xmas ornaments "mock inside out"

[John Nowack]

wanted to show someone my latest and I can't send to family because it is part of their x-mas present----the globe was turned out of walnut---the trees and snowmen were from spalted sycamore and maple

not the best but I have several to make and I still need to to turn the "main gifts"---should have taken a little more time sanding and the holes did not end up perfectly centered because I could not get the wood perfectly square before measuring---the family still enjoys the gifts from my new hobby better than some junk from the store that we bought just because we needed gift to give

[Richard Madison]

I think they are just dandy, John. Am sure your family will enjoy them. And a clever way to make them as well.

[John Nowack]

the good thing about wood turning is that everyone seems very open about plans and instructions this one came from an article by bob hamilton that was posted on one of the many woodworking sites out there

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking ornaments. Really nice job on them John. Will make super gifts.

[Bob Hamilton]

They look good, John! I have been working on a few of them myself. I have been meaning to update that article. I found I was getting too many failures when I was using a 1 1/2" hole in 2" stock so I have been making the hole 1 3/8" instead. I also bought a cheap oscillating spindle sander to sand the inside of the holes before I mount them on the lathe, which makes that part considerably easier. The durn things are time consuming enough without spending a lot of time trying to sand out the ridges where the holes don't quite meet up.

Good job!
Bob

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice work John! Should make for some great Christmas gifts!

[Greg Just]

here is the link to Bob Hamilton's tutorial:


http://bobhamswwing.com/Articles/Christmas%20Ornament/Christmas%20Ornament1.htm

[Andrew Derhammer]

Bob, What about using a stop on the fence so it stays at the same spot the whole time?

[Bob Hamilton]

Hi, Andrew:
I did set up stops this time but it is not quite as simple as you would think, since you are changing your reference end or face as you flip the piece. IF you can get your fence set so you are boring absolutely dead centre across the width of the piece (AND all your pieces are identical width) then you could set up one end stop and just rotate the piece while keeping the same end against the stop. I usually try to keep the same face against the fence while boring from opposite sides, so I am flipping the piece end for end and boring half way through from each side. That meant I had to set up end stops on each side of the bit and try to get them equidistant from the hole center. I managed to get them close enough that the oscillating spindle sander made short work of the ridges.

If your drill press has a long enough stroke you could try boring all the way through from one side, but I suspect that would lead to an unacceptable amount of tearout on the bottom face. My cheap benchtop drill press doesn't have enough stroke for that so I haven't been able to test it out.

Take care
Bob