Archie's Christmas Projects

 Below are a Salt and Pepper grinder made for my grand daughter.  The strips are epoxy paste placed in a grove.  Near white for salt and black for pepper.  The salt grinder has a ceramic grinder while the pepper has a stainless steel grinder.  

The wood is curly maple and each is about eight inches high.  

Below is a train display box I made for my grandson.  He has a large number of wood trains.  I used a router to put track groves in each shelf to help keep the trains in place.  

The 3' wide by 2" high box is made from 1x4 pine boards with a clear coat finish.  I ran out of boards and my neighbor Tom gave me a rough cut 1x5 and I planned it down to the 3/4" of the commercial board and cut it to the correct width and length.  I used a router jig to cut the track groves using a Rockler router bit designed for cutting the track groves.  I used dado blades mounted on my Montgomery Wards radial arm saw to cut the slots for the shelves.  I tried using my router table but could not keep both boards straight.  The radial arm saw allowed the boards to be fasten to the table top for cutting.  Perfect every time.  The top is reinforced so you can hang it on the wall.  The back is 1/8 inch luan wood I got from DoItBest.  On the back I center two 16 inch apart mounting holes partially drilled from the back. 

 Harold Eickhorst has been busy with his carvings.  Below are some of the Santas he has done.  Nice work Harold.  

You will also notice the nice natural edge table Harold has made.  Another well done project.

Steve Promo's Cherry plates

 Steve set out to make 8 dinner plates.  He starts with a Plywood faceplate with non skid rubber shelf liner glued to the surface and pressure friction driving a 10 x 1" cherry plate blank for turning.

 

 

Cherry plate blank is friction pressed to the faceplate rubber surface by the tailstock pressure.
 

First six of service for eight of UP cherry wood was air dried 20+ years (104" x 12" x 1" board for about $40).  What is missing is the turning, getting rid of the nub in the center, flipping the plate around and turning the other side, getting rid of that nub, along with all the sanding and finishing by Steve.  I marvel at his ability to make them all look the same.-ajp2

Here is a closer look of bottom of the 8" diameter dinner plate from the 10" x 3/4" blank.  Made for Steve's son and future daugher-in-law for Christmas.  Oiled with WATCO brand Danish Oil by Rust-Oleum then waxed.  Linseed oil blend paste wax as needed.  Another beautiful job by Steve Promo.-ajp2 

Steve Promo mades some mathing spindles in September.

Steve Promo has been working on another kitchen project. He has built all the cabinets and an island.  Front of island has a wide overhang of granite countertop.  Steve laminated 1" thick by 4" wide cherry boards to make 4"x4" spindle blanks about 3 ft long.  Below are some some his spindle sketches and he chose one he thought was simple yet most pleasing.  He turned both posts on 29 September and oiled them.  

The spindle design on the far right was chosen by Steve as the best.

The blank is mounted between centers and turned from both ends.

The finished first spindle.

The second spindle next the first but not completed.

The final two finished spindles by Steve Promo.  Another great turning.  Well done Steve.
 

Steve Promo's July Project

 Steve had a project to turn knobs for a customer.  He created a large number of cherry blanks to turn from. 

He turned some knobs using a home made plywood screw chuck.   

After turning a number of different knobs he put samples on a board for the customer to choose from.  then he could go back to the lathe and turn from his stash of prepared blanks. 

Photos taken 6/23/20 by Steve Promo.  Well done Steve.  Thanks for the input.

Soft Wood Burl - What is it- Help Needed

I need help identify a piece of burl that I had setting in my garage for several years.  It was nearly 2 feet by 1.5 feet in size and I finally decided to do something with it.  After cutting the burl in half it turns out half the burl was pulpy and I could not use it.  The rest of the wood has wide grain, is soft, seems wet and is very aromatic.  Just walking by the room and the smell hits you.  It reminds me of pine but my wife says sandalwood.   Below are some pictures to help you identify it.   I have two moisture meters, one says 4% and the other says 22%.  Based on the feel of the wood there is moisture in it. 

This the exterior of the turned bowl after cutting with the pulpy material cut away.  No real shavings but lots of flying small material. I sanded with 60, 120 180, 240, and finally 320.  All the sand paper plugged up quickly.  Soap and water and a tooth brush cleaned it off the paper and rubbing the spinning bowl will remove the sanding buildup there.  You can still see a few soft spots going into the wood.   Even after sanding there are tears in the wood.  What is this wood and can the project be saved?  -  Archie Patterson

This close up shows some moisture coming out of the wood after years setting in the garage.

This it is the interior of the bowl after sanding with 60 grit.  Note the rough bottom of the bowl.  The sand paper clogged up quickly.  

These are the shavings.  Very soft and feel damp but not wet. 

A squeeze of the the shavings and they clump.  Which explains why the sandpaper plugged up. 

What is this wood and can it be saved?

Off Center Turned Candle Stick

Last time I showed three off center turnings and this time I took the one on the right and made it into a candle stick for a 3" diameter candle.  As I originally turned it the top and bottom were not a true circle so I had to return the ends to make them a true circle so they would fit into a true circle recesses on the top and base.   The center, top and bottom are all made from the same wood.  Not real happy with the shape of the top and bottom, though.   Maybe a little too thick or could flow better into the center.   What are your thoughts?

Off Center Spindle Turning by Archie

Fellow turners I have been experimenting with off center turning.  I have seen bowls done with off center turning in the AAW magazine so I thought I would give it a try.  Only, I did in with spindles.  First I did the small one on the left using 1/2" off set from center.  The lines I drew on the turning were to test if I had it mounted correctly after I had if off the centers.  Then I did the middle one aslos with 1/2" offset.  At first it did not look like it does now.  It was fatter.  I then turned the one on the right.  It too was fatter.  I did not like the look so I put it back between centers and went at it again.  As I cut deeper into it, the final shape came and which I liked.  So I went back to the middle one and cut deeper into it.    I like the finally shape.  I showed the wife and suggested I put a base and top on for a candle holder.  She is still thinking about it.  It was fun doing it and I learned a lot about off center spindle turning.  The one on the left is spalted maple and the other two are red oak that was cut in 2013.  The red oak tears a lot and requires a lot more sanding.    What do you think?   Archie

Cabinet Work by Steve Promo

Steve just remodeled a kitchen and made some cabinets.  Again expert work by Steve.

Looking forward to some more pictures of his work.   Well done Steve.-ajp2

I have relatives that graduated from the University of Michigan and from Michigan State University so I thought I would make some bowls for them.  I made two with lids and in the lid I put a university coin that can be read from either side.  Here are the bowls:

 This bowl has two strips of two part epoxy using Epoxie Sculpt place in 1/4" wide groves.

 The lid has a University of Michigan coin that can be viewed from either side of the lid.

This bowl has green and white strips of Epoxie Sculpt.  The lid was painted green and then clear coated.

The lid has a Michigan State University coin showing the Spartan head and can be viewed from either side of the lid. 

 These bowls have the green and white strips and have 4 inch openings and no lids. 

 The bottom of the lidless bowls.

 

This is the bottom of the bowls with their lids.  Michigan State University of the left and the University of Michigan on the right in case you can't tell.

I have some other relatives and will be making bowls using their school colors.  I used a boring bar to hollow out the bowls. 

 This is the scraper I use on the boring bar to finish the inside.  The bit is made from an old file. 

 

Here is my boring bar setup.  Note behind my work is a scoop for the dust collector.  I have magnets on the lathe that I fasten tools to.  There are three auxiliary lights that illuminate the work.  I made the wood tray to hold tool rests for the lathe.  The dollar store pans are there to collect the shavings and make it easy to dump them in another container.   In the background you can see a board with chucks mounted on short sections of PVC pipe pressed into holes in a board. 

 

This is the support for the boring bar.  The base is hard wood and the two upper sections are pine.  There is a smooth strip of band iron the boring bar sits on and that makes it easier to slide.   I don't have to remove the tail stock if I slide it to the very end of the lathe.   You can see the many magnets I have on the lathe to hold tools I often use. 

 The camera is mounted on a block that can be rotated and slide on the support to align the camera to the different bits. Originally I had a solid end to the camera mount and it had a thumb screw to hold it to the support.  I moved the thumb screw to the side and cut out the end as I needed to slide the camera mount up an down the support based on the tool I was using. 

 The monitor displays what the camera sees.  On a clear plastic sheet I drew lines that mark the edge of the cutting tool, in this case a scraper.  I then drew a dotted line a little over 1/4 inch away by placing a section of wood next to the bit and marking the outer edge.  When the dotted line gets to the edge I am at the right wall thickness.  I bought the monitor from Goodwill for $20. 

 This is an old Toshiba laptop running Windows XP.  I have a camera monitoring software I run and move it to the big screen.  The camera plugs into a USB port on the side and the monitor (blue connector) plugs into a 15 pin VGA port.  I have a bluetooth touch pad that I use at the lathe to control the program on the big monitor.  This allows me to control the program without having to move back and forth to the computer.  When not in use I cover both with a cloth cover to keep the dust and chips out of the system. 

More turning projects from Steve Promo

Steve got a project to make a 10 foot long replacement post.  Luckily he has a lathe that can handle the work.  Here are some of his pictures from that project.-ajp2  2020_05_08

 First step was to make a smooth area in the center for the steady rest to ride on to support the work.

 This is a close up of the steady rest location trued up.

Moved the steady over to a finished section then reduce diameter at former steady rest location to the final size so the entire length has the same diameter.

Spindle tenons were turned at both ends and everything was sanded to 80 grit on the lathe.

 The finished post will not be able to replace the damaged piece.  (Again nice work Steve.-ajp2)

Here are some of the projects Steve Promo submitted that he has been working on recently.  Thanks for the input Steve.

 Not my (Steve's) usual work.  4 ft by 8 ft Double Sided Sign of local cedar.  Stained gray.  Letters etc routed out on both sides then painted white.  Albert J. Lindberg was my maternal grandfather.  Now I have to build a structure to hang it from with a roof over it.  Fun wood project.😜😁😁

 Transferring the turning details to the blank.

  Architectural turning in western cedar for Mackinaw Island.  Size: 5" by 120" (10' long)

  Turning the details to duplicated a replacement post.

 Finished product of two duplicated replacement posts.

 Most of us wear something like this around toxic wood dust and now around toxic people.  Only problem is wetting ones whistle while wearing the mask.

 A little trim with nail clippers, scissors, dremel, etc  exposes latex exhale check valve flap.

With mask on, an aggressive puff exhale opens the flap and a drinking straw slides into the mouth.  After the drink, straw is removed sealing mask for inhaled particles or droplets.  Perfect for office or tavern!!!  😀😀😀   (Pretty neat, Steve. - ajp2)