Made it round - round 2

[Dan Moening]

I love turning!
This mallet is number 2 from plans in an article from Wood magazine (and looks a bit less like a wine bottle ). Maple handle wrapped with Black Acacia.

The first picture is the final turning:
And the second is after one quick coat of BLO:

Things I've learned about turning:
1). This is really fun!
2). Real turners must not wear shirts with pockets.
3). This is really fun!
4). Coming into the house to show LOML your latest creation will only garner stares at the trail of chips/dust behind you...she's not impressed.
5). This is really fun!
6). You cannot sneeze properly while wearing a faceshield.

...did I say that this is really fun?

[Dick Parr]

Very nice project Dan. I case you haven't figured it out yet, turning is fun.

[Dave Anderson NH]

One for the best things about making your own mallet is that you can fit it to a size which fits your hand. I'll lay odds that you end up making another one in a small size for more precise work. Like most other hand tools, one just isn't enough.

[Tyler Howell]

Your not having any fun or anything are you??? I've heard that is not aloud!
That is too nice.

[Chris Thompson]

Dan, very very nice, and it fits nicely with my new desire to craft my own tools. I love the contrast in the wood. Do you worry about using it? I'd look at that grain and think "This is too pretty to smack into the back end of a chisel".

See, turning was never anything that appealed to me, until I started down the neander path, when I started trying to be more open minded about everything woodworking.

I started reading things, read the site of the local woodturners guild, and slowly realized that may be something I'd like to get into one day.

But, man, Lathes are expensive, and small benchtop lathes look too small for anything but pens. How the heck can one get into turning inexpensively? Or is that like asking about "getting into vintage ferarris cheaply"?

My father does have a ShopSmith he uses for just about everything, so I could always drive over there and use his, but that's no fun, he's a half hour away.

Does Woodcraft ever rent their class space for use as a shop when there are no classes going on?

[Dan Moening]

Gosh, Chris...you sure have alot of questions...did you jump off the slope without a parachute?

I inherited a Ryobi mini lathe and a complement of Sorby tools from my father...so, no, it wasn't cheap in that regard. Certainly if you're going to do this type of thing "for real" a bigger more powerful machine is needed...cause I imagine you WILL want to do bowls (I do already). The glueup for this project was 3 3/8" diameter and when I mounted the blank and swung it round to check for clearance it wonked the rails . So I'll not be able to make very big bowls on it. However, the Jet mini-lathe and the Delta midi-lathe get quite alot of praise, have ~double the "swing" and come in under $300 IIRC. As for tools, well, you know, ebay, antique shops, WWers quiting the business, um, Bdays, Xmas, etc

IIRC the NH woodturners Guild is quite a prestigious group isn't it? Sure sounds like a great place to start...I would imagine the annual dues would be significantly less than the cost of your own equipment...maybe they could point you in the right direction...offer some personal time in one of their shops, etc...

As for being concerned about using it..nah...the acacia is rather hard...should take a pounding rather well...if not they're easy enough to make.

...I'll lay odds that you end up making another one in a small size for more precise work...
Dave, you think 1 : 9.5 sound about right?

[Chris Thompson]

Dan,

Hey now, don't say I didn't warn you about the oncoming barrage of questions.

Check the last line of my intro post at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost...11&postcount=1

The more I read this site, the more I realize how much I don't know. Of course, I'll stop the pestering as soon as someone says "For the love of god would you shut up for a while?"

I hadn't realized the Delta midi lathe was that cheap. I guess I was looking in the wrong place and seeing $1000+ lathes. Good to know.

[Dan Moening]

Harbor Freight and Grizzly have mini lathes for as little as $120. I've heard nothing of the Grizzly, but others have been happy with the HF as an introductory machine...mind you it is what it is.