Cedar Yarn Bowl

Cedar is a good moth repellant (hence cedar chests and cedar-lined closets), and my wife knits using wool yarn. So a cedar yarn bowl seemed like a good idea. The piece is unfinished (except for the colorful stripes) and smells great. It is about 10" in diameter and 4" tall.

Ivy Thin-Stemmed Goblet

Here is my third thin-stemmed goblet. On this one I used a little decoration - an ivy vine - painted on with indelible marker. This little goblet stands 9 1/2" tall; the cup is 1 1/4" across. The oversized close-up photo is a little coarse - like looking at your face in a magnifying mirror (well, my face anyway).

Honey Locust Bowl

This shallow honey locust bowl was turned from the same tree trunk as the bowl in the April 22. 2007 entry. I also had rough-turned this one about a year ago. It measures about 11 1/2" across and 2" deep. I really like the wild figure in the wood.

Thin-Stemmed Goblets

One of our wood turning club members gave a demo last month on how to turn tall thin-stemmed goblets. The secret (other than using very sharp tools and avoiding catches) is to start from the cup end and work your way back to the base (toward the head stock), turning the thin stem only about 1-1.5" at a time. As is usual after such a demo, our "challenge" for February's meeting is to turn a thin-stemmed goblet ourselves. Two of my efforts are shown in the photos. They are turned from maple and from maple and padauk (the red-colored wood), and stand 11" and 12" tall, respectively. The stems are about 1/8"D. I'm also working on a smaller (9 1/2" tall) goblet with ivy drawn on it, but it is still in the shop.

Figured Asian Satinwood Bowl

This small bowl (about 5"D x 2.5"H) was turned from a blank of figured Asian Satinwood (a wood I'd never heard of before seeing it at the store). My wife gave it to me as a birthday present! The figure is not easy to see in the photos (blame the photographer - me), but dances when you look at the bowl itself.

Two Spalted Bowls

These two bowls are turned from different spalted woods - Sweet Gum (the bowl on the right in the first picture and on the left in the others) and White Bay. They are a little over 7" in diameter and stand 3-3 1/2" high.

Multi-axis Cherry Vase

This vase is turned from a piece of cherry (actually half of a piece I'd been saving for a bowl, but which split as it dried), and stands about 11 1/2" tall (not counting the iris). The bottom end was variously mounted on three different centers, resulting in the off-center configuration. (Same techniques as the multi-axis candlesticks posted earlier.)

(Yet) Another Cherry Bowl

The chunk of cherry from which this bowl was turned came from a former neighbor's tree and had been in the firewood pile. The wood has a fair amount of burl and figure and also had a branch coming out of it. All in all it turned into a pretty interesting and attractive bowl. 8 1/4"D x 5 1/2"H.

Small Sycamore Bowl

This pretty little bowl measures 6 1/2" across and is 3 1/4" tall. I like its line.

Laminated Rolling Pin

I turned two similar rolling pins from a variety of hardwood pieces which I had glued up and then cut on the diagonal to make the blanks. The brightest red colored wood is bloodwood. There are also maple, walnut and purpleheart. I contributed one of the rolling pins for our turning group's raffle at a show in October 2007. All of the turnings donated by group members comprised our "challenge" for that month's meeting, and my rolling pin received the blue ribbon. Our cat seemed to like it, too.

Walnut bedside table lamps

I turned two identical walnut bedside table lamps from some walnut that a friend gave me. It had been well dried, so it turned and finished quite nicely. The bases and vertical sections were turned separately. The glass globes and hardware came from a mail order vendor. (Unfortunately the globes developed cracks after about two weeks, but they still look okay.) The lamps are about 17" tall at the center.

Multi-Axis Candlesticks

These candlesticks, which stand about 9" tall, were turned from poplar. In each, the end that became the top was variously centered on three different axes (as well as the center axis); the bottom end remained in the center axis. This technique results in an eccentric turning, because the different axes cause different parts of the turning blank to rotate more closely to the tool rest, and the portion cut shifts accordingly. In turning the first candlestick I followed a very helpful article in the most recent issue of the AAW magazine. All together I turned three similar candlesticks. (The third one - not pictured - was a door prize at the Badger Woodturners' holiday get together.)

Spalted White Bay Bowl

I've been away from the blog for a while (but not from my shop), so I'll be adding a few newer items over the next little while. This footed bowl is turned from spalted white bay, a wood from Florida. The base is turned from wenge, which provides a nice color and grain contrast. The bowl measures 7 1/2"D x 4"H. The grain and spalting lines in the white bay are fantastic - its amazing what nature can do! (This bowl was a Christmas present for my wife.)

Maple butcher block platter

This 15.5" platter with a small walnut stripe was turned from a section of butcher block counter top. (It could have been bigger, but my lathe will only handle a 16" maximum diameter blank unless I turn outboard, and at this point I don't own the necessary outboard tool rest.) (Wedding gift to nephew.)

Apple and InLace bowl and stand

This small apple wood bowl was turned from the same piece of wood as the "Natural-edged apple vase" posted on May 9. In chain-sawing the log, however, I had sliced off a small section of what would become the rim of the bowl, so I decided to try some InLace to fill the gap. The InLace material is described in "Large cherry bowl with InLace," also posted on May 9. I also turned the bottom of this bowl completely round, and then created the lttle InLace "stand" for it to sit in. This bowl measures about 7" in diameter by 2" high.

Cherry burl - Bowl interrupted

The piece of cherry burl from which this bowl was turned had several very deep bark inclusions. They were too unstable to keep intact, so I just turned them out as the bowl developed into this interesting shape. It was necessary to add a piece of cherry to make the base, since the foot of the burl turned out to be too small and irregular to support the piece solidly. The bowl measures about 9.5" across and 3" high. (Christmas gift to brother and sister-in-law.)

Small birch platter

I turned this small platter from a slab of birch acquired at a meeting of my woodturning club. It measures 9" across and is 1.5" high at he rim. (Gift at Badger Woodturners' Holiday Party gift exchange.)

Large cherry bowl with Inlace

This cherry bowl measures about 12.5" across and is 3.25" high. The wood came from the trunk of a tree one of our former neighbors took down. When I was turning the inside of the bowl I discovered a hidden bark inclusion that turned out to be not only large but quite unstable. I removed all the bark and filled the space with InLace, a liquid resin inlay material that comes in many colors, and also in a clear version to which specal dyes may be added. (I used the clear material with copper dye.) It dries very hard and may be sanded and polished. I liked the effect, and am planning to try InLace in other project applications. The fourth (bottom) photo shows the InLace inlay in close up; the third photo shows where the InLace carries through to the bottom of the bowl. (Christmas gift to brother and sister-in-law.)