This is a handful of things I turned during November, when my post-surgery lifting restriction prevented me from working on anything larger. The first three items are all pieces of chokecherry - I think they were all the same branch, even.
First is a small bowl. Outer diameter is 5 inches or 120mm. Wall thickness is about 3/16 inch or 4.5mm, and I managed to get the undercut matching the outside shape pretty well by “cheating.” I hollowed the bowl before finish-turning the outside, then turned the outside down to get the final thickness. There is a small crack that opened in the bowl while turning, just to the left of the knot that’s visible, and then turning up to the top of the bowl. That’s been filled with sawdust and CA, but it prevented me from turning the walls any thinner, and you can see where multiple cracks formed in the rim near that.
Second is a small cup with a flared base. Was supposed to be a vase, but while turning it, a crack in the chokecherry let go, and it ended up being a shorter piece than I had originally imagined. But I got a red epoxy fill in the lower portions of the crack, which held together to make a cup. About 1 Cup (250ml) capacity, and again, about 3/16 inch thick (4.5mm) in finished form, though the base is quite a bit thicker, as I did minimal undercutting.
Third is a small vase / hollow form. About 3-4 inches tall (85mm). Another exercise in undercutting while hollowing. My laser-guided hollowing system from Simple Wood Tools got a workout again. Also about 3/16 inch thickness at the top, which seems to be my limit with this chokecherry. About this thickness, it goes from singing to a much harsher sound when turning, and if I don’t stop there, I suddenly get a piece with the inside bigger than the outside. But this piece came out nice. All three of these pieces were turned with the axis of turning running perpendicular to the pith of the branch, so there are two “knots” visible on each of these pieces, one on each side of the bowl. This orientation will lead to cracking, but if you catch that while turning and don’t blow up the piece, it makes for some pretty, I think.
Fourth, a pair of pulls for one of our blinds in the house where I stepped on the cheap plastic pull on the cord when the blinds were open. These are a little under 3 inches long, and made from some apple I have from my gnarly crabapple tree in my yard in Minneapolis. These pieces were from the trunk, just under a branch that was part of the cause of death of the tree (it broke off, leaving scar on the trunk that let in some infection). Crazy grain, eh?
The last two pieces I showed in a forum post about what to put in a rattle to make it rattle. A larger ring made of cherry and ash. Outer diameter is almost 7 inches, with the diameter of the torus being a little under an inch. Ruler included for scale. The ring was made of eight pieces of cherry, glued to a scrap of pine, then turned on a faceplate. I used a home-made tool with a ¼ inch piece of HSS ground to a U shape to cut the groove for the metal bits to ride in. The metal bits were pieces of a 8 penny nail, cut off with bolt cutters and filed so there were no sharp corners remaining. I closed up the ring using a piece of 3/32 ash I had left from some other project because I didn’t have another suitable cherry scrap handy.
And finally, a rock-maple and walnut dumbbell rattle, also with a ruler for scale. Rattly bits inside are 10-24 nuts. Two per end in a 20/16 diameter hollow. Final diameter of the ends is about 24/16, so I didn’t get the walls super-thin, but it makes a satisfying noise. Rock maple is a good wood for rattles.
Happy holidays, folks! The rattles will be going to the new neighbor baby, who was born early on December 4 (due date we were told was Dec 20, and the tung oil finish in the rattles will be cured then, so I guess they’ll be a Christmas present for the kid).
Very nice, Dave. I'll have to look for some crab apple. That gnarly grain is pretty nice.
You can speed up the curing of the tung oil by buffing with enough friction that it heats it up. I generally try to do that on the lathe but that might be a challenge with the shape of those pieces.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Thanks! It’s been 3 months since the surgery, and the doc gave me the “all clear” in mid-November, after I spent 3 months with a 10 pound lifting restriction. Could only carry one gallon of milk at a time for three months.
This crabapple tree died, basically, of old age. It was about 18 inches diameter at chest height, which is HUGE for an apple. Had a similarly overgrown apricot, but I didn’t get to keep any of the wood from that, as it rotted rather than drying.
The slab I have left is plain-sawn or flat-sawn, about 3” thick at the center. The bark has been peeled, and the slab is over 12” wide, so I “nibble” pieces off the edge of it using our little chainsaw before taking them to the bandsaw for further dimensioning. Even after having been down for 10 years, the wood still moves after cutting, so yield isn’t great, but these two small pieces were offcuts after making an apple-handled cane (they came from under the handle on the left of this picture).
Yeah. Our sunshine (even in mid-December) is strong enough to speed curing of tung oil too, but when we found out that the kid had been born last week (still don’t know the gender), I just figured I’ll take my time and have the rattles ready for Christmas, so no hurry needed. My biggest concern was getting the pores in the ash filled with oil and sawdust, so there wouldn’t bit any bits that would splinter later, and that done, so now it’s just curing this week, then I’ll buff them out on the buffing wheels, and maybe apply a little carnauba wax and hand them off.
Those are all mighty fine lathe creations Dave, very nice indeed. Your new little neighbor will be glad to accept your gift. Glad you got the All Clear and all is going well, but as Ron said "Don't overdo, let the surgery heal.", which is good advice. Take care ....
Barb, chokecherry typically doesn’t grow huge, but in bosques (basically river bottoms) here, it sometimes grows pretty large. It’s pretty wood though, like most fruitwoods. I’m sure you’ve got some in MO, just a matter of finding it.
Splint, I figure if it’s still in one piece, I can turn it. And if I can’t, I need either more practice or more epoxy. ;-)
Pottz, it’s fun stuff, and nice and hard. I’ve made a few tool handles from it, but most of what I have has so much figure I’m reluctant to use it on a tool only I will use and which will probably go in a $5 box at auction when I’m not around.
Thanks for the well-wishes all! I let my sweetie pick up the 40# bag of salt last time the water softener needed filling (last week), but I’ll probably get the next one in mid-January. Haven’t been on a motorcycle other than to move it from one side of the garage (summer mode) to the other (winter mode) when I poured the annual Sta*BIL into the tanks. And our one snowfall so far was so little that I just waited for it to melt. But I’ll be doing more as time goes on. I almost have gotten the pile of wood I got from the arborist back in March or April sorted and moved to the back of the shop, so I can at least get the BMW out if someone makes an offer on it. I’ll probably post it on the bulletin board at the local auto shop after the first of the year, and when the Harley dealer in town (also the best source of Kawasaki parts, strangely enough) puts up their “We buy used bikes!” sign in the spring, I may head down there to see if they’re interested.
it's hard when we get older and realize what we used to do and love we cant any more. then we need to realize it's time to get rid of those things we know we'll never use again. im at that point right now getting rid of stuff i have no use or need of anymore !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
