03-03-2021, 03:53 PM (This post was last modified: 03-03-2021, 03:56 PM by MichaelMouse.)
(03-03-2021, 09:38 AM)DIY GUY Wrote: I'm in Detroit, MI Grey Mountain. Had a laugh about the table saw (though I do use mine). Sounds like the elliptical I have. A friend gave me the best advice. Buy the elliptical with the most arms - you can hang the most coats on it lol.
OK, so you're a troll. Won't hold that against you. If you are going to hollow a bowl or plate from a crosscut, versus a long grain orientation, remember that down grain is uphill, not downhill as it is on face grain orientation. So you work center out and up, not rim to center and down when hollowing. If the wood's spalted, it is actually an advantage, because some of the lignin is already neutralized, making a radial crack less likely.
Most wood does not have a defined "pith" to remove. Don't need to do any more than try to equalize the loss of (green) bound moisture by allowing free circulation of air under and over the piece. Split a bunch of goblet bases until I smartened up and started setting them on stickers for the cure. Don't lose many now.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
I picked up an open box WEN lathe for $40. It advertises 8" diameter, but you'd have to remove the gouge rest. I've got a 5" diameter piece in there now, but i need to mount it to a workbench before i can start turning (It didn't come with mounting bolts, so gotta make a trip to the hardware store and match some to the base).
I've got a chainsaw. No bandsaw. Yes grinder. My interest was to turn chalices for a while. If I use it a lot, I'd consider heavier duty equipment, but don't want to over-invest until I know I'm gonna stick with it a long time.
(03-03-2021, 04:13 PM)DIY GUY Wrote: I picked up an open box WEN lathe for $40. It advertises 8" diameter, but you'd have to remove the gouge rest. I've got a 5" diameter piece in there now, but i need to mount it to a workbench before i can start turning (It didn't come with mounting bolts, so gotta make a trip to the hardware store and match some to the base).
I've got a chainsaw. No bandsaw. Yes grinder. My interest was to turn chalices for a while. If I use it a lot, I'd consider heavier duty equipment, but don't want to over-invest until I know I'm gonna stick with it a long time.
$40 sounds like a good deal for that lathe. If you have much interest at all, you will outgrow it very quickly. 8" swing will limit you to fairly small bowls, and the 2a motor will limit you to lighter cuts and smaller pieces. Still, it will give you valuable experience turning, and then you can decide where to go from there, as interest and money allow.
Get some turning tools, watch some good videos and start turning. Keep your tools sharp, and your face protected.
Harborfreight carries a set of turning tools that used to be a great starter set for around $40. That set is now $80. They have one for $25, but it is tool steel, rather than HSS. Tools steel is problematic to sharpen with a grinder. Maybe someone else could chime in with advice on a good starter set deal.
With a lathe that small, I would try and rough out pieces to as close to round as possible.
03-03-2021, 09:25 PM (This post was last modified: 03-03-2021, 09:26 PM by RustyN.)
You will want to rough turn the bowl first. You want to leave the thickness 10% of the diameter. So a 10” diameter bowl you will want to leave 1” thick and put in a paper bag with the wood chips to dry. It will warp during the drying process. After it is dry it will have enough thickness you can put it back on the lathe and make the inside and outside round again. For an example this is a 12” bowl I am making. I left it around 1.25” thick to dry. Welcome.
(03-03-2021, 09:25 PM)RustyN Wrote: You will want to rough turn the bowl first. You want to leave the thickness 10% of the diameter. So a 10” diameter bowl you will want to leave 1” thick and put in a paper bag with the wood chips to dry. It will warp during the drying process. After it is dry it will have enough thickness you can put it back on the lathe and make the inside and outside round again. For an example this is a 12” bowl I am making. I left it around 1.25” thick to dry. Welcome.
Well, more important than thickness is the shape. The early wood is less dense than late wood, which means as the rings contract, they pull against it. So as you get toward the outside of the log in a turning with heart up, the more you'd like to shorten them by rounding/tapering. The closer you get to vertical sides the more likely you are to get a bottom split.
I use ~3/4-1" wall thickness @ 16", so it doesn't take forever to cure. Use less for smaller diameters, depending on grain orientation. I also gave up bagging and such in favor of allowing free flow around the rough. I've got a basement, so roughs spend the first week on the floor, then go on shelves for the next couple of months when they're ready for re-turning. If you bag, use dry shavings as your buffer to limit mildew. The bag's dry wood fiber, too.
Better to follow the leader than the pack. Less to step in.
Green tree limbs are excellent practice wood. Readily available, free, cut like butter, no investment except time.
Have no idea why MM called you a troll. Ignore that part of his post. The rest is pretty good advice.
Be aware that you have fallen into an abyss from which few, if any, ever escape. I bought an old Delta lathe in a thrift store for a hunnert bucks 40 years ago. Still have it, and seven more...
Got a table saw around here somewhere...
GM
The only tool I have is a lathe. Everything else is an accessory.
Ah, Yoopers! MichaelMouse does that make you a billygoat?
Thanks again for all the tips everyone. I've got a cheap gouge set that seems I'll likely have to replace pretty quick. Do you prefer HSS vs carbide tips?
I'm thinking to bolt my little lathe to a board and then I can bolt that board through my workbench when I'm turning. My 'shop' is my basement boiler room, so space is fairly limited.
Maybe I'll turn a small bowl to practice, but my main interest to start is turning chalices. So hopefully I'll manage with this mini lathe at least for a while.
(03-04-2021, 08:57 AM)DIY GUY Wrote: Ah, Yoopers! MichaelMouse does that make you a billygoat?
Thanks again for all the tips everyone. I've got a cheap gouge set that seems I'll likely have to replace pretty quick. Do you prefer HSS vs carbide tips?
I'm thinking to bolt my little lathe to a board and then I can bolt that board through my workbench when I'm turning. My 'shop' is my basement boiler room, so space is fairly limited.
Maybe I'll turn a small bowl to practice, but my main interest to start is turning chalices. So hopefully I'll manage with this mini lathe at least for a while.
I prefer HSS tools. I have carbide and use them also but nowhere near as much as the HSS.
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