When I started turning it was 1986, I bought a little bench lathe from a Kays type catalogue, contrary to what you may think, it was pretty well built and solidly made, but had a limited swing, my instructor was Ray Key in his book, Woodturning and Design, surely one of the best publications on the subject at the time and still a great resource, I was inspired by his wonderful boxes and a couple of years later I was able to actually examine one in the flesh (or wood actually) at the Bristol Woodworker Show, I remember it to this day, it was made from tulip wood and was a tall sunhat type, the fit of the lid was so precise it could have been made on a metal turning lathe, you had to position it exactly so to replace it, yet it was not silly tight, a real example of a master craftsman's handiwork.
As the years went by I did less and less, mainly working for a local cabinet maker doing legs etc, earning some cash but nothing inspiring or artistic, but deciding recently to give it another shot I have been amazed at the wealth of information now available to turners, forums like this, youtube videos and an explosion of talented folks willing to share ideas and even techniques, stuff that years ago would have taken you a lifetime to discover, or cost an arm and a leg to attend sufficient courses is now readily available to all, I think that is definitely one of the more positive aspects of the net, and I say thanks to all who have shown their work, and also those who have instructed etc, I have learned a heap in three months alone.
In line with all that blather then, I would also like to share a tiny little tip I have discovered, it's nothing ground breaking for sure.
Do you use aerosol cellulose lacquer or sanding sealer (I use the Chestnut brand). On the can it tells you to invert it and empty the nozzle to prevent blockage, this sure wastes a lot of pretty expensive spray, in fact you do not need to do anything so drastic, merely pull off the nozzle and blow through it a little just to clear it, then put it back, it will be fine right the way through the can and you won't have wasted any. I have done this through a full can of each type without a hitch.
As I say, nothing great, but handy if you didn't already know it.
As the years went by I did less and less, mainly working for a local cabinet maker doing legs etc, earning some cash but nothing inspiring or artistic, but deciding recently to give it another shot I have been amazed at the wealth of information now available to turners, forums like this, youtube videos and an explosion of talented folks willing to share ideas and even techniques, stuff that years ago would have taken you a lifetime to discover, or cost an arm and a leg to attend sufficient courses is now readily available to all, I think that is definitely one of the more positive aspects of the net, and I say thanks to all who have shown their work, and also those who have instructed etc, I have learned a heap in three months alone.
In line with all that blather then, I would also like to share a tiny little tip I have discovered, it's nothing ground breaking for sure.
Do you use aerosol cellulose lacquer or sanding sealer (I use the Chestnut brand). On the can it tells you to invert it and empty the nozzle to prevent blockage, this sure wastes a lot of pretty expensive spray, in fact you do not need to do anything so drastic, merely pull off the nozzle and blow through it a little just to clear it, then put it back, it will be fine right the way through the can and you won't have wasted any. I have done this through a full can of each type without a hitch.
As I say, nothing great, but handy if you didn't already know it.
