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I'm doomed to go to spinny land . . .

Jim Mattheiss

Jim Mattheiss

Member
Messages
467
Location
Long Hill Township, NJ
Hello:

Today was a beautiful day here in NJ, so the family packed up and went the the State Fair of NJ, held at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.

We wandered around looking at all sorts of stuff when we eventually wandered past the Peter's Valley booth. Peter's Valley is as best I can define it is a teaching craft village in Sussex County NJ. They hold classes in woodworking, metalworking and countless other skills. The first time we passed by nothing was going on but a Jet Mini lathe was setup on a table. Later on we wandered by again an a gentleman by the name of Harvey Fein was operating the lathe. He was turning a walnut bowl. The whole family stood and watched him for a while and he described what he was doing as he did it. He completed turning the bowl, separated it from the "base" block it was attached to and handed it to my daughter - who was thrilled :thumb:. He the chucked up another blank and turned a spinning top and handed it to my son :thumb:.

Towards the end of making the top he was describing how inexpensive turning was - that the lathe was $X, the chuck was $X and the turning tools were $X dollars. My whole family was saying - this is cool and you should get a lathe and make us things. :eek: Harvey Fein teaches a turning for lefties class at Peter's Valley that I'll have to check on the schedule for - I'm a leftie - BTW. The Woodcraft in Allentown has a number of beginner turning classes that my wife and daughter were intrigued by some time ago. I think they are going to get me to buy the lathe, tools and accessories and them I'll have to wait in line to use my own tools.

I'm not sure but if I'm not already caught in the vortex I think I'm going to get pushed in :rofl:. Right now I like the process of making things, but the hardest part of the process is deciding on a project. A lathe could open up a whole new world of opportunities for projects.

I have to think about this . . .

Watch out - those people already caught up in the vortex are sneaky!

Cheers

Jim
 
Close your eyes, click your heels together 3 times and repeat: There's no place like flat, There's no place like flat, There's no place like flat, :rofl::rofl:
 
Jim Mattheiss said:
Towards the end of making the top he was describing how inexpensive turning was - that the lathe was $X, the chuck was $X and the turning tools were $X dollars.
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Jim,...wait I need to wipe the tears from my eye and my stomach hurts from laughing too much...did he also say he was the rightful owner of the Brooklyn bridge and that you could own shares of it?:D

Careful, like anything this can get out of hand! Larry quick, we need an intervention. This looks serious!
 
Ferget wat those flatboarders say - Welcome - there's always room for a Smart woodworker.

Deciding what to make is EASY!

All you do is mount a piece of wood.

Start turning.

LET THE WOOD TELL YOU WHAT IT WANTS TO BE!

All you do is get rid of what's unnecessary and what's left is what the wood wanted to be.

Sometimes it wants to go back to the burn pile. Those are learning experiences.

Bruce
 
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Bill:

The point of the $$$ discussion was to point out that the buy in to have a workable turning setup was reasonable and reachable. He professed to using a $100 set of chinese made turning tools and they were fine - and that as a starting turner you don't need the top of the line turning tools. If you progress in turning you can pick up better tools over time.

Bruce:

There was a vendor selling root carved baskets. They pull tree stumps and carve them into baskets - just carve away what isn't a basket and you are done!

Cheers

Jim
 
Jim he is correct. Many turners start out with inexpensive tools like these High speed steel tools from harbor freight I got mine several years ago then as I progressed I bought my bowl gouges and hollowing tools. I still ony have a 12" Rikon Lathe that I bought from Woodcraft for $a nlittle over $300. I Already had a band saw. so you can easily get started for less then $500. But beware thats only the beginning..:D
 
Dan Mooney said:
Close your eyes, click your heels together 3 times and repeat: There's no place like flat, There's no place like flat, There's no place like flat, :rofl::rofl:
Click to expand...

Don Baer said:
Another one bits the dust....:D:thumb:. Larriey R U Pyun atnchun...:rofl::rofl::rofl:
Click to expand...

Bill Satko said:
Jim,...wait I need to wipe the tears from my eye and my stomach hurts from laughing too much...did he also say he was the rightful owner of the Brooklyn bridge and that you could own shares of it?:D

Careful, like anything this can get out of hand! Larry quick, we need an intervention. This looks serious!
Click to expand...

jim dont let the teacher or the sad eyes of your family lead yu astray this vortex thing isnt good and changes the way yu look at wood forever..and your billfold will develope very large voids in it ...also you have much more clean up to contend with they take a nice chunk of wood and make a very large pile of chips to clean up..kinda like digging a hole and then filling it back in to redig.. and its hard on your eyes too, watchun the spinning wood ,,kinda like a hypmotizum..thats how they get yu to part with yur money.. and we all kow misery loves company ..thats why they try so hard to get new recruits..it helps them feel better knowing they arent alone in there misery :D:rofl:
 
Don,
I think Larry has found out our secret. :doh: The spinning wood hypnotizes us, as it changes shape from our hand guided tools. :thumb: (If you read what I think I read, Larry seems to be embracing the spinny side more and more each day. Ya think?) He's just in denial. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Jim, although I'm just a small part of the turner world, welcome, and enjoy. (Of course, we'll need pictures)

Aloha, Tony
 
Jim Mattheiss said:
...Watch out - those people already caught up in the vortex are sneaky!...
Click to expand...

My feelings have been crushed. :( Turners are some of the most friendly, welcoming people you could ever hope to be abducted by. And we have cookies. :D

Kudos on having such an intelligent and thoughtful family for thinking about your future enjoyment. :thumb: :rofl:

And of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them. We may not know the answers, but we can make up some pretty good ones anyway.
 
It's not that bad a pit to fall in. There is something relaxing about just chucking up a piece of log and seeing what is inside it. Even if you only find a toothpick. There is also the heartpounding excitement that you experience when something goes terribly wrong.
 
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