Fininsh is wax paste.
Creatist
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Zebrano
This platter was made from Zebrano also called Zebra Wood or Tiger Wood, again wood bought from Turners Retreat.
Fininsh is wax paste.
Creatist
Fininsh is wax paste.
Creatist
Spalted Beech
As I said I have now got the wood turning bug so the following pics are what I have completed so far. Spalted Beech, wood bought from http://www.turners-retreat.co.uk after a trip up there to see a demonstration.
This was the first bowl I did on my own lathe and after showing this to Gerry, he pointed out a few things where I could have improved it but also said that he knows turners who have been turning for 10 years and still don't produce something like this.
The bottom was finished with Finishing Oil which darkens the wood and the inside of the bowl was done with paste wax.
The black lines which give this unique pattern are caused by fungal attack in the wood shortly after the tree has been felled. Different types of fungi create a barrier between themselves and create this great marble effect.
Creatist
This was the first bowl I did on my own lathe and after showing this to Gerry, he pointed out a few things where I could have improved it but also said that he knows turners who have been turning for 10 years and still don't produce something like this.
The bottom was finished with Finishing Oil which darkens the wood and the inside of the bowl was done with paste wax.
The black lines which give this unique pattern are caused by fungal attack in the wood shortly after the tree has been felled. Different types of fungi create a barrier between themselves and create this great marble effect.
Creatist
Wood, Wood and More Wood
You may not have guessed this but if you are doing wood turning you need wood.
There are all sorts of resources.
So once I got the bug, I was searching round for any bit of wood I could (safely) put on the lathe.
This goblet was made from a bit of old fence post in my workshop. There was a dead knot in the wood which dropped out shortly after I had finished turning it. So it can only be used for your enemies.
You fill it with a cheap red wine (as they stain the best) while holding your finger over the hole. Then as they take it from you, you take your finger off the hole (making sure it is facing them of course)
Also from bits
Light Pull which graces our bathroom.
I have also made a walking stick (with captive ring) from pine for Psi provided by Psi
Twirling stick for one of Psi's mates, wood provided by Psi
Spinning top from scrap of pine
Creatist
Handle
This is the first ever thing I made on the lathe after I bought it.
On the top is a hatch for access to the drive belts, this usually held in place just by a Allen Headed screw. I had read that other turners had added a handle to theirs, so copied.
Bit rough and ready but does the job great.
Creatist
Lathe
Here is a picture of my lathe.
It is a modified Record Power CL2 36. Modified in that it has had the motor changed to a 1hp Speed Genie variable speed.
Got this at what I think is a good price, as had a scroll chuck thrown in. To buy brand new you would have to pay about £800+ but I got it for half of that. One of the chaps at the wood turning club that Gerry belongs to had upgraded his machine and wanted the space in his garage.
The tools in the background are a standard set plus a recently purchased Big Brother for hollow turning (more of this later) and they are all made by Hamlet in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Creatist
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
History
How it all started.......sorry this is a bit long.
At Christmas of 2005 I got a book called Woodturning a Fresh Approach by Robert Chapman (http://www.robchapman.com/). Being a lover of all things creative and especially things in wood I thought this wood turning lark looks good.
After a scout round the net, I found that that are thousands of Wood Turners out there. All of them giving their own advice on what were the best tools, which were the best lathes etc, etc. confusion reigned.
What was clear was that for a half decent lathe and tools you needed a bit of spare cash, so I decided to put some money aside each month until I had enough to buy myself a lathe.
By Christmas of 2006 I had enough put away to start looking round for a bottom of the range lathe and a decent set of tools. So again I had a scout round. It was at this point that I found that quite a few Wood Turners recommended, on their web sites, that you should have some lessons with a registered turner.
Rather than pay out cash on a lathe to find I didn't like it, I found on www.creative-woodturning.com a guy called Mike Swain who was quite local and e-mailed him about lessons and his reply came back Unfortunately, due to commitments with exhibitions and demonstrations all the time I have for tuition is fully booked for most of 2006.
Hey I thought, this is popular!
but also if you let me know the area you live in I will look on the professional register to see if there is a registered turner in your area.
Off went the e-mail again and the reply came back I would have no hesitation in pointing you towards Jerry Marlow who lives at Barlow. Jerry's a good friend, please let him know I passed on his number and hopefully he will be able to help.
So after a few phone calls to Gerry I made arrangements for a couple of days in January of 2006.
So off I drove to Barlow not knowing what I was going to do, getting lost on the way, as I usually do. It was like the first day of school again!
Gerry and his wife are a lovely couple, very friendly and welcoming and Gerry?s wife makes a great home made soup and is an artist in her own right, you should see some of her work with a needle.
But when I first walked in to his house it was like an Aladdin?s cave for Wood Turners, there were lots of beautifully turned items everywhere. It is one thing to look at stuff in books and on the web and another thing entirely to see them for real and touch them.
After a safety talk and showing me round his workshop, he just got a piece of wood put it on his lathe (Polewood but not sure which model) started to show me how to rough down a blank (a rectangular piece of wood in this case) then handed me the tool and said. Now it?s your turn.
I was scared to death! There you stand with a what looks like a concave chisel in your hand with a piece of wood spinning round at what seems a million miles an hour.
The first time you pick up a tool you are hanging on to it for dear life thinking you are never going to make anything!
But Gerry?s teaching is very down to earth and relaxing, you are not afraid to make mistakes (he made some himself while I was there) and he put me at my ease straight away.
By the end of the first day we had make the tool handle, the garden dibber and the platter.(With a break for home made soup and sandwiches). I came away after the first day pleased as punch that I had actually achieved something. Unfortunately, as I had booked the lessons for Friday and Monday, I had to wait until after the weekend before I could go again.
On the Monday we made the Rosewood pot, the Yew mushroom and the Yew goblet.(With another break for home made soup and sandwiches). At the end of the day I was again pleased that I/we had done so much.
What he taught me has given me a great basis to fall back on when I get a bit ambitious and make mistakes or start wondering why things aren?t going right.
This is only a very, very short summary of Gerry's teaching, but I could write a book about what a great couple of days I had.
One piece of great advice Gerry gave me was, when you stop enjoying making an item or you start making mistakes go and have a cup of tea!
It works every time.
I've got my own piece of advice to add to that, but that's another story.
Thanks Gerry, I'm now addicted.
Gerry doesn't have a web site but if you are interested, let me know and I will get his details to you or visit the web site of the Register of Professional Turners and look under Turners.
God Bless
Creatist
At Christmas of 2005 I got a book called Woodturning a Fresh Approach by Robert Chapman (http://www.robchapman.com/). Being a lover of all things creative and especially things in wood I thought this wood turning lark looks good.
After a scout round the net, I found that that are thousands of Wood Turners out there. All of them giving their own advice on what were the best tools, which were the best lathes etc, etc. confusion reigned.
What was clear was that for a half decent lathe and tools you needed a bit of spare cash, so I decided to put some money aside each month until I had enough to buy myself a lathe.
By Christmas of 2006 I had enough put away to start looking round for a bottom of the range lathe and a decent set of tools. So again I had a scout round. It was at this point that I found that quite a few Wood Turners recommended, on their web sites, that you should have some lessons with a registered turner.
Rather than pay out cash on a lathe to find I didn't like it, I found on www.creative-woodturning.com a guy called Mike Swain who was quite local and e-mailed him about lessons and his reply came back Unfortunately, due to commitments with exhibitions and demonstrations all the time I have for tuition is fully booked for most of 2006.
Hey I thought, this is popular!
but also if you let me know the area you live in I will look on the professional register to see if there is a registered turner in your area.
Off went the e-mail again and the reply came back I would have no hesitation in pointing you towards Jerry Marlow who lives at Barlow. Jerry's a good friend, please let him know I passed on his number and hopefully he will be able to help.
So after a few phone calls to Gerry I made arrangements for a couple of days in January of 2006.
So off I drove to Barlow not knowing what I was going to do, getting lost on the way, as I usually do. It was like the first day of school again!
Gerry and his wife are a lovely couple, very friendly and welcoming and Gerry?s wife makes a great home made soup and is an artist in her own right, you should see some of her work with a needle.
But when I first walked in to his house it was like an Aladdin?s cave for Wood Turners, there were lots of beautifully turned items everywhere. It is one thing to look at stuff in books and on the web and another thing entirely to see them for real and touch them.
After a safety talk and showing me round his workshop, he just got a piece of wood put it on his lathe (Polewood but not sure which model) started to show me how to rough down a blank (a rectangular piece of wood in this case) then handed me the tool and said. Now it?s your turn.
I was scared to death! There you stand with a what looks like a concave chisel in your hand with a piece of wood spinning round at what seems a million miles an hour.
The first time you pick up a tool you are hanging on to it for dear life thinking you are never going to make anything!
But Gerry?s teaching is very down to earth and relaxing, you are not afraid to make mistakes (he made some himself while I was there) and he put me at my ease straight away.
By the end of the first day we had make the tool handle, the garden dibber and the platter.(With a break for home made soup and sandwiches). I came away after the first day pleased as punch that I had actually achieved something. Unfortunately, as I had booked the lessons for Friday and Monday, I had to wait until after the weekend before I could go again.
On the Monday we made the Rosewood pot, the Yew mushroom and the Yew goblet.(With another break for home made soup and sandwiches). At the end of the day I was again pleased that I/we had done so much.
What he taught me has given me a great basis to fall back on when I get a bit ambitious and make mistakes or start wondering why things aren?t going right.
This is only a very, very short summary of Gerry's teaching, but I could write a book about what a great couple of days I had.
One piece of great advice Gerry gave me was, when you stop enjoying making an item or you start making mistakes go and have a cup of tea!
It works every time.
I've got my own piece of advice to add to that, but that's another story.
Thanks Gerry, I'm now addicted.
Gerry doesn't have a web site but if you are interested, let me know and I will get his details to you or visit the web site of the Register of Professional Turners and look under Turners.
God Bless
Creatist
Monday, July 17, 2006
1st Mushroom
1st Mushroom - Ditto Gerry
Gerry had asked my what I wanted to try next, I had seen these dotted around his house.
Again the photo does not do the wood justice. A great contrast in colours.
This is made from branch wood, the dark rim on the mushroom/toadstool/fairy seat, is the bark of the branch.
Wood = Yew
Hight = 2"
Finish = Friction Polish
Creatist
Gerry had asked my what I wanted to try next, I had seen these dotted around his house.
Again the photo does not do the wood justice. A great contrast in colours.
This is made from branch wood, the dark rim on the mushroom/toadstool/fairy seat, is the bark of the branch.
Wood = Yew
Hight = 2"
Finish = Friction Polish
Creatist
1st Goblet
1st Goblet - ditto Gerry
The photo does not do the wood on this goblet justice.
This is Yew, it comes in a fantastic range of colours from a pale cream to dark mahogany red. You can even find some that is purple in colour. Yew reacts to iron from nails etc stuck in the wood while growing thus affecting the colour.
7" high
Wood = Yew
Fininsh = Friction Polish
Creatist
1st Platter
1st Platter - ditto Gerry
Again can't remember what wood we used for this.
(Its all such a blur)
8" Platter
Finish = Wax Cream
Creatist
Again can't remember what wood we used for this.
(Its all such a blur)
8" Platter
Finish = Wax Cream
Creatist
1st Pot
1st pot I made - ditto Gerry
2" High
Wood = Mexican Rosewood
Finish = Friction Polish & Canuba Wax
Creatist
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Garden Dibber
My second ever turning, under supervision of Gerry
The measurement rings are 1" apart, (this was checked by Daz the Man) and was done by first making a V cut then burning the wood with wire by friction.
Length = 12"
Wood = Ash
Finish = Finishing Oil
I have had suggestions that I should sell it as an organic sex tool:¬0
Creatist
The measurement rings are 1" apart, (this was checked by Daz the Man) and was done by first making a V cut then burning the wood with wire by friction.
Length = 12"
Wood = Ash
Finish = Finishing Oil
I have had suggestions that I should sell it as an organic sex tool:¬0
Creatist
Tool Handle
This is the first thing I ever turned under the supervision of wood-turning teacher Gerry Marlow.
I think he said it was Ash.
Length = 14?
Creatist
I think he said it was Ash.
Length = 14?
Creatist
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
1st Turnings
Enter by the narrow gate
This is my latest project which is a combination of skills:)
God Bless
Creatist
ps it is a straight gate, its the photo that has squidged it
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