Both pieces are tuned from Aspen in Natural Edge configurations. Leaf Alone has a aspen leaf carved in the bottom.

Please vote for one of each in the form below:

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Note: you can click on any picture and the left and right edges will allow you to scroll forward and backward.

I think she loved it, it was fun to make. The segments are all exotics and the flower arrainger came from Craft Supplies.

I think the turning is self explanatory.

Flower arrainger

That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been busy!

A couple of projects were in the finishing phase: large weedpot and walnut humidor

Cover movies

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Large Weed pot

My daughter wanted a large wood vessel for decorating in her new home. We came up with an idea for a large weed pot made from Aspen. This will surprise those who think Stubby’s can’t turn big spindles

Large Aspen blank on Stubby

Roughed out!

Turned, dyed and finished with Poly

In operation!

In the next post I will start a series on vessels with embeded pvc threads, the first of which will be a humidor!

Wallnut Humidor

Hustle & Flow trailer

* Use free Google software to make 3D models of woodturning
* Apply a CA finish to a pen

• Roger & Me full

* Turn a bowl from common boards
* Turn a functional wine glass
* Make a metal spinning tool rest
* Make a pen bushing storage cabinet, from simple parts

Then ….buy a woodturning book from Turnedoutright!!

Vessel & Vine

We will bring in the New Year with a project I started nearly 3 months ago.

My plan was to make a lidded vessel and practice some surface treatments along with advancing my skill in the use of pre-catalyzed lacquer.

Design

The design was to be made of segments of Padauk and aspen with a fitted lid and integrated finial. This was not a project that I computer modeled, just started mak’in shavins!

Turning

Hollowed form and lid

The vessel was turned and shaped from a dried Aspen blank. The top portion of the vessel was parted off and saved for the top. A Padauk blank was glued to the top of the vessel after which the vessel was turned to final shape.

The vessel was then hollowed to about 1/8 thick.

The Godfather: Part III movies

The Zodiac divx

The lid was turned from the top portion of the aspen blank including a finial.

Vines

Inlaid Vines from Black CA

The inlay was done by using a template to outline the vine. Then a piercing tool was used to relieve the outline to about a 1/8 inch depth. The relief was filled with black CA and sanded while on the lathe. The process was repeated multiple times until all pits were filled. The body remained on the chuck while carved and until the lid was finished.

Lid

Vessel Lid

The inside of the lid was turned first with a lip that fit tight into the body of the vessel. After the underside of the lid was turned and sanded the top side was turned while friction fit into the body. The finial was turned into the top (not a separate piece).

The edge of the lids turned features were enhanced with wood burned crescents. I discovered a great way to get the pattern even around the circumference of a circle without calculation and a painstaking layout.

The Life of David Gale full

First mark the center of the circle to be outlined with crescents.

Then draw a line across the circle splitting it exactly in half. This line is the center reference line and we will burn left and right of this line from both sides of the circle as we progress around the circumference.

I’ll see if I can explain the technique:

Starting at the reference line burn one crescent on the right of the line, then on the left of the line. Rotate the circle (180 degrees) until the reference line on the other hemisphere of the circle is in front of you. Burn a crescent on the right and left of the reference line.

Repeat this process in groups of right-left pairs followed by rotating the circle.The pattern will evenly move around each hemisphere until it reaches the equator. This leaves the very last crescents to be burned on either side of the the equator. Its likely that there will be a space that is slightly larger or smaller than the integral a crescent. At this point I make right-left adjustments as I bur the last pair of crescents. This means that the last crescents may overlap or have a small gap larger than the others. If the space is less than two crescents but larger than one I center one last crescent across the equator. I find that the error using this technique is small and if it is done evenly across the gap on both hemispheres it is not noticeable.

Look at the ring of crescents around the base of the finial in the photo above. You can see that the last crescent was burned between the previous ones but without touching them like the rest. (its the crescent that is at about 180 degrees around the ring)

Finish

Dark Country movie full

Completed Vessel

The piece was finished with five coats of pre-catalyzed (precat) lacquer (Sherman Williams). Each coat only took 5 min to dry before applying the next. I found precat easy to use as it is quick drying, fills quickly, sprays predictably and polishes to a hard and deep finish. The only downside is that it has a pot life of 6 months and costs $32 a gallon.

After a week of drying the entire piece was progressively polished with Tripoli, Plastic polish and Wax.

Happy New Year,

Donnie @ Turnedoutright

Zodiac trailer

• Use free Google software to make 3D models of woodturning
• Apply a CA finish to a pen
• Turn a bowl from common boards
• Turn a functional wine glass
• Make a metal spinning tool rest
• Make a pen bushing storage cabinet, from simple parts

Then ….buy a woodturning book from Turnedoutright!!

Mortar & Pestle From Solid Surface

Mortars are becoming increasingly popular tools for the kitchen. At $30-60 a piece, when my son suggested that it would make a worthwhile turning project I became interested. Of special interest is the materials that the Mortar & the head of the Pestle is made from… solid surface.

I have been wanting to try turning some solid surface material ever since I made a pen from it. In this project I found that a “skewy gouge” type of tool works best. Solid surface, like most hard plastics like to be scraped rather than cut. Tradition gouges can be hard to control. Scrapping and sheer cuts will remove allot of material as well as leave a smooth surface. The tool used is made from a 1/2″ round piece of water hardened steel, ground by laying it on the grinder face until it is hollow ground. Then grind the bevel like a gouge. Lastly harden and temper it using shop blacksmith techniques. The bevel is not important on this tool as it operates as a scraper. The linked videos show the tool technique better than I can explain it.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE —WEAR GOOD EYE AND FACE PROTECTION! Not just your glasses!

I can promise you that the shavings and chips from turning solid surface materials hurts, getting it in your eyes can result in serious eye injury.

Mortar Construction:

The mortar is made from laminating multiple pieces (6) of 4x4x 1/2 inch scrap counter top material.

Solid surface can be glued using corning glue or simple CA. First prepare the surface by sanding it flat. I use a piece of adhesive backed sandpaper stuck on a pieced of solid surface. Scribble with a pencil on the surface , then sand both sides of each piece by hand by rubbing it on this flat surface. Check to see that the sanding removes the pencil marks evenly across its face.

After glue-up in a clamp, I mount the square blank in a large chuck and turn it as shown below.

Pestle Construction:

The Pestle is made of two sections. The nose is made from 4 pieces of 2x2x1/2″ sections laminated together using the same gluing techniques as the Mortar. The nose is turned with a 1/2″ tenon.

The handle is made from a 1x1x5″ Cocobolo blank. One end has a 1/2″ mortise drilled in it to accept the nose.

Love & Sex movies

Glue the nose to the handle with CA and then mount it between centers for turning.

Videos of the project can be viewed at the turnedoutright video channel:

Seed of Chucky psp Turning the Mortar

Turning the Pestle

Project Story Board

Mouse over the photo to read its caption!

The next DVD review will be Master Techniques of Marquetry so come back soon.

Enjoy…. Donnie

I decided to challenge myself and my turning skills by defining a tough project for a good cause …. my mother

Design summary

This project required a great deal of design and planning. Not only did it need to look good but it also needed to be functional. The knob on the top is used to wind the music box and the lid rotates with the music. This feature meant that the music box needed to fit perfectly inside the box dead on center. The top had to be turned with the exact dimensions so that it would rotate without interference with the base and mate correctly with the music box drive shaft. The lid had to be removable, dictating the use of a coupler that needed to be the correct depth so as to engage, without binding, the music box key.

The model perfectly defined all the interior parts. All I had to do was turn them properly

Well the project is complete and as usual it was fun and educational.

A video can be enjoyed at the tunredoutright video channel

I started this project in February. The previous post provides more details on my sources of inspiration etc. “Woodturning with Sketchup” will provide details on the modeling aspects of this project. A book is available dedicated to using SketchUp for modeling.

Below outlines the process and methods used to turn the music box:

	Wood selection: Three pieces of Redwood Burl were chosen all about 5x5x3. The model helped me select the correct sizes. Without a plan it is easy to get blanks that aren’t thick enough. Two were for the base and top. The third was cut up for the finial and other parts.
	A chuck mounted screw center was used to mount the blanks. Insure that the blank screws tight against the face of the chucks jaws.
	Throughout turning, the story stick (printed full scale from the model) was used to guide the turning. It was as easy as laying the caliper on the paper and adjusting to the print. Show here is a 2D (left) and a 3D type of story stick.
	A dove tail that matched my stronghold jaws was turned. Since Redwood is so soft, insure that the jaws fit perfectly, getting the most surface contact possible. The face of the jaws (not the back) need a solid and flat mating surface. Turn the base round.
	Shape the exterior and interior of the base using the story stick as a guide. Sand to 400 grit, finishing the base.
	Part the base off and make a jam chuck from the waste, that fits the perimeter of the bases lip. Finish the bottom with the tail stock brought up for support.
	Turn the top to round using the same work holding techniques show above. Drill the center to 1/2″ and turn the underside of the lid to finished internal dimensions. Not shown: Size and part of off the lid.
	I used a 1/2 bolt with the head cut off in a collet chuck for holding the lid. Mount the lid with the top surface toward the tail stock. Turn and finish the lids outer features
	The lid with the features turned and final sanding to 400 grit
The Hangover divx	Turn the finial from a block of burl to the story stick dimensions.
	The next section will be focussed on the surface treatment of the lid. The lid seemed plain to me, so I decided some carving was in order. I set out to chip carve the surface but Redwood burl doesn’t really chip carve that well. (I tried it on a piece of scrap). I decided to wood burn the detail instead. In either case I needed a pattern. SketchUp proved its versatility and I used it to design a scale pattern. This was challenging because the pattern had to fit inside the inner ring and still provide a balanced appearance. It was quite easy to do!
	The pattern was taped in place and traced after which the surface was “burned”… Sweet!
	A coupler was constructed of a ring that would mount on the finials shaft. A slot was routed in the coupler to accept the key of the music box. (I suggest unlike this picture you put it in a vice for safer operation).The thickness of this coupler was adjusted to give perfect elevation of the top above the base while rotateing. This coupler will be glued on the finials shaft at assembly.
	Now it gets complicated. The music box has to be precisely positioned and mounted in the center of the box. To accomplish this a jig consisting of peice of 1/4″ fiber board was mounted on a waste block and turned to fit inside the base. Before removing it from the lathe a hole the size of the key was drilled on center. The music box was painted and glued (CA) in place using this jig.
	The final assembly note the redwood veneer on the surface of the music box. The plastic was ugly.
	Don’t forget to sign it!

More Modeling posts on the Music Box:

• Music Box Lid

  Steptoe and Son video

• 3D Story Sticks
• Mothers Day Music Box Model
  
  • A Fish Called Wanda psp

Enjoy…. Donnie

Russian olive

Sometimes you just have to relax and turn from the scrap bin.

I thought I would try a small end grain natural edge with no sanding and an oil finish.

• 25th Hour hd

I found a piece of Russian Olive in the drying barrel!

• Drag Me to Hell film

Don’t forget to visit the store where you will find some interesting books on wood turning!

I finally completed the beehive project. If you recall I modeled this project in SketchUp using some real world pictures of hives, and then turned it from the story stick.

Why did this take so long? Well the first one that was made from Osage Orange

• Mama’s Boy movie

…..CRACKED.

This is a common problem in Utah because it is so dry.

I didn’t check the moisture content and therefore didn’t store it properly after turning. My normal method is to store it for a few months in a paper sack….you’d think I would learn by now!

Gone in Sixty Seconds dvd I re-turned the piece from some DRY YellowHeart .

The bee is also turned from Yellowheart. The wings are velum (my wifes idea) and the antenna is florist wire.

• Their First Mistake video

Now is on its way to my sister!

I decided to take on another modeling and turning challenge and I started on the “Mothers Day” Project.

• Cat People trailer

This turning project will feature a multi-piece music box made from Redwood Burl.

Inspired by the book “Masterful Woodturning” (ISBN 0-8069-8709-X). I decided to combine woodturning and music boxes.

Design goals for the Music Box project:

• Box with a removable lid
• Made from a burl
• Music box hidden inside
• Animation
• Wind the music box without opening top
• Pleasing shape

This is a unique challenge because I wanted to make the top rotate with the power of the music box as well as using it to wind the mechanism.

This meant that the box would be multiple pieces that would need to fit together with relatively tight tolerances.
Click to see model