Turnings this week
Pete in Holland, MI
>After a dry spell in wood supply, I discovered enough cherry, black walnut and spalted maple this past weekend to yield me nearly 100 rough turned 10-11" bowls if I keep at it for a few more days. Building up my green stock so I'll have something to play with later this year.
Learned a few things thus far this week:
1) Black walnut & steel wetted by the walnut juice nearly permanently stains your hands.
2) The new Wolverine grinding system is REALLY COOL. Keeps a better tip on my gouge than I could by hand.
3) With the use of a small squirrel cage blower and a piece of pipe to extend the blower discharge aimed towards the fire pit core, the damp noodles burn more readily than just smoldering under ambient conditions.
4) You folks with a lathe outside, near outside, in a garage or detached workshop have it made. Easier noodle & waste block disposal than us folks working in our basements. Fewer concerns about shavings being tracked thru the house. Have been considering doing this bulk turning next year in my back yard under a shade tree.
5) A new belt on a Jet 1236 does make a difference, though still only light cuts can be made at the larger (9+ inches) diameters, else the belt slips on the drive pulleys.
6) A 16" swing lathe would be really nice, though not visible on the horizion from where I stand.
Having lots of fun. Learnign a lot about tool control. Hope to start peddling some bowls next fall/winter.
Pete
