Woodworking Projects

Radiotower · 10-05-2011 9:12pm #1

Was out of work again for a while so got another little project made.

Originally I wasn't going to use the Roman numerals as I had used mahogany plugs at the hour marks but the apple tree wood was darker than I thought especially with all the knots. Then I added the barometer at the bottom just to add a little something.

Tell me what you think. I have a few more project in the pipeline but back working now so they are on the back burner. Hoping to add more photos when I get round to making the few bits and pieces.

slowburner · 12-05-2011 9:13am

Cool. I think the barometer balances the piece nicely. Did you have to take the plugs out again or are they still behind the numerals?

Paul.C · 12-05-2011 12:52pm

nice job

Radiotower · 12-05-2011 5:07pm

Thanks guys.

Yeah slowburner the plugs are still behind the roman numerals - they were self adhesive so stuck them on to see what they looked like - I liked them but my wife didn't - she rathered it the original way. Thought I'd get a few opinions here, thats why i showed both pics. I should have tried to get darker wood but mahogany is what i had close to hand. For 12,3,6 & 9 I used a 16mm plug and for the other hour makes i used 10mm plugs.

Hadn't planned on the barometer but when i was picking up the roman numerals I seen it and thought it would look well in it.

slowburner · 16-05-2011 10:53am

I like the look of the plugs but it'd be a bit hard to read the time - maybe you could stain the plugs or fit darker (Ebony) ones ?

Radiotower · 18-05-2011 2:50pm

I thought about trying to stain them but feared I'd make a mess of the whole thing.

When I was picking up the Roman numerals I seen they had a pack of ebony blanks for making pen sets and I thought that's be the right job for it - I think they were a fiver. The problem is drilling out the old plugs exactly so that there's none of the mahogany left behind - I'd prob be ok at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 marks cos I drilled a pilot hole through but for the other marks it might be a bit trickier!! I'll leave it for now but might re-visit it when I finish the next piece - hopefully the bank holiday weekend.

slowburner · 18-05-2011 9:20pm

Radiotower wrote: »

I thought about trying to stain them but feared I'd make a mess of the whole thing.

When I was picking up the Roman numerals I seen they had a pack of ebony blanks for making pen sets and I thought that's be the right job for it - I think they were a fiver. The problem is drilling out the old plugs exactly so that there's none of the mahogany left behind - I'd prob be ok at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 marks cos I drilled a pilot hole through but for the other marks it might be a bit trickier!! I'll leave it for now but might re-visit it when I finish the next piece - hopefully the bank holiday weekend.

You're wise. I wish I was patient enough to put projects aside and come back to them. It wouldn't be too big a deal to drill out the old plugs if you had a drill press and some good Forstner bits, though.

MyNameIsMethos · 19-05-2011 9:31pm

Making a table. It has been three months now... I swear I'm only taking so long because I'm aging the wood!

slowburner · 20-05-2011 1:05pm

It's an antique already

artycrafty · 22-05-2011 11:35pm

I love the orientation of the wood, just the right balance. I would like to have seen black numerals, they would really stand out against the wood. Nice job all the same.

Radiotower · 06-06-2011 10:38pm

Mark 3

Drilled out mahonagy plugs and inserted african ebony

Happy with the results

Radiotower · 06-06-2011 10:50pm

While I was at it over the weekend, I also made this picture frame out of another piece of apple tree I had lying around.

slowburner · 07-06-2011 11:00am

Radiotower wrote: »

Mark 3

Drilled out mahonagy plugs and inserted african ebony

Happy with the results

I think that worked out well

Will · 08-06-2011 6:23pm

Here's an in progress piece. It's Amboyna Burl and about 8" in diameter, 3" tall. Pretty nifty!

slowburner · 08-06-2011 9:48pm

I'd say that burr cost a shekel or two.
Are you about to reverse it for hollowing? If that recess is for the chuck jaws, I'm envious of your chuck's accuracy. I need a minimum recess depth of about 4 mm and even then, things go walkabout.

Some people get all uppity when they don't see people using bowl saver systems. Can't see the point myself (i.e. can't afford it):p

Will · 09-06-2011 12:07am

Yeah gonna hollow it out tomorrow morning most likely. Was just marking off the recess. I'd love to get my hands on a bowl saver system but like you said yourself they're quite expensive, and also unsure as to whether I'd actually save much from such a bowl of it's size.

slowburner · 23-06-2011 10:08pm

How's the bowl going?

Will · 24-06-2011 6:57am

I actually haven't cored it out yet, was busy making a display piece for a jeweler who is entering a piece into the national craft competition. Got it finished late last night. It's a piece of walnut, lidded box basically. The jewellery sits atop the raised piece on the inside. I since inlayed in some silver and citrine which will hold the piece in place, should get more/better pics once the weekend is over and done with

Will · 27-06-2011 6:48pm

Here's some pictures with the piece of jewellery in it. The medallion is made by Jlb Jewellery. I can't remember the name of the photographer, will find out.

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slowburner · 27-06-2011 7:38pm

Beautiful work. Really beautiful.
The bowl's not too bad either

fergal.b · 27-06-2011 7:45pm

They complement each other very well nice work.

Will · 27-06-2011 8:40pm

Thanks a lot, first time I made a lidded bowl/box. Yeah I'm very happy with how they worked out, hopefully she will win something in the craft competition

Radiotower · 27-06-2011 10:50pm

Really nice job.
I have a bit to go till i get to that level

.

jack of all · 28-06-2011 9:40am

Nice work there, by both parties, well done!

shrubs · 28-06-2011 8:23pm

Will, that is really nice, i love the grain and shape of the walnut!

Will · 30-06-2011 12:01am

Yeah was pretty lucky with the grain as it frames the raised bit quite nicely.

Will · 02-08-2011 6:47pm

Decided to finish this today. Amboyna burl. Still needs a small bit of refinement.

Paul.C · 02-08-2011 9:57pm

wow, very good work Will. How do you turn oval shapes?

Paul.C · 02-08-2011 10:14pm

This actually makes me want to impulse buy a lathe

Will · 02-08-2011 10:19pm

Paul.C wrote: »

wow, very good work Will. How do you turn oval shapes?

Cheers. You can buy a special attachment for a lathe/chuck I believe that makes turning ovals simple as (. To be honest I'm unsure how to turn ovals to an exact dimension but what I've done in the past is round out a piece, then just put it off centre on the chuck.

Here's a link that seems to explain it better than I ever could - http://www.volmer---ovaldrehen.de/_private/6Methods%20of%20Ovalturning.html

slowburner · 03-08-2011 8:48pm

Paul.C wrote: »

wow, very good work Will. How do you turn oval shapes?

Just wondering what's the oval you mention - or do my eyes need testing?

Will · 03-08-2011 9:10pm

slowburner wrote: »

Just wondering what's the oval you mention - or do my eyes need testing?

Maybe he thinks the bowl is an oval due to the angle of the picture I took?

slowburner · 03-08-2011 9:27pm

Will wrote: »

Maybe he thinks the bowl is an oval due to the angle of the picture I took?

Ah good, that's a relief.
Mind you, my bowls often end up oval - and not by design.

Will · 03-08-2011 9:28pm

Throw up some pics will you please? I don't know any other woodturners so rarely get to see other's work. Oval bowls by accident?

Paul.C · 03-08-2011 9:31pm

slowburner wrote: »

Just wondering what's the oval you mention - or do my eyes need testing?

Ye I did think it was oval TBH but then I had a re-look at the photos before and copped they were circular. Still they do look quality. Also had a look at that oval turning link. Looks fairly complicated. I think I will look into that again in a few years after I have mastered the basics:)

Radiotower · 04-08-2011 12:16pm

This is something I made last year when out of work. It was fairly ambitious considering I hadn't made anything since my leaving cert about 14 years previous - my wife thought I'd arrive back with something like Homer Simpson would make with 6" nails sticking out of it everywhere!! Got me a taste for it but back working now thankfully and dont have the time to head up the country to my fathers workshop (also the baby takes up alot of time!!!).

Thats why the last two thing I made (the clock and picture frame) have been pretty basic in comparison.

slowburner · 04-08-2011 12:21pm

Very fine work indeed, that I'm sure will be passed down through generations - what's the timber?

Radiotower · 04-08-2011 12:32pm

Its mahogany - made from old window frames taken out of the parents house. Finished with tung oil.

Thats the plan to pass it down - a new family heirloom.

How it started out in life.. Involved a bit of jointing as the widest piece I could get out of the window frame was 65mm!!

jack of all · 04-08-2011 12:37pm

Very nice work, especially nice to reclaim wood that usually ends up on the fire!

slowburner · 04-08-2011 12:52pm

Radiotower wrote: »

Its mahogany - made from old window frames taken out of the parents house. Finished with tung oil.

Thats the plan to pass it down - a new family heirloom.

How it started out in life.. Involved a bit of jointing as the widest piece I could get out of the window frame was 65mm!!

This makes the work all the more interesting. There is so much more dull work involved using reclaimed stuff. More power to your elbow

jack of all · 04-08-2011 1:10pm

@Radiotower, would you mind sharing how you reclaimed the wood? I've reclaimed some old mahogany and teak joinery myself and found it very labour intensive. With some old pub tables which were covered in multiple layers of lacquer/ varnish I've used a scrub plane to quickly remove the bulk of bad finish before I could pass it over a planer and thickness etc.

slowburner · 04-08-2011 1:22pm

Will wrote: »

Throw up some pics will you please? I don't know any other woodturners so rarely get to see other's work. Oval bowls by accident?

Yes. If a blank isn't properly seasoned and you turn it then let it dry, the bowl can end up oval.
I'm having a lot of trouble uploading pics at the moment - if I just paste the images they come up as gobbledygook. Will try again later.
[Embedded Image Removed][Embedded Image Removed]

Radiotower · 04-08-2011 1:28pm

Jack,
It was labour intensive alright - the worst part was getting the glass out and removing the old putty. I wouldn't really call it reclaiming the wood as once I the glass removed and had it broken down into single lenghts I passed it through the table saw to cut to the required thicknesses - well a little thicker, than ran them through the thicknesser. So I'd say its more recycling than reclaiming.

Will · 04-08-2011 1:52pm

Wow that bowl is amazing! Love the colour you applied/stained and I can see some of the grain which looks intense. Wow! Lovely work! Is it a two piece item? Looks awesome. The vessels are pretty cool too

Uploading pictures you can go to imgur.com or pix.ie and upload them. It will give you a code for forums or just a direct image link. Would love to see more, very impressive

slowburner · 04-08-2011 6:43pm

Will wrote: »

Wow that bowl is amazing! Love the colour you applied/stained and I can see some of the grain which looks intense. Wow! Lovely work! Is it a two piece item? Looks awesome. The vessels are pretty cool too

Uploading pictures you can go to imgur.com or pix.ie and upload them. It will give you a code for forums or just a direct image link. Would love to see more, very impressive

Thanks Will.
The green bowl is Birch - a wood that is underused in my opinion, but it can be moody. It is fixed to an Ash stand.
I'll try that imgur.com method of uploading - is it better than using the Boards 'manage attachments' system? Sometimes i can just drag and drop an image onto the post - sometimes not

Will · 04-08-2011 7:45pm

yeah the boards one is fierce slow and cumbersome. imgur and pix.ie are specifically made for image hosting

slowburner · 04-08-2011 9:08pm

Will wrote: »

yeah the boards one is fierce slow and cumbersome. imgur and pix.ie are specifically made for image hosting

How do I get the images from imgur and pix to a post I'm about to make on Boards - can I drag & drop?

Alun · 04-08-2011 9:11pm

In pix.ie, if you click on one of your photos, at the bottom you'll see a section entitled "To link to this photo from another website:" and at the bottom is a box headed "Forums". Copy and paste the text in that box and Bob's you uncle.

Alun · 04-08-2011 9:20pm

Here's a couple of a lidded box in yew I just made as an example. If you click on them, you can see the larger versions ...

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17370FA882CC410EA0D17DBC271C2342-0000318860-0002469992-00240L-00000000000000000000000000000000.jpg

Paul.C · 04-08-2011 9:40pm

very nice work again slowburner. Some nifty skills applied with turning those skinny handles. Id say you were praying they didnt snap off.:p

Im not really used to seeing such small pieces of wood transform into artwork like that.

I think my minds made up, a lathe wile be going on the list now for sure. I think it might just overtake my dewalt 1/2 router for fav tool topspot:D

Again lads, keep up the good work. Oh and I use photobucket for my own uploads. Very easy once you do it once

slowburner · 04-08-2011 9:41pm

Top notch wood turning. Simple, clean lines but with well thought out proportions - just what Yew needs. Any more detail would detract from the wonderful figure of the wood.
Two things show your skill level 1. no crazing on the Yew from heavy sanding and 2. the quality of the finish (Carnauba wax?)

I uploaded to pix but can't see the dialogue you mentioned.

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