Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
First turnings
Mike Schwing from Md.
>Below you can see the very first thing I ever turned. A little mushroom that looks more like a mortar used for grinding pharmaceuticals.
It sits on my desk at home next to the computer. Reminds me that turning doesn't come natural to me, but slowly with practice and patience.
If you have pics of your first or early work and are willing to share, I sure would love to see them, too.
Re: First turnings
Thomas Skaggs, Foothills of Mount Level
>Mike,
This is by far your best piece yet. What? Oh, it was your first piece? Well then your work really has slipped since then. ;-)
That's cool that you have kept your first project. I too have my first turning...but I won't show it! I also have my first piece of furniture. Great memories.
Take care,
Tommy
Re: First turnings
Mike Schwing from Md.
>Oh, it is sitting on my first piece of furniture!
Re: First turnings
RonZ
>I did this almost 30 years ago in high school. Two pieces of teak glued together.I had about a 28 year hiatus until I took up woodturning again. This sits proudly on my shelf to remind me everyone has to start somewhere.
Second turning
Fred in NC
>Because the first one is gone.
Fall 2003 when I got my Cheapwonster Twobew lathe. The spindle in this lathe is solid, with a 3/4 -10 thread. Before I could attempt turning a pen I had to make a few adaptors with threaded rod connectors from the borg. One holds a Jacobs chuck rescued from an old drill, and runs true enough to hold a mandrel for pens!
Re: More of a saucer than a bowl...
Mike Rubes, Apex, NC
>Hi Mike,
Here's the first "bowl" I made. I'd made a few doohickys first, but this was my first attempt at a bowl.
It's about 6 inches across and about 1 high. It is walnut, fished with watco and wax.
Thanks,
Mike
Re: First turnings
William Duffield, on the Cohansey
>The first thing I tried to turn blew up and disappeared right before my eyes. I never found some of the pieces. Since then, I've mostly stuck with spindles. As far as I can remember, two of the mallets in this photo were my first sucesses.
One is the light colored carver's mallet of hard maple, and the other is the two piece carpenters mallet on the left, with a beech head and ash handle. I don't remember which I did first. Both were probably done in about 1996.
Re: First turnings
tek
>Some of my first turnings were wooden wheels. I made them to replace plastic ones that broke on my daughter�s baby carriage. They were round and about the right diameter. That's about all that was consistent. My wife and I used to laugh because; I used whatever scrap I could find to make them. Sarah was the only kid to have a doll buggy with one walnut wheel, one cherry wheel, one poplar wheel and one maple wheel. Luckily we don't have to "make do" as much as we used to, but I still enjoy making things.
Re: First turnings
Charlie Anderson in Southern Maryland
>Well, here's my first bowl which got to completion. Just finished it up this morning. Will take it to CAW meeting tomorrow since they're going to have a 'beginners' display table.
The bowl is cherry and is 4" x 2.5".
By the way, this is entirely the fault of Mike Schwing. He got me interested and in fact this piece of wood came from him.
Re: First turnings
Carole in VA
>This is my first attempt at a mushroom. Until then I had only practiced on a few spindles and turned some pens. I keep pics as a means to measure progress (if any!)
Re: First turnings
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>You made me do it -- dredge up the trauma of sanding out walnut; never did get all the scratches out, but no one else noticed so it's my dirty little secret HAHAhaha...argh..
Offeratory plates for our very small church that wasn't willing to spring for several $100 for commercial ones.
Inspired by St. Norm on his 30 min instructional video that we see weekly. Turned in 2003 on a 3/4" spindle, 1/2 hp Ohio Forge lathe with a tubular bed and some freebie tools (which I still have and use - the tools), using the spindle gouge out of ignorance (Ellsworth, where were you?) and scrapper. I think this was the height of my turning career.
You beat me to it!
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>Mike I have been thinking about starting this thread for a few weeks now!
I'm going to take a picture now :)
Jen
2nd pic
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>
Re: First turnings
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>Inside of plates.
First time for pics. Thought I was posting all 3 pics in the first one.
First turned piece of Anything
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>This is a piece of poplar I think? This is the first thing that I put on my Jet mini lathe the day I brought it home. I actually wore the goggles that came with the lathe too! I was terrified to touch the tool to the spinning wood! It is now a vital part of my work shop becuse it holds the old window up in the summer time to let in fresh air...The sad part about this picture is the fact that my spindles STILL look like this! I'll probably refer to this picture when we start posting pictures of our first photographs too...notice the lovely reflector card and I just noticed there is a cobweb hanging on the spindle too! Yuk!
I'm glad I can't hear the snikering :)
First Bowl
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>After I butchered a few spindles, I decided I better take a class, so I signed up for the basic bowl class at Woodcraft. One of the main things I remember abut this bowl is that I kept telling the instructor...."I can't turn the corner!" I can't make it round on the bottom." Oh, well by the end of the class I had something that looked like a bowl...so I was happy.
Jen :)
Fancy Footwork....
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>Thought I'd share the fancy footwork on this first bowl.
I love flipping this one over and looking at the bottom. It really is fun to look back at where we've been. Keeping these first turnings around is so important I think. I encourage everybody who is just starting out to keep the first of everything you make. They really do become treasures.
Jen
Re: First turnings
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>Okay Rodney....
That's enough....now show us the first ones!
Geeze trying to make us look bad....
: )
Nice plates!
Re: First turnings
Tom Sweeney - Coatesville, PA
>Thanks for starting this Mike - I'm always hesitant about posting my work here as it usually doesn't compare to most of you folks. However - everyone's first is a little off right? ;-)
This was turned with a $30 auction bought craftsman lathe, a faceplate, a $10 craftsman roughing gouge & a reground screwdriver. It was from a maple tree that had been standing dead for several years & then sat another 2 before I turned it - I imagine that concrete turns something like this wood does. I won't show the bottom of the bowl because I didn't have a clue how to finish it- so I didn't.
Re: First turnings
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>honest injun, Jennifer. I've gotta admit that it took me waaaay longer than I would have the patience for now - somthing like a couple of months off & on. And they are way too thick for an accomplished turner.
Re: First turnings
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>Nice lines and proportions, Ron
Re: First turnings
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>What IS that finish? Or is the "finish" paint.
Mushrooms are just hedonistic fun aren't they?
Finish looks... buttery.. what is it?
Rodney in Maypearl, TX
>
Re: First turnings
John Carr
>OK, you asked for it...
Mahogany bud vase I made at a woodturning class. Didn't even have a lathe of my own yet, but I was interested in turning and figured I'd take a class to see if I wanted to get into it.
The first thing I turned - a maple bowl - when I got my lathe one week after that class. Mom still has this one.
Re: Finish looks... buttery.. what is it?
Jennifer@Indy.USA
>Rodney I would have no clue what the finish is....I think it's called "dusty"?...but I'll take buttery as a compliment! Thanks.
Hee-hee :)
