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Skew ChiDAMN!!
20th December 2013, 10:41 AM
Well... it's approaching that time of year again (ie. I finally noticed that whopping great banner at the top of the forum pages) and it has been quite some time since I last posted any of the indignities I have put my lathes through.

So I spent a coupla days in the shed seeing what I could come up with to address both situations.

297915

In the past I've found that lidded jars always seem to be popular, esp. with people who like to cook. As I always seem to have an excess of empty Moccona coffee jars laying to hand... well... All timbers sourced from the firewood pile & silastic'd onto the original glass lids. Yellow Box, Ironbark & Redgum. I suspect that the large one in the back may be Vic Ash; it was one of many aliens in the woodpile, flying under false colours.

The 'thermos' started as a $2 anodised water bottle. The top ring and bottom cap are also aliens from the woodpile - I'll refrain from trying to make an ID :rolleyes: - and are glued to the upper lower/edges of the leather. When the leather is unlaced the bottle is easily removed for cleaning or whatever.

The... ummm... "Chrissy Tree decos" were spun up from Jarrah & Radiata offcuts. The one on the left took a whole 15 minutes, to show a bloke the basic idea behind 'em. Just a solid Jarrah ball with chunky pine finials. The ringed one on the right is my showing him how I do things... and took the best part of a couple of hours.

It weighs a fraction of the other as the ball was hollowed out to scary thin and weighs in at not much more than a glass one! I'm a tad peeved at myself for not removing the thickness of the 'ring' from the circumference of the ball before gluing it in... now it looks egg-shaped rather than round. Also, I am not overly enamoured of the finials - I can and have turned much better, although I always struggle with 'em - but give me a break. Radiata, remember? I consider myself lucky to end up with four finials out of only four attempts, using the stuff. :~


So... all up I estimate that I'm out of pocket a whole $2 for the lot, not including the 'base' turning costs which are always incurred, such as time, power, wear'n'tear, grits and finishes. A pretty cheap day, given the results.

What odds 'n ends and scraps 'n sods do YOU have laying around in your shed that can be used to take the edge off this seasonal financial crisis? http://www.ubeaut.biz/biggringift.gif



PS: Should anyone with eagle eyes zoom in and notice that some of those jar lids show 'excess' wear'n'tear... well... guilty as charged, yer Honour. :B As fast as I make those jars they head out the door. So I resorted to substituting a couple of the users from our own kitchen to represent what I've done. But I really did turn others at the same time! Honest injun! :innocent:

Pat
20th December 2013, 05:06 PM
Andy, I did a run of Bud Vases from offcuts in the scrap bin. The girls at work were happy with their xmas presents.

RETIRED
20th December 2013, 05:36 PM
You smmooooth talking Devil.:wink:

Christos
20th December 2013, 08:44 PM
I like what you have come up with. As I do not drink coffee it is going to be a challenge to get hold of one. Who knows maybe some other type of jars, chilli for instance(not the one with the nuts).

Colin62
20th December 2013, 08:51 PM
What a nice creative way to quickly and simply add value to something fairly ordinary :)

Skew's_Girl
20th December 2013, 09:20 PM
Well... it's approaching that time of year again (ie. I finally noticed that whopping great banner at the top of the forum pages)

Well that and his wiffy asking for something to give to a coworker for christmas.


In the past I've found that lidded jars always seem to be popular, esp. with people who like to cook.

They are from the thermos, Mountain Ash, Mango, Mountain Ash, Redgum and Yellow box; with the decos, out of Jarrah and Pine. An Ironbark and a Jarrah were given to our neighbour who fancied them. He's been busy :)


The... ummm... "Chrissy Tree decos" were spun up from Jarrah & Radiata offcuts.

The Crissy present for a coworker. We thought at the last second to add a fishing spinner so it'd continue to spin for longer, but didn't have one on hand. This just means the set for our christmas tree will be much improved :)


PS: Should anyone with eagle eyes zoom in and notice that some of those jar lids show 'excess' wear'n'tear... well... guilty as charged, yer Honour. :B As fast as I make those jars they head out the door.

Or up on the shelf! Hey, I married a woodturner for the pretties, cant give ALL of them away! Especially when they're Useful!

I got alot of the offcuts from a 'firewood' bin that a local timber yard puts out once in a while. Also scored Cypress flooring, Spalted Merbau, figured Jarrah, Blackwood, and a whole lot of pine offcuts for the homework gave me.

Merry Christmas!

RETIRED
20th December 2013, 09:25 PM
homework gave me.I hope you have been doing it. End of Semester soon. :roflmao:

oldsaundy
21st December 2013, 02:23 PM
my rellies say I am a cheapskate if I give them something I have turned The call it "Home made". So they all get a box of bickies, and friends who like what I make get the turnings.

Christos
21st December 2013, 09:10 PM
my rellies say I am a cheapskate if I give them something I have turned........

They really have no idea what it means to make something. Well the truth being told even something from a shop is made by someone. The difference is, the shop one is not an original. :o

turnerted
24th December 2013, 04:38 PM
G'day
A week ago I gave the owner of our favourite Italian restaurant a nice laminated crushgrind peppergrinder and a few of my cards as a christmas present and ask him to refer any admireing customers to me.Today we had lunch there and he's still using his crappy grinder . I asked why he wasn't using my one and his reply was that it was too good to use in the resstaurant. So much for my promo .
Ted

Skew's_Girl
24th December 2013, 10:18 PM
my rellies say I am a cheapskate if I give them something I have turned The call it "Home made". So they all get a box of bickies, and friends who like what I make get the turnings.

That's bloody stupid! When you give someone a turning you had to do more than just walk down to Kmart and hand over $10.

You had to:

1) remember the person
2) remember what they like or don't like
3) go to the woodpile and actually use a piece that you've been nursing for years
4) come up with, given the wood, what to make
5) make the piece and depending on the size, complexity, wood type etc it could take a very long time especially if the wood is cranky and you have to make many attempts
6) properly finish and polish the piece
7) carefully package the piece and deliver

Spending money doesn't mean you care, while making something with your hands costs the most expensive thing you have, time.

Evanism
25th December 2013, 11:12 AM
That's bloody stupid! When you give someone a turning you had to do more than just walk down to Kmart and hand over $10.

You had to:

1) remember the person
2) remember what they like or don't like
3) go to the woodpile and actually use a piece that you've been nursing for years
4) come up with, given the wood, what to make
5) make the piece and depending on the size, complexity, wood type etc it could take a very long time especially if the wood is cranky and you have to make many attempts
6) properly finish and polish the piece
7) carefully package the piece and deliver

Spending money doesn't mean you care, while making something with your hands costs the most expensive thing you have, time.

I ABSOLUTELY agree with this.

For years I've simply gone with the crowd and been disgusted at the grotesque commercialisation of Christmas. Well, any holiday really. (I'm a militant atheist, but I do like ceremony and the fantasy of Santa for the kids)

It really gets my goat when people think that spending $15 at Kmart on a hurriedly chosen object somehow represents caring, or thought, or RESPECT.... After all, nothing says love like a plastic thing burped in bulk from a polluting machine in regional China.

This year I did the right thing. I made a large number of things. Cutting boards, pens (thanks to Corbs and Delbs!), a few bowls, etc. Nothing extraordinary, but they were MY EFFORT and time.

I hope people like them, but then again, if they don't that will be OK (it's art, and one cannot force a person to like your art) but I do know it means far more giving-wise than some arbitrary and quick purchase with a credit card.

What was very nice, we went out to quite a few markets and there were a few vendors selling hand made things that seemed to go well. Some of the vendors were being modest when I discussed sales volumes (I must look like the gestapo), but I think more people are looking for unique objects for gifts.

Let's hope that Christmas does get back to kids getting a single gift of a dad-made snow toboggan as a gift rather than an Xbox with 23 games. Fantasy perhaps, but so is Christmas. (might go watch Citizen Kane!)

Happy Festivus!

Christos
26th December 2013, 01:41 PM
..........

Let's hope that Christmas does get back to kids getting a single gift of a dad-made snow toboggan as a gift rather than an Xbox with 23 games. Fantasy perhaps, but so is Christmas. (might go watch Citizen Kane!)........!


How did this movie end? Did someone make a Bud vase for a Rose? :U

Pat
26th December 2013, 01:55 PM
How did this movie end? Did someone make a Bud vase for a Rose? :U

Wot? Like these?

Sturdee
26th December 2013, 04:25 PM
Let's hope that Christmas does get back to kids getting a single gift of a dad-made snow toboggan as a gift rather than an Xbox with 23 games.


If I made a snow toboggan as a gift for Christmas my kids would think that I've gone senile as well as becoming an old man.

Maybe in Canberra but it doesn't snow in Melbourne during the winter and definitely not around Christmas time. :?


Peter.

RETIRED
26th December 2013, 04:45 PM
Maybe in Canberra but it doesn't snow in Melbourne during the winter and definitely not around Christmas time

26 July 1882 - snow fell for half an hour in Melbourne.

1951 - A moderate cover of snow blankets the central business district (CBD) and suburbs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_in_Melbourne#cite_note-snowMelbourneArgus-3):D

powderpost
26th December 2013, 09:34 PM
Let's hope that Christmas does get back to kids getting a single gift of a dad-made snow toboggan
Not sure if the kids up here would know what it was??? :oo: :U
Jim

cava
26th December 2013, 11:13 PM
26 July 1882 - snow fell for half an hour in Melbourne.

1951 - A moderate cover of snow blankets the central business district (CBD) and suburbs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_weather_events_in_Melbourne#cite_note-snowMelbourneArgus-3):D

That's because of Global Warming, oops, Climate Change, oops. Call it whatever you want, provided it can be taxed...:roll: