just having fun

Questions

Why do you have your lathe in your living room? Do you also turn in the bedroom? Don't all the chips get uncomfortable?

Re: Questions

good question :-)

Mark,  I turn outside on my back patio but bring the lathe back inside, through the sliding glass door, for "storage" (it's on locking castors).  That's my downstairs family room, and my lovely wife is thankfully very tolerant of the mess and quite appreciative of my timber efforts.  :-)  The problem in these chilly times is the houseplants that must be positioned in the light coming through the glass door and have to be moved out of the way to get the lathe out and in.  In the summer, the plants just stay outside, and in the winter I can't go out.  It's the tweener times that get complicated.  ...GG

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Have Garage?

Couple of space heaters will do nicely while the car(s) can sit outside whilst you create.

nope, nor a carport

It's so nice in beautiful MD that we need no car covers.  ;-) ;-P  Hey, I grew up in SD!  There we had a garage!

And my "workroom" inside the house is a wine cellar (and now wood storage room in empty wine bins) where curls and chips would not work.  :-)

decision - sphere

I wanted to make this into a wabi sabi "chawan" tea cup, but both ends are unsafe with bark inclusions, so I can't chuck it.

Given, therefore, that it will have to be completed between centers, I think it will be a wabi sabi sphere.  I've been meaning to make one like that anyway.

Good plan!

Re: decision - sphere

Both ideas are good. If I really wanted the teacup, I might use a glue block on one end so I could do the hollowing then reverse jam with some stretch wrap around the outside to keep it from flying apart while I turned the foot.

Re: decision - sphere

Have you looked into filling the void with say blue clear epoxy? Haven't tried it myself, but the ones I have seen look pretty awesome and that burl looks like a good candidate. And that would give you a solid form to turn whatever you want. (Spheres are always great turned objects. Really makes for something people want to reach out and touch.)

good idea, Leo

Indeed, the thought of using a glue block did cross my mind, and I have used them successfully in the past for easy (low torque) items like bowls.  Since this is burl, I could hollow it outside-in with a bowl gouge and keep the pressure toward the glue, so that would work.  (I'd be more concerned hollowing endgrain inside-out with the pressure pulling outwards.)  Thanks for the reminder.  Perhaps I may reconsider my druthers.  I just bought some shrink wrap recently for this very kind of thing. 

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good point, Craig

You're absolutely right about the resin -- this is just the kind of thing that's being done very successfully by many turners now.  And the results can be very attractive.  But, as with you, it's not my personal thing.  You know I love spheres if you saw one of my recent posts.  I've been wanting to take some a step further (like Max Brosi), but, in this case I could consider that Mother Nature got there first and just finish what she began.  As I said to Leo, I know my options but must now consider my druthers as to "what's inside".  :-)

Craig, you da man!

Another change of plan.  I heard you about the resin, Craig.  I have another block of the same wood -- less bark included but equally punky over a larger fraction.  I rounded it up today.  'm really not going to be comfortable turning this wood (either piece) as is.  Even though I'm very familiar with the technique, I would not have thought of using resin on these for myself.  But you pointed out the opportunity, and I'm going to take it.  I have a friend with a pot ;-) and I'm going to ask him if he'll stabilize both of these.  But it will be dark red, not blue.  This is why WC is so valuable.  It makes a difference.  Onward!  ...GG

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Re: Craig, you da man!

Glad I could help Gary. Just one on a long list of things I'd like to try. All the better that you already know someone with the required pot. I know someone in Indianapolis that stabilizes small items by dissolving acrylic in acetone and I'm thinking he uses Ball jars to create his pressure tank. Granted, he's not creating nearly the negative pressure you are going to for your project, but it worked for pen blanks.

club

We have several people in our club who do it, so it was just a matter of asking.  

One of many benefits for being in one.  

I'll turn one piece for him and one for me.  :-)

I may have to name mine "Craig" since it was your idea.  :-)