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Wood lathe


Fansince88

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Ok, here we are 10 months after the first post of this thread. Finally got a break from all the projects I got going on to spin a little on the Shop Smith 10ER (1949) Turned a maple limb into about a 18inch tall candle stick. yes, tall but working on technique. Been shopping chucks Any suggestions here would be good @Crap Throwing ClavinHave looked quite a bit at the Nova G3. Not sure if I should go ahead and spend more and get into a higher quality. Thoughts?

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Crap Throwing Clavin
24 minutes ago, Fansince88 said:

Ok, here we are 10 months after the first post of this thread. Finally got a break from all the projects I got going on to spin a little on the Shop Smith 10ER (1949) Turned a maple limb into about a 18inch tall candle stick. yes, tall but working on technique. Been shopping chucks Any suggestions here would be good @Crap Throwing ClavinHave looked quite a bit at the Nova G3. Not sure if I should go ahead and spend more and get into a higher quality. Thoughts?

 

I have the Nova G3.  Great for the price point.

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16 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

I have the Nova G3.  Great for the price point.

What jaws do you use? Seem to all come with 50mm

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  • 2 months later...

@Crap Throwing Clavin, my first pen. My son got ahold of some scrap redwood boards from a deck his neighbor was putting in. I sanded down to what I thought was smooth to the collars but there is a fraction of a lip to each transition. Now that it is done I realized that after I sanded while turning I should have sanded with the grain with the final 600 grit. BTW, do you go finer? Used Loctite CA glue. I think it is a bit too thick so I am thinking I may get a ca finish instead. Feel like I left the barrel a bit to large too. I'm headed back to turn a few more this morning. Here is the first. Really appreciate your criticisms and suggestions.  thumbnail.jpg.9537047533873b025adb58f41b0424e1.jpg

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Crap Throwing Clavin
4 hours ago, Fansince88 said:

@Crap Throwing Clavin, my first pen. My son got ahold of some scrap redwood boards from a deck his neighbor was putting in. I sanded down to what I thought was smooth to the collars but there is a fraction of a lip to each transition. Now that it is done I realized that after I sanded while turning I should have sanded with the grain with the final 600 grit. BTW, do you go finer? Used Loctite CA glue. I think it is a bit too thick so I am thinking I may get a ca finish instead. Feel like I left the barrel a bit to large too. I'm headed back to turn a few more this morning. Here is the first. Really appreciate your criticisms and suggestions.  thumbnail.jpg.9537047533873b025adb58f41b0424e1.jpg

 

Very good first attempt.  I prefer a straight-line profile over the bulged barrels you have...but personal preference, many people turn a profile like you have.  

 

Sanding to the collars, I've found, doesn't work too well (I've had to do it, with 150 grit, for some more delicate woods like figured walnut.  It's tough.)  I've found it's better to have the patience to turn to the collars with very delicate cuts (my carbide turning tools made this much easier).

 

Did you try a CA finish?  Loctite CA alone won't manage that.  You need two different thicknesses, and a higher quality - a thin and medium CA.  In particular with redwood, since it's so open-grained, I'd probably do three coats of thin to fill the grain (then three of medium to build the finish, then three more of light, to smooth out any imperfections in the medium).  You also need to sand to high grits - I sand from 600 to 15000, then use four grades of plastic polish.

 

But you might want to try a high-friction polish before you start with CA finishes - won't get as glossy a finish (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), and they're much easier to apply.  I can apply a high-friction polish in a few minutes; a CA finish will take me 30-45 minutes.

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5 hours ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

Very good first attempt.  I prefer a straight-line profile over the bulged barrels you have...but personal preference, many people turn a profile like you have.  

 

Sanding to the collars, I've found, doesn't work too well (I've had to do it, with 150 grit, for some more delicate woods like figured walnut.  It's tough.)  I've found it's better to have the patience to turn to the collars with very delicate cuts (my carbide turning tools made this much easier).

 

Did you try a CA finish?  Loctite CA alone won't manage that.  You need two different thicknesses, and a higher quality - a thin and medium CA.  In particular with redwood, since it's so open-grained, I'd probably do three coats of thin to fill the grain (then three of medium to build the finish, then three more of light, to smooth out any imperfections in the medium).  You also need to sand to high grits - I sand from 600 to 15000, then use four grades of plastic polish.

 

But you might want to try a high-friction polish before you start with CA finishes - won't get as glossy a finish (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), and they're much easier to apply.  I can apply a high-friction polish in a few minutes; a CA finish will take me 30-45 minutes.

My preference is the above. That said, honing the skill to controll the cut seems easier with a bevel over a seamlessly straight line. I have seen vids of people blending their own beeswax/polish mixture. Ever done something like that?

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  • 3 months later...
On 1/26/2023 at 12:33 PM, B-Man said:

 

I finally finished my new Fireplace.

 

What do you think ?

 

FnVp-v5WYBYmzHA?format=jpg&name=small

 

 

 

Get it installed in your living room and fire that baby up!

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  • 6 months later...
Crap Throwing Clavin

image.png.f6d030c69deab08e99c306e405ffdf99.png

 

If anyone's curious what a $300 pen looks like.  High-end German kit with some of the last of my old-growth Indian rosewood.  

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CarpetCrawler
5 hours ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

image.png.f6d030c69deab08e99c306e405ffdf99.png

 

If anyone's curious what a $300 pen looks like.  High-end German kit with some of the last of my old-growth Indian rosewood.  

 

Well crafted indeed, but as a lefty, I have to ask, will the ink smear as I write?

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Crap Throwing Clavin
5 minutes ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

Well crafted indeed, but as a lefty, I have to ask, will the ink smear as I write?

 

Probably, yes.  

 

It's a fountain pen, so it depends on the ink you put in it.  I've never seen ink in a fountain pen that didn't smear...but it may exist.  I've never looked.

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CarpetCrawler
21 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

Probably, yes.  

 

It's a fountain pen, so it depends on the ink you put in it.  I've never seen ink in a fountain pen that didn't smear...but it may exist.  I've never looked.

 

I'm strictly a needlepoint gel ink guy these days. Nice fine line, dries quickly, no smearing, and one cartridge lasts a long time. 

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6 hours ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

image.png.f6d030c69deab08e99c306e405ffdf99.png

 

If anyone's curious what a $300 pen looks like.  High-end German kit with some of the last of my old-growth Indian rosewood.  

Where did you get the wood from? 

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Crap Throwing Clavin
2 minutes ago, Fansince88 said:

Where did you get the wood from? 

 

 

That pen's a prototype of the one I'm making out of the teak I have from the deck of the North Carolina.  I've got to drill a 37/64" hole in a 3/4" square blank, so I have no room for error, and only one piece of teak.  

 

So I've made about five of these out of scrap wood and spare tubes.  This is the first I've completed the full pen.

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Crap Throwing Clavin
6 hours ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

image.png.f6d030c69deab08e99c306e405ffdf99.png

 

If anyone's curious what a $300 pen looks like.  High-end German kit with some of the last of my old-growth Indian rosewood.  

 

And I've just discovered that the wood has cracked (which I've never seen this rosewood do, it's so dense and tight-grained.)  So now I have to take the whole thing apart, repair it, and refinish it.  :classic_angry:

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11 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

And I've just discovered that the wood has cracked (which I've never seen this rosewood do, it's so dense and tight-grained.)  So now I have to take the whole thing apart, repair it, and refinish it.  :classic_angry:

Had that happen with a segmented pen I did from an oat tree and redwood porch board. While for me not an expensive issue the time put into segmenting the pieces is a bit of a letdown. Did about 5 recycled plastic pens. Those will blow out if you dont get all the air out. Had a Bills zumbas design that blew out when I was making the last few cuts. Turning can turn from, wow this is going to be beautiful to oh crap thats not good in a second. I love it!

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2 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

I'm strictly a needlepoint gel ink guy these days. Nice fine line, dries quickly, no smearing, and one cartridge lasts a long time. 


Same here.

They don’t smear tough they do run if you use a highlighter over what you’ve written.

 

I remember when erasable ink pens first came out when I was in grammar school, what a mess those made for lefties.

 

Hell, I really like to write with a pencil.

 

 

 

 

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CarpetCrawler
53 minutes ago, snafu said:


Same here.

They don’t smear tough they do run if you use a highlighter over what you’ve written.

 

I remember when erasable ink pens first came out when I was in grammar school, what a mess those made for lefties.

 

Hell, I really like to write with a pencil.

 

 

 

 

 

I definitely know what you mean about the highlighter.

 

Have you seen the new (well, new to me at least) graphite alloy pencils? They say one will last as long as 500 pencils and you don't have to sharpen it. I bought one, I don't use pencils often but I've been using this more and more and I like it.

 

70

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8 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

I definitely know what you mean about the highlighter.

 

Have you seen the new (well, new to me at least) graphite alloy pencils? They say one will last as long as 500 pencils and you don't have to sharpen it. I bought one, I don't use pencils often but I've been using this more and more and I like it.

 

70


I’m going to check that out. 
Though I kind of like to whittle a point with a pocket knife. 

 

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