86 degrees in the morning, 90 degrees in the afternoon, a very light breeze that made the trees wave their little fingertips, and take away whatever heat there might have been. half clouds half sun kept the reflective heat down. This weather report is brought to you by the City of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism, Florida's Warm Welcome.
Friday
Last week I had filled in some cracks in the Sea Grape bowl I re-worked with wood filler. While digging for something, I found I had some decorator sand in several colors. I had seen in the club where they pulverized stone to make inlay. I decided the sand was about the size I could use for inlay. I scraped the filler out and cut some cracks a little bigger. Using super-glue, I set the purple sand in cracks. I had a bright red and now think that would have been better. You are actually wanting the inlay to stand out. I also have yellow and white sand. I nearly made it flush but have more sanding to do as I got super glue on the surface in one place and when I added a coat of varnish, it stood out. I have to add some more coats of super glue to get the proper surface on the inlay, making sure the spaces between the stones are filled. It looks good.
Sea grape bowl with purple sand inlay
SATURDAY
We went yard sailing in the morning. A friend had a yard sale so we went to it. I picked up a boombox. The CD does not work but the radio works perfectly. It is replacing a radio I have at home.
Boom box I got at yard sale. works great enough
I picked up some Campbell’s cook booklets. don't need them but she pushed them on me. I don't follow recepies very often.
Campbell's cook booklets
There was some porcelain dolls there. One in yellow and one in blue. I absolutely loved the blue dress she had on, and her face was perfect. She was beautiful. She is now on one of my shelves.
I am more picky on what porcelain dolls I buy than the teddy bears I bring home. With this one, her expression was just right. her dress color is my favorite blue, the price was right, and also it was from a friend. I haven't a clue where to look and what to look for to find out if there is collector value to her. I did not buy her to sell her. She is now on a shelf in my living room, protected by half a dozen fairies and a wizard.
Three views of the doll
At another yard sale, Mom and I picked up a "saws all" by Makita that will be a birthday present for my brother. It is new, never been used. The price was pretty good too.
The fordum - motor, shaft with a bit in it, and a foot pedal speed control
Unimat metal working machine in the lathe configuration
Unimat metal working machine in milling machine configuration
same motor unit mounted onto a shaft to point down.
The turning club periodically have club challenges. These challenges are to get people to make something they never made before, rarely or in a very long time. At one time there was a beginner and advanced competition, but they decided to take the competition out. Now when one brings them in, you get a raffle ticket. They then draw tickets from a hat for the winners.
Next month they will have a challenge of making spin tops. I decided to make one.
My very first one was out of a two by two and I had the proportions wrong. It won't spin. Not broad enough for the height and it has a big nob on top that reduces the spin you can impart. That will now be a dangle Christmas ornament.
little spin top was my first attempt, and second attempt is the big spin top.
I then took a piece of four by four yellow pine post. I got the shape right, but when I tried to spin it, it was not spinning well. After looking at it a while, I got out my Fordum with an aggressive grinding bit and started decorating it. At first I planned on having it hollow with fillagree, but should have hollowed it out first for that. Instead, since it was solid, I started grinding it out so it would have spokes. I had four spokes that were flat vanes.
I decided to remove the webbing so the four spokes became eight spokes, four top four bottom. When I was about done, one set of the spokes had broken through because of a flaw in the wood. I chose the wrong location for the spacing of the spokes. I then removed that pair of spokes, and then the opposite pair of spokes,
The inside of the outer rim is rough. I will set it in the lathe, and hold the grinder at the thinnest place on the rim. I will then turn the piece against the grinder so it ends up the same thickness all the way around. I will have to do some shaping of the spokes so they will look good too.
I took the last three sidewalk bolts and squared the heads in the grinder so they are closer to being a T-slot bolt than what they were. I left them slightly larger so when I machine them, I can get them centered on the shaft. It only took a couple minutes for them while it took me like an hour for the one I machined entirely.
I should pick up a few more of them and prepare them too. When I get to machining, I can do some production machining, one after the other. I need them in different lengths so I could use quite a few of them.
I could well make them entirely on the grinder, but I have to do more setup than I have done so far. I just held them in the plyers and pushed them into the grinder until they looked close to size. The grinder could well be a lot faster to finish these up. I do need more practice in setting up to machine. Setting up the parts in the machine is really what machining is all about.
Tomorrow, I will finish up the top I started, and may make another one. I would like to make the next spin top hollow. I need practice with that anyway. These could be a nice turned Christmas ornament to offer next year.
I will likely work a bit on those T-slot bolts. I have a face vase that needs more work on, a vase that I want to carve flowers on, and a number of various projects to work on along with anything new I might thick of.
I will see what I actually do tomorrow.
year 11, Week 17, Day Two (week 591) (January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.) 05-08-11 Sunday
84 degrees in the morning, 90 in the afternoon, light breeze to make things comfortable but not enough to move sawdust around. We had variable clouds, clear blue skies when I arrived at mom's house, A while later a rippled shield was over us, then patchy clouds, then blue sky, then patchy clouds. It was different every time I looked up. This weather report was brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.
After arriving, I took pictures for my mom, and then took pictures of all her flowers. I took flower pictures yesterday but some did not come out so I took more. I also got pictures of the Curly tailed lizards and the cats. I plan to put them on line sometime this week.
After I got all the equipment out, I decided I would take a grinding bit I got from my dad, which has a shaft a drill can use, and make it so it will work with the Fordum and dremmel. I had a little bit of difficulty keeping it in the machine lathe and it damaged some of the spurs on the grinding bit, but I got the shaft down to where the smaller machines can hold onto it. I only did a little of the end so I could also hold it in the drill.
I took the top I made yesterday and mounted it in my wood lathe. Using a sanding bit, I held the sanding bit in place and rotated the work so any high spots were ground down. I cleaned up the inside of the outer rim and a few other places. It looks pretty good, but could have been done better.
Finished big spin top. and little top
I sanded more on the bowl I added inlay on. It is looking a bit better. I will do some finishing on it during the week.
I used the hole saw in the drill press to cut some disks out of 3/4 board. I then ran screws into the holes and mounted them on the lathe. I trued up the disks and then undercut the inside and outside. These are the wheels for the cannon I am making for my grandnephew.
I cut some boards for the toy cannon I am making. I got the body of the cannon assembled. I cut three boards the same size, one had the two wheels cut out of it. The second was cut for the body. the third had a strip cut from it. I was able to make all the pieces I needed from what I had left, cut-offs from the body.
I have to add the pivot rod for the barrel and install the wheels. I also have to add dowels to peg the pieces together. Glue is not strong enough to hold it together under the destructive power of a little child.
Little toy cannon. body all glued together. Needs a little clean up
and some childproofing before wheels and barrel goes on.
While I had a lot of projects in mind to work on, I did get a bit done, though it was not as productive a day as I had hoped. It never is. All those projects are still available to work on next week.
I will see what I actually do next week.
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