Process starting

Here are some of the blanks after bandsawing into circles. I drape wet rages over them to keep them damp and stop checking.


Here is the first of many blanks mounted and ready to rough turn into a bowl blank. Mounted between centers with a drive mounted in a Oneway chuck on the drive end.
I tried to core some of the curly maple but my motor is not strong enough. The straight grain wood of the same specie works fine but the curly wood is just too hard and tough and continually binds or rips the wood out of the chuck jaws. (I have large jaws for this purpose but still too much strain.)

First time turning

Grand daughter Victoria and her audience brother. Victoria is turning her second vase from butternut, the results are below. Good work Victoria.


I am still looking for the test tube inserts which I know I have but which have been misplaced.

Wood collecting

This huge old sugar maple tree had a big branch blown off in one of the spring wind storms. The owner of the tree contacted Herb and let him know and it turned out to have some very highly figured curly grain. Trees produce curly grain to reinforce vulnerable spots and this branch was huge which created a large area of curly hard maple wood.

Yes, those saws are too small. And one will not start! On top of that my saw chain was too far gone to sharpen any more so we had to return to pick up the last pieces. Still enough to keep me busy for quite a long time!

Butterflies

Just some amazing butterfly pics. Shot with my Ipod so quality is poor but the Ipod is always there, so...