Recent content by Struan

Sorry to butt in on another persons question, but mine rolls with the theme. I've aquired some nice beech and oak which was cut on monday and has been in my garage since tuesday. What paint should i use to seal them, emulsion or gloss? Thanks Struan

Welcome to the forum! I'm a noob too, so what you asking is beyond me. But i would have agreed that you need a lathe that has a very low speed setting. I think there are sets of smaller more intricate detailing tools you can buy. I should have thought a very sharp set of these would do the job...

haha, that's brilliant! :lol: :lol: :lol:

here's my next attampt using that same log. You can see some areas appear rough. this is where i think the spalting has gone a bit to far, so it won't sand smooth. On the whole i'm happy with it and think with the right finish the rough patches won't hurt. I might hold it back before finishing...

i should get another 4 blanck i think, providing i do a bit of clever planning before going at it with the saw! You're right about it not being hollow form, just couldn't think what it actually was! Stru

it's only the second hollow form i've done, i'm not keen on the base either, i should look at other works to get some inspiration.

I'm not sure why i said it was beech, it's actually birch. I messed up cutting my first piece without thinking it through, but stumbled through, trying to make lemonade out of a lemon! After many 're-designs' this is what i came up with I'm really pleased with it, i think the spalting is...

That's great, thanks guys, off to the garage now then!........hmmm..... think i might have to invest in a heater......

i'm not really sure how to cut the wood to do what you mean. Do you mean cut it into 5/6 'pizza slices' then turn them as tall vase like forms with the bark end being the base and the centre being the top. Sorry, still trying to work all this out, i've got a few books but they seem to leave...

I think the picture makes it look worse than it is, it seems pretty solid. Unfortunately it's only 6" thick compared to about 18" wide, so splitting it in two wouldn't really work unless i was going to do about 6 vase type forms. I can get hold of more of this though, which hopefully will be in...

I've got a nice piece of beech, which i've noticed tonight is quite nicely spalted (at least i think it is!) It's about six inches thick and i've decided the best use for it would be an end grain bowl, stripping the bark off but leaving the natural growth shape for the top of the bowl. Here's a...

have you had a look at this one? same as mine http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wood-Turning-Lath ... 240%3A1318 this lathe allows for outboard turning (is that what it's called?) and i assume the ones you linked to do also Struan

Definately looks like the lathe that i just bought. I'm new to this game, but have a few hours under my belt now! It's very simple to use, and the belt drive is very forgiving should you get a dig in. Bits are readily available from machine mart. I'm getting lots of pleasure out of mine already...

thankyouuuuu. So much to learn! I'm getting all my logs of a friend at the moment, so i'll have to seal them myself. Struan 'Place witty comment here'

All of those pices are absolutely gorgeous. If you don't mind my asking, how did you dry them and what finish did you use? I'm trying to learn as much as possible to prevent to many future cracking problems. Thanks Struan 'Place witty comment here'