Weekend turning practice

[Rob Harville]

...or "They don't make 2x4s like they used to"

I'm new around here and pretty much a novice turner. I have a new Jet 1220VS (upgraded from my Griz mini used only for pens) and I'm looking forward to doing much more.

I had hoped to spend much more time playing with my new lathe, but alas, my wife had other plans. I did get out today to buy an old Delta jointer and hit HF for a few things, then some quality time in the "shop" (read "garage").

So here it is: just a combo of curves, some beading, some skew work and my very first every captured ring! This piece started out as a random section of Hem/Fir 2x4 ripped down to two square sections. Very soft and turns very rough with tearout.

http://www.teddydog.org/wood/turning_s1a.JPG

The "straight" area on the left was skew practice and I left it unsanded. I really like how the skew leaves the wood. But...somtimes I get a nice smooth pass and sometimes it looks almost like a screw.

http://www.teddydog.org/wood/turning_s1b.JPG

Here's my captured ring. Sanded on the outside before final parting, unsanded since.

http://www.teddydog.org/wood/turning_s1c.JPG

And the other end.

Anyway...still waiting for my chuck, drill chuck, pen mandrel and other stuff to arrive, so I just had to play between centers. Any and all comments welcome.

Rob

[Steve Schlumpf]

Rob - Welcome to the Creek! You may consider yourself a novice turner but you have already turned something I never have - and that's your captured ring! Nice work on that! When turning 2x4s - the key is sharp tools and pay attention to the direction of the cut - always want to cut downhill (biggest diameter towards the smaller diameter) Other than that - have fun with it!

Looking forward to seeing some more photos of your work!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome to the Creek Rob! Looks like pretty good practice to me. I look forward to seeing you future work!

[Jim Becker]

Welcome, Rob.

Nice work. One thing to remember about turning pine and other very soft materials is that your tooling must be extremely keen to insure that you have a smooth and tear-out free cut. Sharpen frequently!

[robert hainstock]

Looks like you had a good day in the shop. In the end, thatis what matters. :)
Bob

[Don Orr]

You are off to a great start Rob. If you can do that well in such a soft wood, you will do just fine in harder wood. You are already doing the best thing you can to hone your skills-practice ! That goes for sharpening your tools as well.

Keep it up, have fun and be safe,