Homage to the Ladies... thanks to NeilS

[Frank&Earnest]

It all started a few weeks ago, when a reference to donuts in a thread prompted Eliza to write something as "Now I am thinking of a donut box". It could have been seen just as the wishful thinking of a glutton, :D but, being the gentleman I am, :wink: I interpreted it as a creative urge to turn a box shaped as a donut. 'Isn't she clever', I thought, 'how would she do that?' and sketched out a possible way to do it (pic 1).

Then NeilS and I had a turn-shutzenfest and exchanged gifts. His gift to me was an 11" blank of green blackwood, with the recommendation to rough it quickly before it started splitting (and of course, I did not have a chance to get into the shed for the next four days, life is like that:() with a nice spalted sapwood. My first thought was 'what a pity that the sapwood will be mostly turned out' so I flattened the back to see what could remain of the spalting (pic 2 and 3. In the background, the day's pile of shavings :U.) It looked such a pity to throw away the leftover slice, so I tried a way to get a couple of shallow dishes out of it (pic 4).

Because of a couple of small knot holes on the rim of the opposite side of the blank, it appeared that that side would have to be rounded out also. The light bulb lit up: two round sides = good opportunity to try Eliza's donut! :2tsup: Imagine pic 5 with a hole where the spigot is now being the top of the box presented on the table : for serving it is flipped over (pic 6) and the lid lifted by the central knob to reveal a ring of Baci chocolates, for example, :cool: and an empty ring to be filled on the spot with other sweets. (pic 7) There is still a low spot to be fixed when finishing the bowl. Do you think it would be too tacky to carve toothmarks around it instead of turning it off? :D

Back to the spalted sapwood. Once turned the small saucer, I tried to get a bigger dish out of the bigger slice. Alas, there is a first time for everything and this time I actually saw a flying saucer. :(( First time ever I get hit by something flying off the lathe. No big deal, it being so light, but I just have to be the smartass who goes for sharp sub-mm edges, don't I? Result, a 3cm cut on my forehead and a broken dish.

Another light bulb lights up: Tea Lady mentioned leveraging her skills to make cups and saucers, so why not salvaging the broken dish and making an exact replica of the first small saucer, with two small cups to suit? The point here being to make two identical ones. Here they are (pic 8 the cups are Western Myall). Saucers' diametre 95mm, 2mm thick, weigh about 12g; cups' diametre 52mm, 3mm thick, weigh about 18g (60g in total). I'll call the pair "Espresso in the Desert" :D.

A toast to the ladies with coffee and donuts! :U

[tea lady]

:think: Very interesting. :cool:

[WOODbTURNER]

Check out Neil Scobie's doughnut box in the latest American Woodturner.

[NeilS]

And, to think that I would have only got a single bowl out of that piece of blackwood...:)

Looking forward to seeing the chocy box when finished and all polished up.


Result, a 3cm cut on my forehead...

Should have also left my facemask with you....:doh:

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[Frank&Earnest]

Check out Neil Scobie's doughnut box in the latest American Woodturner.

Thanks WbT. Would that show me a good way to finish my design from here, or show a completely different design? The only difficulty I envisage having with mine is to keep the internal and external rims absolutely at the same height.

[Frank&Earnest]

And, to think that I would have only got a single bowl out of that piece of blackwood...:)

Well, the traditional way of paying homage to the ladies is with poetry... I'll call this "Ode to Thrift":U But I do not believe it, you are the one with Scottish background, aren't you ? :D


Should have also left my facemask with you....:doh:
Yes, I have to admit that one looked a bit more user friendly than my Triton Respirator. :wink:
....

As regards finishing, I might try the metho method :D again, so not to have to wait a year or so... what do you think?

[Ozkaban]

That would look awesome serving a dozen of Krispy Kreme's finest :D

I actually had the same idea after reading that thread. Though of course i didn't do a darn thing about it! I had a different throught for the base - a tapered cone shape thing. I was planning to split it along the centre like you did.

I sketched it out, but in the end I thought it looked like a mushroom cloud! Thought that was a bad omen so I left it there.

Your thread has got me thinking that I should try it out though! I've a nice fresh bit of jacaranda that made way for my new shed that could be part of the experiment :think:

Cheers,
Dave

[Frank&Earnest]

I actually had the same idea after reading that thread.
...
Cheers,
Dave

Great minds etc. :D I also agree on your assessment that the foot makes it more mushroom than donut. I put in the concealed knob just for practicality, thinking that a real donut shape would be a bit awkward to open.

So you are further proof that Eliza has been really inspirational...:)

[Ozkaban]

Great minds etc. :D I also agree on your assessment that the foot makes it more mushroom than donut.
One way to solve that would be to carefully cut away some of the foot so it is a tripod type shape, might look like a flying saucer then!


I put in the concealed knob just for practicality, thinking that a real donut shape would be a bit awkward to open.
'tis also true. I was hoping to make the centre hollow right through though, which would be an interesting turning experience! I still have no idea how to chuck it!



So you are further proof that Eliza has been really inspirational...:)

Ahh, as if we needed that :D

Cheers,
Dave

[Frank&Earnest]

...
'tis also true. I was hoping to make the centre hollow right through though, which would be an interesting turning experience! I still have no idea how to chuck it!
...


If you hollow it through it might actually make it simpler to hold both sides of each piece in expansion mode: we both would have to do that with the top part anyway, the bottom would be exactly the same. The issue is whether you want a handle of some description and to flip the box when you want to open it, which is how I want to do it (more value as a conversation piece :wink::D), or not, in which case probably the simplest solution would be to keep the top circumference a bit wider than the bottom or make an indent around the rim so that there is a ledge to grab around. If the bottom always stays at the bottom, the shape of the (hollow) foot then becomes purely an aesthetic choice, IMHO.

[NeilS]

As regards finishing, I might try the metho method :D again, so not to have to wait a year or so... what do you think?

Frank - I checked out a few other blanks of that blackwood batch and I reckon it is closer to seasoned than I realised. The small blank we did turn at your place was from a later batch and was definitely still very green.

I wouldn't bother with metho method, but suggest you weigh a piece with accurate scales, record and leave the two halves apart in a drafty place (not in direct sun or radiant heat) and weigh in a few days. The moisture loss is exponential, the greatest loss happens in the first 24 hrs and tapers off from there with time. So, if there is a noticeable change in weight keep weighing every few days until you get negligible drop in weight and then its ready to go.

Another way of checking is to measure from rim to rim across the end grain and also rim to rim across the side grain. If you are getting different readings then the blank wasn't seasoned when you turned it. If the two readings are the same in a week it was probably seasoned already. This last test is probably more important than the first, given that you want the two halves to remain 'married up' once completed.

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[Frank&Earnest]

Thanks Neil, will do.

[artme]

Great use of the timber F&E.. And nice work to boot.:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

[Frank&Earnest]

Ok, here is the finished donut, after the drying period as per Neil's instructions. As expected, all the remounting made it rather difficult but I managed to keep the matching rims within tolerable tolerances. :wink:

I am happy to report that the cups are now living in Como, on the lake:).

Happy new year!

[wheelinround]

FE brilliant work totaly amazing :2tsup:

[joe greiner]

Excellent. Got any side views?

Cheers,
Joe

[Frank&Earnest]

Excellent. Got any side views?

Cheers,
Joe
Now I do. :) Sorry for the quality, it's night time here. :wink:

[joe greiner]

Thanks. Even more excellent.:2tsup:

Cheers,
Joe

[Evan Pavlidis]

Nice work mate....the spalting adds to it. :2tsup:

Evan

[masoth]

F&E thanks for the thread, and I can say I enjoyed the evolution and thoughts which brought us to the final shape. What are the dimensions and finish, please?

soth

[NeilS]

Well done, Frank!

Quite a feature piece.... :2tsup:

Is it a keeper or a candidate for the next club exhibition?

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[Texian]

Very nice piece F&E. Did someone already mention for making doughnuts, use a doughnut chuck? The padded disc on the lathe bed is for gripping the doughnut through the center, for turning the outside.

[Sawdust Maker]

Frank

Extremely nice work :2tsup:

[Frank&Earnest]

Thanks everybody for the (undeserved :-) compliments.

Texian, excellent solution, better than the various wheels I enjoyed reinventing. I think I have found my limitation: I will never achieve excellence through practicing because I lose interest once I have found my solution to a problem. And I hate sanding. :D

[Ed Reiss]

Frank...somehow missed your original post from Oct.:doh:

Terrific work in salvaging the pieces :2tsup:

[Frank&Earnest]

F&E thanks for the thread, and I can say I enjoyed the evolution and thoughts which brought us to the final shape. What are the dimensions and finish, please?

soth

Sorry, I missed your question before. 10"x3", Shellawax.

[Sawdust Maker]

... And I hate sanding. :D

Don't we all
Can't agree more