Turned first sphere.

[ian_in_the_midlands]

Browsing the internet, I came across the the Sören Berger Method of turning a sphere.
I have never heard of this before, so thought I would give it a go.

Although I had a couple of catches that left some small blemishes (I am out of practice) I was very please with the result.

Just got to think what I can do with it now.

 

[gregmcateer]

That looks very spherical indeed - well done sir.
I'll look him up and see if it forces me the confidence to try.
As for uses- do another 30 odd and make a giant lazy Susan!

 

[Jonzjob]

That looks good to me Ian. Did you use his calipers? They look a bit complicated to me?

This is a bit of a WIP of a ball I turned almost 2 years back now. A different way to yours

ball-in-a-cube-t107467.html

On the subject of Lazy Susans about 7 odd years back I made one completely out of wood and did a WIP on it. It's here.

lazy-susan-wip-t54616.html?hilit=Lazy%20Susan%20jonzjob

36 little 5/8" ash balls, good game, good game as Brucie used to say, but not as difficult as it sounds.

P.S. I forgot to say that the original top was pine, but one evening on a cold dark night we were in the kitchen of our French home and there was a mighty crack from the lounge. I shot out there and there was the Lazy Sue sat on the coffee table near the fire with a bl**dy great crack across it! But I had been given an old oak TV cabinet and a bit of that looks a lot better than the pine top.

 

[ian_in_the_midlands]

A ball in a cube! That really is showing off.
I will do a few more for practice, but I suspect I will move onto other things well before 30 are done.
I did not use calipers, just a calculator and a digital vernier.

 

[Jonzjob]

Ian, I was really surprised when that ball turned out to be a ball! The only difference between turning a ball without a box is that you have to hold the box bit when you finish the ball.

So I did it again and loe and behold it turned out VERY similar.

It has got to be that when you use the way I learned to turn a ball that it has to end up a ball? Otherwise how could I have finished up with not only those 2 but 37 of the blasted things in my lazy Susan?

I ain't anything special when it comes to turning and the next time a lump of wood comes past me will not either be the first or the last me-thinks? That's why I stand slightly to one side of the spinny bit :mrgreen:

I have been turning for a hobby for about 24 years now and when I stop learning what I am doing I will stop turning. Mind you, they will probably be nailing the lid of my box :shock: That, I hope is a long way off!

If I remember correctly this is the method I used

https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/wo ... be/?p=1367.

Only I took the 'top' off the 'bottle he had in the cube. It isn't as difficult as it looks, BUT it is quite impressive. It can't be that difficult! I managed it!! :?

I almost forgot to d=say that I didn't folloe the guide completely and I didn see the point of sanding the raw cube. Why, as it's going to be turned to a different profile and sanded later. In fact I found that getting the dammed cube cubic was one of the most difficult bits!

Give it a try, you may be very plesently surprised and 'if' it fails then it's a bit more practice and only a likkle bit of wood. Unlike cash it does grow on trees :mrgreen:

 

[ian_in_the_midlands]

Though I would try another one to see if it was a fluke.
Again it turned out okay I think. This time in elm.

 

[Jonzjob]

"I think" ???

That sounds like a definite maybe Ian :mrgreen:

It looks pretty good from where I'm sitting mate. well done. Not too difficult is it?

A commission I had a very long time back was to turn 5 dozen eggs. A dozen each from golden eagle to kestrel for the hawk place in the Forest of Dean. That was fun? :? #-o

 

[ian_in_the_midlands]

Whenever I make anything, it is always an ' I think?'.
I have never made anything I have been fully satisfied with.

Picking holes in this - it is about 1 mm out of round. Looking at it I can not see it, and picking it up I wouldn't know, but it is easy to measure.
There is some minor breakout where I used a scraper to refine the curve - I was honest though and included that side in the photo.

You are right. A sphere is not too difficult. I have tried turning eggs in the past and found that much harder. They always came out a very unnatural shape. I expect after 5 dozen you probably got the hang of it.

 

[Jonzjob]

Ian, my other passion is flying (?) radio controlled model gliders. Up to 3 meters span and i consider that any landing I do that still has the same number of bits is a good one. So you 1 milly metrik thingy sounds bl00dy good to me mate! :mrgreen:

Anyway, as long as you ain't a doctor then practice makes perfect. Lets face it they practice for a living and they ain't all perfect are they :?

 

[TFrench]

Anyway, as long as you ain't a doctor then practice makes perfect. Lets face it they practice for a living and they ain't all perfect are they :?

One of my Grandad's sayings was "doctors bury their mistakes" :lol:

 

[Jonzjob]

Anyway, as long as you ain't a doctor then practice makes perfect. Lets face it they practice for a living and they ain't all perfect are they :?

One of my Grandad's sayings was "doctors bury their mistakes" :lol:

A bit like air traffic controllers then ? :twisted: :twisted: