Show Me Your Progressive Pix

[Mike Cruz]

Ok, one thing that I know I can't really "see" yet is the best use of a chunk of wood for a turning.

SO! Please show me progressive pics that you have from chunk to rough out to finished piece. You don't need to post a million pics, but feel free to post as many as you like. Likewise, don't just post one project. Post as many different ones as you have pics of.

What I am looking for is the progression of:

1) A log

2) Your chainsaw cut up

3) Roughed out for the lathe

4) Finished piece

Of course any pics inbetween would be great, too! But what I am looking to learn here is how to visualize what kind of piece is best suited for/from a given chunk.

Thanks everyone!

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, come on! 78 views and no pics yet? You're killin' me...

[David E Keller]

Oh, come on! 78 views and no pics yet? You're killin' me...

Uh, it's dark here, and my extremely pregnant wife is asleep. If I were to crank up the chainsaw at this hour, my next moment of consciousness would be in the emergency room.

[Mike Cruz]

Maaaaaybe you've already done the picture taking on a previous project?....

Hey, if you cranked up the chainsaw, you'd have a weapon, some protection... never mind, they'd be nothing against a freshly awoken pregnant woman...

[Joe Shinall]

Uh, it's dark here, and my extremely pregnant wife is asleep. If I were to crank up the chainsaw at this hour, my next moment of consciousness would be in the emergency room.

I can second that, and mine's only 4 months...

[David E Keller]

I can second that, and mine's only 4 months...

We're due in less than three weeks... Uh oh, I think I heard her... Gotta go hide!:eek:

[Mike Cruz]

Great, just great, I'm making an honest effort to learn here, and I get hijacked by hormonal women and ankle biters! :D

[Jeff Nicol]

Mike, This is one of those questions that could be answerd in a thousand ways and still not get all that you seek. The wood has very little or no shape to it when we start, that relates to the finished piece. What I see and what Steve, Curt, Mike, Bernie, John, Leo, and on and on see may not be what your mind wants. We can give you pieces and processes to ponder, but you have to let what ends up in your hands come from within your mind and interpretation of what is and what is'nt. The process is looking at the wood and seeing something that you like and how you want that feature of grain, color, knot, void or crack to be placed on the turning. The piece of wood will most always dictate what shape of turning can be made from it, as 8x8x3 blank is most always going to be a bowl or short squat hollow form, a 5x5x10 can be a tall hollow form, a box or 2, a goblet, a vase, etc. When you have the log laying in front of you with the bark on it, there really is no way to know what lurks under the bark, we know that limbs create wild grain and feathers at the crotches, that cracks and bumps on the bark can be burl or bug, bird, mother nature damage that has been grown over by the bark. So making the first cut into the log can be where all the inspiration comes from, by what is revealed within. Once you can see what is inside by either cutting in half, cutting of an end to check for spalting, cutting into a crotch etc. you will now be able to envision what your eyes see and what type of turning could come out of the wood. There is no perfect science to it at all, for I have many times chucked up a piece of wood and had a thought in mind only to end up with nothing like what I had envisioned.

That all being said, just decide if it is a bowl, hollow form, plate, vase, or what ever you want. Orient the grain and color where you think it will come out best and start that thing spinning! I can post pictures if you like, but I have to find something that I have a running record of, most times I never have a before, during and after record of how the piece was made.

Good luck, and just close your eyes and see what appears to you,

Jeff

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, Jeff. I do realize that you need to use the force. I also realize that while there are certain parameters and ratios that make a piece "work", that this is an art, not a science. Thank you for that reminder and vote to just "do it"...it does help.

I guess what I am looking for lies in what you touched on... each chunk somewhat dictates what it could be. And I suppose that is what I'm interested in learning. By seeing what has been made from what chunks, I might get a better grasp of the process of transformation. By seeing what bowl, hollow form, vase, or gobblet came from what chunk, I hope to grasp the vision of at least a direction to take.

I do realize that there isn't one path, one right way, one possibility that could come from a chunk. That is, as you mentioned, up to he who holds the wood.

Thanks, again, for your input. Yes, I would love to see pics, but if you don't have them, I doubt I'll be able to see what your pieces started out as...after all, while I know some of you guys are good at making bowls out of chunks, I don't think any of you are good enough to reverse the process. ;)

[John Keeton]

Mike, I agree with much of what Jeff has said. I am just not at all sure that it is possible to verbalize how those decisions are made, and each person makes those assessments differently - and even differently as to each piece. In other words, the process may not always be the same for any individual turner.

I have said before that I approach the decision making differently than most in that I usually decide what I want to turn, and then scrounge through my stash to find a piece that will work. Of course, that requires a "stash", and it takes time to accumulate that. And, in my case, an investment as I buy most of my wood already dry, and I use a lot of burls.

I rarely take progress pics unless I anticipate posting a thread on the process. I did do a tutorial for another site on The Witch's Cauldron, and there are a series of pics there. But, for the sake of giving you some idea of what I do, here are some pics of a piece I did recently. I took these as I felt someone might be interested in how the lid was done.

For this piece, I knew the shape I wanted, I knew I wanted a natural edge all around, and I knew approximately the size of the piece. So, I went through the burls I have to find one that would permit me to extract the piece. That really is how I do the vast majority of my turnings.

Not sure it helps you, but my wife isn't pregnant:eek::eek::eek:, and I didn't have to crank up the chainsaw!:D So, at least you get one set of pics!

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156500&thumb=1&d=1279898255 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156500&d=1279898255)http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156501&thumb=1&d=1279898273 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156501&d=1279898273) 159146 159147http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156499&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1279896806 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156499&d=1279896806)

[Dennis Ford]

While I think that "just do it" is good advise, progress pictures are a good idea. I will try to remember to take some.
In my case, an interesting piece of wood often sits for hours, days or weeks until a design soaks through my hard head. After that, I want to make shavings fly and see results. It will take some planning to remember the camera.

[John Hart]

Mike...back in 2005, we sorta made a pact here to to exactly what you're suggesting. The pact held pretty good for quite a while and we saw lots of before and after pictures. Kinda dwindled away though.

I think that pact should be renewed.....it was always interesting to see what people started with....even if it was just a block of wood.

[Jack Mincey]

I don't usually take progress pic's, but this was such an unusual piece of wood the excitement got me to take a few pic's as I worked it up. I will post another pic today of the set sanded and ready for finish when I get the last two bowls sanded and the foot turned off.
Jack
The burl.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1526.jpg
The burl cut into blanks. Some of the blanks have already been move behind my shop for storage.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1528.jpg
Blank roughed out for coring.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1564.jpg
Coring out the last nature edge bowl from the blank
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1566.jpg
Cored set of nature edge bowls. I also got two none nature edge bowls from this blank.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1569.jpg

[John Hart]

Wow!! Nice Pictures Jack!

[Roger Chandler]

Now that is a burl! Really nice wood, and much appreciation for you sharing that with the rest of us!

[Frank Van Atta]

Here's an example of turning a gull wing bowl from a log:

First, the log;
http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/GullLog.jpg
Then cut the basic shape with a chainsaw - so there is less wood to turn off - and cut a tenon on the bottom;
http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/Gull1stCut.jpg
Rough turn the wings and shape the bowl;
http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/GullTurnWing.jpg
Final shaping and first sanding;
http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/GullTurnWing2.jpg
Inlay turquoise;
http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/GullTurq.jpg
Complete the sanding, finish, and remove tenon;
http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/GullDone.jpg

[Roger Chandler]

Really cool turning Frank! Nice tutorial in pics.

[Frank Van Atta]

Here's another example, a bowl this time:

http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/BettyAll.bmp

[Frank Van Atta]

And one more - Bowl From A Board:

http://fgvanatta.tripod.com/OutofThinAir.jpg

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mike, here are a few sequence shots of what went into creating a hollow form.

159149 159150 159151 159152 159153

few more on next post...

[Steve Schlumpf]

Here are the remaining photos...

159154 159155 159156 159157

The finished hollow form is here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/album.php?albumid=8&pictureid=3069

I figured each photo was fairly self-explanatory but if you have any questions, please ask.

[Jack Mincey]

Here a couple pic's of the oak burl nested set sanded and ready to apply finish. It will take me a few weeks to get the finish on and the set buffed. I will post a finished picture when they are done. The worst thing about making set besides to ton of sanding required is that I had 7 chances of messing the set up. The is no room for a mistake. The largest bowl is a little over 15" in dia.
Thanks,
Jack Mincey
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1634.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1635.jpg

[Josh Bowman]

Thanks guys! I've learned more on this thread than I have in a while. For me (shape challanged), it's hard to see the bowl in the log. Just watching it transform, gets my head around it. Looks like it's time for another tool in the vortex! A shop camera....:rolleyes:

[Greg Ketell]

If you can borrow a copy of Bill Grumbine's "Turned Bowls Made Easy" he covers that quite well.
Wood Selection
Chainsawing
Bandsawing
Sharpening
Rough Turning
Final Turning
Drying
Finishing
Polishing
Four Cuts with a Gouge that will make turning easy.
Oh, and here is a Youtube series on just what you asked for. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hubZtppKW4

GK


Ok, one thing that I know I can't really "see" yet is the best use of a chunk of wood for a turning.

SO! Please show me progressive pics that you have from chunk to rough out to finished piece. You don't need to post a million pics, but feel free to post as many as you like. Likewise, don't just post one project. Post as many different ones as you have pics of.

What I am looking for is the progression of:

1) A log

2) Your chainsaw cut up

3) Roughed out for the lathe

4) Finished piece

Of course any pics inbetween would be great, too! But what I am looking to learn here is how to visualize what kind of piece is best suited for/from a given chunk.

Thanks everyone!

[Mike Cruz]

Noooooooowwwwwwww, we're talkin'! Thanks everyone for your pics and advice. I hope we continue to get more examples...even as time passes on.

Hey, anyone about to start a project? START TAKING PICS!!!!! :D

[John W Dixon]

I appreciate the posters too who have presented pictures. This really helps me also. Frank, I wouldn't even have thought of cutting a log in that respect to attain a bowl with that shape. Very cool everybody and keep posting.

John

[brian watts]

i could SEE a few turkey and OWl calls in that burl..:D








Here a couple pic's of the oak burl nested set sanded and ready to apply finish. It will take me a few weeks to get the finish on and the set buffed. I will post a finished picture when they are done. The worst thing about making set besides to ton of sanding required is that I had 7 chances of messing the set up. The is no room for a mistake. The largest bowl is a little over 15" in dia.
Thanks,
Jack Mincey
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1634.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v727/flyrod444/100_1635.jpg

[Mike Cruz]

Well, since I'm the one that started this thread, I suppose I ought to show one...now that I've done it. Granted, this is only log to blank, and not turned yet, but at least it does show the process a little.

This will take 3 posts...

Here is a couple of pic of the chunk of Dogwood that I started with.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=154546&d=1277758462

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=143267

In the first pic, Tony is cutting down the middle of the log. He stopped short of going all the way through to make it easier to cut the sides off.

Second pic shows him cutting the right side off.

Third pic shows cutting the left side off.

And fourth pic shows finishing the middle cut.

Before making these cuts he lopped off the "branches" that were protruding from the top, and also took a sliver off the bottom...to see what we had. Pic of that in the next post.

[Mike Cruz]

Here is what the bottom of the log looked like after a sliver had been removed.

Second pic is one of the slabs that we got with my rough circle drawn on it.

Third pic is the other side of the slab.

The fourth pic is of my circle cutting jig. While I already had other ideas for making it better, Tony confirmed them, and I'll be making some mods to it. I'll also start another thread showing what I did, and how it works later. Basically, there is a screw coming up from the bottom in the appropriate hole for the diameter circle I want to cut.

[Mike Cruz]

Here is how I cut it out.

The first pic shows the slab lined up at one edge of the circle. I had to use the band saw to get one edge right at the cirlce's edge.

The second and third pics show cuts alone the circle.

THe last one shows the completed cut out.

[Mike Cruz]

Did I say 3? Oops, I need another...

Here are 4 pics of the blank...rotating it.

The blank turned out to be an 8" diameter blank. Not sure how thick...I think about 4 inches.

[Greg Ketell]

Here are a couple of pics of the chunk of Dogwood that I started with. Sorry, SMC will not let me repost the pics..

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=143267


You can go to your original post, click on one of the pictures to get the large version to display, RIGHT-click on the large version and select "Copy Link Location" (or the equivalent for your browser), then come back here and click on the little yellow postage-stamp button ("insert image" button) and paste in what you copied. You will end up with:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=154546&d=1277758462

Which is just a link to the original photo so you aren't taking up any extra SMC storage but you can repost pictures in as many threads as you like.
GK

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks, Greg, fixed it.

[Gordon Vizecky]

I don't know if it helps or not but I shot a quick video of a large bowl rough out and coring on Sunday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTZpgFljiMU

I've got some still shots of the stumps and the slice up but the video is more interesting.

The speed is set at 6x in order to fit on YouTube without breaking into pieces. The actual footage time was about 1hr 25min. The total project time was about 1hr 45min but I missed some footage because I was using a very cheap flip camera and I filled the memory twice (need to buy a bigger card) and ran the batteries out once.

I ended up with a 20" 16" and 13" bowls that were anchorsealed and set aside to dry.

The tree was one that my neighbor had removed in May due to dutch elm and I am working on getting it all roughed out.

Gordon

[Steve Kubien]

Feel free to take a look at my blog. Below are a couple of links to posts about the process I go through.

Log processing...
http://greenleafwoodstudio.blogspot.com/2009/11/where-does-it-all-come-from.html

Roughing out and coring...
http://greenleafwoodstudio.blogspot.com/2009/11/roughing-out-and-coring.html

[Ray Bell]

What a great instructional thread this is. To you folks that have taken the time, and effort to take, and post the stills, and video's, thank you!

[Mike Cruz]

VERY cool Gordon. Thanks for posting. I love how the blank looks like it is turning in the wrong direction most of the time. I have to remind myself it is an optical illusion (like wheels on a car).

[Mike Cruz]

Frank, thanks a million for those progressive pix. That really showed the insight I was looking for. I don't know how I missed these pix earlier. I thought I was catching everyone's posts as they were coming in. The one out of the board is just too cool. I love how you can make something 3D out of a board...with minimal waste. Again, thanks!

[Neil Strong]

Log to completed piece....

160318 160319
160325...................... 160326
160322 160323
160327 160324

[brian watts]

I don't know if it helps or not but I shot a quick video of a large bowl rough out and coring on Sunday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTZpgFljiMU

I've got some still shots of the stumps and the slice up but the video is more interesting.

The speed is set at 6x in order to fit on YouTube without breaking into pieces. The actual footage time was about 1hr 25min. The total project time was about 1hr 45min but I missed some footage because I was using a very cheap flip camera and I filled the memory twice (need to buy a bigger card) and ran the batteries out once.

I ended up with a 20" 16" and 13" bowls that were anchorsealed and set aside to dry.

The tree was one that my neighbor had removed in May due to dutch elm and I am working on getting it all roughed out.

Gordon


cool video..

[Mike Cruz]

Very interesting piece, Neil. Thanks for sharing that.

What kind of wood is that?

[William Hutchinson]

Looks like folks are responding to your suggestion. Thanks for posting your idea, I for one find the progress posts very helpful and educational.

[Neil Strong]

What kind of wood is that?

Mike - the wood is called Native Cherry (Exocarpos cupressiformis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocarpos_cupressiformis)) which is endemic to Australia and is most common where I live in the Adelaide Hills.

It doesn't grow very large. That piece is about as large as it gets. It's a very fine grained wood that has to be rough turned immediately before it begins to split and warp quite badly, but is beautiful to turn and well worth any effort.

.....

[Ernie Miller]

Here's a brief slide show/video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNO0hM4zL7c) of the construction of a harpsichord I built last year.

Ernie