if you only have a hammer everything looks like a nail
These capitals have been a long time arriving at their final destination. They represent a collective effort. I designed and turned the capitals. The design and painting was undertaken by the family. I finally got the job of installing them on the fence.
The original turnings were described in post which dates back July 2014. I suppose better late than never.
The reaction has been so far has been positive.
The Unplugged Woodshop: Hand-Crafted Projects for the Home & Workshop by Tom Fidgen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first came across Tom Fidget via his excellent website the unplugged woodshop. Working from his small workshop he produces some amazing projects. He is a devotee of hand tools and does demonstrate what can be achieved without power tools. The style of videos is very slick no commentary only Tom and his tools. He has another string to his bow which is music the soundtrack to his workshop exploits is fantastic.
I almost forgot I am writing about his second book Unplugged Woodshop: Hand-Crafted Projects for the Home & Workshop. It is a perfect complement for the website. There are details of plans, projects and tips on hand tool usage. Currently Tom is producing a series videos on the construction of a funeral chair. I have always called these folding chairs, might be a Canadian thing. The details of this project are beautifully laid in the book.
A great addition for anyone who is interested in hand tool techniques and importantly making things from wood.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book offers a great look back at woodturning. Examining the history of wooden bowls and the means of making them. Robin is someone who has a great passion of the art of wooden bowls.
The volume is a great mix of techniques and examples of turned items.
I really enjoyed part 1 of Brendan Stemps foray into the dark world of the skew chisel. I have posted a link to that session in another post on this site. In part 2 he really does show what can go wrong in a spectacular fashion.This session is very informative and he has promised an episode 3 in the future. The a link to the video posted on you tube is below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_KTlMwnNpc&feature=share&list=TLWa0ZsgVdbzQ
P.S This is the first post that I have done using the new embed feature in WordPress 3.6. Seems to work
I have discovered an Australian woodturner, Brendan Stemp who is an accomplished woodturner. He has made a few videos which are both interesting and informative. The videos are at his site brendanstemp.com.au or on YouTube
The skew chisel is often thought to be a bit tricky or even dangerous. The video is very helpful even if you use this chisel. Watch the video and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Part 2 still to come
I have been testing out and refining turning fountain pens. Unlike the slimline ballpoints that I have made these pens are more of a fiddle. The blanks are different sizes quite a bit larger in diameter. The increased diameter is internal and external. This causes some problems with the tool that I use to true up the ends of the blanks. anyone who has turned pens will know the importance of the end being square!
Continue reading “Turning Fountain Pens”
I was reading a woodworking blog recently, sadly I cannot remember which one, the essence of the post was that we spend too much time planning and thinking about tasks. I am certainly guilty of this. A case in point are the attached images. I was going to make a lathe steady so that I could make some pepper grinders at home.I planned looked at YouTube videos bought some roller blade wheels. Then deciding if I should make the frame in wood or steel, in the end it all got too much. Continue reading “Over complicated lathe steady”
well I have finally manged to get back on my lathe. It has been over 2 months since I managed to make something and what I day it was 37 degrees. You should never look a public holiday in the mouth so I pressed on. Back in January this year I collected some dead wood while we were on holidays in Kangaroo Island. I found some Dryland Tea-tree a locally occurring shrub. Continue reading “Pens pens”
The third post in my trivet series. There is a video at the end of this post. Having marked out the centres and marked them with a scratch awl the next thing is to get turning. The two piece jam chuck allows the blank to be moved. The backing plate is attached to the lathes by a face plate in this instance. It is possible to glue a piece of wood to the backing plate or if thick enough turn a Tenon. The choice is really yours. I thought that a $12 face plate was cheap enough. I can always reuse it for another project.
The chuck that takes the turning plank has recess 6 mm recess that is 150 mm in diameter. Continue reading “Turning off centre”
The second post on the subject of trivets. I have been attempting to make the trivets which feature concentric circles on one side and three circles on the reverse side. Each of the circles must be turned off centre. The attached video shows laying out the off centre circles. The blank is 150 mm in diameter and about 15 mm thick. Two concentric circles are dawn one being 70 mm the other 140 mm. Use the indexing feature of the lathe to divide into sections. I used the first six points and the tool rest to section the blank. Continue reading “Marking out the trivets”
