Thicker

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

OK, this is one of my last dry blanks I have on tap, after this, I'll be waiting a month or so, or I'll be buying (YIKES) dry wood to make stuff....

The wood is Red Keyaki, which I call "Hell's Concrete" as it is red and hard as the dickens when dry. The bowl is about 10" wide and 3" deep, give or take.

I started by jamb chucking it to make the tenon round again, and make a bit of a true area near the tenon where the chuck will be in the way, once chucked up.

I then turned it around and chucked it up.

I first did the outside, to a form that I thought was pleasing, my wife has asked for a bowl to put a few bananas or apples in, nothing too big, and she wants the bowl to be thicker, as she says I make them all so thin, she is afraid she will break one using it (only thing she says is too thin about me :o ).

Now, I was trying to get the outside to a nice shape, but I had a ton of vibrations, man it was not fun. Then I remembered what I saw and learned at Eli Avisera's Demo, he said that if the blank is not turned to be balanced, you cannot easily get a smooth cut, you have to balance the blank first. I did this on the outside, as well as I could, and on the inside, boy was it wobbly.....

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I used a black marker to show the amount of movement this bowl had while drying, it was WAY out of balance.

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Another shot.

Once I trued up the inside, not perfect, but way better, I then cranked up the speed to about 1200 and did some super nice smooth cuts with the bowl gouge and then the bowl finishing tools, boy does that thing work! :D

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I sanded it and sealed it, then I put friction polish on it.

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There is a lot of stuff going on in this wood, here in one spot of interest.

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I ran out of time last night to finish the bottom, as I need to cut a new ring for my donut chuck with a bigger hole in it......

I'm going to do just a basic recess, that is where I'm at in my skill, I want to let the wood speak.

I know they are lousy in the Dungeon pics, but what do you guys think?

How is the shape, am I doing this in the right order etc?

Please let me know.

Cheers!:D

[Mark Rios]

Stu, I think the bowl is great. It looks just like my head; abld and nothing in it. :D

Oh, and I also like the way you oh-so-subtly work into your pics the name of your lathe, NOVA DVR. :D :D :D

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Thanks Mark.......I think...... ;)

The top of the lathe was about the only spot I have I can set the bowl without moving a bunch of stuff to take a pic, the name is just there by accident........honest........ :rolleyes:

[Mark Rios]

AAaaahh Stu, you know i'm just teasin'. About all the other stuff anyway. The bowl looks great. I really like the figure in the wood. You turning guys are really something else. Nice job.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Yeah, this was another simple looking blank, but once I started to turn it, it was like "Wow, where did that cool stuff come from...?" :D

One of the best things about working on the lathe, IMHO.

Cheers!

[Michael Stafford]

I think you have a nice classic bowl shape and as far as I can tell from the pictures you have continuous fair curves inside and out. Nice work!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Stu that is a beauty. I like the form and wood. Nice job.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Stu.............Well excuted classic shape and gorgeous wood!

[John Timberlake]

Great job, Stu. Very interesting grain in the wood and nice finish.

[George Conklin]

I really like it, Stu. The shape is just right, the wood is gorgeous and the finish is perfect.
Not throwing an "attaboy" at you, I really like it:) .

It must be the lathe;)

[Michael Cody]

The question is what does the wife think of your bowls and pens? Did you put some on display in the L-shop? The wife though is the important one, if she says they are nice but you never see them on display in the house, well ....... you need to come to your conclusion on that one?:eek:

[Keith Burns]

Stu, you did a really nice job on this one. Great form and finish:) :)

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Well, Stu. I like the flow. The finished wood looks like a Good piece of Cherry. Too bad it doesn't Cut like Cherry.

Very nice effort, even if you didn't "Display" it properly.............. on a Black Enameled Base.:p

Bruce;)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

The question is what does the wife think of your bowls and pens? Did you put some on display in the L-shop? The wife though is the important one, if she says they are nice but you never see them on display in the house, well ....... you need to come to your conclusion on that one?:eek:

Nothing left to display, this stuff goes missing as soon as I bring it upstairs, my wife and or daughters lay claim to them and they are gone!

I guess that counts for something :D

[Mark Pruitt]

Stu, is that a dust collection duct I'm seeing above the lathe? For some reason I've not caught that before. Is it new and more importantly, how well does it work?
Mark

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Stu, is that a dust collection duct I'm seeing above the lathe? For some reason I've not caught that before. Is it new and more importantly, how well does it work?
Mark
It sucks.............. :D

I have a flex hose that goes from over head to under my work table, where it hooks into a duct that goes to the jointer and TS. I just disconnect that flex hose and hang it over the bar I put above the lathe. I use if mainly for sanding and if I'm doing a lot of fine cuts in dry wood it works well too, but heavy cuts and green rough outs, well, I guess it would work, to a point, but I'd just rather sweep, or shovel up, easier than emptying the cyclone all the time. :D

http://www.ablett.jp/workshop/images/lathe/lathe_dc.jpg
Old stand, old lathe, same flex hose.
Cheers!

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Lovely work, Stu. I hope there's some fresh wood in your future!

[Corey Hallagan]

It might be hard as H but it is sweet looking. Very nice bowl Stu... the final shape looks great!

Corey

[Barry Stratton]

Beauty, Stu! Great shape that shows off the concrete well. You're starting to make me jealous of how GOOD you are getting!!!:p

I have no doubts that "Eagle Eye Ablett" will spot some Tokyo tree's in need of logging soon to feed that DVR!!!

[Julio Navarro]

Increadeble as always, Stu.

That grain just pops right out.

By the way, I just received your pen blanks today!

Thanks, I hope I can do justice to them as soon as I get my lathe running.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Thanks guys, I'm working on it for sure.

here are some more pics of the DC set up, you will see it is basic, but for sanding it is much needed!

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Hope that makes sense

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So the bananas fit, what a relief :D

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I think it turned out fine

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Just a slight recess in the bottom to give it a clean appearance, this one is for my lovely wife for her birthday on Friday.

Cheers!

[Don Baer]

Just a slight recess in the bottom to give it a clean appearance, this one is for my lovely wife for her birthday on Friday.

Cheers!

Stu,
That turned out great. Wisk you lovely wife a happry birthday for me. Thats also my grandaughters birthday.

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Thr. is my oldest sons BD, Friday is my Granddaughters and Sat is mine.
Don't mean to steal your thread but I figure your wife might like to see someone who shares her birthday.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey it is all natual beauty :D

Man what a pic, red hair and red eyes, don't envy the parents if that little tyke has an attitude :D

Happy Birthday to one and all.

My wife wants a good sewing machine......man, that is going to cost me...... :(

[Don Baer]

Stu she gets the red hair from LOML and the red eyes cause I can't take pictures but rest assured she's gandpa's girl. My son even says she'd rather be with Grandpa then him..:D

I know you have daughters but wait until you have grandaughters, their realy special.

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

My wife wants a good sewing machine......man, that is going to cost me...... :(

Does she want a good sewing machine, a versatile sewing machine, a new sewing machine, or some combination of the three? One of the three can be had for fairly inexpensively (I use an old Singer 301, straight stitch only, and it's a trooper). Two of three isn't bad, but all three can run into the K$ range. Husqvarna is a good brand. If she wants to do machine embroidery, look for a unit which has PC connectivity. Much like a lathe purchase, you get what you pay for, and the more you can purchase now the less you have to purchase later.

To bring this back to turning: Does this mean you'll be making ort bowls for her, as well? :)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Stu she gets the red hair from LOML and the red eyes cause I can't take pictures but rest assured she's gandpa's girl. My son even says she'd rather be with Grandpa then him..:D

I know you have daughters but wait until you have grandaughters, their realy special.

With my eldest at 12, I sure hope to wait, at least another 12 years :eek: :)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Does she want a good sewing machine, a versatile sewing machine, a new sewing machine, or some combination of the three? One of the three can be had for fairly inexpensively (I use an old Singer 301, straight stitch only, and it's a trooper). Two of three isn't bad, but all three can run into the K$ range. Husqvarna is a good brand. If she wants to do machine embroidery, look for a unit which has PC connectivity. Much like a lathe purchase, you get what you pay for, and the more you can purchase now the less you have to purchase later.

To bring this back to turning: Does this mean you'll be making ort bowls for her, as well? :)

Good points.

I'll spend the money, buy one that she will use for the rest of time, she is the one who is always looking to buy cheap and pay later, I get into this with here nearly every time, that is why she don't get a vote on buying stuff for the Dungeon anymore.

I'd spend a couple grand in a heartbeat if it is one she will use and use and not need to upgrade, she really needs a hobby, and she is good at making clothes, but the $150 unit she bought on late night television shopping about 20 years ago just don't cut it :rolleyes:

Been trying for years to get her to spend the money, instead of moaning about the POS she has, this time I think I got her convinced.

Cheers!

[Michael Cody]

Stu, my wife looked at Bernina, Janhome, etc.. a lot of good machines. If there is a good sewing shop nearby (I assume they have those in Tokyo) check with them for used machines and look at the different brands. Bernina is supposed to be the best, but Husqvarna is a hot ticket in the embroidery world I hear. If you get into those 5k-US cost embroidery machines, pay close attention to the computer options -- they are afterall just little CNC machines.

Anyway, she looked at them all and settled on a Pfaff (german) machine... She has high end classic machine (one of their home user lines) that she quilts with. It will handle everything from drapery sheers to multi-layer denim. It's got this IDT stepper foot that feeds the material from the top as well as the bottom. Anyway she loves it.. I got her that and a 4 thread serger. She made all the curtains in the house. Several dozen quilts including a Denim Quilt which is really nice. She does craft stuff like jean bags (made out of old jeans we pickup at garage sales), dolls, halloween costumes, etc.. All in All a great machine.

[George Conklin]

HI Stu,
I do what ever it takes to spoil the spouse. Mine, like yours wants to spend the least possible. I've learned (now) buy once, cry once.

I'm amazed at the price for quality sewing machines:eek: . You could easily spend as much on what a high-end Mayo costs. Maybe more!

Spoil her, Stu. It's the best feeling;)

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Thanks guys, I'll see what I can do.

Cheers!

[Mark Rios]

............and we now take you back to Sewing Mill Creek.... where it's all sewing talk, all the time.................................:D :D :D :D :D



Stu, there's no middle of august sales at the Joyful Honda?

What about mail order?

[Michael Cody]

Mark, if you think wood is a bit expensive, wait till the wife loads up on material.. makes your wood pile value look like of a bunch of center cut prime pith loaded 2x4 rejects from lows...