...and my fat fingers are on the cover! Maybe not quite like making the cover of the Rolling Stone, but I'm feeling "right chuffed" as the British might say.
They included a much better-edited version of my Christmas tree ornament video that I shot almost a year ago for a contest put on by Carl Jacobsen and Alan Stratton. Link to the much-improved video is below.
Hey Brad! What a great video! Your instructional methods and relaxed style are wonderful. You make a really good teacher! I hope that you do more videos. You're very good! Thanks!
Thank you, Donna, and everyone else, too! That was my second wood turning video ever, and I've got a lot to learn about video work and especially editing.
When I get into a heated shop, I'm hoping to do more videos, as well as one-on-one or 2:1 teaching.
Need a new camera, though... I'll explain that with a new post in a minute
I had time to walk down the hill, feed the llamas, go feed the horses, collect the eggs, turn a little ornament and still get back in an hour. I learned some things!
This is Northern Basswood, small, maybe 3" tall.
Turned with skew, just a touch of 600 paper to knock off the edge fuzz, the bottom of the tree is undercut a bit (shallow cone), sprayed with one coat of satin lacquer. Brass eyelet screwed into the top.
I learned:
- These are amazingly quick and easy to turn.
- Since Basswood is so light in weight it is perfect, light enough without hollowing. I have been making other basswood ornaments in the last few days with chip carved decoration and redheart finials and they are also plenty light enough unhollowed.
- Basswood is so soft I had to dome the headstock end a bit so it would seat better when doing the offset turning. Left flat without a dome, the wood flexed and threatened to break with the offset force on the driving center. One big chunk did come out. Carving a dome on the top worked far better. A thicker top block would help but I didn't have any extra on this chunk of basswood.
- Basswood is so soft I need to make the base deeper if I hope to turn or carve away all tail center center damage.
- With a small diameter ornament it is easy to get way too much offset and make the grooves either too deep or too short. I used about an 1/8" and a little less might be better.
- I have nothing that will paint into the bottom of the very sharp v-grooves made with the skew. A less pointed groove might be better. Or mask and spray with paint.
- Any marker or paint marker I tried on a test area would bleed too far into the wood to cut away. Basswood really soaks up the color. Perhaps painting AFTER applying a couple of coats of sander sealer would work.
- This looks good even without color. I know since when she saw it My Lovely Bride exclaimed "How cute! A little Christmas tree!"
Thanks so much for the idea and video instruction! I can probably turn out a batch of these in time for the benefit tree.
Hey, and thanks to the video I now know how to pronounce your name!
