John K Jordan
09-01-2022, 10:05 PM
I posted this in another section but thought it should be posted here too.
Due to pandemic exhaustion on top of farm/house tasks I turned almost nothing since March of 2020 - just a few "magic" wands for a turning demo last year and a simple garden tool handle to replace one I lost in the weeds long ago. But I had scheduled a demo in August (on turning metals on the wood lathe with woodturning tools) so a few weeks before I HAD to get moving or be greatly embarrassed! I had planned to turn a lidded box to illustrate one use for small brass turnings so I grabbed an old 4x4 chunk of Albizia and made this:
485300
Since I was out of practice I was a little nervous and expected to destroy at least one box (I hadn't turned a lidded box for years) but a miracle occurred and it came out ok. Once I had the sharp tools in hand and the wood spinning everything fell into place, just like I'd been turning all along.
If you haven't turned brass (or aluminum) on the wood lathe, it might be worth a try. I use standard woodturning tools, mostly Thompson (gouges, parting tools, NRS, etc) sharpened as for wood. I've also turned steel with a scraper I ground from Thompson steel, but it's not nearly as much fun...
BTW, this box was one case where I first carefully designed the piece on paper since getting the curve right on the bottom let me align the feet at the position I wanted keeping them perpendicular to the surface. No unpleasant surprises!
485301
The lid has my easy-to-lift/replace taper fit instead of the common suction fit with woodturner's bragging rights.
And if anyone is interested, this is my tool handle replacement. When I found the weeding tool the handle had disintegrated in the dirt. The stainless steel tool and ferrule were fine. This simple handle from Osage Orange should last longer!
485302
JKJ
Due to pandemic exhaustion on top of farm/house tasks I turned almost nothing since March of 2020 - just a few "magic" wands for a turning demo last year and a simple garden tool handle to replace one I lost in the weeds long ago. But I had scheduled a demo in August (on turning metals on the wood lathe with woodturning tools) so a few weeks before I HAD to get moving or be greatly embarrassed! I had planned to turn a lidded box to illustrate one use for small brass turnings so I grabbed an old 4x4 chunk of Albizia and made this:
485300
Since I was out of practice I was a little nervous and expected to destroy at least one box (I hadn't turned a lidded box for years) but a miracle occurred and it came out ok. Once I had the sharp tools in hand and the wood spinning everything fell into place, just like I'd been turning all along.
If you haven't turned brass (or aluminum) on the wood lathe, it might be worth a try. I use standard woodturning tools, mostly Thompson (gouges, parting tools, NRS, etc) sharpened as for wood. I've also turned steel with a scraper I ground from Thompson steel, but it's not nearly as much fun...
BTW, this box was one case where I first carefully designed the piece on paper since getting the curve right on the bottom let me align the feet at the position I wanted keeping them perpendicular to the surface. No unpleasant surprises!
485301
The lid has my easy-to-lift/replace taper fit instead of the common suction fit with woodturner's bragging rights.
And if anyone is interested, this is my tool handle replacement. When I found the weeding tool the handle had disintegrated in the dirt. The stainless steel tool and ferrule were fine. This simple handle from Osage Orange should last longer!
485302
JKJ