Round and Round I Go

[Bob Noles]

Where I stop.... who knows :eek:

Okay y'all.... fasten your seat belts. I had some fun on here last week with that 'ol chunk of 1X2 pine just to get my lathe spinning and touch a tool to some kind of wood before I had to take a few days recovery break from the bench project.

After a grueling week at the office, the long weekend finally is here and I did get rested and back on my feet somehow through it all. While I was on break, I received the nicest box of wood from John Hart which gave me some real material to kick off with. I took a 4" piece of 3/4X3/4 cedar and carefully centered it in the lathe, spindle fashion. This was going to be my first real turn and all I was after was a round spindle. I used a bowl gouge to get it where I wanted then sanded lightly in 4 steps, used some EEE polish from PSI and then 3 coats of shellacwax (sp).

Here's how I did and remember, this is from someone who has never made contact with a lathe before now.

I think while Andy is giving this his critique :eek: , I'll go practice a little more. Maybe a bowl or something this time :rolleyes: (Yeah right)

Seriously, give me the rights and wrongs you see from this so I can learn from y'all.

[Andy Hoyt]

Bob - Stop practicing. That's what lawyers and doctors do. You just forge right ahead with turning.

Piece looks good, but it sure is a funny looking bowl! Next time, try a gouge intended for spindle work. I'm sure you knew that and were just experimenting; but one has to be careful because while some tools can be quite safe and accomodating in their intended use they can also be totally dangerous when used otherwise.

You may indeed proceed.:D

[Gary DeWitt]

Bowl gouge?! Are you sure? Describe the tool profile in detail, looking end on, as in down the "barrel".
The turned piece looks good, as far as I can tell from the pic. It's hard to tell if the stair step is your turning or the pixels. Make sure you fill the frame of your pic with the piece, and upload a full screen size pic. 764 x 1068 I think may be fairly common now...or 764 tall in the case of portrait layout.
Keep turning, Bob. You're making progress already.

[Mark Cothren]

I'm impressed - ESPECIALLY if you did that with a bowl gouge! Nice work! Keep on truckin'!

[Keith Burns]

Good looking job Bob. I don't want to misguide you as Andy is instructing you correctly in that you should always uses tools for their intended purpose. That being said I use my bowl gouge on spindle work except for smoothing which I use a skew. Your doing the best thing you can and that is having FUN.:)

[Andy Hoyt]

.... I don't want to misguide you as Andy is instructing you .....

Whoa there Nelly! I barely know what I'm doing half the time. And ALL of us are responsible for talking Bob into this. I mean, "helping him make informed buying decisions".

So belly up to the bar and contribute to the needy. I mean, Bob.

[Bob Noles]

Well.... I told y'all I didn't know what I was doing :eek: But it was a 3/8 bowl gouge that ate away at that little dowel. Does this mean I am pretty good at this?:p

The picture was a rush job and the pixels do distort it some. It is perfectly round and no stair step at all. I guaged it from end to end and it is as smooth as it can be.... just a bad shot. I just wanted to get a little practice in and spread some saw dust around so I can take a shop picture next with the shop dirty:D Only problem is that the wife came out to the shop and loved the smell of the cedar and wants me to sweep it up and bring it in the house to make it smell good in there :rolleyes: :cool:

Back out to the shop for some more fun. There is going to be fire works on New Years eve in my neck of the woods tonight. I love this lathe thing :D

Don't worry guys... I use the utmost care and always wear protective gear including the face mask and goggles. I'll get these tools all figured out in a day or 2 and turn something worth posting before the holiday is out. How about a nice pen? I think I am about ready to tackle one.

[Michael Stafford]

Bob, you are doing fine. What you have there is a perfectly formed dowel. My first turning on a lathe was a bumpy stick. I gave up trying to make perfectly straight sticks a long time ago. Now I make short sticks with holes in them and none of them are straight. Have fun and be safe....:D

[Carole Valentine]

Bob,
A perfect dowel (no variation in diameter) is not always an easy thing to do, but it looks like you did it well.:) As far as the bowl gouge goes, I use my 3/8" bowl gouge for just about everything except detail work. It does have a very long fingernail grind though, which makes a difference.
I can tell you are going to be good at this. Looking forward to seeing some coves and beads on the next spindle. And yes, you are doing the right thing by starting with spindle work!

[Bob Noles]

Thanks y'all. It is very reassuring to know that I am at least somewhat on track ;)

One question I do have and cannot seem to find common ground in any reference material I have. Is it more proper to push the tool from the head stock to the tail stock or pull it in reverse or does it even matter and can go both ways? Hey... just one of those dumb "Newbie Noles" questions, but curious minds need to know :D

[John Miliunas]

You're doing fine, Bob, especially if you did that with a bowl gouge! ('Course, I've never tried a bowl gouge myself on spindle work! Maybe I'm the one who's missing something!!! :eek: )

As for your other question, on straight spindle work, I personally go both way (no comments from the Peanut Gallery on that one!!!) Now, if you start doing curvy details on the spindle, you're usually better off following the curve down toward the center, which ultimately means, you have to go in both directions!:)

Please proceed and keep us posted!!!:) :D

[Andy Hoyt]

Bob - I'll second John's remarks.

And add that sometimes the grain will dictate which direction to go in when you're trying to get that last final smooth cut.

Also, when you're trying to remove a lot of wood fast I've found that heading towards the headstock will give you an advantage in that you're not trying to pull the wood out of whatever is holding it to the headstock. Don't know why this is but sometimes it has made a difference.

Hey John - Where ya been man?

[Chris Barton]

Very Nice Dowel,

Way to go Bob, now you'er half way to candle sticks!


Bob - Stop practicing. That's what lawyers and doctors do. You just forge right ahead with turning.

Andy,

Shoot the lawyers and if the doctors keep practicing maybe we will get it right eventually!

Chris

[Ernie Nyvall]

Good going on the dowell Bob.

Ernie

[Chris Barton]

Ernie,

You bear a striking resemblence to a young Christopher Plumber...

[John Hart]

Congratulations on your stick Bob!!! You're doin' it right...Can't add much to that! What I can say is Go find a little cloth drawstring bag, fill it with those cedar chips and give it to mama. Place the little bags in drawers.

The lathe hath been christened!!!!:) :) :)

[Ernie Nyvall]

Ernie,

You bear a striking resemblence to a young Christopher Plumber...

Well you found me out Chris. I've been using an alias and a younger picture.;)

Ernie

[Bernie Weishapl]

Bob you did well. Keep up the practice.