Box in Figured Bubinga and Dichroic Glass

Ted Calver

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Made this one as a birthday gift for the Missus. 2-3/4" x 3-3/4" with a Dichroic glass inset. Two coats of Watco, buffed and renaissance waxed. I cheated and used a Forstner bit to do most of the hollowing. My daughter fuses the glass for me. That Bubinga is hard stuff.
 

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Lovely.

But what is cheating by using a drill bit to drill a hole to waste the majority of the inside?


Whatever works. And if you don't tell, who will know? :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
 
That looks great, Ted. I really like the glass, too. Looks like it should have batteries, it's so "lit up" looking.

I agree with Carol. I don't consider drilling to be cheating. It's using the tools at hand to your advantage. If the object is to remove wood to have a hollow box, then I don't think it matters if you use a Forstner bit or a snow shovel. It still ends up as a hollowed-out box. Whatever works to remove the wood. ;) :thumb:
 
Not so much 'cheating' in the traditional sense, but rather reducing the level of 'hand madeness'. I personally enjoy making the chips fly with a gouge or skew or some other hand held cutter, so in my mind if a Forstner in the lathe does the hollowing, I've cheated myself out of the experience of making the chips fly and building hand held cutting skills. (Not that I want to extend this fuzzy logic to sanding or any other activity where machines do a better and faster job :) ). My wife is a knitter and makes some beautiful things. There are also knitting machines that make beautiful things--but they are not hand made--so in her eyes the fact that the love isn't there diminishes the value of the final product. It's like the YouTube tour of the bowl making factory where a log rolls in one end and a bowl spits out the other end. It's a nice bowl, but it's just not the same as one made by someone who got a catch and knocked the tennon off and saved it by making a new tennon and adjusting the shape..blah blah..you know what I'm saying :) :)
 
Beautiful Ted. I must say when I first started turning I did feel the same way you do. I would not use a forstner bit or any none turning tool for nothing. I felt like I was cheating. I would really feel guilty when I showed someone a box I had made but had drilled it instead of turned it. Now I really don't care. If I need to get a box done in short order out comes the bit. As my late granddad told me one time teaching me woodworking. Use the tools you have and he is right. I have a shop full of tools and if it will make the job easier especially as my age advances then I will use whatever. I try to keep things simple and easy now.;):rolleyes::D
 
Cheating is when you get a machine to do all the work for you. You still had to position the drill correctly etc etc etc. I do understand where you are coming from though. When re you going to get a pole lathe? :rofl::rofl:

As far as the box is concerned it is a beauty. I love combining materials like that. We see far too little of it IMHO and I am as guilty as anyone of not doing it. Boxes are my bete noir. I can count the successful ones I have made on one hand...without using all my fingers so Hats off to anyone who makes a good one like that

pete
 
Wow, that wood and glass combination really looks good. The colors are great together.

It's using the tools at hand to your advantage. If the object is to remove wood to have a hollow box, then I don't think it matters if you use a Forstner bit or a snow shovel.

I have to disagree Vaughn. I just spent an hour using the snow shovel and it's not near as fun as using the other turning tools.;)
 
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