Thread: my first ....

Originally Posted by Hickory

Cameron... I draw my pleasure from the completion of a project. The steps and procedures to accomplish the finished product. Laborious turning of identical parts may not suit your tea bag but I draw pleasure from knowing that it is done properly and the way it was intended. My joints fit tight and my dimensions are right. I enjoy figuring out how to make the project almost as much as the process...

Fair enough, but I won't say that your method is "crap" because I prefer to do things in another way. Each to their own is the way I think about it.

As for fitting joints etc. I have made plenty of vacuum fit boxes and pens where the external midband is a press fit instead of a glued joint. I also really enjoy figuring out how to make something, but I also enjoy following the wood and producing something that works for me at the time. Evaluation of form is really only opinion, I know that there are basic rules, but even those change with time.

One day I will finish off my chess set, but I am aware that the board will be the awkward stage, not the pieces. I am fully confident that I can do production turning if I choose, but, I usually don't - especially for bowls.

Cam

Hi Jenny - nice work - like the mushrooms, sorry to hear they have split - I have tried several green ones and they also split. I found that giving a well sealed finish (oil and wax) tended to stop the cracking.

Originally Posted by OGYT

Jenny, I think a buffing system like mine would do you good. I made it, so you could too. Let me know if you're curious.

OGYT - not sure if anyone else showed any interest in your buffing system. I am curious, so if you wouldn't mind sharing it I would be interested as I have thought about making myself one.

Jenny, another of the reasons that your mushrooms split is because they still contain the heartwood or pith. It often shrinks at a lower rate than the sapwood when things cure, causing the splits to start in the outside. From there they progress into the middle, being the "weak point" as it were. Mind you, other trees, mainly fruits, tend to do things backwards and shrink more in the heart... but the principle is the same.

This is why most turners who fell their own logs tend to split the log down the middle, often removing the heartwood altogether, before they put 'em aside to dry or use. Not that this'd apply to your mushrooms (bit hard to keep bark all the way 'round once you've split it! ) but I thought I'd give you a bit more of an explanation as to the why's of it.

Sealing your 'shrooms with an oil or similar would've slowed down the drying process and possibly reduced the severity of the splits, but they'd probably still split given enough time. Sad fact. Still, often a few smaller splits actually enhance the mushroom look, giving it a "ragged edge" appearance.

Originally Posted by hughie

Hickory Did you ever notice we are only "opinionated" if we don't agree with the other

Gawd help us if ever everyone here thought the same! Then I may as well log onto one of the.. "overseas" (me being tactful? :eek: ) boards where freedom of expression only applies if it maintains the status quo.

Andy - "not sure if anyone else showed any interest in your buffing system. I am curious, so if you wouldn't mind sharing it I would be interested as I have thought about making myself one."

Andy, I made four wheels, all of 'em 8" diameter, when I was recuperating from a heart attack... I cut circles of the following materials, 'til I had a stack to make a wheel. Then sewed the stack together from the center out to about the middle. 1. Felt 2 1/2" thick wheel, for Tripoli.(had a lot of felt 2. Denim/Polyester mix, 1" thick, for White Diamond. 3. Cotton Denim, 1" thick, for Carnauba. 4. Cotton Flannel, 1" thick for final buffing.
I put a 1/2" bolt through the center of each wheel with washers (both sides) and nut. Left about 1/2" of the bolt protruding, after tightening it down.
I put an "arbor" for mounting a grinding wheel on a 1/2 hp (1725rpm) motor shaft, and re-threaded the arbor end to accept a long nut the same size as the 1/2 " bolts in the wheels. Only put the nut on about 1/2", that way I have a 1/2" female to accept the wheel center bolts.
I rewired the motor to run counter-clockwise, so the wheels would stay on while I buffed a piece.
When I attach the wheel, and turn it on, it buffs like a dream. And it comes off easily, after I put a leather washer on the wheel bolt.
I'll try to get some pics later on. Right now I'm pretty busy, trying to get my shop ready for a new lathe. (Have to move some things, and remove some completely, rewire a pedestal in the center for 240V, and put in another breaker box, etc.)
Hope you can make sense out of my instructions... :confused:
OGYT

Al (OGYT) - yup makes sense - thanks for the info - hope to put it to use sometime soon.
I generally only use beeswax after oiling with linseed - any idea what material would be best for the application of beeswax? (I guess the cotton/denim type material)?