1st piece off of the Vega

[John Miliunas]

OK, after getting a fair amount of harassment about getting that nice Vega some time ago and not having anything to show for it, here 'ya go. :) Now, be nice...This is the very first piece off of it and the very first time I've tried do something with this type of profile. Oh, I can take the criticism, but try not to blast me outta' the water with it, OK? :rolleyes:

Obviously, it's a Black Walnut piece, about 11" by 8" by just under 3" high. LOML really likes the large inclusion on it, so I left it as is. There are a couple other small inclusions, which I filled with some red stone Inlace (1st for that, too!). The finish actually isn't quite finished, yet. It's meant as a display piece, so I'm doing multiple coats of wipe-on "witches brew" and I've still got a little ways to go with it. Thanks for taking a peek and feedback is welcome. Remember, I'm still learnin' this whole spinny thing! :rolleyes:

[Jim Becker]

Very good, John! A beautiful piece that has a lot of character. The fact that it's asymetrical in size is quite interesting. You did right by leaving the inclusion in.

If you turn more of this walnut, try some gold inlace, rather than the red to see if you like that contrast the same, better or worse. Or make your own filler with key machine scraps and resin...

[Tim Morton]

Looks real nice John, I really want to get a lathe after seeing all the fun you guys have and watching the Woodworking at Home DVD's now can you whip me up a headboard on that thing to keep my wife happy? :D

[Dean Baumgartner]

Very nice John.

And if I may say so....IT'S ABOUT TIME we see something off that new spinny thing.

Dean

[Todd Burch]

John, when I look at it, it looks like a plate is trying to come up out of a square piece of wood. Kinda like a vacuum form look. Interesting. Very interesting. (say that with the accent from the little tricycle-riding "German" guy in Love America Style... what was his name?)

[Lars Thomas]

JOhn, that's a nice looking chunk of walnut. I'm with your wife . . .I like the inclusion. In fact, On a recent set of cabinets I built, I left an inclusion on the inside of one of the stiles. Some might call it a knot, I think inclusion sounds better ;) You can sorta see the inclusion from the outside (if you look closely) and I like it.

John If that's your first take on the lathe - you must be a natural. Enjoy. Lars

[Dean Bielanowski]

Nice job sir.

Keep on turning! :D

[David Rose]

John, when did you take up smoking? You might need to put some sort of liner on the wood to prevent those nasty burns. :D :eek:

Looks good! Well, for something round and useless(?) :o

David

[Dick Parr]

Very very nice John, I am starting to like seeing square things come of lathes. :p Again very nice! :)

[Jason Tuinstra]

John, you did a great job on this. I'm glad to finally see some pictures! Thanks.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks for all the kind comments, folks! :) The piece was done just a few days after I got the lathe and haven't had much opportunity to get back on it! House priorities and that full-time job keep getting in the way! :mad: Oh well...That's OK. At least we *have* a house to live in and a job to support us. A damn sight more than many less fortunate! Thanks again! :cool:

[John Miliunas]

Very good, John! A beautiful piece that has a lot of character. The fact that it's asymetrical in size is quite interesting. You did right by leaving the inclusion in.

If you turn more of this walnut, try some gold inlace, rather than the red to see if you like that contrast the same, better or worse. Or make your own filler with key machine scraps and resin...

Thanks much, Jim! As for the inlace, I thought about contrasting it, but LOML like the large inclusion so much that I felt if I went with something to really highlight the small ones, it would take too much away from the big guy. The red is evident, but barely so. BTW, thanks for the tip on making my own with the key machine scraps and such! Good idea. :cool:

[Rick Prevett]

John, I haven't posted much, but had to complement you on this piece. Beautiful piece of wood that you made into a great form! I also like the inclusion, would have been hard to exclude it without completely changing the shape of the piece. I'm also envious of that new Vega!

rick

p.s. Todd, that was Artie Johnson (Veeeery in-ter-es-ting!) from Laugh-In

[Chris Padilla]

John,

How do you spin a rectangle??? :confused:

It looks like one of those mortar board hats graduates of school wear...just upside down and certainly more interesting! ;)

Nice first project! :)

[John Miliunas]

John,

How do you spin a rectangle??? :confused:



Thanks again, guys! Spinning a rectangle? Pretty much the same way that those real turners like Bill G., Jim B., etc... do their natural edge bowls and such: You're really "turning" open air much of the time! Heavy lathe, stout steady rest, sharp tools and concentrate on "control" do the trick. After the long part "slaps" you quite rudely a few times, you learn to really just sneak up on the cut! :cool:

[Dave Richards]

Nice work John.


I tried to think of something smart alecky to write but I can't. :rolleyes:

[Wolf Kiessling]

Well, John, now that you have the Vega thoroughly broken in you'll just have to keep it up. Very interesting. My favorite kind, an artsy piece.

[Dennis Peacock]

John....I guess I missed something a while back. I didn't know you got a new lathe!!! Nice turning and I like all the "character" in it.!!!

[Todd Burch]

Thanks Rick. I kept wanting to say Marty Feldman - but I knew that was wrong. Also, yes, Laugh-In. Thanks!

[Mark Singer]

John,
I think I might have made that and you found my picture and are trying to take credit for it. That is how it was....yeah...now tell the truth John...:rolleyes:

[John Miliunas]

John,
I think I might have made that and you found my picture and are trying to take credit for it. That is how it was....yeah...now tell the truth John...:rolleyes:

Drat! And I thought I had pulled one off on the "crew"! Oh well...Back to the drawing board. :eek: No, wait; That's *YOUR* line! :D Heck, guess I'm going to have to find a different board to post these stolen pieces on. :( :cool:

[Mark Kauder]

John,
I have not been to SMC for a while - which Vega do you have. I have been considering the 2400 for some time.

Mark

[Dale Thompson]

Hey Spring,
Leave it to a "Cheesehead" to turn something "square" on a lathe. ;) Have you checked the bearings lately?

Nice job, bud, as USUAL!! :) :) Can I buy your bearings!! :D :D

Dale T.

[John Miliunas]

John,
I have not been to SMC for a while - which Vega do you have. I have been considering the 2400 for some time.

Mark

Hi Mark. Yup, it's the 2400. I purchased it used a few weeks ago. It's definitely got some miles on it, but works great! Solid as a rock, smooth, quiet and I love the variable speed/reverse on it. And, it's made right here, in the good ol' US of A! :D Basically, when looking at bowl lathes, I believe this one gives you a lot of bang for your buck, even when comparing prices on new ones. The particular piece I did here, started life as a pretty lopsided blank, but the lathe held steady and I was able to even it out in pretty short order. I've never owned or operated a dedicated bowl lathe before, but I really like having the ability to stand in front of your work, rather than off to the side. Among other things, I think it adds a certain amount of safety cushion not having to stand directly in line with the possible trajectory angle of a piece blowing apart when standing off to the side of it. If you're serious about it, I would definitely keep the Vega on your "short list"! :cool:

[John Miliunas]

Hey Spring,
Leave it to a "Cheesehead" to turn something "square" on a lathe. ;) Have you checked the bearings lately?

Nice job, bud, as USUAL!! :) :) Can I buy your bearings!! :D :D

Dale T.

Thanks Dale! Coming from you, I consider it a very valued compliment! Hey, where 'ya been lately? Missed 'ya! :cool:

[Jim VanBramer]

John ... you've finally done it! I gave you alot of grief up to this point, and to that I say ............. you deserved it :D ! Love the piece ... although I can see you're having a hard time breaking free from being a flat boarder. Guess we could call this your transition piece .. half flat/half spinny thing! Looks great and I as well really like the inclusion. Look forward to many more pieces off that li'l beast! Keep up the great work.

[Bill Esposito]

John,

The piece looks great.

I didnt know you got a Vega (you bum :)). Are there pics of it online? Now that the cradle is finished I'm going to do some turning of something other than spindles :)

[John Miliunas]

John,

The piece looks great.

I didnt know you got a Vega (you bum :)). Are there pics of it online? Now that the cradle is finished I'm going to do some turning of something other than spindles :)

Thank you, Bill. I'm not real big on turning spindles myself. Closest thing to it are pens and I've almost un-buried my little Yorkcraft, so that I can get back to making some for the FPP and a couple more for friends. Flatwork has been consuming all of my shop time, lately. Oh yeah...I did have a thread out there on the Vega, as well, if you'd like to check it out: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=8194&highlight=vega
So far, I'm quite happy with it! :cool:

[Jim Ketron]

Looks great John!!
I like unique looking pieces.