Mushroom?

[John Trax]

I started turning mushrooms from branch wood to practice my Skew skills without chewing up 'real' wood. 2" to 5" diameter with corresponding height. I was just doing it to practice and because it really did not matter how they turned out, I could always say that was what I intended. Now the LOML has decided they are incredibly 'cute' and wants me to make a bunch so she can sell them at the farmer's market. Anyone have any experience with mushrooms? Is it possible to actually sell these things? I can't see any value in them myself and while I'm enjoying the practice I really don't need 500 hundred of them.

[Dewey Torres]

They must be because I have a video on how to make them although these were mushroom boxes. If you wife thinks they are "cute" they will probably sell.

[Ron Crosby]

John, this guy sells them for $3.00 a pop.

http://www.aroundthewoods.com/mushroom.shtml

[Steve Schlumpf]

John - if your wife is happy with your mushrooms - don't argue! Make her as many as she wants to get started and turn her loose! You just never know!

When I first started turning I made a bunch of candle holders out of spalted white birch. Each evening when I finished I would bring the new turnings up from the shop and place it on the kitchen table - to show it off. After about a week of this I noticed all my turnings had disappeared. Figured my wife had gotten tired of looking at them and did something with them.

Well, she took them to work with her and that evening handed me a check and said "See, I told you these would sell!" Wow, cool, who would have thought? :D

[Scott Lux]

They sell strangely well. When I started turning, I started making them as practice pieces too. My wife (a "foody") loved them. So did several friends of hers. I sell mine for $3 each or 3 for $8. And I've sold dozens of them. A trio of shrooms seems to be evocative and whimsical.

If you find a branch that's bigger, make one 10"-14" tall, poly the heck out of it, and put a nail or spike in the bottom. Drive it in the ground under a tree and wait for your spouses reaction. :D

Lux

[John Trax]

Scott,
My wife is a "foody" as well. Bakes for the county fair, watches every food TV show there is etc. She just finished entering the Pillsbury Baking Contest.

She is usually pretty good about knowing what will sell. I just can't wrap my head around selling a wooden mushroom. I've got a field guide with lots of mushroom pictures in it. Now I'm trying out different shapes to match various kinds of mushrooms rather than just turning at will.

[Reed Gray]

There is a turner from Salem, Walt Theis, and he went to Washington DC for a month or so to turn them at the Smithsonian. They do sell. They can be made as ornamental, or boxes. If you turn green ones, do microwave them.
robo hippy

[John Trax]

Ron,

Good link! Those look a lot like mine except I think mine are bigger and I turn them top to headstock. Not sure that makes any difference but I'll try it the other way round next time and see. I've been finishing in a bucket of turners oil. I'm turning red alder and western maple, which is what I found in the yard after the snow melted. The alder dries very life like the maple a little too white to look realistic

[David Drickhamer]

I've made a ton of the things and everyone seems to like them although I usually just give them away to friends.

One thing I do is to create a texture under the cap with a chatter tool.

I figure any turning is good therapy.:rolleyes:

Dave

[Brian McInturff]

Now that's interesting. Turn a Mushroom. Never even thought about it. I can see where it would make for good practice. I might have to give it a try - not to sell- but for the practice. Sounds good. Thanks!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

John I get $3.50 for them and they sell pretty well. Just make'em and let the wife sell them.

[Eugene Wigley]

I think it takes a couple of new gouges, a new skew, a new chuck. a texturing tool and...
Just kidding. I am new to turning. That sounds like good practice. Thanks for the idea.

[Thom Sturgill]

Our club president showed a class on turning them and said they sell very well, but said to sell them in groups of three (you pick the groups). That way you do not get all of your best ones taken first. Also, if they split open do not worry about it - mushrooms do that too!

He turns the cap and stem separately, and we did offset turning on the stems. I only made the one, and didn't put any finish on it, but it was snapped up by my DIL, who asked if I was going to turn more!

[skott nielsen]

I am a beginner and have turned mushrooms as my practice pieces. It incorporates a lot of basic skills but I have great trouble with the undercut of the mushroom cap. Given that it is endgrain it should be turned from the center to the rim but the stem is in the way. I have tried rim to stem as well. I blow up about half my attempts with this cut using a quarter inch spindle gouge. Any suggestions? By the way everybody seems to love these things even though I just keep em around to dry enough for kindling.

biglakerider

[john taliaferro]

i took some cracked bowls out and placed them on some nice maple logs standing on end . the maple was splated nice so i thought :rolleyes: slow it maybe dry some. they dissepeared. i found only one on my sons frount porch .john t

[Kyle Iwamoto]

What the wife wants, the wife gets..... If she wants you to turn mushrooms, what are you complaining about!?!?! LOL

I picked up a book, Mini Lathe Magic, and he goes into some detail on making mushrooms. Eccentric mushrooms too. I never turned one, the wife saw the pics, and was not impressed. Maybe I should though....

[John Trax]

Skott,

I ground a 3/4" scraper to fit the shape I wanted under the cap. Sort of a tight left hooked kinda thing. Looks strange but it works like a charm. I turn the stem to the shape I want and then use the scraper under the cap to hollow out. Then use the skew to turn the top of the cap to the shape I want right down to parting off. Since this is all green wood it turns quick and easy.

I started this just because I needed something to practice the skew with. I'm still no where near where I want to be but I am starting to feel more comfortable and amazed at what you can do with a skew once the hands learn how.

[Clara Koss]

:eek: some of you should post your mushrooms... never seen 'em...

[John Trax]

Sorry Clara, I've been waiting for someone to tell me 'no picture, it didn't happen'. I'll get right on that!

[John Trax]

Ok,

Here are the mushroom pictures, the two whiter ones in the back are maple the rest are red alder. Sorry about the background I guess I should iron that sheet. The caps are hollowed out to about an eighth on average. The light glows right through them. The fuzzys on some is moss. The branches were covered with it and I thought it looked nice so I left it on. These are 'rustic' not a glossy finished item.


115954

115955

[russell dietrich]

These are my prototypes. Mounted butterfly & dragonfly with piano wire.

[Dan Forman]

Here is one from a batch that I did for bottle stoppers. It's about 2" high, much smaller than the pic. I blew up a few doing the hollow under the cap too. I re-ground a 1/2" round nose scraper to a tighter, asymmetrical curve, and had better luck with that than with the detail spindle gouge I used at first. Still a touchy business with small pieces like this however.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/P1020172.jpg

Dan

[Mark Norman]

Veddy nice Dan! I like it!

[Ruth Niles]

:eek: some of you should post your mushrooms... never seen 'em...

This is my first attempt at posting pictures so I hope I did it right. I've done mushrooms for ......goodness....15 yrs.! These are toothpick holders and sell great. I do a lot that are just plain and I carve gills under the cap.

[Steve Mawson]

Ruth,
Pictures are great as well as the shrooms.