Wednesday, May 27, 2020

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. 




Saturday, May 9, 2020

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)

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

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)



Monday, May 4, 2020

Here are some pictures of projects made by Tom Fagerlin.  Nicely done Tom.
 He made this for his grand daughter using Scrabble Letters, Indian head pennies with a silver dollar in the center.
 This is cherry wood with Big Ten ball markers.
You got to love the ride.  Scrabble letters, a Mercedes-Benz logo in the center surrounded by National Park tokens. 

Sunday, May 3, 2020

The following pictures are from Jim Rutledge and of some of his projects as of 30 April 2020.
 Duck on vase.
 Fish on platter.
 Feathers on bowl.
 Stitched bowl.
 Another one of Jim's turnings made to look like bead work. 

Duck on Beaded platter.