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| I love my new lathe! Published On 11-04-2008 , 12:53 AM  First project off the new lathe! This was a large branch of mulberry that had 3 smaller branches coming off one end. There was a large vein of bark that decided it didn't like spinning around and around so now there is a void on the rim.This would have made the old lathe walk across the garage; it was extremely unbalanced. The Stubby laughed at me. It never even vibrated a little, even with the speed cranked. I left the rim a bit higher than the final height. I haven't decided how to finish this piece yet but it will probably involve piercing and pyrography. The inside is rough. Anything with a natural edge is an iffy prospect for power sanding. One catch and the whole thing is history. I have the best son on the planet! I gave him my woodburning pens and a power supply from a lab on campus and he made me custom cords so I can use the free power supply instead of spending $300 on a "woodburning power supply".
It is Election Day! Do your civic responsibility and VOTE (for Obama)! We'll walk to the voting place at the elementary school around the corner and then I'll play on the lathe all day. Unrelated comment: How can such a tiny little cat snore so loud? Trouble is snoring away on the sofa as I post this. Time for me to snore too!
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| Farewell BowWow Published On 11-03-2008 , 9:35 AM  By now this ornament should be in its new home. I was very sad to see it go. I think BowWow was my favorite. Dogwood is normally a pretty plain wood with, maybe, some pinkish color. This tree fell when an oak went down and a friend asked if I wanted it. The closer to the ground we got the more color we saw. Unfortunately the tree also had powder post bugs in it so most of the wood got tossed out of my garage the second I saw the piles of sawdust under the logs. I managed to save a few small pieces and tossed them into the freezer for 5 months to kill the bugs.BowWow was the first piece. The second was the dogwood bowl with a walnut base w/crystal. That just sold last week. The last, and most delicate piece I created from the wood was "On The Brink". I entered this piece in the AAW Symposium and it sold. This "artist" stuff is hard! I put my heart and soul into each piece; always wondering if I'm doing what Mother Nature wants or if I'm doing justice to the wood. Some days Mother suffers from PMS and my piece ends up in the mulch pile. When She's in a good mood I get to finish a piece, fall in love with it, and then have my heart crushed when it sells. So, dear BowWow, I hope you enjoy your new home in Tennessee and I hope your new family enjoys your company and doesn't pack you away come January 1. You deserve to be on display all year long. Comments | ||
| Stubby Bliss Published On 11-01-2008 , 11:25 PM  Spent the day getting to know my new baby and running errands. It was nice and warm this afternoon so we cranked the chainsaw up and cut enough blanks to keep me happy for a while and give me a variety of projects to get intimate with the machine.The image at right could be classified as Lathe Pr0n but it's OK, we are both of legal age! I was playing with a piece of spalted maple.  This is a shot without the lust-crazed turner. One really cool thing I didn't know about until the machine was delivered was this next shot. The machine was a grand prize in a raffle from the Woodturning Center. They had all the artists at the center there that summer sign the machine. The winner thought enough about preserving the signatures to put a plate over it (which can be seen in the top left photo).  The pulley cover with all the signatures is cast aluminum, the only non cast iron piece on the lathe. So, you can't use it to hold magnetic lights or tools. The steel plate protects the signatures and allows a place to secure magnetic lamps and tools.The machine's smooth running and secure functions are taking some getting used to. My old lathe had so many misgivings and lack of stability that I had actually gotten used to it and the limitations it imposed. I will be mounting a large, unbalanced piece of mulberry in the morning. Perhaps I should set up the webcam. I'll make an announcement if I go live. Comments (1) | ||
| Check it out! I'm famous! Published On 11-01-2008 , 10:51 AM Everyone run over to the American Association of Woodturners today to see me listed twice on their homepage! In case you are reading this in the future, I've captured it to a pdf for your viewing pleasure! The top right is called the AAW Picture of the Day (POD) and anyone of 3 forum moderators choose an image to feature on the homepage. Sometimes a "Day" stretches into several, but it is till very cool. The item lower on the page was for the AAW Fall Contest that I won. As soon as I get some time I will be putting these items up on the site. My Stubby arrived yesterday so I've been busy with that. Look for photos later on this weekend. I have to go back to dancing on my cloud now! Comments | ||
| Wipe Out Published On 10-27-2008 , 8:59 PM OMG! Is my Karma payoff finally clearing the bank or what? 1. I get an unbelievable deal on the best lathe on the planet, thanks to my folks. 2. Had a great show, passed out tons of cards, got some great pieces of walnut, made 3 new pieces and won an award. 3. An order for some pyrography pens/tools, which I thought was lost finally showed up; mangled but unharmed after a month of floating around the Canadian border. 4. Cha CHING!!!! A further result from the show and continued enthusiasm from a dedicated follower, I just received a massive order! 13 items! I knew 13 was my lucky number! Say farewell to the following pieces:              These babies, some of my favorites, will now reside as mere memories in my portfolio. Once I get my Stubby setup I need to get crackin' to replace my depleted inventory. Fear not, Intertubes, I have wood and sharp tools. I shall recover from this and be better for it! Besides, the sale is paying my way to a 3 day hands on workshop with David Ellsworth in 2 weeks! Comments | ||
