Dan Mosley
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- 1,169
- Location
- Palm Springs, Ca
Today was the day I attended the class on turning vessels. Met in Riverside,Ca at the turners shop at 7am and we started right in. After meeting eachother we went over to a very large area of storage shelfs that had alot of different kinds of wood and selected out a pc for our first lesson. The owner/turner cut them into size for us on his bandsaw and we then went to the lathe area -(5 Lathes) - 2-Jets - 1-Oneway - 1-Powermatic. Because i have Jet 2hp i chose the powermatic to try out something different.
There were three of us and one instructor for 4hrs and then another instructor joined in 1/2 way thru the day which was great because we got more one on one teaching. Class size is limited to 3 people but classes are offered at other times etc-.
On the wall were plenty of tools to use and like i said in a previous thread it is obvious he really favors certain tools - mainly the Derry hollowing system and Thompson gouges. He had rows of Thompson gouges and some Sorby but really favors Thompsons.
Picture-1---Maple burl - below was my first attempt and the lip area failed during the hollowing because i went to thin i think near the lip and split out a pc - so i simply opened up more - not quite a bowl but not the vessel i had intended it to be. It is not finished yet but i put on a single coat of Formby's and set it aside.
Picture-2 & 3 - turned out like i intended and has some very nice holes and inclusions. I cut this very very thin to test out the Derry's capabilities and the wood held up well. The laser is very easy to use and has x-y axis adjustment and does not move at all during hollowing which was nice to depend on without any adjusting - vessel was completed - sanded and set aside - Picture is unfinished
Picture 4- Running out of time i was hollowing out this pc of cherry burl
and left it unfinished and will have to finish it later.
So did I buy the Derry system ? No, I decide to wait a bit longer and think things over some more. I have no experience in hollowing except for today. Ill put some more time into looking into the Monster and Spindoctor setups before deciding among the three. But i will keep it on the contender list for sure.
What i did like was about the Derry system is it is very easy and fast to set up, the laser is set it and forget it and easy to use with x-y axis settings - very simple system and was fun to use.
Had a chance to use more Thompson tools and all us already own 1 or more of them to start but im sure will be buying more after today. I kept finding myself putting down the other tools and using the Thompsons all day. The tools were all setup with long padded black handles and were comfortable to hold.
Powermatic 2hp lathe - very nice to use - I like my Jet alot but this is a nice machine and very well constructed - not much else to say but a heck of a machine to turn on.
Sharpening the turner showed us how to turn free hand without the use of any jigs - while i understand how its done the wolverine jig i have i still like using regardless.
Anyway thought i would share my experience with all here
There were three of us and one instructor for 4hrs and then another instructor joined in 1/2 way thru the day which was great because we got more one on one teaching. Class size is limited to 3 people but classes are offered at other times etc-.
On the wall were plenty of tools to use and like i said in a previous thread it is obvious he really favors certain tools - mainly the Derry hollowing system and Thompson gouges. He had rows of Thompson gouges and some Sorby but really favors Thompsons.
Picture-1---Maple burl - below was my first attempt and the lip area failed during the hollowing because i went to thin i think near the lip and split out a pc - so i simply opened up more - not quite a bowl but not the vessel i had intended it to be. It is not finished yet but i put on a single coat of Formby's and set it aside.
Picture-2 & 3 - turned out like i intended and has some very nice holes and inclusions. I cut this very very thin to test out the Derry's capabilities and the wood held up well. The laser is very easy to use and has x-y axis adjustment and does not move at all during hollowing which was nice to depend on without any adjusting - vessel was completed - sanded and set aside - Picture is unfinished
Picture 4- Running out of time i was hollowing out this pc of cherry burl
and left it unfinished and will have to finish it later.
So did I buy the Derry system ? No, I decide to wait a bit longer and think things over some more. I have no experience in hollowing except for today. Ill put some more time into looking into the Monster and Spindoctor setups before deciding among the three. But i will keep it on the contender list for sure.
What i did like was about the Derry system is it is very easy and fast to set up, the laser is set it and forget it and easy to use with x-y axis settings - very simple system and was fun to use.
Had a chance to use more Thompson tools and all us already own 1 or more of them to start but im sure will be buying more after today. I kept finding myself putting down the other tools and using the Thompsons all day. The tools were all setup with long padded black handles and were comfortable to hold.
Powermatic 2hp lathe - very nice to use - I like my Jet alot but this is a nice machine and very well constructed - not much else to say but a heck of a machine to turn on.
Sharpening the turner showed us how to turn free hand without the use of any jigs - while i understand how its done the wolverine jig i have i still like using regardless.
Anyway thought i would share my experience with all here
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Those black padded handles sound like the Monster handles from Randy. I've got 'em on my Thompson gouges, too. Great combination.
So you got to bring all three home? Is the thin one thin enough to wire a flickering LED light in it and see it glow?
