Thanks, everyone! I am glad the video was helpful, or at least pleasing...
I am kind of thinking that a "companion" video of some of the projects that my pictorial articles deal with would be an idea worth developing. In my cramped shop it might be a challenge to find camera positions that allow a good view or the action without restricting where I can put my hands or head for some of the projects, though.
My video "capture" device is my digital still camera, a Kodak DX7590. The microphone is built into the camera and seems to be quite selective in what it picks up. I was having a devil of a time remembering that I couldn't talk while I was doing anything else. It seemed to pick up my voice fine if just the lathe was running, but if I was cutting or the shop heater or compressor kicked in they completely drowned out any dialogue. I wound up with at least a dozen of these little boxes to pass out a work before I finally had the video that I posted.
My goal with this one was to do the entire project in "real time" to show a realistic view of how long (or how quick) the actual piece took to make. I am afraid my verbal skills are not what they should be, which is why I spent so much time groping for words.
At least in print the long pauses while I search for the right phrasing are not evident in the final product. Perhaps in future attempts I will cut out some of the sanding and finishing and concentrate more on the tools.
When I made my first few Clewes style boxes they were considerably larger than the one I turned in the video, ranging from 10" to 12" in length and using stock 2" or so thick. I was using a lathe speed of about 1500 rpm and wondering whether I was pushing my luck. When I posted the link to my Clewes style box pictorial article on one of the forums a responder mentioned that he had just attended a demo by Jimmy Clewes where he turned one of his boxes. He commented that Jimmy had been a little disappointed that the demo lathe had a top speed of 3200 rpm and wished it was a bit higher.
When I turned the first one of my miniature versions of the box:
I decided to try the higher speed to see if it made a difference. I figured a blank that small and light would not get out of hand. I found that it does make a difference on the interrupted cuts to have the lathe running flat out. I have still not tried a full size version of the boxes at that speed, though.
Thanks again, all!
Bob
