Beginning turning - musing

[damo8604]

I finally got round to mounting my DML24x onto a bench and since I was due to attend an open evening last Wednesday at Random Orbital Bob's club I thought I'd have a dabble on Tuesday night.

It was only a quick foray into the world of turning but I was less than pleased with the result. The dead centre tailstock put the wind up me, it was either too tight or too loose and would make a horrible rumbling noise as it wobbled around.

The finish of the wood was like someone had attacked it with a rasp, I put that down to having blunt tools.

I was however pleased with my technique with the skew, it caught a couple of times (like Bob explained it could) and it made me jump but now I know where to present the tool to the piece I'm happy to use it.

Unfortunately due to being in the Midlands for meetings on Wednesday, I didn't make it back in time for the open evening but I will be there for the next one.

This morning I had another bash at turning the piece of Silver birch that Stiggy kindly gave me, I realised I had the speed too high the other day so after adjusting the belt, it was a much more pleasant experience. I did have it fly out at me at one point and it hit me in the shoulder which only motivates me to hurry up and get a stebcentre and decent chuck, but again a very rough finish has made me re-prioritise my next purchase to a Sorby pro-edge. Working with blunt tools isn't enjoyable and I don't want to be put off such a fun past time!

I didn't bother with a photo, whilst trying to turn it down to Harry Potter wand sized proportions it snapped......

 

[Blister]

My advice would be , See if you have a local turner who can show you how its done , Tool presentation onto the work piece and basic sharpening , Then lots of practice on cheap wood , once you understand its like riding a bike , becomes second nature

 

[CHJ]

Damo, you definitely need to get a live (rotating) tailstock, a fixed on is invariably going to either just overheat and burn or compress and displace the endgrain and lead to poor support.
Just take advantage of having Rob at hand and within a very short time you will be wondering why a bit of wood could make life so difficult.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

C, you just beat me to it - I was just about to say no, your priority isn't a Pro Edge, it's a live centre. Start at the beginning.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Gimme a call Damian, lets arrange a one on one. I think now you've setup the lathe and have a modest amount of practical experience, a lot of the otherwise confusing terms will make a lot more sense. If you like I can come to your workshop (one evening maybe) and see your setup first hand and maybe we can tweak a few things.

Just remind me one thing, is the lathe a 1 or 2 MT and do you know the spindle thread size. I'm guessing it's 1MT and 3/4" x 16tpi but can you confirm pls? If I come over I have live centres for both 1 and 2 MT you see.

Also, the taster session that your travel problems thwarted on Wednesday was such a success that the club is likely to run another 2, probably in Hurst village hall because Bracknell is booked through March and April. So we will be able to accommodate you on the next one. However, meantime, if diary permits you should put March 16th in as that's normal monthly club night so you could come as a guest to that in any event.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Plan B would be you come to mine with all your tools and I'll put an edge on the lot for you which will at least solve that short term. I suspect we need to deal with your setup as a priority though. I can always bring the pro edge to you if we decide that's the right thing to do.

 

[damo8604]

Thanks Bob, very kind of you. I'm a little busy this week with year end and then I'm off caving at the weekend.

So I guess the earliest I'll get to see you is on 16th

 

[damo8604]

Just remind me one thing, is the lathe a 1 or 2 MT and do you know the spindle thread size. I'm guessing it's 1MT and 3/4" x 16tpi but can you confirm pls?

I think it's 1MT 3/4" 16tpi

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

OK, no probs. By the way I may not be able to attend the 16th as my wife's having surgery that day. It's not yet certain though, pending a test result. Not that you need me there mind

 

[Stiggy]

Glad you've had your first go Damian!

I did write a long post, but for some reason it disappeared, so I'll write it again more to the point this time!

Get new centres like Phil and Chas say - you'll be AMAZED at the difference it makes - I was when I got mine, and depending on your chuck, you might be able to hold the drive centre in it.

Take your tools round to Rob so he can sharpen them - worth it for the price of a pack of hob nobs! He will also talk for as long as you want and show you - even the few things he showed me when we visited have improved my use of chisels.

The silver birch I gave you was still wet and spalted, this makes it easy to turn but hard to get a decent finish as the composition of the timber changes from one area to another I would let it dry a bit more as it was only a few weeks cut when I waxed the ends.

Like most skills, practice makes better - I wish you all the best!

Dave

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Once we hook up, I can supply you with enough free wood to get you going. The most important first step is to sort out your lathe and tooling (on and off the lathe). In terms of wood, the ideal is generally accepted to be 2x2 square stock upon which you practice and the majority use builders merchant pine because its so readily available. In my case I literally raided the log pile for our wood burning stove and you'd be surprised at the veritable cornucopia of decent quality blanks you can salvage from a most unpromising pile.

Quickly, you'll find your friends and family cotton on to your habit and start offering all manner of woody bits as they get out the pruning shears or chainsaw in their own gardens. Here's a none definitive list of woods you should NEVER let them burn:

- Any fruit wood, apple, pear and plum turn beautifully, tight grained often with stunning figure.
- Laburnum, that's the ornamental with the blousy yellow racemes in Spring. Common as muck and STUNNING to turn.
- Yew....one of the al time turners favourites. You'll ne'er visit a craft fair and fail to find a Yew mushroom or 2
- Any of the maples incl native English Sycamore. I have 3 ornamental maples in my garden and last year a heavy branch started to split right where my boys climb it. Off it came and its a most beautiful creamy white sapwood but with an almost ebony black middle. Thoroughly lovely. And if I could only stop the pipper splitting all over my garage while it's drying I might even end up with some to turn!! And that's with its ends sealed more than once.
- all the usual suspects of British hardwoods ie oak, ash, elm, beech, birch & silver birch, sycamore, holly, (gorgeous ivory white if you can stop it discolouring and splitting) and of course the big Daddy...
- English walnut, I have precisely 4 pieces of walnut, bought for nearly nothing from the club wood auction and I treat them like gold dust. In burr form its used to decorate classic English Marque dashboards, trim, gear knobs etc for good reason. One of the absolute favourites for British turners and not easy to get or cheap.
- hedgerow Spp are also generally excellent with hawthorn and blackthorn topping the bill as close grained, fine detail retaining woods and hazel is good too, if a little boring.
- sweet chestnut is lovely and when spalted many other woods take on a whole new possibility. Common ones being beech, birch, ash and I've turned horse chestnut that comes up well if spalted.
- and we cant possibly forget Box in this list, by which I mean Boxwood, you know the common hedging species that's unbelievably slow growing? Well box hedging that's got a few decades or even centuries under its belt is turning wood on another level. Probably most famous for its use in making chess pieces, it is so fine grained it can take the detail of a castle or knight and is very analogous to ivory (and a similar colour). Also often used by turners for thread chasing, again because it can take the fine detail without crumbling. Also generally quite rare and expensive so grab it whenever you get chance. If someone is grubbing up an old hedgerow, I'd be over like a rat up a drain pipe offering to "clear up".

You'll have no shortage of wood once you realise just how much is literally lying around waiting to be harvested and that so many members of the public fail to realise is premium wood turning stock and not in fact firewood!

 

[damo8604]

Thanks for the help and support guys, I really appreciate it!

I will get new centres first as suggested, my wife has decided to bring the impending teenagers hangout/log cabin project forward by a few months so I should be able to absorb some turning equipment into the overall bill, she will never know! :twisted:

I've been looking at the Chronos website but they seem out of stock for everything, with this in mind and due to my lack of knowledge I think I'll take you up on your offer of a visit to Axminster Bob? I know I'm paying more for a RS but I know they are loved by all.

I need to get a nailer while I'm there and there's bound to be some other bits and pieces I need (want). I doubt it'll be this month though, I'm right in the middle of year end at work and have a caving trip planned for next weekend, before you know it we'll be into Easter

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

No worries, whenever you're ready. Just one small detail though, Axy don't sell Robert Sorby tools. John Davis Woodturning does in Stockbridge and you can do that online. I am overdue a trip to Axy so I'll happily still go for a variety of other bits n pieces. You are going to need a chuck at some point too and the Axy Evolution range are very good quality though not the cheapest. We can get into that debate another time.

 

[AWG]

Great round up of the woods there Bob, that's certainly helped me out!

 

[damo8604]

Axy don't sell Robert Sorby tools.

Oh....... I thought I spied a steb centre when I was last over there.....

You are going to need a chuck at some point too and the Axy Evolution range are very good quality though not the cheapest. We can get into that debate another time.

It might have been the evolution range? Never mind I'm sure you'll be able to point me in the right direction :lol:

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

I've added Box to my list of great to turn English natives. Cant believe I forgot it when I myself received my first ever batch of it just last week! It was as dry as a bone and yet turned like velvet, absolutely gorgeous wood.

 

[Rhossydd]

Axy don't sell Robert Sorby tools.

Oh....... I thought I spied a steb centre when I was last over there......

Axminster sell their own brand Steb centre now. http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-ev ... e-ax958631
Not as cheap as the Chronos ones, but cheaper than Sorby.

 

[procell]

When looking for a source of wood never forget your local council. I contacted mine and they put me in touch with their tree surgeon. He has a workayard the size of several football pitches which is often at least a metre deep in various logs that have been felled. With the recent storms I would think now is a good time to approach them as there is likely to be an abundance of trees that needed to be removed. The downside is it will be green timber so will need to be seasoned before use but thats true of any timber I suppose.