Thread: Palletwood Collection

Nice work. I like to see the reuse of timber. It is amazing what quality wood comes from pallets. I have made an outdoor table from a huge collection of ex Ford packing crates that I picked up for next to nothing. I have no idea what the timbers are but they have great colours from blonde to red and smell great. It is a real mixed bag, some pieces were incredabily heavy and some very light.

The guy that I got them off had a contract with Ford to remove all of the packing crates. All he did was take them to his property and dump them. Upon retiring he started to machine them up and sell them. Im sure he said most of the timber comes from PNG.

Stinky. (like the wood)

Thanks Sir Stinky!
I don't go dumpster diving for palletwood,
but I keep an eye out for something out of the ordinary. Too many chemicals and rat turds to be careful of.

Here's a new picture of a couple of lidded jars.
The left one is Ambrosia Maple & Curley Birch.
The one on the right is Bubinga & Pink Ivory.

Thanks for ANY feedback!

Sir Chizalot.

Sir Chiz: As a fellow "Yank", your work is
beautiful....

You haven't abandoned the Woodnet BB for the
"out back" have you????

Seriously, so many good turners downunder and
so much info available. Great group, huh?

Regards, Phyllis (sunshine)

Hi Phyllis,nice to hear from you! I hope you've been busy Turnin'!
How do you like the DVR??

Thankyou for the compliments,I'm learnin'
I honestly would appreciate any criticisms too,
we can't always see what we're doing wrong if somebody doesn't point them out.
After all,we look at everything through the same eye.
I took that Sassafras jar to work with me,the first guy that saw it,bought it! Next guy came along and asked if it was for sale.
That made me feel purdy good.

Still tuning in to Woodnutz,but there's a lot of good Folks here too,same crusty sense of humor but
sometime it needs a little translation.
I check out Wood Online too,it's abit slow but lots of good info there too.

What are you working on??

Phil.

Hi Phil: Well you remembered my DVR.... I love it!!!! Best
turning money I ever spent!

At the present time, I have gotten into segmented turning.

It is lots of fun and so many ways to go, with size, # of segments, different woods, etc. Also have done some
open segmented pieces.... and that is also a whole new
area...
Have also tried some woodburning on a couple of
beech bowls.... this is really good, too.


Let me ask you a question: how thin do you
make your walls? And what do you use to clean out
the inside of your pieces? I have been trying some
scrapers for a more closed piece, but that is really
hard work! Any hints would be great.

Phyllis

Hi phyllis,I'm glad you happy with the DVR,I remember reading that you "had bought" one.
I used the one that belongs to local Woodcraft for three consecutive at a WW show last year,I had no complaints about the lathe itself,but the electronics had a LOT of bugs,maybe it was just that machine.I think it was one of the first in the U.S.
I'm glad yours worked out ok.

I haven't thought much about segmented turning,
too much THINKING and tablesawin' for me.
I just used my tablesaw for the first time in
10 months! Had to find it first.

AS to thin,I'm not really into it,it's fun to do once in a while but I'd prefer to have a useful piece that's a bit thick,than to have a bunch of broken thin pieces on the shop floor.
Open a Turning book or magazine,what's the first of you senses stimulated? Sight.
You could put a beautiful finish on a paper thin
turning,but if the design is ugly,it's still ugly.
Design and function are more inportant to me.
I've got more useless bowls collecting dust,so I've been making the lidded things,they're more useful and sell better.
On an 8" bowl,I go to about 1/4".I go more for consistant thickness and try to get the curves right before I consider thickness.
Anything I make for my wife has to be an inch thick...She's brutal!

Almost forgot,I use a sidegrind bowl gouge as far as I can go with that,then either the Kelton hook type hollowing tools or the Crown hook-nose scraper to get under the rim.I recently got a Kelton heavy scraper with the replaceable tip,it can be angled as needed,but haven't spent a lot of time with it.
No fancy hollowin' rigs,arm braces,safety harnesses or laser beams.

Phil.

Thanks, Phil. I pretty much agree with all your comments
on thin/thick, etc.

I got the small Kelton hollowing set and have been using it
a little. I think the hollowing is just "muscling" the wood
no matter what kind of tool is used.
What do you mean by "side grind" gouge? Is that like
the fingertip (Sorby) type?

Am sorry to hear you had some problems with the DVR...
so far (knock wood) have not had one thing go wrong....
just smooth and fast!

Since I have been doing segmented turning, yes, there is
a lot of "sawing", but I now consider my table saw
an accessory to my lathe....


I have not done any lidded bowls, but am going to try
some as yours are very nice and I agree they are more
useful with a lid.

Phyllis

Hi Phyllis.

The sidegrind is often called the "Ellsworth"
or "Irish" grind.The sides of the flute are ground way back,with a steep bevel of 65-70 degrees.
It takes some getting used to,but it's very versitile once ya get the hang of it.
I couldn't find a very good picture but this link will give you the idea.

http://www.oneway.on.ca/Oneway/vari-grind.html

Hollowing can be rough on the shoulders,you may want to look into some of the hollowing rigs available,maybe build your own.
The rig absorbs the stresses of hollowing,all you have to do is guide it.

I read an article that suggests practicing tools like the Keltons, on an open bowl blank.
That way you can "see" what angle and height make it work best,and what causes problems.
When you find the right down-angle,mark the "top",
the "12:00" position of the tool shaft with a file or marker,that way you can keep track of the cutter tip when you can't see it.

Phil.

Phil: Thanks for all the info. I have the Vari-Grind attachment and
do use it on all my gouges. My "main" gouge (1/2") is the
"fingertip"grind.. sounds like the Irish grind except not nearly
as extreme. I am going to grind one of my gouges to the
65 degree angle and give it a try as you suggested.

Also a good idea using the Kelton on an open bowl to actually
see where the tip is when cutting properly. I have been trying
with a closed (opening about 2") bowl, but it is "hit and miss"
when it comes to acutally getting a smooth cut, mostly sawdust
and chips and bump, bump, bump!

Other than that, am having the usual great time turning.
One of my friends gave me a branch of boxwood
very dry, about 24" long and maybe 6" diameter. Very
wide for boxwood in this neck of the woods. It is wonderful
to turn and when done right, it is smooth as satin, with
just a scraper, not even any sanding. Beautiful tight grain, but
has the problem of splitting along most sides. Just kind
of work around those things, incorporate in piece, if I can.
I am going to turn 3-4 small, shallow bowls from the
boxwood so I can woodburn on them. (Just started doing
that and it is very fun!)

Also am looking to make a couple of lids for the bowls.
Do you turn the bowl then turn a lid to fit?

Phyllis

Phyllis,not all gouges work well with a sidegrind,
if you have a "deep" flute gouge,use that.
You may have to fiddle with the Vari-grind to get the nose and sides right,you don't want the sides to tilt inward too much.
My gouge protrudes 1.5" from the jig,with the "leg" down on the fourth cog.
You want your side bevels flat along their length and along the top cutting edge.
When you resharpen,you start with the side bevel laid flat against the wheel,then a quick,light sweep around to the nose,each side.
Here's a better picture:

http://www.homestead.com/turnedtreas...oodenhat1.html

When you hollow,do you bore a hole first?
If not,try using a Forstner or spade bit first,
then try starting at the depth and pull the Kelton outward,that may be a little easier for you.

I do turn my bowls first,then fit the lid.
I turn the under side first,then the outside.
Often,I'll fit the lid,then with the bowl still on the chuck,jam fit the lid into the bowl with the blue painters tape and turn the lid that way.
It makes it easier for me to see that the lines flow better.
That's what I was trying to do with the Sassafras jar,get the sweep of the bowl to flow through the lid.
I've only turned 1 piece of boxwood,just an inlay on that box that is around here somewhere,nice stuff though.
I got a coupla pieces of African Blackwood waitin'
Hasta Later!

Phil.

Thanks again, Phil. Lots of useful info for
me to try...

Well, I guess since we have "borrowed" this
little part of the BB, probably should return
it to the "others".....

Talk to you soon. Be sure to post your
blackwood pieces when you finish!

Phyllis

This is my thread and I ain't givin'it back!

I got a coupla Blackwood and Ebony pieces I turned a while back...hmmmm.


Sir Chizalot.

I like your style!!



Read you soon!!!!



Phyllis