New guy

[Les Williams]

I thought i should say hi , been looking over your shoulders for a while now so here i am.
I had a fancying for a small lathe - wanted a big one but...... such is life. So my dear old Mam asked an elderly turner who lives close by if he wanted to sell his "No but i've got this friend......." - long story cut short the "He'll take £50 for it!" (Yep UK) ended up as a 4 foot Tyme avon http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/althea/tymelathes.htm plus some tools!
It took a while for it to sink in, but it has now, and yes i'm a very happy man. All the more so as dear old Mam got me the lathe and has also paid out for a Robert Sorby chuck and 6 piece tool set.

Now i have to learn some better skills than i have but with the tools i have i've rough turned a couple from cherry and set them to dry plus there's this
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Used a wire with handles to burn the rim and a bit of Danish oil for Finish. The tear out is bad but i want it as a reference point, 'first' bowl and all that.

So, yeah, thats sort of it really.

Les


P.S.
Any links that might help? Cheers all!

[Tim Rinehart]

Welcome Les. If you managed to keep it from flying out of the chuck, you're off to a good start. I'd say spend as much time getting comfortable with sharpening and learning the different profiles used for bowl turning, if that's your thing for now.
Not sure of best links, I relied mostly on local turners to get to comfort point on sharpening when I was starting out.
I'd say search out the region you're in for local clubs...they'll make short work of learning stuff in comparison to books and videos.

[John Fabre]

Welcome to the Creek, great bunch of people here.

[Roger Chandler]

Welcome from across the pond! Glad you are posting! Have not seen that lathe before, but it sounds as if you are well on your way! +1 on learning good sharpening and find a turning club.......the mentoring you can receive and the information on turning gained is invaluable! You will never regret becoming part of a turning club.......turners by and large are fine folks!

[Bill Hensley]

Welcome Les, to the vortex! That's a fine lady to cover your initial costs. Hope she continues to finance you as your "need" list grows.

Pretty cool to do a bowl with some detail. You are on your way. Good luck to you on the "spinny" path.

[Rich Aldrich]

"been looking over your shoulders for a while now"

You ever get that funny feeling someone is watching....... Welcome, Les. These people are great on this site. They have no problem helping. I have learned a lot from these people - a lot faster than if I had no internet and no help. I think they call it a vortex because it sucks the money right out of your wallet.

[Thomas Canfield]

Welcome Les,

You are off to a good start with that bowl. I did notice that there was some distortion in the burn line because of the pith area still in the green wood that distorted with drying (or heat of burning lines). You should mark that bowl to see how much better you get with additional turning. Hopefully you can find a turning club or at least a mentor to work with you. It is a great hobby, and some do make some income out of it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Welcome Les! Nice job on your first bowl! Be sure to sign and date the bowl because there is only one 'first' and you will be amazed at how much your turning changes over time!

I agree with the suggestion of finding a local turning club. The members will help you learn the safe way to turn and may even save you some money when it comes to tools and upgrades!!

Have fun! Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

[Rick Markham]

Welcome Les, it looks like you are off to a great start... better make the second bowl as a thank you to your Mam! :)

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Les. Great start for sure.

[phil harold]

I think Les is wiser than all of us
he got the vortex to suck the money out of someone else's pocket

[Donny Lawson]

Welcome Les and we hope you have alot of fun here and learn alot. Jump in and ask questions anytime. Fill in your profile a little so we can see where you are. Great bowl by the way.

[Les Williams]

Well thanks for the welcome folks.

If you managed to keep it from flying out of the chuck, you're off to a good start


Welcome Les! Nice job on your first bowl! Be sure to sign and date the bowl because there is only one 'first' and you will be amazed at how much your turning changes over time!
Not so good really, my first "first" two bowls one too wet and it split :( Me Mam kept it though, and one in two bits as it flew out of the jam chuck (between centres) and broke! so its only my "first success" but i have the bug. It caught it with a small drill powered WolfCraft 20 odd years ago but have nothing left from that time - nothing was worth keeping - but i have recently turned a cane top for my wife with it and thats what got me wanting a PROPER lathe
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I suppose that this makes me a bit of a liar as its not the first thing i turned, however all i have done to date is like sitting on your dads knee "driving the car"

Les

[Dave Ogren]

Les,

Welcome to the creek, I am sure that you will enjoy.

Dave

[George Morris]

Welcome Les Keep at it ! Find a local club or turner for some pointers. Remember be safe and wear a face shield! G