SketchUp Recognizes Woodturning

Posted on April 14, 2008

This week we got an awesome mention in the SketchUp blog.

This is great exposure toward the advancement of “3D Woodturning Modeling”.

“I was just alerted to the presence of a really neat blog about using SketchUp for woodturning. It’s called Turnedoutright, and it’s worth a look — even if you’re not a woodturner yourself. The SketchUp models are outstanding.”

Thanks to Aidan Chopra

The Music box is completed, watch for final post on the project.

You can get a copy of the “Woodturning with SketchUp” @ the turnedoutright store.

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NAF flute is complete

Posted on April 11, 2008

The flute I started many moons ago is finally complete.

More technical details are at The Pied Piper Visits the Shop!

This flute is unique in the following ways:

It is made almost totally on the lathe!
It has a +30 inch drilled cylinder. It is not assembled from two halves like most flutes
It is a “D” flute so it has a deep and hollow sound!
It is make of three pieces turned and then glued together!
Its my first wood flute!

The wood is poplar (this was experimental), the finish is polyurethane.
Some other photos up close:

Dennis thanks for your help!

Now I am gong to make a small wood flute with similar techniques.

Enjoy…. Donnie

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

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Tax returns? Stubby gets an extension

Posted on April 1, 2008

Seems like this was timely. Just as all of us are thinking about taxes and some of us are getting extensions I did the same to my stubby :).

My Canadian turning cohort found us a couple of used stubby beds. Since the stubby beds are short they can be connected to make endless extensions. This gives me 52″ of capacity if I don’t pull the bed out. With the bed out it gives me another 16″.

Enjoy…. Donnie

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

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More shop made tools

Posted on March 27, 2008

Here I go again, I just can’t stay away from homemade tools.

Chuck Organizer

I have four chucks and I hate changing the Jaws. One reason is because I have to search around the shop for the tools, screws and the right jaws for the right chuck. Ya I know, my wife says that my problem is that I “have to many tools” … lets don’t go there!

The organizer above holds the jaws for all my chucks, the fasteners, the tools and the screw centers.

Fine Filter

I know that shop air filtering is a necessity, I also know that their are lots of opinions on what works and what doesn’t. I did some research and was ready to drop $300 for a professional filter. Then after looking at the specifications and the size I concluded that even the smallest are to large for my shop. I also investigated getting a used furnace squirrel cage fan and building my own. But finally I went to Wallmart and bought a box fan and fine furnace filter, total cost $25. It has been hanging in my door way attached to an X10 remote controller. After only one weekend the filter has gone from white to yellow… something must be working. I’ll let you know how it works out. BTW I still wear a mask and use my vacuum when sanding.

Stubby Tool Tray

When turning I never seem to find a good place to lay my tools. I have built all kinds of racks that sit next to the lathe but I always seem to lay the most recently used tools on the ways. Then this weekend it dawned on me that a simple tray like Jet sells might work. Bingo, some wire mesh, quarter inch rod, two washers and a welder; yielded a simple tray for my Stubby. We’ll see if the tray replaces the ways as a resting place.

Enjoy…. Donnie

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

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Heat Treating

Posted on March 24, 2008

I have made my own tools nearly since I started woodturning.

Recently I read, what I think is the best article on tool making, at Woodturning Online, entitled “Woodturning Chisels You Can Make”. I especially like the color pictures that the author provided for tempering.

I struggled for some time to get this process right, simply because I didn’t perceive the color “straw” correctly and I didn’t polish the tools so I could see the color change. I highly recommend this article even if you are not going to make your own tools.

This article prompted me to post pictures of the setup I use for hardening tools.

I recently bought a double ended tool and was having difficulty in getting and keeping it sharp. It dawned on me that perhaps the tools wasn’t hardened properly. So I annealed it again followed by hardening and tempering. The process I used is in the article referenced above.

BTW, the tool now cuts like butter

This is the basic setup.The can is my forge and helps me concentrate the heat and not burn down the shop.LLarger cross section tools must stay in the heat for 3-10 minutes so having a way to hold the tool is desirable.
A close up of the forge showing the MAP torch through a hole in bottom.The wire tray makes a place to lay the tool being heated.
The tool after heating to cherry red, and then quenching in water. I mostly use W2 water hardened steel from McMaster-Carr.
In order to see the subtle change in color when tempering, polishing the tool to a bright finish is necessary. I found that a brass wire brush on my angle grinder works best.
The tool after tempering, notice the bands of color. The key is to get the “straw” color at the edge of the tool.When heating the tool use a lower setting than when you did for hardening. The tool will start to heat and then it will quickly progress from no color through straw and into blue. Once the tool starts to heat back off the tool and heat very slowly. If you aren’t cautious the thermal inertia will cause the tip to overheat and go right to blue.I backed off just in time, notice the blue, it was about ready to overheat
A better example of an even “Straw” color along the tip. This tempering helps to make the tool less brittle (from the hardening process) so that it will keep an edge.

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Tool Cart

Posted on March 17, 2008

Ever get frustrated by the distraction of misplacing tools while you are turning a complex piece?

This happened to me again while turning the “Music Box“. (The model for the Music box)

So I took a “time out” and built a tool cart.

I keep this cart next to my lathe and everything has a hole or a drawer. It rolls back out of the way when I am not turning.

I used plastic drawers from a Wallmart cart [I hate making drawers] with the side benefit that you can see into them.
I found that “crystal light” containers fit sanding disks perfectly!

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New Video Channel!

Posted on March 8, 2008

Turnedoutright is now setup on a YouTube channel.

Go to the TURNEDOUTRIGHT Video Channel to subscribe to videos from the shop.

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From the scrap bin!

Posted on March 3, 2008

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.

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

Donnie

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

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The Beehive is done!

Posted on February 28, 2008

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 …..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!

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.

Now is on its way to my sister!