby aren't going to sell many more I rather think!! Since the patent expired it's clearly been open season on the Chaiwanese imports...and for a tenner I'm not at all surprised. Rhossyd and Spindle, both experienced turners of this parish have recommended them from memory so they're on my shopping list too. I only bought the headstock version that fits in a chuck ie no morse taper but I'd like that option as well so I can mount spindle stock with no chuck in the way for smaller projects where you need access up that end.

I keep checking every day as soon as they are in I want to get the 1/2" ones for smaller spindle work and some off centre turning. I can see this stock when it comes in will not last very long.

 

[beganasatree]

I hope that they dont bump the price up.

 

[Stiggy]

I thought I would bring my thread back to topic by showing you what I made this afternoon.

I'm not great at photography, so sorry about that!

This is a lidded pot made from mahogany and it's approx 2.5" round. The top of the pot wall is thick and matt by design, not by lack of effort on my part!

 

[stewart]

Looking good, Stiggy - nice detail on the knob and lovely finish...made on your new lathe?

 

[Stiggy]

Looking good, Stiggy - nice detail on the knob and lovely finish...made on your new lathe?

No mate, made on my old Sealey - hopefully picking my new lathe up in a week or two. Depends how quickly I can sell a bike and sidecar!

 

[Stiggy]

I thought I would put a few pics on here since I haven't for aaaaages!

I have made LOADS of stuff since my last post but have been slack on the photographing side.

Rob gave me quite a few blanks and I thought I'd have a go at a cherry one - but there were some cracks that went so deep I thought I would have to just turn it to shavings... I managed to whittle it down to a shape which I then parted in half and have made two bowls - here is the first one.