Here was a fun project. I moved some wood around and found several small Birch logs and threw them under the bench that the lathe sits on. One piece bounced back out and I took this as a sign that it wasn’t happy just laying around and wanted to be turned. So I put it on the lathe and this weed pot, a vase, was what was hidden inside the log and trying to get out.

It has a flowing, almost bowling pin like, shape and it stands at about 7 1/2″ tall and is 3″ at it’s widest point and almost 2″ at it’s base. It is finished with Tung oil and buffed with the Beall Buff System.

Here’s another photo without the ‘flowers’ where you can see more of the shape of the top:

Continue reading 'A Birch Vase Weed Pot'

Master rocking chair maker, Hal Taylor, has released a new version of his book, How To Make A Beautiful Rocking Chair!

I recently had the opportunity to have a look at it and let me tell you, if you plan on making a rocking chair this book is a must have! It includes all of the latest updates and improvements that Hal has made over the last 12 years, both in the construction of the rocking chair and in the methods used.

Hal Taylor has been making beautiful rocking chairs for the past 15 years (to date he has built around 300 of them!) and this book is a culmination of his rocking chair building experience. It is the step-by-step guide to building his world famous rocking chairs.

With about 230 pages this new book is almost 100 pages longer than the previous version and includes sections on alternative back brace construction methods, rocker theory and grain matching techniques as well as new jigs and fixtures for cutting the headrest, arms and legs.

Continue reading 'How To Build A Hal Taylor Rocker'

Here’s a Birch bowl that I recently finished. This was a piece of heartwood so the color has a pleasing reddish-orange shade to it.

I accented the top and side with a bit of burned-in rings and squares. The ring around the outside edge was burned using a piece of wire and the three rings on the top were done with a thin piece of ebony (not the most efficient but it worked). The lines that create the squares were burned in with a woodburning pen.

The bowl is approximately 7″ in diameter and a bit less than 2″ tall. It was finished with Tung oil and then buffed with the Beall Buffing System.

Here are a couple of more photos of the bowl:

Continue reading 'Birch Bowl With A Burned Ring Top'

Last night’s meeting of the Nova Woodturners Guild had so much going on that it almost burst at the seams! Usually only a two hour meeting, this one kept everyone enthralled for almost three hours and with crowds hanging in to the very end!

The evening included a visit by Stephen Zwerling who gave a captivating presentation on demonstrating and presenting.

Stephen is a juried and honourary life member of the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council, a member of the American Association of Woodturners and a founding member of the Nova Woodturners’ Guild.

His presentation encompassed the full gamut of this very unique topic. From public speaking standards to tips and techniques specific to woodturning, Stephen offered dozens (hundreds?) of helpful hints, blended with personal anecdotes and examples. His candid speaking approach emphasized his points not as things that we should do but rather things that we MUST do in order to have a successful presentation or demonstration.

Here are a few notes that I was able to jot down:

Continue reading 'Presentation On Presenting At NWG'