Must of been good this year

randy street

Member
Messages
442
Location
Elgin, IL
The wife and kids suprised me with a belated fathers day and early birthday present.

100_0654.gif

100_0655.gif

100_0656.gif

I get to enter in that secret society of turning. Its just a mini but it will be good for me to learn on. From what I've read this hobby gives me more excuses to buy more tools.:D :D

Regards,

Randy
 
...From what I've read this hobby gives me more excuses to buy more tools...
You must have read wrong. You've got all you'll ever need: A good lathe and some good chisels. Nah, nobody every buys anything more than that. Congrats on being good. :thumb:

8< ------------------- snip ---------------------- >8

Print this post then cut out the part above the dotted line, and show it to LOYL. Then go take a picture of the money in your wallet, because that's the last you'll of it see for a while. :D You won't miss it though, since you'll be having too much fun.

Welcome to the vortex. You've got a nice start with the Rikon and Pinnacle chisels. Don't hesitate to ask questions. We're all learning together. ;)
 
Thanks guys. I'm really looking forward to this adventure.

I got some pieces of wood to practice on but really don't have a clue what I'm doing. There are some classes at Woodcraft but they aren't till September. I've got some books and a couple of dvd's but hopefully you don't get tired of my questions.

Regards,

Randy
 
The Woodcraft classes are a great way to get your feet wet, but since they aren't until Sept. see if you can find some other turners in your area that can help you out. We have quite a few turners around here and most are willing to share their knowledge. You may want to see if there is a turning club in your area. Woodcraft staff may be able to point you to some resources.

Congratulations, you will have a lot of fun with that.

By the way, go buy a full face shield and USE IT! Spinning wood can and will leave the axis of rotation at high velocity!
 
By the way, go buy a full face shield and USE IT! Spinning wood can and will leave the axis of rotation at high velocity!

Thanks Ed. Look at the first picture on the bottom right. She bought me that one, do I need something different?

The Woodcraft store is also where the Chicago Woodturners Club meets once a month, they also have a mentors page on their website I'm going to check out.

Randy
 
Thanks Ed. Look at the first picture on the bottom right. She bought me that one, do I need something different?

The Woodcraft store is also where the Chicago Woodturners Club meets once a month, they also have a mentors page on their website I'm going to check out.

Randy

I missed that in the pic! That should be fine and is similar to what I have. Shortly after I got mine, I was taking the Woodcraft class and, since they require it, I decided it would be a good idea to get used to wearing the face shield. The piece I was turning exploded and a large chunk hit the shield right in front of my left eye!:eek: That was when I became a staunch believer in wearing it when I have the lathe on!!!

You'll be able to feel your way through a lot of the turning, but it really helps to have someone show you how to address the lathe. Pick up some pen blanks and try them. They are quick and easy and a lot of fun. Try starting with the slimline pens. They are the easiest! The guys at WC can get you setup. Here's the last pen I did.
 
Randy....I'm turning on a Jet VS Mini and hope to upgrade to a PM3520B this fall.......Your mini will turn anything a bigger one will except it'll have to be smaller. Great way to get hooked!

Last year a bunch of internet friends gifted me with about $1100 worth of lathe and tools. Near as SWMBO can figure, I've spent somewhere between 2 and 3 times that much since to "accessorize" the Jet Mini. Use that term...women understand it.....

I just got back from visiting the youngest son and his wife in Houston. Bought an Alan Lacer 5/8 skew there ...$69...Robert Sorby modular tool rest.....$80.....Rockler....Alan Lacer "The Skew" dvd....$35.......

Flew back to Spokane Wa.....driving to Lewiston Idaho...via Woodcraft in Spokane...bought an Alan Lacer 1 1/4" skew....$109.....a new pen milling kit...$35.....some more pen kits....$35........new bushings for the new style pen kits $13.......

Nope once you have the basic tools and lathe you're pretty well set!:rofl:

Remind them who purchased the lathe to get you hooked....it's kinda like holding a guy down and mainlining him for his first "fix" I suppose.....

Enjoy the ride.....there is no destination....the ride just goes on in the Vortex!
 
Randy....seriously ....buy the book "Woodturning - A Foundation Course" by Keith Rowley. It's relatively cheap and I think I found it at Amazon. It's well written and illustrated and aimed at the beginning turner. I often take it to the shop when I'm trying something new so I can have it right by the lathe for reference. Excellent book!

Consider joining a local woodturning club. They often have video libraries that members can checkout videos for home use.

Woodcraft has some turning videos you can view for free at their site listed under education........

Good luck! I hope you find turning as addictive as I have! It's the closest thing I've found to instant gratification in woodworking as you can often start and finish a project in under an hour.
 
There's no turing back now...

Hello Randy,

Congrats! You've got a wonderful wife and kids! You will find this is a very addictive endeavor. :D My website offers a free educational library that contains lots of articles on things you need to know as a new woodturner, as well as some project articles and a few finishing articles.

To access the educational library, click on my name by the photo in this post and scroll down to "Visit Steve Russell's Homepage" and click on it. When you're at my homepage, look to the left of your screen and click the navigation button labeled "Main Library" and you will see the list of articles that are available.

There are currently 21 articles listed, but we are adding more every time we get a chance. I have more than 100 articles that will be loaded during our Phase 1 upload, so check back often. Also, if you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I've been a professional woodturner for twelve years and I'm happy to help you with any questions you may have... Also, there is a great group of folks here that are more than happy to help as well. Good luck to you and best wishes in all of your woodturning endeavors!
 
...There are currently 21 articles listed, but we are adding more every time we get a chance...
Speaking of which, I was browsing through the articles and read the piece on turning European style pens. Even though I consider myself pretty experienced and successful with pens, I learned a new trick...using the drill press as an arbor press makes a lot of sense. I'll be trying it out when I get back into "pen mode" here in the next month or so, Thanks for the tip, Steve. :thumb:
 
Randy....seriously ....buy the book "Woodturning - A Foundation Course" by Keith Rowley.

Picked this up last night and Barnes and Noble and I have and couple dvd's from Woodcraft.

My website offers a free educational library that contains lots of articles on things you need to know as a new woodturner, as well as some project articles and a few finishing articles.

Thanks Steve, looks like there is lots of information there for me to be reading.

Thanks for everybody's input. I'm looking forward to the experience ahead.

Randy
 
Glad to be of service!

Hello Vaughn,

I love using the drill press for this, even though I have a really nice pen press. Glad to be of help and best wishes to you and yours!


Speaking of which, I was browsing through the articles and read the piece on turning European style pens. Even though I consider myself pretty experienced and successful with pens, I learned a new trick...using the drill press as an arbor press makes a lot of sense. I'll be trying it out when I get back into "pen mode" here in the next month or so, Thanks for the tip, Steve. :thumb:
 
Other than in catalogs, I've not seen the Nova Midi. It looks like a workable chuck, although the main disadvantage I see is that it uses "tommy bars" to tighten the chuck, not a "key". Here's a pic from the Nova website showing how the tommy bars work:

Precision%20Midi_Using%20Levers%20Web.jpg


You push (or pull) the two bars in opposite directions to tighten or loosen the jaws. I've not used a chuck with tommy bars, but I've read there are occasions where you need three hands to tighten them and hold the turned piece in place. A keyed chuck, on the other hand, uses a t-handled wrench, like this:

G3web3.jpg


I know there are turners who get along just fine with the tommy bars, but I thing anyone who has used both types of chucks tends to prefer the keyed chucks instead.

Another advantage to the G3 is that it uses a replacable threaded insert to attach to your lathe spindle. Because of this, when you upgrade to a
larger lathe, you only need to purchase a new insert, and you can use the G3. That's exactly what I did...I started with a 3/4" 16tpi thread for my little Wilton mini lathe, then got the 1" 8tpi insert when I got the bigger Sears lathe. Down the road, when I buy the next lathe, I'll upgrade the insert again. Three lathes, one chuck. The Nova Midi chuck, on the other hand, has the threads built in, so it's not upgradable.

So, although the G3 is $30 more now, it'll likely save you money in the future.
 
Top