Hey guys, Im back and wanted to say hi, I have finally gotten a lathe. The new Jet midi lathe (12″X20″) and boy is it sweet. This is probably one of the best gifts I have gotten, and I am having so much fun turning. Ill try and get some pictures or videos up soon. Also I have decided to start selling some of my smaller products (i.e. pens, pencils, bowls, plates, boxes, frames, etc.) at the local Farmers’ Market and am hoping that I can actually do live demos on my lathe there too. By the way, if any of you have leftover scraps of some nice woods, or pen blanks and what not, it would help out a bunch for starting up. Thanks, now back to lurking 🙂
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Pics!!!
Scott.
Good for you!
now start saving your pennies for accessories- chucks, tools, more tools, wood, more wood...
anybody with a lathe who pays for wood isn't serious.. especially a little mini.
What do you propose a teenager in the city to do, to procure nice turning wood?
Its what guys in my turning club refer to as "road kill"
even in a city, there's trees being cut down, and lots of times you can get some of it just by asking the tree guys.
and if you get friendly with a local tree guy ( like give him a tip, or a turning, or some beer), he'll remember you, and let you know when he gest some really good stuff, like burls or crotches
Mike there are a lot of sources for turning wood.. how many trees will be cut down? how many crates will be tossed out? pallets and scrap wood.. I toss out any piece less than 4 feet long even s
Green wood is fine for turning.. it carves easier than dried wood does and then there are all sorts of ways to keep it from splitting, warping, etc.. Go over to fine wood working for examples (caution there are some who are rather strong advocates of particular methods and they will try to make their way seem like the only way)
I've got 3 lathes.
Sometimes I can't help myself from buying wood. I turn a fair amount of "road kill" (see my post to Mike Maines for the definition), but I also do quite a bit of spindle turning, where its not so easy to get the material I need as road kill, especially dried.
I also buy a few exotics for wine stoppers and other small turnings. Cocobolo, kingwood, lignum vitae, are some I have. I even have a small piece of pink ivory, which was quite expensive.
But for a beginning turner, getting road kill is about the best way to go. If you screw up, it doesn't cost you anything but your time.
I just had a full size truck load of Mimosa and Bradford Pear brought in from ice storm clean up...want some? I can rough out about any size you may want.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
right now, no. But thanks.
I've got several hundred BF of white oak and cherry that's going to have to be moved in the next couple of months. I don't need to be accumulating more "stuff" right now. LOL
Is Mimosa good for anything? I just got done cleaning up the ashes from burning some in the back yard.
Dunno...wide rings, moderate weight. Checks easily.
First I've had it in mass q.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I know it's weak and checks, but it is also commonly toxic. Mine attracts humming birds all summer.http://www.mimf.com/archives/toxic.htm
"Is Mimosa good for anything?"I hear it's dandy with breakfast.
Yeah, I was talking about the wood, not the drink. Sounds tasty.
The last time I tried using some Momosa it went in the wood stove about 1/2 through the project. It seemed to have very small cells that went all the way through the wood like a straw and you could blow through it almost.
The trunk I picked up a few years before was some of the best turning wood. If I had that trunk now I would be more prone to take it to the sawmill.
Here is a shot of the only peice I still have left that I remember..
Wow! Obviously it can be made into more than compost or ashes.
Beautiful.
Maybe I'll save the bigger hunks. It is heavier than I expected, and darker too.
The limbs are all sap wood, much lighter, resembles Catalpa.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
For turning green wood is the way to go but you have to learn the drying process for the different woods. Yes the Mimosa is close in color to catalpa but usually darker. About 18 years ago I got a Mimosa trunk that was 32" diam. 6' length and I think that vase was from that trunk? Most of the time they are pretty spindly and small and have to get some size to them to have much other than sap wood. I have made a lot out of fire wood with lots of spalting. But if it is split into fire wood already your size is very limited. Here was some hackberry for fire wood that had not been split and some cutoff from some maple, the cocobolo had been purchased at one time and it was a leftover from other project.
http://www.woodcentral.com/contests/turning1/
click on the box in the center to view the winners, then click on the 3rd place entry #332 Firewood!
Good luck
Cool.
It ain't split..I have 30'' long x 14-16'' dia. Some crotch, some with bugs/rot/spalt.
Lots and lots of Hackberry here, nasty stringy stuff.
Gonna open up some of the Pear and see what it does, pretty hard and heavy for it's size..about 8" dia.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Hackberry is what I used for my japanese lantern
here is my second attempt at turning, only a little better then the first, this is actually a still from a video that I am hoping to post on my site soon, As of now I'm turning some framing lumber that I cut square, then turned to have some fun. Pine will have to do for now :)http://www.cocoboloboy.webs.com
I started out much the same. I made my first lathe, a crude spring-pole lathe, all wood. Then I swapped something for a tube bed lathe, that I eventually added another tube to so I could turn bed head and foot rails.
My lathe as it sits now is wanting a motor and tool rest..I got rid of the older stuff.
Practice turing a cylinder as straight as you can get it, then you can learn some tricks like skewing a handplane on the cylinder to really get it straight, and grind one side of an open end wrench to like a chisel, you can plunge it into the cylinder and make perfectly sized tennons...round rail and tapered spindle beds can sell easily.
Maybe I can scan a pic later and post it of a really cool cherry bed I once made.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Sphere,I have an extra lathe motor and tool rest if you want them. No charge.KK
Really?
Damm Skippy. I got the lathe from DougU ( who has since vanished from BT) and it came w/out all the parts.
Is the rest for a tube or flat bed w/slot? I got the flat bed w/slot.
Emailed a guy on CL about a 1/2 HP Baldor, he acknowledged he had it still and then I heard nothing back from him about an addy.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I think the rest is tube. Motor is about 1/2 GE, needs a cord. Shoot me a mail addy and I'll send both.KK
On the way..Thanks man.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
A gift like that is like my daughter giving my wife 1 place setting of Lenox china. I got to keep on "giving" and "giving" till the DW had 16 place settings!! (Some gifts just keep on "taking" & "taking".:)
Andy,
I have some scraps of purpleheart, cherry. old longleaf, something that looks like a mahogany ( dunnage from metal roof shipping). Send me mailing addy.
KK
You rock coonass, check ur inboxhttp://www.cocoboloboy.webs.com