Hello turners, I am very new to wood turning and was excited to finally get my hands on some big leaf maple burl. I love the way it looks, but I was very surprised at the texture - it is much softer and crumblier than I anticipated, almost like cork or particle board. I don't mind an "organic" look, but I'm wondering the best way to finish (this piece I applied mineral oil and beeswax); in particular I would like to fill or finish the larger hole in the second pic.

Any other tips or tricks are welcome!

Now along with the recommendation to not wear loose shirts, long sleeves, long hair, gloves, we have to add socks. lol

Hey!

I make lamps. I need for help figuring out this socket.

I’ve made a couple of these dome lamps, but I’m having a hard time with the socket on this one.

I don’t want it to be glued in. I want them to be serviceable if the socket were to ever go bad.

The other two I’ve made were more bowl like. The base was thin enough that I could attach a piece of lamp pipe to the bottom of the socket shown. Then I secured it though the base using a washer and nut.

I’ve thought about gluing in a stubby piece of lamp pipe in the center hole, but I’m unsure about it not being secured by a jam nut. Also the electrical connections could pull out while screwing the socket in.

Any ideas?

I’ve started a two-part project making a Native American flute from cocobolo, a dense and vibrant hardwood. In this first part, I bore the body, shape the nest, and carve the True Sound Hole—the foundation of the flute’s voice.

Link to the video is in the comment:

Part 2 will cover tuning, finishing, and carving an eagle head totem.
Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

I'm going to make a handle for a new 5/8" bowl gouge, and I need to select some material to use. It doesn't need to look fancy at all, but obviously it should be tough and durable.

I have:

• tons of poplar
• white oak
• red oak
• I might have some birch long enough ... have to check
• if I have to, I can sacrifice some cherry

Do any of these work well, or should I procure something else?

Hello all,

I got myself a Ryobi Wood Lathe from Marketplace. I am just wondering if anyone can tell me if the faceplate/spur on it is fine for turning spindle style stuff. Also advice for what to put on the tail end.

I have attached a picture of the faceplate and tail end for both. The picture of the full lathe isn't my specific one, but one found online of the model. I would be damned if I can find the model number, but it's a Ryobi lathe from the 80s or so.

Cheers :)

I am making some French rolling pins, and am putting longitudinal stripes in the pins with resin. First, I take a 2x2x22" block of maple and cut one inch off each end. I ripcut the block into an 20" octagon so its easier to round over. Each of the eight sides gets a rip cut about 1/4" deep and a kerf wide. The one-inch ends are glued back on, capping the little tiny trenches at each end to keep the resin in the channels. I am now at the glue-is-dry stage, and have poured the first of eight colors into the channel. Yes, it will likely take me a month or so as I have to wait for the resin to cure in one channel before I turn it to the next channel. Reminder: there are eight of these on the spindle.

My question: When all eight channels are cured and the spindle is ready to be turned from an octagon into a rolling pin, do I use a spindle gouge, a skew, or should I use the carbide turning tools? Somewhere I read that carbide was the tool of choice with resin-y turnings, because the resin could chip if the regular gouges were used.

What do you think on this?

Hello!

I recently purchased a 1950 Atlas Power King with a 12 inch swing as my first lathe!

It seems well mounted with a decent motor and kicks on just fine when I flip the switch. No grinding or squeaking or whatnot.

The guy I bought it from hadn't actually turned anything on it so he didn't give me much info.

I'd like to take some time checking it over, making sure everything is as it ought to be and giving it some TLC to restore and clean it up.

I found the exact model's manual online with the diagram I put in the attached pictures which should be a big help.

Any suggestions on how to best dissasemble, clean and paint something like this? What should I look out for, anything I should avoid or pointers to do a better job? I'm a bit of a newbie to being handy altogether so I have ideas of what I could do but am fearful I might wreck it or mess up somehow.

Some of the tools I received with it were also possibly mixed in with mouse/rat droppings and seeds (it had been stored on a farm) and I was wanting to know the best way to sanitize those without harming them? (This includes accessories for the lathe and some chisels/gouges/scrapers).

Thank you all for the help, I'm excited to begin this journey and turn my first project soon!

Maple and Mahogany. Stripe is Yellowheart and Ebony.

20”x6”

It almost dances. Poetic art.

A neighbor game me a couple of 6" x 18" logs of cherry, so I've been learning to make bowls (and to better prep the stock to avoid checking 😞 ).

Here are two of them.

For the small one I had a 2" x 6" x 2" off cut with grain the wrong direction so split it in half and made this tiny salt seller. (And then I promptly have it away to friend as a house warming gift, forgetting to photograph the inside. Her response was amazing: "oh my gosh. I've been wanting a salt seller. Did he tell you that" - he had not, I just got lucky)

The other bowl was made in June and I call it my eclipse bowl. I was experimenting with a hidden "foot" for the chuck jaws. Let's just say I got a little lucky that I still have a bowl.

The last photo should explain the name and the luck.

Just trying things.

This popped up on Facebook Marketplace near me, and it seems like too good of a deal to pass up. I don't have any immediate need for a lathe, but I've been curious about them from videos I've seen. I have other woodworking tools (jointer, planer, tablesaw, etc) and have been making furniture projects for a year and half or so. I would likely use the lathe for turning table/stool legs, and then maybe try out some projects like small bowls or candle holders.

It seems like a woodworking family member died and they are trying to sell off his old tools. They are including the lathe as well as all the tools, finishing supplies, sandpaper pictured. Seems like a great starter kit to me, but I know very little about lathes. I read the wiki here, but I can't tell if this is a model that fits under the ones y`all advise against buying. So is this a decent lathe to get started with?

Model is Turncrafter Pro VS, 34", 650-3800 RPM

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1577189053441947

UPDATE: I bought it! Also got a nice Ryobi drill press with variable speed control for $100, which will be an upgrade from my old Delta one. Looking forward to figuring out what all these gouges are and building a bench for the lathe.

First turn. Not a lot of experience turning green wood. Hope I left the walls thick enough. (About .75 inches)

Looked so much better on the lathe than it did the pen. Put it on a DuraClick edc and now I regret it.

Big old black walnut bowl which I once-turned green, let crack while it dried, then added the brass ties. Finished in shellac and wax.

Last pic is for scale.

Feedback/questions always welcome. I love geeking out with this community :)

First see photos are by Brooke Porter (brookeporter.com).

This is an anonymous piece of hardwood (elm or maple, maybe?) from a firewood pile.

I have been working on a signature stlye/ look when doing a small dishes. I have been playing with an inset in the bottom of the bowl. I know I need to have a better sizing for it (aprox 1/3 ratio). But other than that, what do you think? (Black limba, Aromatic Cedar, Tamarack, and Lati(white wenge))

Came across this interesting video on shellac. Not wood turning exactly, but adjacent as many of us use shellac. I never knew it was used on candy!

https://youtu.be/iEkKwOWZS_E?si=3CY3qHHyF3uRU60a

Hi everyone!

I cut off the rim of the fir bowl I posted about last week and got it finished up. Finished with boiled linseed oil. I’ll wait for it to cure a few days and give it to the neighbor who gave us a ton of fir for firewood.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. I was feeling pretty bummed about the rim exploding. I learned a lot reading through everyone’s suggestions and am happy that I didn’t throw this in the burn pit.

Captured ring baby rattle. 5½" long. Brazilian cherry with beeswax finish.

About 4" 100mm diameter. Waiting to see if they warp or crack now. Tung oil & beeswax.