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Being from the other side of the big pond I'm not sure what an esky is, however if it looks anything like a Styrafoam Beer cooler, you are correct. I did an article on photographing pens for...

Damn You'd think I could spell my own name. How about this
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This is what I do for a living so I'll try to throw in my 2 cents worth. If you shoot in direct sun like that simply make yourself a frame and cover it with white fabric. Let the sun shine...

I love to play on the spring pole lathe. I do demo's about once a year on mine. Here's a video some of the students did of me. they had a project to do for class and I told them I would be glad...

I do mine with drill bits. That's why it's a good project for beginners. You only need a spindle gouge and parting tool. I turn tenons on each end of a piece of wood to fit my small jaws on the...

Exactly what I'm teaching tonight. I made my first one as a sewing kit with bobbins and a needle case inside the bobbin. I also make these as pill boxes for those who need to take medicine before...

If your talking about actually turning miniatures your welcome at my house although it's a long way from over there. Tennessee in the USA is a good swim from any of your continents. I turn about as...

I'm a fan of the old Woodfast lathes. There wasn't anything that could go wrong with them that you could not have repaired by a local machinist. I think that's a good thing. They are workhorses.

You may be pushing on the bevel too hard. That causes the wood to flex or makes it bounce of the summer,winter wood which causes vibration. The vibration will cause the tool to grab the wood and...

I tried it. Succeeded once out of 3. Someone was selling motors and controllers at a really good price and I needed to have a slow speed variable speed set up at work for a photography project. ...

You might consider making a beading tool. They are quite easy to make. Take a flat blade screwdriver. Drill a hole hear the tip with the appropriate size drill. Then cut or grind away metal...

There was a really good article in American Woodturner about a year or so ago on off center turning. That's basically what I call eccentric woodturning. I would have to look for it to find it.
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You can add indexing to most any lathe by just adding an index wheel. I have 2 One is 1/4" lexan drilled with 1/4" holes. I got it from a guy in Atlanta. The other one you can buy from...

To do them that narrow and be absolutely sure I would get them correct here's what I would do. If they are by themselves I would use the parting tool to set them off. Then use the toe of the skew...

If your getting less than a perfect cut on the lower part of the sides of beads then you are probably pushing the tool too fast. Remember the wood is moving slower as you get closer to the center. ...

That version of the Jet mini is all over the place here in the US. Hundreds if not thousands of them. I hear very few complaints about them. I've owned 2. They are excellent as a start lathe. I...

I was at a craft fair last year and a guy had bowls that were obviously done on the ringmaster and if they were turned at all they were done with a scraper. Lot's of tearout, poor sanding and lousy...

I've been doing the bowl from a board technique lately. You don't need a ringmaster. It would be nice if it cost $100 but not at the price they are asking. I've been doing them with both the...

That's Nick Cook in the video. Nick is a friend of mine and is a master of turning platters. I think he turned some ungodly number for a commission. Wish I could remember the number but when I...

They are right, they are for indexing. I don't use them. I purchased and index wheel from www.ironfireLLC.com It has many more choices and can be used with a faceplate or even spindle drive...

Rifleman has it. Practice practice practice. And more practice. I'm pretty good with a skew but if I go out there right now after not turning for a few days I'll have trouble turning one side of...

Some people call it Involute turning. At least I think that's what I remember. I've done quite a bit of it over the years so my ears perk up everytime I see an article or post about it. I've...

It is page 39. I just got my mag yesterday. I haven't read that one yet but I'm sure looking forward to it.. I did thumb through it and it looks like you did a great job explaining the steps. ...

I agree, but I touch up the edge of all my tools before the last few cuts. It's just a good practice.

Neil I've followed the various articles and posts on PM steels not taking as keen an edge and I haven't been able to prove it. I have a lot of PM tools, HSS tools and some High Carbon tools. I...

I'm a big fan of the Thompson gouges. I like the V but I would use a U if I had it. There really isn't that much difference. It's more a matter of how you grind the tool and how you use the tool...

Although I learned to sharpen by hand I'm a big fan of the various sharpening jigs. They are so repeatable so I remove very little metal each time I sharpen. There is still a mild learning curve...

I do mostly the same thing. Grind to produce a bevel then I use the EZ-Lap diamond hones to get the edge. I take the medium hone and lay it on the bevel. Then work it back and forth until there is...

Well I have 4 not counting the curved ones. I have the original for my Powermatic which is 14" and the short rest which is about 5 or 6". I have one custom made by Robust that is 10 3/4".Robust...

Looking at your bowl you had two problems. The foot you were expanding into was definitely too thin. If you had tapered the bowl up toward the lip from the very bottom you might have succeeded but...

YOu have two potential problems. If you have a split you may not have cut all of it out. The other problem is how much wood did you leave around the jaws in expansion mode. Expansion into a...

Lyle I don't know exactly what the index wheels are made of but it is virtually indestructable. My friend ordered one and the mailman folded it to fit in the mailbox. He called in a panic and...

Somebody explained about grinding off the bottom of the bowl gouge many years ago to me because I was having the burnished ring problems on the inside of my bowls. It works great. Over the years I...

Although I'll admit that the actual turning of green wood is fun. You get long shavings and it turns easily. However most of what I make requires that the wood be dry. Lidded boxes or containers...

A pull cut done properly will leave a beautiful finish. I developed my own style of pull cut when I was first doing hand mirrors. I didn't know that's what it's called and hadn't seen anyone do it....

Very Unique. I like it.

I was looking for a 2 pieces1 1/2 inches thick by 8" square to make a high end box for a $100,000 pearl necklace for a jewelry maker friend. I was still searching for the wood when that project...

Try a short fat piece. If you still have the chatter then it's probably the lathe, tool extended too far, cutting technique, or all of the above. Don't forget the tool rest. Shopsmith for...

You definitely should have a round tenon with a shoulder. Also don't bottom the blank out in the chuck. The shoulder of the tenon should sit on the top of the jaws and the bottom of the tenon...

I agree with the others. I can't give you a number. I turn the speed of the bowl down quite a bit, maybe 500 to 800 rpm. Then I run the drill faster but not fast enough to get the sandpaper hot. ...

Very Nice. I really like them.

I used 2 sided cloth backed tape when I taught my class. We only had a few come off and beginner students are hard on work. The important thing is for the 2 surfaces to be flat, clamp them...

I believe the 1"x8 means 8 threads per inch but that doesn't matter. It's the 1" that matters. If the back of your spindle is 1" your cool. The index wheel is about 1/8" thick. It's made from a...

There is just a hole in the center so the 1" dimension is the only critical dimension not the thread pitch. It is held in place by installing the faceplate or chuck. It's just a flat disc. You...

Cliff I have tried a plane. It works if you want a truly flat plane on the wood. When I do my skew demo I use a side hatchet, draw knife, pocket knife, and plane. Terry Scott told me he uses...

Those are nice pendants. I turn some as well but couldn't find the photo on this computer. I sand the backs flat before I mount the pendants on the wasteblock. My pendants are turned 2 ways. ...

I have a huge one. It's 3" wide and 3/8" thick. It is actually not as good as my 1 1/4" skew for turning large items. I thought it would be but it takes a lot of control to keep it from taking too...

Been there done that. My suggestion, don't do that. :)

I have built a couple by carefully laying out the holes and drilling them. It is much easier and way more versatile to just buy this one. www.ironfirellc.com They have them to fit 1" and 1 1/4"...

You need more heat and you did you mention flux? I may have read it too fast. I use a MAPP gas torch for silver soldering. The solder will flow where it's hottest and you have to get it fairly...