Here’s a small bowl that I made out of Maple. It’s just over 5″ in diameter and 2 1/2″ high and finished with EEE Cream and Shellawax.

The bowl has a nice curve to it that fits comfortably in your hand when you pick it up (hence, what I term, a ‘hold bowl’). It also has a small foot that gives it a bit of lift when sitting on a table.

The piece of Maple that I used for this was actually a piece of driftwood. I was surprised at how white the wood was inside though you can see a few spots where it has discolored a bit.

Here are a few more photos:

Continue reading 'A Small Maple Hold Bowl'

This months meeting of the Nova Woodturners Guild featured an excellent presentation on taking photographs of your finished work. It was presented by NWG member and avid photographer Glenn McCarron.

Using an extensive Powerpoint presentation that included quite a number of slides on both information and examples, Glenn took us on an enjoyable journey through the process of getting the most of our photo taking efforts. He began with some basic rules then focused on lighting, camera settings, studio setup and backgrounds.

Glenn told us about three basic rules for better pictures which are to ask yourself ‘what is the subject?’ , then draw attention to your subject and then make sure that you keep it simple.

Too often the subject of your photo gets lost within other things in the photo so the object is to draw attention to your subject by moving in closer and simplify by removing any distractions. One technique for drawing attention to your object is by controlling the ‘depth of field’. The depth of field is the area of your photo that is in focus and with a shallow depth of field anything in the background is out of focus and less obtrusive. Here’s an example:

This photo is without the depth of field:

Continue reading 'Great Photography Tips At The NWG'

Here’s a new tool handle that I recently made for a woodturning bowl gouge. Now, I know that a tool handle isn’t all that interesting but what I want to show you is actually the brass ferrule that I used.

The ferrule is basically used on tools like chisels and gouges to stop the wood handle from splitting. The brass ferrule I used is actually a brass nut used for plumbing but when turned makes a very substantial and attractive end for a woodturning gouge.

In the past I have always used copper pipe (as you can see here) for my ferrules. However, because of the size of the shaft for the 5/8″ gouge I needed something a bit larger. Brass, like copper and aluminum, is a fairly soft metal and can be easily turned.

Here’s some more photos of how I made the handle:

Continue reading 'Gouge Handle With Solid Brass Ferrule'

We had a real treat at this month’s meeting of the Atlantic Woodworkers Association when we visited John Mcnab`s studio. To be totally immersed within the inner sanctum of John’s genius and to be surrounded by dozens of examples of his work was a definite thrill.

John, who recently won the Lieutenant Governor’s Master Arts Award for his piece entitled CSDC 3-8 (Compound Spiral Double Cone No. 3, 8 Sided), happily took us on an exciting journey through his creative process, carrying us from concept to creation, pausing only to reflect. Here, in his studio, we were witness to the artist in his environment.

John’s studio for the past ten years features a combination of antique tools that have been collected over time and quite a few tools that were designed and built by himself, each with their own story, like the bandsaw and horizontal lathe that he picked up from a Canadian Navy selloff. (There’s even a canoe that was once owned by painter Alex Coleville!)

Then there’s the jewel of the studio, his 30 foot vertical lathe that he built specifically for creating his signature helical shapes and conical forms. Being vertical the lathe removes the constraints, like gravity and length, that a traditional horizontal lathe are prone to with long pieces. Since some of his pieces are almost 30 feet long the space needed to do this horizontally would be restrictive. As well, turning something this length, especially something spiral, would pose another whole set of problems with bowing and whipping.

Continue reading 'The AWA Visits John Macnab’s Studio'