Dave and I got together the other night for another turning session for the NWG Fun Turn project.

In order to turn the hole in the base we would need the diameter of the finished hollow vessel, so for this session we switched from the base to the Cherry burl.

This was to be the first burl that I turned, or rather, took part in turning. It also was the first hollow vessel.

Positioning it correctly on the lathe was important to ensure that it would rotate properly. It was also important to position it correctly to get the best look since a lot of the wood would be lost on the smaller end of the cone. Obviously it’s pretty hard to tell exactly what the burl will unveil as it is turned but a conscious effort to get the best from the wood was made.

Once it was secured between centers it was roughed to round, the ends cut and a tenon turned on one end:

Continue reading 'The NWG Fun Turn Contest – Pt. 3'

Dave and I got together the other night to begin the NWG Fun Turn and we had a great evening of turning. We began by confirming our design and then choosing a suitable piece of cherry burl from his wood pile.

The piece of Ash that we will be using is 6″X6″X3″ and the Cherry is about 12″ long and 5″ in diameter at it’s widest:

We decided to begin turning the base so we cut the Ash in two pieces on the bandsaw to give us a piece approximately 6″X4″X3″ for the base and leaving a piece approximately 6″X2″X3″ for the finial.

We mounted the base on Dave’s new Nova DVR XP lathe and proceeded to turn. The Nova DVR XP from Teknatool in New Zealand is definitely a beautiful lathe! It runs very smooth and quiet with a number of features such as computerized speed control and reverse:

Continue reading 'The NWG Fun Turn Contest – Pt. 2'

I mentioned in a previous post that the Nova Woodturners Guild members were given blocks of Ash for the upcoming Fun Turn Contest. One thing that I didn’t mention was that this year there is the opportunity for two members to collaborate on a project. This suggested that there was a chance to work with someone on the same project! This idea really intrigued me.

For the most part, I have always viewed woodturning as a solitary hobby. Hours are spent alone turning, experimenting, trying to hone one’s skills. More hours are spent alone reading and watching video about turning techniques and projects, either in our living room or online. Our defeats are secretly given up to the scrap pile and, in my case at least, successes are embarrassingly, and often reluctantly, shared with others. It’s a private thing, not so much as by desire (though at times it is) but more because of design. Unlike other facets of woodworking where the tools and projects allow you to share, like with a father working with his son or daughter building a simple birdhouse or someone working with his or her neighbor building a shed. Even woodcarving lends itself to this. Perhaps not by working on the same project but certainly through the camaraderie that a couple of carvers carving together brings forth. Oh, sure, as woodturners we meet other woodturners and talk woodturning but the actual process of turning is a solitary one.

Continue reading 'The NWG Fun Turn Contest – Pt. 1'

Our meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association tonight was certainly an educational and entertaining one! We were treated to the scroll saw wizardry of Bill Luther.

Bill is manager of our local Busy Bee Tools as well as president of the Nova Woodturners Guild (yes, the one and the same!). In between these responsibilities he has found time to scroll saw, a hobby he says he finds relaxing and rewarding.

Bill began scroll sawing after his brother-in-law lent him an old scroll saw. After cleaning it up and getting it working he found that he really enjoyed scrolling. Over the years he has honed his skills and now creates a wide variety of professional quality pieces from puzzles, ornaments, plaques and more in both one dimension and the harder three dimensional types. He uses pine, variety hardwoods and Baltic birch plywood for his projects. Here are a few photos of his work:

Continue reading 'Scroll Sawing At The AWA Meeting'