year 9, Week 37, Day One (week 507)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
09-26-09 Saturday
94 degrees, broken clouds. lots of sun, showers to the west in the afternoon that stayed over the everglades. We did get a few drips from a passing "embarrassment" while we were at a yard sale, but that was before I settled in to work. This weather report was brought to you by the City Of Pompano Department Of Tourism.
My first project after visiting yard sales and petting the cat, was to clean off part of the workbench. Mom got tired of how it was arranged so she moved everything, consolidating things.
My project was the end of the workbench that was covered in accumulated dust near the disk sander. I had several disks prepared for making platters, and moved them to the shed. I brushed off the disk sander, brushed off the grinder and the bench. I think I got a good cup and a half of dust when I was done. This disk sander is just the motor with switch, and the disk with a wooden platform and sanding table. It does the job. I got it at a yard sale years ago.
I was finally able to start working. my brother started a rocking horse designed for a child below a year old. My nephew grew up before he finished the project due to other matters. I decided I wanted to make a hobby horse, the horse head on a stick. I took the single 3/4 board he used for the head and traced it on two more just like it. We will attach them together and then drill for the rod. We will then decorate.
That project done, I looked for another project. I dug through my wood piles looking for a project. I got an idea to make a bunch of pencil cups. On one board, someone said they put marbles or decorative glass in a cup. The "stones" kept the pencils sticking straight up and kept the cup stable. I decided I would like to give that a try. It would be easy to make some cups. I thought they would make good gifts. I can decorate the cups with ease with carving, wood burning or painting.
I looked around my wood pile and found a log that was solid, but had some worm holes. I decided it would be good for this project.
I cut the ends off the log, about six inches at the widest, and then cut it into turn-able chunks. I have no idea what wood it is. There is a little bit of pithiness in one section but that will give it a different look there.
I rounded one piece and then started hollowing. I heard a clicking sound while I was turning so I checked my tool, which is a boring bar that has a metal turning tip mounted in it. I needed to tighten the tip. I decided instead to say that it was long enough for the day.
I should be able to finish it tomorrow. I think I can even get two cups out of this piece of wood.
I packed up my stuff for the day. A couple hours later, I went with my mom to the store and I could see I had already been on my feet too long.
My nephew has a birthday near this weekend, so we went out for dinner.
Tomorrow, I want to finish one, possibly two cups, carve on some ornaments, and maybe work with my brother on the hobby horse.
I will see what I actually do tomorrow.
year 9, Week 37, Day One (week 507)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
09-26-09 Saturday
90 degrees, high plates of clouds with a few lower puffs. A front that Early morning weather radar showed to be coming, never arrived. there was some sun, though not too much. There was a light breeze but not really noticeable. Late in the day, storms were over the everglades.
This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.
I got started a bit later than I planned. After I petted the cat, I drug the lathe out. I dug out the wrench and tightened the cutting bit on my boring bar. My boring bar is something my brother helped me make. It is simply an iron bar with a hole machined or drilled in the end. There is an allen wrench set screw that goes into the end hole from the side. I can put all sorts of cutting bits into the end of the bar and hold them in place with the set screw.
I have some other attachments to go into the end of the bar, which includes holding flat pieces of metal for scraping inside a vase, and attachments to reach around corners for inside the neck of a vase. I have not gotten into using the attachments as of yet. I have more to make also.
I started on the cup I started yesterday. The bit I have on the boring bar is very aggressive, eating wood away quickly. The end is triangular. I can use the point to cut the wood, the flat side, or the back corner to do the cutting. I find it is really good at cutting on the pull stroke, the rear corner leading the cut.
I had the cup done, except to remove it from the waste wood which would be the second cup. I did not like the flat sided cup. It needed something. I decided to turn some beads down the side. I measured off and drew lines at each centimeter on a ruler. Spinning the wood, I cut in grooves first, then rounded them into beads. I was a bit timid, not wanting to cut too deep into the thin walls.
I cut the cup off the waste wood disk sanded the base smooth, and then started on the second cup. This time, after truing up the outside, I cut my beads on first on the outside. That done, I then hollowed out the inside. It went fast this time. When that was done, I cut off the tenon from the base of the cup, and then disk sanded the base flat.
I have no idea what wood this is, but it looks interesting. I think it was wood given to me.
I cleaned up and packed up the lathe since lunch would be in a half hour. The cups looked pretty good. I could have done better with the beads. Maybe on the next cups.
After lunch, I sat down and carved an owl from one of my blanks. It went fairly quickly. A knot in the feet required a bit of design opportunity when carving the toes. Part of the knot was a bit brittle.
I finished the owl and cleaned up.
I did not do as much as I hoped, but what I did, came out pretty well.
I have pictures of some of my work, and of myself located at
rstegman and his woodworking
http://allnews.yuku.com/topic/532
Each note has a description of what I actually did, many times hidden by the works of others, and there are sometimes pictures of myself holding my work.
For next week, I want to do more of the cups. I also want to carve some more ornaments. I have some other projects that I would love to do, but are of lower priority. I want to make some turned ornaments too, but while higher in priority in the projects I need to do, they are lower than other projects.
I will visit the Antique shop that has my work on display and also a thrift store I always visit. I will drop off a couple small monitors there when I get to the thrift shop.
My mom and my brother are going to visit that big rat in central florida next weekend. I will be working alone at Mom's house, well I will have to pet the kitty quite a bit.
I will see what I actually do next week.
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