More recent turnings (by Duncan)

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Some more turnings. Hopefully I should get my lathe back tomorrow and get some more done...

(all photos are clickable for larger versions)


Spalted beech fruit bowl with lemon oil finish.
30cm diameter, 5cm high



Burr oak dish. Finished with Chestnut Finishing Oil
20cm diameter



Rippled ash dish. Finished with Chestnut Finishing Oil
31cm diameter, 6cm high



Elm dishes. Finished with Chestnut Finishing Oil
31cm diameter, 7cm high (large one)
This was my first use of the Sorby slicer for bowl coring and I'm now really pleased that I bought it. It may only let you get cone cores but it's the cheapest corer and is better than nothing. I could have got a deeper core but played it safe this time.



Burr elm bowls. Finished with Chestnut Finishing Oil
~23cm diameter, ~8cm high
My second use of the Sorby slicer. I had 3 elm burrs and hated the idea of wasting the middles of them so I bought the slicer. I've put of turning any off the burrs for fear of making a mess of them so I waited until I thought I had enough experience.
Unfortunately the bark was loose in a couple of places but very firmly attached in others so the larger bowl has some areas with and some without and because of the areas without I left the walls quite chunky. I'd read and seen that one suggested thing to do when this happens was to scorch the bark and missing areas so it wasn't quite so obvious, and I tested this on the core. It kind of works but I'm not convinced by it so didn't do that on the larger piece.

Duncan
 
All very nicely executed Duncan, made the most of the natural figuring without swamping it in unnecessary detail.

I particularly like the rippled Ash and Elm dishes.
 
I made these two pens for a couple of friends who collected some piano keys for me last year. I'm really pleased with how they've turned out.

click for larger image

The trickiest part of the whole process was getting the hole to drill accurately through the centre - I held them in my Nova pin jaws and used a jacobs chuck in the tailstock but as the keys taper it's hard to hold them dead square.
Using a 7mm bit there's a maximum of ~1.5mm clearance at the narrowest part and because of this thinness the chances of cracking with heat are quite high. I used wax to lubricate the bit and proceeded very slowly - probably about 2 minutes to drill one key.

The glue used was polyurethane and it was a two step process...

Glue each full half pen onto a tube and wait for the glue to set (with potato stuck in the tube hole to stop glue getting in) - the same as is done for standard pens.

Then a short section is turned down to the tube to allow the thin ivory and ebony strips to be glued in place.
These final lengths are then held in rubber clamp jaws until the glue has set.

Turn as normal

The finish is melamine lacquer with a top coat of home brewed of bees/carnauba waxes mixed.

Duncan
 
Nice job their Duncan :D
They do look a bit tricky to do in piano keys.

Duncan wrote
Using a 7mm bit there's a maximum
Did you use a smaller drill first as a pilot hole.This makes the drilling with a larger drill after easier.
Paul.J.
 
good idea. I never thought of that.

One handy tip that I saw somewhere was to start with a blank longer that the barrel and to drill a hole that was as long as the barrel but did not go through the end - it reduces the chance of a split at the end. One drilled remove the blank from the lathe and saw to required length

Duncan
 
click for a larger version

Made from a standard 7mm pen kit but with the kit band replaced with a home made one.
The wood is rosewood (I think) recycled from a packing crate from India.
The band is ebony from a piano key
 
A man after me own heart....hadn't thought of piano keys. Have you tried bone Duncan? Smells when turning but turns easily. Beef shin is good, looks like ivory. You can get them fre from local butchers who pack them up for dog owners (or their dogs :lol: )

Pete
 
Beef shin is good, looks like ivory. You can get them fre from local butchers who pack them up for dog owners (or their dogs )

Alternatively you can get them from your local pet store/market ... bleached bone... no messin about boiling and skimming off the fat :wink:

£1.20 each, last time I bought some!
 
Never tried bone but if it turns as well as ivory then I may give it a go sometime. I have quite a few archaeologist friends who may appreciate them
 
My first commissioned piece (even if it was from a family member)

click for a larger version

Mahogany platter 45cm diameter x 5cm deep

This is going to be an award at an horticultural show that my dad helps to organise. Amongst his roles he has to deal with all the cups and shields including the polishing before each year's show. When someone wanted to provide a new trophy he suggested something in wood. This platter will have a plaque along the edge giving the trophy's name and each year an engraved shield will be added with the winners name.

The hardest part of this turning was actually finding mahogany (specifically requested by the buyer) this wide. Then, when I got it home I discovered that there was a small hole (visible on the top left) with some discolouring. Fortunately this can be covered by the plaque.
I also had to re-arrange my workshop and rotate the lathe through 90 degrees to make space for the outrigger that I had to buy.

The base has a ogee down to a short, rounded foot. I left the dovetail recess in place in case repair work ever needs to be done, but I did put some decoration in the centre of the recess.
 
Fantastic piece Duncan :D
Lovely looking piece of Mahogany.Nice shape,and finish.Like the bead in the middle.
Good idea to keep the recess in the bottom too.
Did it feel different when turning knowing it was a commisioned piece. :?:
Paul.J.
 
Thanks Paul.
Yes, it felt very different - much more pressure. With my ill-health I had 2 weeks where I couldn't get any turning done at all. And when I do feel up to turning I tend to do only 30 minutes or so at a time before taking a break. The one day that I did 2 hours solid I was completely wiped out the next day :-(
 
Very nice,Duncan - the bead is just enough detail;it accentuates the piece,rather than overpowering it.
Out of interest,where did you (eventually) find the timber ?

Andrew
 
The wood came from Keenleysides, which is the shop where my club meets.
I didn't try them to start with as they don't usually have much in this size, but when my other searches failed I phoned them and they had a plank that was about 55cm wide.
 

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