The Tool Rest

Always.

2011-01-12T18:42:42.037-04:00

Always.

I think this is one of the reasons I love craft so...

2010-11-29T17:20:26.977-04:00

I think this is one of the reasons I love craft so much. Woodwork and woodturning in particular need so much pratice that I worry that my friends in my generation (mid twenties) won't both learning crafts in their spare time (X boxes and playstations have a lot to answer for).

Great site, I was handed down the Pysanky traditio...

2010-10-06T17:39:24.353-03:00

Great site, I was handed down the Pysanky tradition by mother. I now teach it to my grandchildren. Thanks for sharing,

Lucky you! I have heard of Irish turners using bog...

2009-06-08T07:59:06.598-03:00

Lucky you! I have heard of Irish turners using bog oak, but I never heard of bog yew. Have you cut into any of it yet? What does it look like?

thats pretty cool, here in Ireland we have oak and...

2009-06-07T19:16:29.750-03:00

thats pretty cool, here in Ireland we have oak and yew which has been buried in our peatland bogs from anywhere to 6-8000 years. Machines that cultivate the bogs regularly hit the logs and dig them up to dump them to one side out of the way. As soon as they are exposed to the elements they start cracking and splitting, over a period of time of course. I have been fortunate enough to get 3 large

Useless? Oh no - certainly not! It is a handy hold...

2009-04-24T09:13:00.000-03:00

Useless? Oh no - certainly not! It is a handy holder for all sorts of things. Let's see from the lathe out...my chuck key (sits in a convenient hole), MT adapters (in the slot), air hose, and the latest use - it holds the control center for my vac system which is mounted on a board which is in turn mounted on a steel tool post that fits the outrigger. :) I will keep an eye on that rod though.

I have problems when trying to use the McNaughton ...

2009-04-20T20:13:00.000-03:00

I have problems when trying to use the McNaughton center saver, and have considered some sort of brace underneath it too.

But for regular turning I find it perfectly satisfactory. I'm currently roughing out bowl blanks upto about 14" diameter with no problems, and have done bigger ones in the past.

Is it flexing the outrigger, or is the lathe moving too? I have my lathe on a

I find the outrigger to be basically useless, as i...

2009-04-20T19:36:00.000-03:00

I find the outrigger to be basically useless, as it vibrates under load. I've considered an floor brace under the outrigger to stiffen the assembly, similar to a VB lathe, but haven't tried it yet. Thanks for the safety update.
The outrigger does make a handy spot to attach a tool tray, however.

Thanks for posting this. I will have to make sure...

2009-04-14T16:28:00.000-03:00

Thanks for posting this. I will have to make sure I also check this when I get my outrigger.

If you have no rules you have nothing to break.
2009-02-21T08:32:00.000-04:00
If you have no rules you have nothing to break.

I too use only single pieces of wood and I borrow from other media. I am a self described minimalist.

I have one buddy on the craftmarket circuit who does highly sculptural ceramics and I often try to do his semi-closed forms in wood. At a later meeting we get together and laugh, usually at my efforts. When I was in Crete they

If a person has an object that was made or created...

2009-02-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

If a person has an object that was made or created by a close relitive or friend that has pasted on, when he, she looks at or holds the object they can get a memory or sense of connecting to the creater of the object. I hope the objects I make, even with all their mistakes, can someday be a link to me and the past to my children and beyond.
Murray Warner, at eastlink .ca

I use a modification of method three, leaving an a...

2008-10-02T08:13:00.000-03:00

I use a modification of method three, leaving an attached post (mandrel) in the center. Since the hole shrinks, I drop the proper size bit back through to enlarge and mount on the same device to turn the rear of the piece. It's easy to guide the bit because the long grain dimension remains unchanged, and acts as a guide.

If you had a pin set for left hand operation you could use it

It looks to me like he is using a roughing gouge, ...

2008-08-28T14:01:00.000-03:00

It looks to me like he is using a roughing gouge, spindle gouge and skew chisel.

He uses the skew chisel to make the grooves. It is an 'oval' skew, that is it has an oval cross section which may make it look curved in the video.

What tool is he using to make the little groves it...

2008-08-28T11:37:00.000-03:00

What tool is he using to make the little groves it looks sort of flat, on one side and kind of round on the other.

I would love to know what the name of the tools that he is using.

Great JOB!!

Great blog. Really enjoyed poking around. Here is ...

2008-06-07T09:17:00.000-03:00

Great blog. Really enjoyed poking around. Here is another video on turning that might interest - Don Leman: Precision by Design - A Profile of Segmented Turner Don Leman and his thoughts on the art of segmented turning - http://woodtreks.com/don-leman-precision-by-design/40/

Good news for woodturners working with spalted woo...

2008-06-06T19:36:00.000-03:00

Good news for woodturners working with spalted wood (especially in Canada). PolyAll 2000 is once again available. I don't mean to sound like an advertisement, but when PolyAll 2000 was taken off the market 3+ years ago (for reasons still unknown) I hunted high and low for an acceptable substitute, to no avail. Thankfully, it's back. This is a 2-part epoxy which, when first mixed, has a viscosity

This blog post was a long time ago, but maybe if i...

2008-05-29T08:59:00.000-03:00

This blog post was a long time ago, but maybe if it was re-posted it would be a better time for it, as YouTube is now mainstream.

I'd love to see someone turn a sculpture like the triptych piece on website, or a simple weedpot would be nice too.

Len, that is a bit trickier and less forgiving. Th...

2008-03-13T07:18:00.000-03:00

Len, that is a bit trickier and less forgiving. The only time this is a problem for me is when I turn bowls too large to swing over the bed, which I don't do too often.

These big bowls will invariably be the outside one from the coring operation and will have a hefty foot and screw holes from previously being mounted on a faceplate. So it is not too difficult to remount it reasonably

Hi Derek,
Thanks for all the web work you do fo...

2008-03-12T19:35:00.000-03:00

Hi Derek,
Thanks for all the web work you do for wood turners. I would like to know if you have re-mounting ideas for some one like me who as a stricktly outboard lathe with no tail stock. Len

Thanks for the feedback. It's always encouraging t...

2008-02-01T11:05:00.000-04:00

Thanks for the feedback. It's always encouraging to be reminded that someone is reading this and finds the content useful.

Thanks for another great idea and set of illustrat...

2008-02-01T05:08:00.000-04:00

Thanks for another great idea and set of illustrations. Look forward to the next set.

I lurk, posting infrequently if at all. I make a l...

2008-01-26T13:48:00.000-04:00

I lurk, posting infrequently if at all. I make a living turning. Forget to say "thank you" often enough, so thank you, already! ;-) Warm Regards, Debie

That's only a short clip from Stuart King's 40-min...

2008-01-02T01:12:00.000-04:00

That's only a short clip from Stuart King's 40-minute DVD on turning wooden flowers.

He sells the DVD from his website at www.stuartking.co.uk.

A great link! Thanks.

2007-07-26T11:01:00.000-03:00

A great link! Thanks.

On some dark woods I have used Tippex and then add...

2007-03-18T14:47:00.000-03:00

On some dark woods I have used Tippex and then added my pencil line on that, it does work but oily woods create their own difficulties!
Regards, Peter

The Tool Rest

Always.

I think this is one of the reasons I love craft so...

Great site, I was handed down the Pysanky traditio...

Lucky you! I have heard of Irish turners using bog...

thats pretty cool, here in Ireland we have oak and...

Useless? Oh no - certainly not! It is a handy hold...

I have problems when trying to use the McNaughton ...

I find the outrigger to be basically useless, as i...

Thanks for posting this. I will have to make sure...

If a person has an object that was made or created...

I use a modification of method three, leaving an a...

It looks to me like he is using a roughing gouge, ...

What tool is he using to make the little groves it...

Great blog. Really enjoyed poking around. Here is ...

Good news for woodturners working with spalted woo...

This blog post was a long time ago, but maybe if i...

Len, that is a bit trickier and less forgiving. Th...

Hi Derek,Thanks for all the web work you do fo...

Thanks for the feedback. It's always encouraging t...

Thanks for another great idea and set of illustrat...

I lurk, posting infrequently if at all. I make a l...

That's only a short clip from Stuart King's 40-min...

A great link! Thanks.

On some dark woods I have used Tippex and then add...

Hi Derek,
Thanks for all the web work you do fo...