1st Turning - Thanks Marty & Bill Grumbine!!

Denise Walsh

Member
Messages
114
Location
Georgia
Well with the help of the LOML and Bill Grumbines video I took my first trip down spinny lane... :)

My trip actually began almost two years ago...

While we were clearing the land for the shop... er um I mean Studio... we uncovered some large cherry logs that had been tucked under some old brush and dirt for over 3 years.

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They were originally targeted for a burn pile but when Marty cut through one of them he felt the logs would be great to keep for a possible project down the road. Little did he know... :)

Monday, Marty unveiled that he brought home the Jet JWL-1220.
I think all those hints I kept dropping finally worked.. thank you Marty!! Yesterday while I was at work he put the lathe together and mounted it on the work bench. He also took the chainsaw and cut some of the old cherry logs and made some bowl blanks (now am "I" lucky or what?? ) and sharpened the turning chisels to help me prepare for an evening I thoroughly enjoyed.

I got off work last night around 5:30 and made my way out to the shop. Marty suggested I grab my laptop and Bill Grumbine’s video to review before I got started. I had watched it before but felt I needed a refresher course. The only turning I had ever done before was a “spindle” when we had the Shop Smith set up in VA.

This first picture will show you not only the mess of curls that I made but also shows the platform Marty made for me to stand on. The bench is a little too high. But that’s ok, I’ll just have Marty build me a stand for the lathe :rolleyes:


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And here is my first attempt at a bowl (thanks again Bill). It’s hard to believe that it once was as large as the blank that it is resting on. The cherry blank was almost 12” wide to begin with and now it’s about 6” wide.

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I’ve learned some very valuable lessons during this “first turn”.
#1-Sharp tools – We have a Tormek in the shop and as soon as the tools would become noticeably dull we would take care of them. It generally meant just running them over the leather wheel but what a huge difference even that would make.

#2-Make sure your hand is against the tool rest with the tool firmly gripped before hitting the wood. When I accidentally didn’t do that it scared the heck out of me… :(

#3-There is no “instant gratification” when turning a dried hard wood. The wood Bill worked with in his video was green wood and the curls would just fly like cotton. Curls flew from the cherry as well but not fluffy like his.

#4-This gives your arms a total workout!!


I would have posted this last night however as the clock shows by the time we got through sanding and putting a coat of Watco on it, it was pretty late.

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Well.. even though the critics will say it resembles a flower pot (actually that was my own thought as well) it is my very first bowl!! There are a couple of checks through the bowl and the bugs played in the wood a bit too but all in all I think it turned out alright. My first little bowl has four screw holes on the bottom, and hollowing it out was.. well interesting. Marty tells me this bowl process will be much easier once we get a chuck.

Be looking for more projects up and coming… :thumb:

Denise
 
Denise,

That is easily the best first bowl I've ever seen. Not only that, but that's quite a mess of cherry shavings on the floor! :)

Looks like the start of a promising career in turning... ;)

Thanks,

Bill
 
Denise, well done. :thumb: Make sure you sign and date it, put it on a shelf in the shop or house, and look at it in a few months. That first one is always a special one. You won't believe how much better you will get with practice. Congrats again!
 
Hi Denise, well for a first turning......, very very well done, my compliments !!
My first bowl was a complete failure, so you're a fast learner.
But Bill Grumbine, yeah that's the expert in turning bowls.
I'm curious to see your next turning. Have fun.:wave:
 
Denise that is a fine looking bowl. Like Jeff said you need to sign and date it. Put it on the shelf and a year or so down the road compare it to what you are doing then. That first one is awful special. Keep'em coming.
 
Way to go Denise! :clap:

Cherry can be fairly difficult to turn, as it cracks a lot, I know, I've had it happen a fair bit to me.

Yes a chuck makes things easier, as well as a donut chuck, a vacuum rig, etc etc... :rolleyes: :D

We need a sliding down the slippery slope Smilie :D

I like the lathe tool holder clamped in the vice, another one of Marty's fine pieces of work I'll bet, that is a great idea!

Now the shop looks really like a work shop, ankle deep in curlies :clap:

My first bowl has 4 screw holes in the bottom of it too!

Cheers!
 
Great start, Denise. Yep...the slide has begun. ;)

Based on the clock pic though, I'd say you were quitting early. I often get started on something, only to look up and see it's 2:00 AM or later. Lathes can be huge timesinks.
 
Great start, Denise. Yep...the slide has begun. ;)

Based on the clock pic though, I'd say you were quitting early. I often get started on something, only to look up and see it's 2:00 AM or later. Lathes can be huge timesinks.

Heck, I often START at 2 AM........... and they are not "Time Sinks" but "Time Machines! :D :rofl:
 
Dang Denise, most people start with something small, you go and make a bowl (or flower pot!:rofl:) It looks great congrats on the new toy, er tool!:thumb:
 
Ok, that's it. That spinny machine has got to go!

I went out to the shop this morning, intending to clean up Denise's mess...but...I saw a pine bowl blank on the bench that Denise refused to use since it was punky, checked, bug-hole-ridden, and just overall pretty ugly.

Well, once I had parts glued and clamped for my commission piece, I decided...what the heck. I turned two bowls about 15 years ago...out of boredom, on the ShopSmith. I needed time to devise a jig and system to clamp up the next parts...so what better than to think while I mindlessly hogged away the parts of that blank that weren't a bowl...? :huh:

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About an hour after chucking up that lump-o-pine, I had it on the spray rack in the finishing room, squirting it with shellac. What you see is about 4-5 coats. Good practice for me with the gun...yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...:rolleyes:

But, like I said above, that thing has got to go! In fact, when Denise came out at lunch time...to clean up HER mess...I had her help me remove it from the bench and stow it away! Until I have a mandrel and pen kits, that thing is OFF LIMITS to me. :doh:

Thanks Denise, for starting us BOTH down that dang slope...:bang:

- Marty -
 
Marty

Looks like you haven't forgotten how to spin! So............. when are you getting YOUR lathe :rofl:

Jay
 
OKAY THAT'S IT!!!

So I get off work today and discover that MY lathe had been used!!! :rolleyes: Marty turned out a bowl as well...!!

Quite honestly it was nice to see that Marty was able to take a break from his work to take it for a "spin"...:rofl:

Furthermore... had I known that ugly old piece of pine would have looked so good I wouldn't have set it down for the cherry! The piece turned out real nice... :)

Great Job!! Looks like we both have taken that slide......... :D :thumb:

Denise
 
Jeff and Bernie,

I did exactly what the two of you suggested. Signed, dated and will look back at it a bit later... :) I already have ideas for future projects!! We'll see what turns up down the road...:thumb:

Thanks!!

Denise
 
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