Search:

Thanks - I'm rummaging through the wood pile at the moment to see if I can find a piece big enough to turn a large salad bowl in similar style. I really should invest in a bowl saver.

G'day Rod. Sounds a bit like how I got started in woodworking. I also hadn't seen a lathe or other woodworking tools since my high school days many years ago. I have recently retired from years of...

Been playing around with some more of the large stack of cape lilac I have in the back yard since a storm blew part of one of the trees down a while back, and I "pruned" it (with a chainsaw) to stop...

I hope someone has some fun restoring that "antique" piece of art. :U

Next door neighbour recently purchased a Milwaukee battery powered self-propelled mower. It has two battery ports, and can be run with either one or two batteries fitted. He only uses one battery...

So far I have just posted pictures of them on a couple of the local gossip pages on farcebook. Seems to get plenty of responses. I think it depends a lot on the timing - this lot was available in the...

A good practical solution. I'm fortunate in that I have enough bench space in my shed for my metalworking vices - one on a steel work bench welded to the wall, the other on the end of a storage /...

I buy the "crushgrind" mechanisms usually from CWS in Melbourne.

CrushGrind(R) 260mm Ceramic Salt & Pepper Mill - Salt & Pepper Mills | CWS Store

Have never tried any other type of mechanism,...

I have a bit of a mix of good ones and cheap ones. Wherever possible, I try to use only the TCT forstner bits that I bought from CWS.

I was given a couple of jarrah sleepers from a site clean-up in West Kalgoorlie recently. One of them has a lot of cracks & splits along the length, but the other is quite clean with only minor...

I've lived and worked in SA for many years, and I have a house in Tassie. Believe me, it can get colder (and hotter) here than the lower Eyre peninsula in SA will ever get. I have a similar shed at...

I've got a simpler option in my shed. It's on castors so I can move it around to where I need it, and into a corner when not in use. Also gets rid of the accumulation of offcuts, unusable timber and...

I've also tried a few different brands. These days I mostly use Eparency resins.

Eparency Resin - The Australian Made Ultra Clear Resin Based in Melb
– Eparency Epoxy Resin

Thanks Jim. A very good point. I've just been given some good quality jarrah sleepers and am in the process of preparing a few blanks (need to order some more mechanisms when you have them back in...

I have the H&F thicknesser with the straight knife blades. Was not a smart purchase. A set (pair) of knife blades does not last very long at all and, even using the sharpening jig I have made, the...

Woodcut doesn't make a pepper grinder mechanism as far as I am aware. They do make a special tool to assist in drilling blanks to accept the "Crushgrind" pepper mill mechanism. I use the Crushgrind...

Thanks for that. I was hoping that this finish would wear well with handling. A couple of people have seen them today and they both prefer this finish to the usual "glossy" finish that I have used in...

Yesterday I tried something different on a couple of jarrah pepper grinders. Rather than use my usual Ubeaut products, I wanted something with a bit less "shine" for a change. So after sanding to ~...

I have a "LED Lenser" brand headlamp that is quite a few years old now. Very good light, but the headband is now stretched and uncomfortable to wear. I recently bought a combination LED light from...

Yes, Salmon Gums and Norseman both experience colder temperatures in winter than we do here in Kalgoorlie. Summer heat is about the same. The salmon gum trees are prolific throughout the goldfields -...

Every three to four months, fertilise your trees with well-rotted cow manure or blood and bone. From October to January, you can feed your trees with nitrogen-rich fertilisers to promote fruiting.
...

Turned this today out of a lump of salmon gum from the firewood pile. It's nice to be able to slow down the lathe to a manageable speed with these odd shaped lumps, especially with something as hard...

The Raptor is just the go fast sporty version of the Ranger, with suspension more tuned to off road sports. As such, it has reduced load carrying capacity (and I believe towing capacity also) from...

If I was in the market for something similar, I'd be looking at Ford Ranger or VW Amarok. As already stated above, they're basically the same car, but see which one you like and which offers the...

Certainly look like carbide cutting edges to me. Wish I could find a set like that for my (Chinese made) thicknesser.

Keen to see how this turns out. I had an XW GTHO when I first met my wife and have always loved the shape of XW / XY (don't mind a nice XT either). These days, I'm strictly a Land Rover driver -...

Weather has cooled down here a bit after a week of above 40° temperatures ending with 46° on Wednesday. So I've been having a play with the new toy. Still waiting to receive the new Vicmarc chuck,...

So does the cheap Chinese one I've already got.

Thanks Jim. I've just placed an order for a VM100 chuck plus a set of shark jaws from your website.

Out with the old ..........

535438

And in with the new ..........

535439

Finally arrived on Monday, and fortunately yesterday and today have only been in the mid 30's here, so I managed...

Local mens shed here in Kalgoorlie is largely council funded. It exists in a fairly large and modern building owned by the council, located behind the library and senior citizens centre. There is a...

Beautiful timber. Would make great pepper grinders. :rolleyes:

I have some "Ecodeck" composite decking boards I bought (cheap) from Bunnings a while back when they were clearing some old stock. Eventually will use to replace some old, cracked boards on the front...

There's also "Acacia pruinocarpa" over here in WA. More common in the north of the state, but we do find it occasionally around this area (Kalgoorlie) as well. I still have a bit of it left in the...

Great timing Neil. I was thinking about ordering some soon anyway. Just placed an order for this and a couple of other items. :2tsup:

No - still on the old one. I put new drive pulley & belt on it the other day and decided I needed to do something on it to "make sure it was all running OK". Have now cleaned it all down though and...

A couple of bowls and a pen turned from locally sourced Blackbutt - recovered from behind the tailings dam of a gold mine near Coolgardie WA.

534220 534221 534222 534223

Cooler weather here today - down to 25 degrees after a few days of around 40.
So I thought I'd get out into the shed and knock out a few bowls from the Cape Lilac tree in the back yard that dropped...

Enjoy making mallets. I made a couple for myself a while back. Timbers a combination of gidgee, salmon gum and mallee burl. Both get used regularly.

533669 533670

If you are using Apple products, you can sync your passwords on all devices using the Apple password manager. To do this, you need to have an "icloud" account and have it activated on all devices. I...

A short time ago, Log Dog in Queensland sent me a couple of his blanks for pepper grinders. The result is below - raintree on the left and jacaranda on the right.
Both beautiful timbers to turn -...

I can only see listings on Woodfast WL520A - assume that the 520B is the same or similar lathe.
The 520A has been recommended to me as I am also buying a new lathe. Because of location / transport...

Doesn't look like the head swivels on that model. I guess you could always remove the banjo & tailstock and slide the head all the way up to the other end of the bed for outboard turning, but you...

Link below.

https://www.carbatec.com.au/documents/manuals/Carbatec/TableSaws/TS-C250H-manual.pdf

Have been getting a lot of requests for pepper grinders lately - most people prefer a darker timber. Have been getting some salmon gum out of the wood pile and casting in resin to fill in the cracks...

Thanks Jim. I'll keep that in mind for future reference.

I just had the same problem Peter. Sent multiple messages to someone and could see nothing in my "sent items" folder to confirm that messages were sent.
I eventually found the problem ......

Go...

The other option I was considering is the WL46a from Hare & Forbes for about $2.5K (details in link below).
It is about the same size as the WL20 but has EVS plus decent cast iron legs. The WL20...

It is almost identical to the WL20 from Hare & Forbes, and many other different branded lathes, all coming out of the same factory in China. The only difference I can see is the toolrest / banjo...

While I have ordered an adaptor to allow me to use my existing chuck (the basic one supplied by Hare & Forbes with the WL20 and other lathes), I will probably also buy a new chuck to go with this...