Thread: Acorn - Queensland red gum - she-oak

Looks good . I've yet to try one off these .
Ted

damn nice, fantastic, great finish too

Hi Fumbler , look good mate , well done , I think the top
could be a bit smaller , but still looks good ,

Originally Posted by smiife

Hi Fumbler , look good mate , well done , I think the top
could be a bit smaller , but still looks good ,

It's a reclaimed old fence post and the splits just kept coming. I picked it up from Scott's head Jan 2018, the guy was renovating so I asked what he was doing with them and he said fire wood!! So I managed to scrounge 3 posts. They were very old and weathered, and as the floors kept showing up I kept pouring more and more CA into the cracks, I basically forgot to go back and check the diameters to see how they would look. The daughter is over the moon though which is the main thing. I have more left over of the she Oak so might make another one better proportioned this time.

Originally Posted by brainstrust

damn nice, fantastic, great finish too

Im pretty stoked with how the finish shined up, I usually go overboard and put too many cots on but this time I put 2 on then used a clean piece of torn up old linen bed sheet and it buffed it up beautifully.

Fumbler, pretty nice job on getting the shape on the nut. The lid does need some help. When you make the next one, round over the bottom edge of the top a little. If it's a little larger than you like, it won't be so noticeable as this one. If you can re-chuck this lid, do it and you'll see that the size is not as bad as you think.

It also looks like when you were removing the excess inside the lid, the center broke off, leaving a tear out that is hard to cover up. In the future, work towards leaving a small nipple with each pass. When done, remove the nipple with a power sander. I've found that this works for me really well. ..... Jerry (in Tucson)USA

Originally Posted by Nubsnstubs

It also looks like when you were removing the excess inside the lid, the center broke off, leaving a tear out that is hard to cover up. In the future, work towards leaving a small nipple with each pass. When done, remove the nipple with a power sander. I've found that this works for me really well. ..... Jerry (in Tucson)USA

Cheers Nub, no, nothing broke off. I wish i took "during" photos. This wood is extremely hard and I cleared out the lid first, I think I didn't have a sharp enough edge on my round nose scraper and yes there was a bit of tearout that I found hard to correct, mainly due to the splits and the vibration through the tool from the splits. But the photo I have put here will show you where I went wrong. That dark ring you see at the base of the stem is CA glue that I thought I had cleaned off but obviously hadn't.
IMG_5495.jpg
I turned down with the lid cavity to the right, and the stem connected to the piece pictured, you can see where I separated. And the divot you see in the finished lid was where I brought the tail stock up. Which served well as I was able to use that to drill the 1.5mm air hole. Something I probably wouldn't need if I thread the next one.

thinking about it now I should've spent more time finishing the inside cavity, then turned down the bulk, separated and turned it round expanding the jaws out into the spigot, then finished the outside.

I made a few mistakes on this one but as we live and learn, hopefully the next one will turn out more like an Acorn rather than a nut with an oversized beret on.

im nervous about remounting as when I generally try and repair mess ups I make them worse, I've even destroyed one or 2 in the repair process. So, as my daughter is stoked and not as picky as myself, I'll leave it and make another one.

i do admit the nut came out nice, and as it was from a downed riverside she-Oak, I have limited supply. I went round to a friends house to say hi and he told me a branch came off the tree out in the park and when he said what it was I left him standing there as I legged it out there with a saw to grab me some. Then sealed the ends and left it. Just wish I got more.