"The Sand Shark" 6th turning and lots of new things!!!!

[Dewey Torres]

For any who may have not been tracking my fiasco, I have been in a battle with: turning form, photos, finish, and god knows what else.

But on this turning...and you knew it was coming. Sand Shark Inlay:cool:

Got my Beall buffing system today and WOW!!! love it!:cool: (first project using it)

The form may not be flattering because I had to keep it as linear as possible to inlay the length of the shark. I did this free hand and it was not easy but rewarding none the less (for me anyway). (first free form inlay on a curved object)

Also downloaded editing software and I seem to be getting better although far from perfect on the photos. (if you haven't seen my earlier photos...spare yourself).:o

Turning is Maple center with Jatoba accents on the sides and walnut inlay for the sand shark.

I hate to keep posting bottle stoppers but I am doing these to get my feel for my turning tools (without breaking the bank on firewood) and I will turn quite a few more before I move on to something else. Somebody say "when" and I will just start putting them in my album.

Comments welcome and thanks for looking.

[Billy Tallant]

Dewey,

The shark looks great!!! I haven't progressed to a point that I can even think about an inlay like that. So to me it seems complicated. I've inlayed turquoise onto antler belt buckle but that was easy due to flat work. Inlaying into curved surface is beyond me at this point... Looks great though!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dewey....Great bottlestopper. Don't feel bad about doing bottlestoppers. They are mileage and that's what every turner needs....mileage. You will really appreciate the Beal buffing system on all your projects. It makes a tremendous difference! Keep at it Dewey!

[Jeff Nicol]

Dewey, Very cool! You are on your way to stardom!

Keep at it!!!

Jeff

[Gerold Griffin]

Dewey; GREAT !!!!! Love the shark inlay. I have no inlay experience and was wondering if you would care to enlighten me? Outstanding job, very well done.

[Tony De Masi]

Very impressive Dewey. Inlay can be tough on flat stock so I can't imagine how difficult is was on round stock.

Tony

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dewey - very nice work! I think that is the first inlay I have ever seen on a bottle stopper! Plus - it really looks like a shark! How cool is that?

With the Beall buffing system - always make sure you have a good grip on the turning and that you present it to the wheel so that it is somewhere around the 7 to 8 o'clock position when viewing the buffing wheel from the end of the lathe. Buffing wheels have been known to grab your turning and rip them out of your hand if you are not paying attention the entire time. Could ruin the rest of your day!

With the photo - about the only thing I want to bring to your attention is the actual size. Remember we are limited to 800x600 pixels and 107.7 kb max file size for jpg. Other than that - just keep playing with the different features in the software and see what they do! Remember - if you have any questions - ask!

Nice work! You're new to turning and already doing things I have never seen before! Keep up the good work!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

BTW Dewey....I know a guy who paid for his entire shop and all of his tools by turning and selling bottlestoppers and pens. He doesn't turn them anymore....but I can assure you he's one of, if not the best turner I have ever personally met...he teaches and lectures and turns nothing but art now.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Dewey I must say that is a beauty. I really like the inlay. Don't worry about showing bottle stoppers. I bought my Jet 1220 VS with the sales of bottle stoppers believe it or not. 35 of them for a average of $25 apiece. So keep'em coming Dewey.

[Ken Glass]

Dewey,
Bottle stoppers at Christmas time are a bonanza. I often give them to a few choice friends and its like chumming in a Sea of Tuna. This year I sold close to 1K of stoppers and could have sold more. All around $25-$35 each. Keep-um coming, you will get better and learn with each one you turn. Oh, yeah, great looking Stopper and a super idea with the inlay, that will probably be copied by others. (HINT)

[Kirk Miller]

Dewey very nice work. I had thought about doing something similar to that. Thats all Just thought about it........lol I have a work related trip in March to the East Coast and will be attending a rod building gathering one weekend while I am there. One of the guys builds EVA rod handles with inlays in them. His work is incredible. It is the same concept on a different medium so I will pay close attention. If I pick up any tips I will pass them on. I imagine it is like anything, it only requies 3 things.....Practice, Practice Practice.......lol

[Don Carter]

Dewey:
I don't know what it is about wine drinkers and why they want a stopper to close a perfectly good bottle of wine.;)

I love the shark inlay. You attention to detail will go far in this turning vortex. I wish I had your skill and your eye for detail.

Ken is right, mileage is the way to exercise your turning muscles.

All the best.

Don

[Brian Effinger]

Dewey, that is a great bottle stopper, and there is nothing wrong with posting them. The inlay looks great - it even appears to have an eye and mouth. I would have never thought of that. One comment though, and its not about the work, the photo still has a little hint of red to it. Of course that could just be my monitor, since I haven't calibrated it yet.
Keep up the good work. :)

[Dave Halter]

Dewey,
Great looking stopper. Okay, I gotta ask since you said we should have expected it. Does the sand shark have something to do with the Navy? Second question. How did you do the inlay? By hand or with a router? Did you do the inlay then turn the stopper?

Dave

[Dewey Torres]

Dewey,
Great looking stopper. Okay, I gotta ask since you said we should have expected it. Does the sand shark have something to do with the Navy? Second question. How did you do the inlay? By hand or with a router? Did you do the inlay then turn the stopper?

Dave

I turned the stopper then inlaid it.

The sand shark was just a cool shape I saw somewhere on the net..nothing to do with the Navy.

Should have expected it because I put at least some inlay or marquetry on every piece I make. It is not just a tag line... it is my trademark. If you look in my album you will see one piece that I turned which was a Christmas ornament that does not have any...It is also not finished. I finished it tonight and yes...now it has inlay. I will post tomorrow once the finish is dry and ready for pics.

Next time I do one like this I will take some pics and show how I did it.

Does anyone have any ideas on what the next inlay shape should be? Maybe I will try your idea next!

[David Christopher]

Dewey, that is very nice. you are definetly getting the hang of it..keep on turning

[Jim Kountz]

Dewey ol boy you're coming right along. I think you're right too, Everything IS better with inlay and marquetry!!