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My daughter was really into all this stuff and I had to take her and a friend to a convention in London. Wasn't looking forward to it, but have to say the numerous cat women and warrior princesses rather brightened the day :)
It is a good day out for ALL the family 😁😁, however you also have e to be aware that some guys dress up as female anime characters and what's seen can't be unseen.
I've been going for over 10 years now, usually only in May and October but this last one is new and promised to not oversell tickets so gave e it a go, was a little disappointed at it only being in 4 Hall of the excell centre instead of all 20 like I'm used to but it was still a good day out.
 
So, over the weekend I went to comicon in London ( I go 2 or 3 times a year) and one of the stalls was selling 3D printed dragons of different sizes so I bought myself a little one and inspired by him today I put the birch burr I collected a couple of weeks ago on the lathe and turned a Birch Dragon Egg (I've also had an idea I'm really excited about if I can find a modeller to collab with)
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Cracking result 😉😏😂
 
I have posted this in the "the last thing you made" thread but thought I'd port here too.
My first officially turned item.
A pen made from oak finished using CA glue for no other reason then I want to try it.
Several mistakes where made but I'm still happy with it.
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Finally finished the last piece of grub patterned ash to replace the ash lid that cracked and am content with the outcome. I have to admit it took a lot longer than anticipated. Worked on it over three days over coming the hiccups along the way. Small crack on the lip of the lid saved by super glue and the centre of the top popped out hence the ugly wood screw. Not exactly pretty but neither ugly I'm settling for a novility piece what do you think.20240118_183915.jpg20240118_185207.jpg20240118_184304.jpg20240118_185554.jpg20240118_184950.jpg
 
A parent asked if I can make a large pot that could hold 3 orchids in their plastic pots, unfortunately 3x 4inch circles require a 10.5inch circle to fit into and my lathe maxes out at 9.5 before steel touches wood, they said that will be OK, they will repot the 3 orchids directly into the pot, it also needs to be at least 4 inches deep, the only wood I have that's big enough is a load of silver birch logs that have been halved, all of them barely 4 inches thick to start so yeaterday I took 2 of them, cut them on the bandsaw, mounted each one between centres and flattened the faces to be stuck together, I used 5 minute epoxy and left it untill this afternoon,as I only put the epoxy around the edge I managed to get a lump out of the top piece using my parting tool. It wasn't as hard as I expected and it looks amazing, outside is sanded to 320, abrasive paste and wax, the inside is coated with some 5 minute epoxy that I warmed up on the heater first to get it runny enough to spread quickly. The core I saved turned into a nice little dish.

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A parent asked if I can make a large pot that could hold 3 orchids in their plastic pots, unfortunately 3x 4inch circles require a 10.5inch circle to fit into and my lathe maxes out at 9.5 before steel touches wood, they said that will be OK, they will repot the 3 orchids directly into the pot, it also needs to be at least 4 inches deep, the only wood I have that's big enough is a load of silver birch logs that have been halved, all of them barely 4 inches thick to start so yeaterday I took 2 of them, cut them on the bandsaw, mounted each one between centres and flattened the faces to be stuck together, I used 5 minute epoxy and left it untill this afternoon,as I only put the epoxy around the edge I managed to get a lump out of the top piece using my parting tool. It wasn't as hard as I expected and it looks amazing, outside is sanded to 320, abrasive paste and wax, the inside is coated with some 5 minute epoxy that I warmed up on the heater first to get it runny enough to spread quickly. The core I saved turned into a nice little dish.
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With a grain pattern like that the new owners will never get bored looking at that pot absolutely stunning little dish is nice to
 
With a grain pattern like that the new owners will never get bored looking at that pot absolutely stunning little dish is nice to
Was considering giving the dish as a little extra but I stupidly under quoted for this so it will be added to my stock at the shop or kept for a craft fair I may be attending in May at Merrist Wood
 
You're welcome - and thanks to you for not only asking 'HOW' but actually bothering to take notice!

By selecting 'left' and then 'right' alignment, you can get two images side by side which is a great benefit overall to the forum.
 
You're welcome - and thanks to you for not only asking 'HOW' but actually bothering to take notice!

By selecting 'left' and then 'right' alignment, you can get two images side by side which is a great benefit overall to the forum.
Thanks Again I've nearly got it right
 
So, over the weekend I went to comicon in London ( I go 2 or 3 times a year) and one of the stalls was selling 3D printed dragons of different sizes so I bought myself a little one and inspired by him today I put the birch burr I collected a couple of weeks ago on the lathe and turned a Birch Dragon Egg (I've also had an idea I'm really excited about if I can find a modeller to collab with)
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Sooooooo I need to admit a mistake that has come to light after yesterday's winds, this burr actually came from a Holly tree not a Silver Birch 😳 I only discovered this today as yesterdays winds have blown the trunk over that it came from along with the birch trunk that I thought it had come from, the two were so entangled in Ivy that I could only see the birch.
 
It seems my dragons have started laying their eggs this year, 24 from the Birch Dragon ready for heat treatment before being finished and polished (going to gently dry them in the oven while SWMBO is at work tomorrow) 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁 hoping for some from the Oak Dragon soon. I've also spent a couple of hours getting sprayed by tree juice turning all the usable bits from the Silver Birch after harvesting the eggs, not sure how many small blanks I've got but the wat shavings pile they're in is pretty big and I still have 2 more 5foot sections of trunk to get through along with the top section with several branch stems plus a few small branches.
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Back to practicing wing bowls one went according to plan but the second from the other half of the log I used, nealy made the finishing line but blew out in to small bits.Possibly due to weakness in the spalted area in the log.
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the bowl is 23.5cm long and 13.5cm in width so about the largest I can turn on my lathe. Made form dry cypree sanded to 400 grit then sealed, as it is pretty much an ornamental piece I'm thinking vanish for the final finish what would be your choice?
 
First dragon egg finished
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I have an idea to create my own dragons, I'm starting with 2, Oak and Birch because I have plentiful supply, I will add more over time, the eggs will only be made with growth spots and burrs as the grain patterns will provide the magical appearance, hoping to have the designs done along with a backstory/lore ready for Easter, I've had a love of dragons for as long as I can remember and can't believe it's taken until now to get the idea to create my own, I guess I needed the woodturning and my little 3d printed dragon to come together to ignite the spark. The look/appearance of the dragons is constantly evolving in my head but the leaf shapes will feature in the wings and feathering/scales, I'm no artist so sketching my ideas is proving a challenge, eventually I will look into getting them brought to life by someone more able than me.
The Birch Dragon, Queen of dragons, will be a long slender dragon to symbolise the tall slim nature of Birch trunks, 2 legs and 2 wings(possibly split wings so that it looks like 4 wings similar to butterflies), skin will mimic Birch bark, still working on wing design, her eggs will symbolise Luck.
The Oak Dragon is King of all dragonkind, body will be big and sturdy with 4 legs and 2 wings, armoured scales will look like Oak bark, tail will end in an acorn shaped club, eggs symbolise Courage and Strength.
That's all I have so far, sorry its a bit long, just wanted to get it written down as proof it's mine 😀
 
First dragon egg finished
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I have an idea to create my own dragons, I'm starting with 2, Oak and Birch because I have plentiful supply, I will add more over time, the eggs will only be made with growth spots and burrs as the grain patterns will provide the magical appearance, hoping to have the designs done along with a backstory/lore ready for Easter, I've had a love of dragons for as long as I can remember and can't believe it's taken until now to get the idea to create my own, I guess I needed the woodturning and my little 3d printed dragon to come together to ignite the spark. The look/appearance of the dragons is constantly evolving in my head but the leaf shapes will feature in the wings and feathering/scales, I'm no artist so sketching my ideas is proving a challenge, eventually I will look into getting them brought to life by someone more able than me.
The Birch Dragon, Queen of dragons, will be a long slender dragon to symbolise the tall slim nature of Birch trunks, 2 legs and 2 wings(possibly split wings so that it looks like 4 wings similar to butterflies), skin will mimic Birch bark, still working on wing design, her eggs will symbolise Luck.
The Oak Dragon is King of all dragonkind, body will be big and sturdy with 4 legs and 2 wings, armoured scales will look like Oak bark, tail will end in an acorn shaped club, eggs symbolise Courage and Strength.
That's all I have so far, sorry its a bit long, just wanted to get it written down as proof it's mine 😀
Well I've got two dragons one lives in Calais guarding the gate to another realm and the second is upstairs getting changed after an evening out. Here's the calais one, good luck with your dragons 20240123_215723.jpg
 

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