Thread: Makin' Shavings / Turner's Projects.

Oh, and as long as you're getting a bowl gouge, are you getting one from Doug Thompson? I'm strongly considering one of his, weighted handle and all, and would be interested in your take if you get one before me. I need to call him like you suggested.

If I do get one from him I will make a handle for it like I did the last 3 I got. I just can't pay that much for a damn handle. I understand it's weighted and all but...

Originally Posted by Gasman

If I do get one from him I will make a handle for it like I did the last 3 I got. I just can't pay that much for a damn handle. I understand it's weighted and all but...

I hear ya-it's pricey. I might wait to see how deep I go down the rabbit hole of bowl turning before committing, but my theory is that weighted handle will be good for stability (and thus, fewer of the dreaded lines and run backs that need so much sanding). One thing that is helping me in that area is really anchoring the tool to my body and using body movements more than hand movements as I've seen demonstrated in various YouTube videos. The more I do this the smoother and more predictable my cuts are getting, especially with my nemesis the detail or spindle gouge. To me those are trickier to use than a skew.

Lately I'm turning pizza cutters for Christmas gifts. I might post some pics tomorrow.

A couple of those jumbo pizza cutter kits from Rockler as Christmas presents: 1 in Macacauba, and the other in Redheart that my wife helped me design at the lathe to be more aesthetic. I love working with Redheart; it turns and works like butter, and finishes up to a beautiful luster. This one got 5 thinned coats of Tru-Oil on the lathe.



It's hard to capture all the shimmering pinks and reds of finished redheart.

I turned the 1st one in Brazilian Ebony for us. It looks like Fred Flinstone's club, so I'm not showing it lol. But these big beasts can plow through some pizza!

Well, Gasman Jerry gives me crap if I buy something I could have made or turned. So I stole his idea for making a hand-wheel for my Laguna lathe to replace the (not very useful) small stock handle. Two squares of 3/4" plywood glued together, mounted on the stock face-plate, and turned mostly using my trusty Uber-Skew (which that damn plywood promptly dulled while filling my shop with sawdust!).

Sanded up to 400-be careful; that plywood will splinter if you look at it cross-eyed! I then did a two-step friction polish using old t-shirt sleeves and 1. EEE Ultrashine, then 2. BLO/beeswax mixture.
Inside view:

Outside view:

In-progress with the Uber-Skew and shavings:

Technical considerations: the splintery nature of plywood-Duh! And I had to turn down the diameter and sides a couple of times while testing for vibrations at various speeds. It might be a good idea to make it a little smaller lol!

Good work Aaron. I wont give ya a hard time any more. Lol.

My latest turning project. the Cherry Burl shaving bowl I've been aiming to turn for months, finally got it done. Finish with Min Wax Natural stain and sealed with 5 coats Polyurethane.