Kathy Marshall
01-05-2013, 10:18 PM
Still waiting for the parts on my lathe, and after 2 weeks I'm going a little nuts.
On Thursday I picked up a load of shoestring acacia and a couple other logs. Today I got out the chainsaw and cut and then bandsawed a few blanks from the acacia and a few from some mesquite. I also cut the end off one of the other logs. Got the blanks all sealed and then started looking for something, anything I could do in the shop.
I finally decided to practice some carving and grabbed the piece that I cut from the end of one of the other logs. The other logs that I picked up were from a fig tree, not sure if it's ficus nitida or a fruiting fig. I've always passed on fig wood before since it's very bland and also very soft, but I picked up a couple of pieces with the thought of trying some carving or dyeing. The end that I cut off was a piece that had a bunch of branches growing from it.
I put it between centers, then used a drill and forstner bit to drill out the piths from the branches. Then I got out my Foredom and started carving. This wood isn't just soft, it's super soft. It's kinda like carving a potato :eek:. I think I could probably carve it just as easily using a spoon.
250293
I got most of the bark and sapwood off before I quit for the night. Tomorrow I'll see how the shape wants to go. When the lathe is back up and running, I'll work on hollowing. I really have no idea what the final form will be or if it will be worth anything more than firewood, but I'm getting plenty of practice with my Foredom and I'm using the lathe, just not for spinning!
250294
I'll post more pics tomorrow.
Thanks for looking!
On Thursday I picked up a load of shoestring acacia and a couple other logs. Today I got out the chainsaw and cut and then bandsawed a few blanks from the acacia and a few from some mesquite. I also cut the end off one of the other logs. Got the blanks all sealed and then started looking for something, anything I could do in the shop.
I finally decided to practice some carving and grabbed the piece that I cut from the end of one of the other logs. The other logs that I picked up were from a fig tree, not sure if it's ficus nitida or a fruiting fig. I've always passed on fig wood before since it's very bland and also very soft, but I picked up a couple of pieces with the thought of trying some carving or dyeing. The end that I cut off was a piece that had a bunch of branches growing from it.
I put it between centers, then used a drill and forstner bit to drill out the piths from the branches. Then I got out my Foredom and started carving. This wood isn't just soft, it's super soft. It's kinda like carving a potato :eek:. I think I could probably carve it just as easily using a spoon.
250293
I got most of the bark and sapwood off before I quit for the night. Tomorrow I'll see how the shape wants to go. When the lathe is back up and running, I'll work on hollowing. I really have no idea what the final form will be or if it will be worth anything more than firewood, but I'm getting plenty of practice with my Foredom and I'm using the lathe, just not for spinning!
250294
I'll post more pics tomorrow.
Thanks for looking!