What a weekend...Sunday.

[Mike Cruz]

176314176313176312Well, with Saturday being a bust (find out about that day in General Woodworking), Sunday HAD to be better. Well, it was...much much better. Dan Hintz met me at my house around 9 am, I showed him my progress on my PM90 restore. Then we headed off to our Virginia Angel...aka Tony De Masi. He's helped me out, teaching me how to cut up wood for turning blanks, helped/guided me on the lathe a bit, and now he was going to school Dan and me a little more.

Dan got a taste for turning for the very first time. He took to it like a pig to mud, cow to cud, fly to...well, let's just go with the other analogies. I think the vortex is sucking him in so fast, the light is bending.

Dan turned a very nice walnut bowl (green wood) courtesy of Tony. I turned a piece of hickory from Ken's. After these things finish their DNA baths, they'll get a nice finish turn.

We had a nice lunch (thanks, Tony), then headed back to the shop for ooooooone more turning. I wanted to try a natural edge bowl with some cedar I brought with me. Long story short...it exploded in half (weak point in the wood, not a crack, more like a fold) and one half hit me in the chest. Didn't hurt as much as it startled me. No sense in ending the day like that, so we drank a cold one!

Dan and I had to split.

Great day. Thanks again, Tony. You are a kind and patient man. Even if you did shoot Dan some evil eyes...:D

[Roger Chandler]

Sounds like a great party!!! Tony's the man! That explosion is why I always wear a full face mask! I once had a walnut log blank come off my lathe and hit me in the chest so hard, :eek: :eek: :eek: that well, I closed the shop for the rest of the day, and thought more about safety! Thankfully, you are okay!!! :)

[John Keeton]

You guys have been having way too much fun!! Sounds like a much better Sunday than Saturday (read your other thread!), and sucking Hintz deeper into the vortex was worth the whole trip!

[Rick Markham]

Looks like a lot of fun! That's my kind of party (without the exploding bowl of course!) So when is Dan ponying up on a lathe? :D You know under that big grin of his he is quietly cursing you both :p I'd say another one is hooked, now we just gotta reel em in!

[Mike Cruz]

Roger, it was great. I was wearing a full face shield. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

Rick, he already HAS the Jet 16" lathe. He just hasn't put it together because he knew he needed instruction on turning before using it, and he did the smart thing by not putting it together and being tempted to play with it. I wouldnt' be surprised if it is in the process of assembly riiiiiight now.

John, yes, way too much fun. Making up for my Saturday, though...ugh. Dan slipped me the stink eye a number of times Sunday, blaming me for the turning bug. :D

[charlie knighton]

enjoy, i have bad experiences with cedar, no blow ups, just cracks and when setting up blank, cedar just does not split like oak, he he

[David E Keller]

That sounds like great fun. I'm starting to question Dan's mental status... Who buys a lathe and then doesn't put it together?

[Baxter Smith]

Looks like you guys had a great time!


That sounds like great fun. I'm starting to question Dan's mental status... Who buys a lathe and then doesn't put it together?

and he has two of them!:)

[Mike Cruz]

I wasn't going to go there, Baxter. I wonder if Dan's ears are burning...

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looks like a ball was had by all. Dan is falling into the black hole for sure.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Sounds like fun! I am envious.

[Ken Hill]

Looks like a great day!

How did that Hickory turn for you? I pulled some big stuff yesterday, sure smelled good cutting it!

[Dan Hintz]

Many thanks to Tony for opening up his shop (and grill... burgers, yumm!) to us. I wasn't sure how the wood was going to react to my (often) heavy hand, but I think it was so wet the tools slid right across.


Rick, I have Jet's 1642EVS for wood and their 920S for metal. There are several reasons tools are still disassembled in my shop at the moment... lack of proper power runs (240V), some of the heavy stuff isn't on a mobile base yet (bandsaw... need help getting it on there), and lack of designated space. I'm working on it all...

[Mike Cruz]

Dan, I'll help you, allbeit with my gimpy arms, but I'll help.

[Mike Cruz]

Ken, I have to admit that even with a proper seal (well, I only put one coat on it, maybe I should have put two on) it still cracked a bit and my bowl ended up about 7-8 inches IIRC. I was hoping for a 10-11 incher out of it. But it cut smoothly and yeah, it smelled great. Of course, it was after Dan's walnut bowl, so it wasn't as strong a smell. If we had done the hickory first, it probably would have been more noticable.

[Roger Chandler]

Many thanks to Tony for opening up his shop (and grill... burgers, yumm!) to us. I wasn't sure how the wood was going to react to my (often) heavy hand, but I think it was so wet the tools slid right across.


Rick, I have Jet's 1642EVS for wood and their 920S for metal. There are several reasons tools are still disassembled in my shop at the moment... lack of proper power runs (240V), some of the heavy stuff isn't on a mobile base yet (bandsaw... need help getting it on there), and lack of designated space. I'm working on it all...

Dan,

I have an idea for getting your bandsaw on a mobil base..........I have 3 bandsaws, one is a Jet 18" [big & heavy] and I rigged a pulley on the ceiling of my shop and tied a rope around my saw, balancing it, and pulled it up enough to slide a base underneath it with my foot, and let the saw back down. If you have a winch, come-a-long, or a friend, you should be able to pull it off quite easily.

Just a suggestion,.............be safe!

[Belinda Barfield]

That sounds like great fun. I'm starting to question Dan's mental status... Who buys a lathe and then doesn't put it together?

Have you guys looked at Dan's list of toys? He won a CNC in a free stuff drawing last year. BTW, Dan, Keith told me at IWF that mine was the second name drawn - just in case. He has a laser, etc., etc. I can't imagine how he is going to find time for the lathe.

Glad you guys had a great time. Mike, you and Dan are spending WAY too much time together. That's spells trouble with a capital T . . .

[Dan Hintz]

Have you guys looked at Dan's list of toys? He won a CNC in a free stuff drawing last year. BTW, Dan, Keith told me at IWF that mine was the second name drawn - just in case. He has a laser, etc., etc. I can't imagine how he is going to find time for the lathe.

Glad you guys had a great time. Mike, you and Dan are spending WAY too much time together. That's spells trouble with a capital T . . .
Second in line, eh? I guess that means you get a free pass to use the machine whenever you come to stay with Mike :D You make the cinjamonny pancakes and I'll bring the Jell-O shooters :)

I'm not sure who's going to give us the stink eye first, Leslie or Amy... though Amy may have the advantage on this one due to my tool purchasing spree.

[Tony De Masi]

It really was a fun day for me as well. There is something about getting a newbie on the lathe and watching their face with both excitement and fear. Dan did quite well for a first timer. He just needs to work on his flexability a bit. As for Mike, I sure wish I had a movie camera rolling at the time that cedar exploded on him but I'm glad he was just stunned and not hurt. And yes I can vouch for the fact he was wearing a face shield.

Looking forward to next time.

[Dan Hintz]

"Why is that hand floating in outer space?" - Tony

[Mike Cruz]

Yeah, funny you should say that Belinda. At the auction Dan and I went to a couple months back, I think the general public there thought we were a little close too... We were way overdressed for the occasion. And by that, I mean I had on jeans, a long sleeve undershirt and a Redskins sweatshirt. Dan was wearing jeans and maybe a light jacket or someting. We weren't wearing any flannel or anything by Carhart. Dan has an earing. We were getting some strange looks. Something we had a good chuckle about on the drive home.

[Belinda Barfield]

Yeah, funny you should say that Belinda. At the auction Dan and I went to a couple months back, I think the general public there thought we were a little close too... We were way overdressed for the occasion. And by that, I mean I had on jeans, a long sleeve undershirt and a Redskins sweatshirt. Dan was wearing jeans and maybe a light jacket or someting. We weren't wearing any flannel or anything by Carhart. Dan has an earing. We were getting some strange looks. Something we had a good chuckle about on the drive home.

Perhaps it was the Redskins sweatshirt . . .:rolleyes::D

[Tony De Masi]

And I'm sure you will never forget that will you Dan? Which is a good thing of course.

[Dan Hintz]

And I'm sure you will never forget that will you Dan? Which is a good thing of course.
That's the point, certainly. Mike asked if I minded him pointing out my mistakes, but even though no one is a fan of hearing about their screwups, it helps bore it into your brain.

Speaking of, I need to find a paper bag and get the bowl out of the DNA.

[Mike Cruz]

What I'll remember is the WTF look on Tony's face when you were doing it! That was priceless...

Dan, you were a trooper to take my pointers. Thanks for that. It made for a great learning experience for me to watch you, make comments, and wait to see if Tony corrected me. I've learned through my ski racing that nothing will show you what you are atually doing compared to how you think/feel like you are doing, like video. Might be a great help in turning as well. Video yourself turning, and compare it to the stances and movements of a skilled turner. Watching you, Dan, was like seeing myself in that you and I are both new to this. Seeing someone that is skilled at it, that does all the right things, in a way, can be misleading...it looks so natural, easy and fluid. NOT how it feels. But I'm sure I didn't look a whole lot different then you...

My bowl didn't make it into the DNA until this morning. I was afraid to open the plastic bag and take a look. I was sure it had started cracking. But it hadn't. I'll take her out tomorrow about noon. I'll be too busy to take it out before then.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Great photos! Always enjoy hearing of Creeker get-togethers! Sure sounded like you guys had a blast! Thanks for sharing!

[Dan Hintz]

Wrapped my bowl last night, so we'll see how she looks in a week or two. I need to decide what kind of coating to put on it...

[Mike Cruz]

White latex paint will look nice...

[Dan Hintz]

White latex paint will look nice...
I was thinking more like a metallic hammered green finish. I believe you have quite a bit considering you haven't painted anything useful with it ;)

[Mike Cruz]

Wrong, just wrong. I've painted what WILL be useful soon. And yes, I have some left over. That would be too funny if I painted a bowl green...