(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
07-10-10 Saturday
98 degrees, sunny, some lone puffs here and there, clouds on the horizon to the north and east. Cloud built up to the west as the day went on, and once or twice the sun was blocked by a cloud, but directly over head was blue sky all day long. The wind picked up as the day went on. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.
Stopped at some yard sales first thing in the morning. I picked up a really cute hand made ceramic incense burner in the shape of a sad little baby dragon. It is designed for the incense cones and the nostrils are big for the smoke to come out. I loved the way it looked and had to have it.
Dragon incense burner
I also got a magnetic chess set. I have one already and have opened it once since I got it and only to see what the pieces looked like. half a dozen other chess sets are stashed away and have not looked at them either. One is wood and I do not know if all the pieces are there. I have no idea why I got this magnetic chess set, but got it anyway.
After petting and feeding the cat, my main project was to finish up the face vase. This was a step I was supposed last week when I left it at home. I intended to work on the finish, removing some tool marks during the week, but that never happened either.
My first project was to remove the tenon on the bottom of the face vase. I was given a jam chuck a while ago. A jam chuck is a conical piece of wood that fits in the jaws of the chuck. you make it to fit the project you are working with. If done right, your work won't come off when you take the tail stock away. It turned out that this jam chuck fits my face vase.
I mounted the face vase on the jam chuck and removed the tenon I had, and made a base ring. I also used techniques I learned last week to cut the bottom again with minimal tear out. Learning to use your tools properly is a good idea. I get results, but not good results....
After that was done, I started sanding and finishing.
My plug-in dremmel runs a little too fast for what I needed to do. I brought my battery powered dremmel with me and used that to remove the tool marks on the face vase. I have some sanding tubes that do not like being run fast and the lack of power the battery powered dremmel has, allowed me to sand just as much as needed.
I have a set of tools called a SCORP. Most chisels require you to apply pressure on the end of the handle, either pushing or rapping with a hammer, to work the blade into the wood. A scorp is a chisel where the blade aims to the side. It is pulled with the fingers, like a knife, into the wood. For some, this is safer and easier to control.
I have a set of four, and the V tool is the one I used the most. The others have varying amounts of curve to them. I think in terms of a knife and these are used like a knife.
The main reason I do not get into chisels, is that you are supposed to use a different curve for each thing you do, to make the cut look best. I decided I was not going to go through that effort of learning when to use all the many tools one tends to acquire. The scorp is a compromise. Generally, though, I am using either a knife or power, to do my carving.
After I had the beard and mustaches done, I showed mom, and then had her draw in some eye brows. I then carved them in over each eye.
I declared the face vase done, on the wood working part of the project. I am now in the finishing stage and at this second it is soaking in a mixture of mineral spirits and linseed oil. That will bring out all the colors that is in the wood. I will soak it for several days, then take it out to dry.
I decided to do a test of concept. I had seen vases in the shape of evening gowns. I had started something last week and it was not working right so I set it to the side. Today, I took that piece out which was rounded and had some hollowing in the end. I re-mounted that piece and shaped the inside a bit better. I then ran a two foot long drill bit into the end, through the tail stock, to make a place where you can slip a weed into.
That done, I did a little outside shaping, then took a forsner bit to cut out the arm holes for the straps of the dress. I got a good start on the hole, then it broke out. I made the hollowed out area too thin. the wood broke rather than cut. I tossed that piece into the garbage and then grabbed a piece of Yellow pine two by two I had cut. this one I drilled the hole for the arms first with the forsner bit. I then rounded the piece, then ran the long drill through the center to the depth I felt was right.
I then rounded the piece, then shaped it, going in for the waist and tapering out for the gown. Once I was satisfied with the shape, I took it off the lathe, bandsawed the tops of the straps and cut in a V from the top of the strap to just below the circle of the straps, removing the wood. I did the rest of the work with the dremmel, flattening the back, removing the breast mound all the way around except the front. I flattened the tummy and the front of the dress. I did not cut in the curves of the fabric as I was testing a concept, not working on the final piece.
When I drilled the holes, I wanted the stripes of the rings to go up and down the front, and thought I did it wrong. When I had the piece finally shaped, I saw I got it right.
When I do this again, I will make the arm holes smaller in proportion to the piece. I will have the hips as wide as the widest point of the dress to give it a more feminine shape. Mom said I had the straps wrong in front. I have them closer together in front than in back and they should be more even (though making them cross might be interesting sometime.
I broke one strap and it is glued right now I now have the proof of concept and will try it again sometime, preferably bigger. As it is, it is about seven inches tall and a little over an inch in diameter, about what is expected from a two by two.
dress vase I saw last week,
and my proof of concept dress weed vase
I don't have a big project to work on tomorrow. I have a lot of little projects in mind, several carving projects too.
I will have to see what I actually do tomorrow.
year 10, Week 26, Day Two (week 548)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
07-11-10 Sunday
96 degrees. Morning blue sky with high smudges. low puffs started building in the west and above before noon, actually blocking the sun several times. The morning breeze was so light one had to look carefully to see any movement of leaves, and picked up as the day went on. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.
Last night when I got home, I put the face vase in a combination of mineral spirits and linseed oil. I am to soak it for at least three days, possibly longer depending on what goes on. I put it in a zipper bag and set it on a "workbench" on my porch.
I got up in the early morning and smelled the liquid. I looked and saw that the bag was not as full as I started it. I knew it had leaked. When I got up for the morning, I checked it and there was liquid on the floor. I moved it into a new bag with another bag over it. I filled it up, turned away to take care of something. I then heard a thunk. I looked and it had fallen to the floor and dumped the liquid everywhere. I refilled it and put it up again, this time I made sure it was closed. I got out the mop and bucket and sopped up all the linseed oil on the ground, and then filled the bucket with soapy water and mopped the concrete of the porch.
When I got home, I looked and the zipper bags leaked again!!! I have some more liquid on the floor. I stuck the bag in the mop bucket and that will contain the leaks. These were the cheapest gallon bags I could find...
One is supposed to put the liquid in a bucket and soak it that way. I don't finish enough stuff to make that worth the effort. I instead use bags to do the soaking, flipping the bag periodically so every surface is well soaked in the liquid.
Linseed oil brings out the color of the wood, and makes the wood semi transparent. it is how you make lamp shades to pass light through them. the mineral spirits half and half oil, allows the oil to soak deeper into the wood.
I got an early start this morning. I petted and fed the cats, scarface fought some more this past week.
I then drug out my equipment.
Yesterday, I stopped at Jo-Anne’s Cloth World. In the CD I am using to learn crochet, I found that I will eventually will need a yarn needle. I looked at the yarn needles they had on sale. Several were plastic, but they also had metal ones. It dawned on me that since I made some crochet hooks, I could make the needle too. Why buy something I can make myself?
Today, I took a piece of orange wood and drilled holes for the top and bottom of the eye, and then used my dremmel to cut a slot between the holes. I then mounted the piece in my lathe and turned the tapered shape of the needle. I took it off, freed it from the wood and did a lot of grinding and shaping. When I was almost done, I realized I could have made it without the lathe. Just sanding and grinding could have done it. I had an even taper the lathe gave me as a guide, but I made the needle flat and made adjustments while sanding it on the strip sander.
I made four more crochet hooks. I actually made two more, but they got tossed. One, I made a mistake when making the hook so I turned it around to the other end and made another hook. When I cut one hook off, I found I removed the wrong one. It went into the garbage. I had another that was near finished on the lathe and I applied too much pressure and broke it. They need heavy sanding before they can be used.
My yarn needle on left
and four crochet hooks
right one is orange wood
two middle are Mahogany
and I forgot the kind of wood of the left hook
I started on another dress vase. I had a piece of oak at the start of where it branched off. The wood has nice waves in the surface. I decided to leave the bark on the lower part as part of the design. I mounted it between centers and made a tenon. I then mounted it with the skirt at the motor and started shaping the top. I allowed enough space for the straps and shaped the breast, the waste and the shape of the dress to the bark. I took a Forsner bit and drilled a hole straight through for the arm holes of the strap.
A bit later, I removed the tenon on the base (mistake) and then used my drill press to drill a Forsner bit down through the top. it only had length to reach just past the arm holes. I should have left the bottom tenon on and used my turning skills to hollow out the inside. Not thinking. When I removed the tenon, I did make a base ring. I might be able to put a groove in to mount that into the chuck so I can work on the end. Will have to see next week.
Two views of the dress vase I started in Oak
I have a turning club meeting this week, on Thursday. I intend to show off my face vase in whatever condition it is in. I don't have anything else to show. but that will be enough.
I have no really big plans for next week, other than to try to finish the face vase before the end of the month.
I will see what I actually do next week.
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