April Challenge - 'Outer Space' POST YOUR ENTRIES HERE

[nev]

Theme - Outer Space.
Anything that could be representative, interpreted or generally associated with Outer Space.

To be made on the lathe using wood turning tools.
no minimum or maximum size.
It may be made from one piece or made of multiple parts (preferably all turned).
Decoration, colouring, texturing is allowed.

Please post 3 or 4 images of your work along with a brief note about how you made it, what tools and finish you used, what wood (if known) and the objects dimensions etc.

1 showing a general view
1 showing a side on view
1 showing a rear or underside view
1 optional photo showing any other feature you think might be of interest

Image size please use image size 640 x 480 0.3 mp, same previous months

Please upload your pics and description between ..

10pm on the 26th April
and
10pm on the 28th April

After this time the thread will be locked for Judging
Results will be given on or around 30th

Any entry's that are outside the rules and requirements will not be judged
The Judges decision is final ( Any negative comments re judging must be via PM only and not on the open forum )
NO Critique or comments on any work until After the Judging and results.

Dont be shy

Roundup

 

[nev]

OK I'll go first :wink:
A simples small lidded fruit/ snack bowls in the guise of a flying saucer

This was the prototype and I had intended to remake it with a decent bit of timber, but never got round to going shopping.
So here it is in its sapeley glory with pine dowel antenna/ feet.

Bowl gouge and possibly a square edge scraper for the corners, sanded to 400, red and yellow brillo and a soft wax. Approx 8 inches at the widest part.

Can be used either way up and as two bowls, whichever takes yer fancy!

 

[Sheptonphil]

My effort for this month's challenge to represent Outer Space, a ringed planet.

Dimensions are 145mm wide and 240mm high. Planet is 47mm

Well, this turned out to be the most complex project I have attempted so far, involving freehand sphere turning, a first for me, spindle turning, and double sided face plate work .
Starting with the planet, I spindle mounted a chunk of Rosewood and measured out my intended 50mm for the sphere. Using a small parting tool I marked out a cube plus side spindles. I used a 1/4" gouge from my pen set to for a freehand sphere leaving the tails at the ends. Removed from the lathe, the spindles were removed and I made a pair of 10mm wide x 50mm long spindles each with a 40mm spigot on the end. One was tapped to take the headstock drive thread and one with a socket to snugly fit over the live centre in the tail stock. Gripped in these, I could remove the last of the spindle on the sphere with the gouge, then alternately rotate it 90degrees to sand to a smooth sphere. I ended loosing 3mm off the sphere I didn't bank on, and it ended up at 47mm.
The rings were turned from a slab of oak 170mm² x 13mm thick. I haven't got the kit to safely cut it thinner, so it was glued to a backboard of 18mm ply mounted to a faceplate ring. Using a 3/8 gouge I reduced the thickness to 6mm and marked the two intended rings. A 1/8" parting tool used edge on made grooved reliefs in the ring confines. the face was sanded, and finished with Renaissance Wax. I drilled a 1mm hole at the inner and outer edge of each ring so I could find the boundaries later. A 6mm hole drilled in the centre was used to re-centre the disc after flipping it over. I underestimated the strength of the hot glue! the 6mm thin disc was not budging, so I popped it in the microwave for 40 seconds, just enough to enable the disc to be eased off and reversed before it cooled down. re-mounted, I could mark the two rings from the reference holes, skim the disc to 3mm thick, mark the ring grooves and partially cut through the ring edges. The whole was sanded and finished with Renaissance wax and the rings finally separated and edges finished. Usual technique for making a small base of Rosewood with an inserted piece of Oak which were turned as one, reducing the stem to 6mm with a small detail at 1/3 height, which looks central when the whole is viewed assembled. Base reversed into a jam chuck to remove all traces of the chuck mounting. Using a mounted Dremel, 1mm opposing holes were drilled through the 3mm rings and at both sides of the sphere to take 1mm s/s pins which were only glued one end to allow free movement. A 6mm hole drilled at the south pole to take the stand, and we have a fully articulating ringed planet.

 

[heatherw]

I must say i was a bit stumped by this subject. After all, only about 0.0000000000000000000042% of the universe contains any matter. Which makes it fairly unlikely to encounter anything in outer space. I toyed with the idea of posting a photo of nothing against the background of my workshop wall, but the rules say that the entry has to be turned.

So......seeing as we're being arty farty this month, this piece is called Parallel Universe. it was originally going to be a wall hanging, but then i decided that I wanted to see both sides, so life became more complicated.

I had a plank of something which had been lying around for years, it was so dirty that I didn't know what it was. Turned out to be cherry and there was a part of it that was sound enough to cut out a 10" x 1 1/2" ish disc. I planed one side and stuck it to a bit of ply on a faceplate. turned it to a disc with tapered edges and then sanded it. then i took it off the faceplate, and glued it on again out of centre and turned a recess mostly with the parting tool. This was more difficult than I was expecting because the disc was not now of an even thickness, and I had been intending to reverse the disc and mount it on the spigot jaws, but the recess became too big and anyway i hadn't bargained with the fact that the recess was not of an even depth so a change of plan was called for. unstuck the disc and turned it over, it was nearly centred, (must buy some cole jaws some time,(don't know whether they'd work on this shape piece, though) though this gluing lark is great fun, and reeeeeally strong) Turned the other side tapering to the edges and then the decoration in the middle and sanded that, then I masked off the outside and sprayed the centre matte black. Then I cut a plywood disc at a 5º slant on the hegner and fitted it into the recess on the other side, a tight fit, then made the decoration which is made of something that i don't know how you say in english (estaño) and superglued it onto the ply disc.
Main finish is sanding sealer stroked to satin with the grain with 0000 wire wool and wax on top when everything's smooth.
Hung it up from a bit of copper pipe against very dirty workshop wall which looks universe-like to me, and took photos.

 

[dennisk]

A flying saucer in poplar. I kind of liked the smoky swirly look of the poplar when it was done so no finishing . Mounted a glued up blank on a faceplate to turn the bottom and to drill the holes for the legs, struts, feet whatever.I turned them with steps to look like hydraulic rams. Remounted on the chuck to turn the top and to drill the holes for portholes . Turned the leg, struts and glued them in place. I built a table for the banjo and then a jig to hold a drill and with the excellent index head on the Titan it was a breeze to drill the holes 30 degrees apart. I used an ellsworth grind bowl gouge for most of it and roughing gouge and parting tool used like a bedan to turn the struts. It is 11" in diameter by 6" high. thanks

 

[nev]

On the plus side points for everyone who made an entry