Pics of lathe and first practice

[Eugene Wigley]

Hello everyone, today I took a few pics of the mustard monster. It seems to be a lot better lathe than I thought it would be. I really like it. It is all I could ask for. I also took a Pic of my first two practice projects. A tool handle and a pencil holder. I damaged the brass nut I used as a ferrule on the tool handle. I will replace it with something else when I use the handle.
I had started a small bowl and all was well untill I tried to remove the tennon from the bottom of the bowl. The bowl came out of the chuck. The parting knife cut a nasty mark in the bottom and lower side of the bowl just as it flew from the chuck. The bowl hit the floor and the upper part of the bowl cracked. At least I had fun working it as far as I did before it broke. I have spent most of the day making bowl blanks out of dried stock that was too small for most furniture projects. I will glue up 3 or 4 blanks so I can practice. After I learn the basics I will cut some green wood and try to make bowls out of a single block of wood. I included some of the wood I am using to make the bowl blanks in the pic of the lathe. Most of the wood I use is given to me in exchange for building things for other people. I don't do woodwork for money... I will trade for wood.
Thanks for looking.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Eugene that is a good looking lathe. A lot of people have them and like them. Turnings look great. Nice tool handle. If you want to take the tenon off a bowl it is much easier to reverse the bowl and turn it away. This can be accomplished in a few ways. I use a donut chuck and now have a vacuum chuck. You can use a jam chuck with the tailstock holding it. Turn it down to a small nub then chisel off. There are cole jaws, longworth chucks, etc. Any number of ways to do it.

Have fun and be safe.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Eugene...Nice practice projects!............. Nice Mustard Monster! I have the twin to it parked in my shop.

[Ken Glass]

Eugene,
There is no turning back now!! You will love the mustard Monster and turning will consume you, even if you are careful. Great first projects, and I will tell you there is probably no one here who has not thrown a bowl from their lathe. ( All who haven't raise your hand.) See, what did I tell you!! Welcome to the vortex.

[Skip Spaulding]

Great looking lathe Eugene, you are well on your way. Good luck and enjoy the vortex!

[Jeff Nicol]

Euguene, My Mighty Mustard is a lot less clean than yours! Yours will get that wonderful well used patina soon! The power and smooth variable speed and reverse are great! I too had a bowl fly away from me but it was not from trying to part it off it split into three chunks and one hit me in the head! I was just looking at it and talking with my Dad and turned on the lathe (not the 3520B but my first cheapy) for about 15 to 20 seconds just went to turn off the switch and whamo! Right in the head, 28 stitches later and an angry wife, I had a full face shield the next day! So nice first turnings and don't fight the vortex!

Jeff

[Jim Koepke]

Eugene,
[snip]
I will tell you there is probably no one here who has not thrown a bowl from their lathe. ( All who haven't raise your hand.) See, what did I tell you!! Welcome to the vortex.

I haven't thrown a bowl from my lathe for good reason...

I haven't tried turning one yet.

jim

The question is not if something will go awry, it is when it will go awry.

[Alan Trout]

Eugene, Nice lathe. Have a ball and make more curls.

Alan

[Steve Schlumpf]

Good looking lathe Eugene! Nice size handle!

I would like to suggest trying to learn bowls on green wood. It is a lot easier to cut and a heck of a lot more fun to turn! When just starting out you are trying to learn different angles of cuts, of holding the gouge, etc and making a lot of curlies from a chunk of green wood is just a blast! Don't worry about finishing a bowl - just turn it down to nothing and grab another piece and do it again! You'll get the hang of it real quick - especially if you can get someone to give you a few pointers!

Have fun with it!

[Matt Day]

I hope your wife doesn't see this picture!

[Eugene Wigley]

Hello everyone. Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. I think turning is a great hobby. I am still trying get a bowl completed. I seem to have problems with turning the inside of the bowl. I'll get it one of these days.
Steve, I think you have a good idea about the green wood. I just called a friend of mine who saws my lumber. I asked him if he has any green wood. He says he has a 12" cypress tree that he cut in fire wood lengths. The wood has been laying out for about five days. Is that something that I could turn? It is the only green wood I can get for the next week or so. He also said it is really wet. Will that hurt anything?
Thanks again to everyone for all of the help. There is no way I would ever learn to turn wood without all the help and encouragement I get from this forum.

[Scott Conners]

Eugene, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend getting a copy of Bill Grumbine's "Turned Bowls Made Easy." It's an excellent video and really explains the way the cuts work and how they cut as well as how to perform them. It takes you through the process from start to finish, and he shows multiple ways to overcome challenges.
I've also found great help from Stewart Batty, David Ellsworth, Richard Raffan ,and Mike Mahoney in their DVDs.