Apologies to all followers, I'm going to be away from the workshop for a few months while my broken leg heals.  I intend to resume posting when I can get out there again.

Never run down stairs occupied by large furry cats.

Learning the Turning # 26

Kwila Bowl

Kwila (also known as Merbau) grows in South-east Asia, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. I don't know where this particular piece came from, other than the woodworking show at Caulfield racecourse that happens once a year.

It's something of a coarse-grain timber, almost grass-like in its end grain.  I rather like it, and will keep my eye out for more when I see it.

This lovely piece is already spoken for by my daughter, who says it would go nicely with her new table.

Learning the Turning #25

Extra-Flared Chestnut Bowl

Chestnut is a difficult, but rewarding timber to turn.  It's quite hard, can be a bit unbalanced, and I'm not sure just how tough it will be, despite the density.  Could be just the moisture content in this piece, though (and I'm reminded that moisture meters aren't really very expensive).  Be that as it may, it is a very warm, traditional wooden colour and the grain is really quite swoopy and nice.  I'm hoping not everyone will see the remaining tool marks (two days to sand -- really?)

Anyhow, I finished this one this morning and snuck it on to m'lady's desk for viewing.  I hope she likes it.

Learning the Turning - Table #1

Learning the Turning -- Table #1

Solid Jarrah coffee table

I haven't posted any new bowls in a while, because I was working on learning how to make furniture. In this case, a coffee table for my youngest.  She needed a coffee table because her apartment didn't have one, and because long ago I made a doll house for her older sister, but never got around to making one for her.

Jarrah is my favourite wood, and i have a lot of favourites.  It's hard, it's heavy, and it's tough.  It also takes a polish up to mirror levels before you apply any sort of finish to it at all.

This one was finished with Cabothane Clear, a polyurethane based clear coat.  The top has six coats of it, wiped down with mineral turpentine after each application.  The top is biscuit-joined, and the whole thing is glued together with slow-cure, extra strength Araldite two-pack epoxy resin.

If this piece of furniture were part of a role-playing game, it would have Serious Stats.

(If anyone wanted one just like it, figure ~$A3k with a $500. deposit. Lots and lots of hours...  Freight would be extra -- it's about 25kg.  Like I said, Serious Stats.)

Learning the Turning #24

Huon Pine Rolling Pin

I'm not really that well versed in large spindle work.  However, I did find a nice 200mm square section of Huon Pine at the woodworking show, and I couldn't pass it up.  My lady had mentioned some years ago that she really needed a bigger rolling pin to comfortably roll out pastry (she's a cosmically superb cook) without bruising her knuckles or having to put too much pressure on it.  So weight's a thing, more is better?

It wasn't a surprise gift, because I had the foresight to ask her what dimensions she preferred.  Dragged the old one out; half again the diameter, same width, no crevices where food could get caught.

Sharpened the chisels, got to work, finished it over two days.  It's mostly a straight cylinder (I used a straightedge and my least-caffienated stance) and once again, I am absolutely thunderstruck at how beautiful Huon Pine is. Check out the grain in the second photo.

I did not apply a finish, leaving it to my lady to decide whether she wants to use olive oil, or butter, or cosmic unicorn cooking sauce.  I didn't have the faintest idea, to be honest.  But it's a rolling pin, of sorts.

Learning the Turning #23

Liquid Amber

Another lovely blank I acquired from the folks at Pops Shed was marked "Liquid Amber".  I'd never heard of that sort of tree.  I love learning new things (and I'm resisting the urge to add an emoji here).

The shape is another variation of the flared edge style, and this one comes with extra carved rings. The rings are a bit fiddly, cut with a thin-section parting tool.

Anyway this one behaved itself, so you're seeing the results here, unlike the last two blanks which evaded the light by punch-through.  I'd love to blame the blanks,but it wasn't their fault (Why am I seeing the lathe through the bowl?  Oh...).

This bowl did all the right things and I'm rather pleased with it.  Almost spalted in places, but I'm a new wood turner, not a botanist or arborist. I do take precautions not to breathe any of the dust.

Two new pieces of gear since the last posting -- a really nice magnetic clamp-on gooseneck lamp from Carbatec, and an all-singing, all-dancing powered fully enclosed woodturner's face shield from Pop's Shed.  I should have acquired these earlier, they make the work so much easier & thus more pleasant to do.

At no time did this piece fly off the chuck and chase me around the shop.  Still learning, it appears.

Learning the Turning #22

Shake, Rattle and Roll

It's disconcerting when a piece of heavy burl detaches itself from the chuck and chases you around the room.  Steel-capped boots will not keep you from playing jump-rope with a wild and wooly blank spinning around the floor at 2000 RPM.

Eventually I caught it under the bandsaw base and it reluctantly returned to my hand.

This piece is from a highly figured piece of Australian wood -- Victorian Ash burl, I believe.  It's heavily flawed, has a bit of live edge (as you can see) and what you can't see is that the wood was harder than the hubs of hell.  I felt like I was turning iron, not wood.  I sanded it up to 1200 grit and the surface looked like glass when I was done.  My wife says it's gorgeous, I say it's rather nice.

Two days to turn a single bowl.  I may not be specialising in burl, Going back to a nice couple of pieces of camphor laurel I have next.