Making Woodburner Pens Workshop

I had ten woodturners sign up for a "make your own woodburner" workshop. We used car battery chargers connected to light dimmer switches as the power supply. Then we made handpieces on the lathe.
As you can see from the above picture my workshop is a busy looking place.
Many thanks to Harry who arrived with a completed woodburner but was a great help with the electrics. Sorry about your charger Ron. I'm sure you will get a charge out of the story sometime...


The resistance wire I used was from a stainless steel boat cable as used for stays. One multistrand cable provides a plethora of wire for the pen tips. This design is from the Graeme Priddle style self made brands. The bit of extra copper acts as a heat sink to keep the heat away from the operator. However it also reduces the operator's control over the burn. So more sophisticated burners can be made - stay tuned.
Using fine brass tubing will enable one to get the tip closer to the operators hands.
Here is a link to a full description of the woodburner we were copying: Graeme Priddle style wood vaporizer.

Brilliant Idea Brush

Sometimes an idea so simple comes along and solves multiple associated problems. Here is such an idea. Not totally original but applied here it makes a lot of sense.
I have been using an oil finish on the bowls I turn for many years and have found that I like Minwax brand antique oil about the best. Once cured it is food safe. It has more durability than Tung oil and a little less shine, both factors that appeal to me.
I have been using small rags to apply the oil, usually three coats means three oily fire hazard rags that need to be carefully disposed of to avoid spontaneous combustion.
In order to apply the oil with a rag one has to use vinyl gloves to keep hands oil free. Using this foam applicator technique avoids that as the applicator can be easily held without getting oil on ones hand.


The clip is a four for a dollar paper clip. I cut the foam from a piece of 1/2 inch foam received as packaging. The used foam applicators are discarded into the empty cup I used to hold the oil.
Why didn't I think of this before?

Preparing root stock for turning

Here I am washing a Japanese yew root. Colours are spectacular.
As one can see the root ball is full of hair roots that hold the soil.
I use a pruner to cut off the small roots.

A definite summer activity. One gets a bit wet.
Here is a yew root.

More On Graeme Priddle in Kingston

Just some shots and comments about the demonstration evening.
Before the crowd arrived members of the Kingstonwoodturners executive and Graeme sat down to a nice dinner which Janet had been kind enough to prepare for us. With comfy surroundings it was nice to see Graeme get a chance to unwind a little before the evenings demonstration.
He talked about the safety issue around woodturning and stressed that one has to think safe rather than stress safety equipment. There have been three deaths recently all attributed to woodturning and all the turners had on the appropriate safety gear.
Remember to stand aside when you start that lathe!



Here he is. Ride em cowboy! (Actually he is a sailor. Do they windsurf down in NZ?)

Show a tool to some people and you have their attention.


Just a nice shot of a very personable guy.

Here is a view of the shop. I was worried that we would not have enough room but since we had a relatively small audience (17) all went very well.


This is Graeme in his "carving position". He reckons he uses the lathe to shape 10% and hand carves the rest.
Thanks for a brilliant evening Graeme.

Priddle Does Kingston

Graeme Priddle came to Kingston for an evening demonstration. He was going to do off center woodbowl turning but when he saw my woodlathe sitting untethered, he reckoned we would be watching the lathe dance out the door, so we decided to go with a smaller demo of creating his signature small boat forms as seen in the photo below.


Some of Graeme Priddle's carved work which he brought as samples for viewing. It must be sculpture if it has a hole in it.
Graeme was a very entertaining demonstrator. He started off by telling about where he got his inspiration. I reckon NZ must be quite inspirational.

Here he is demonstrating woodcarving with his self made woodburner using an underpowered electrical source. Did raise some smoke though.


This shows the woodburner handle.

Thin Bowl

This bowl is about 1/8 inch thick. It was a fun project to make. I originally intended that it should have a round base to be a rocking bowl but when it was completed it looked like it needed a little lift, so I added a ring of rosewood as a base.
Due to its thinness the light shines through the wood making it quite spectacular as it sits in the sun.
The bowl is bout 7 inches in diameter.

Small turned box with top top

Here is a fun project to make and behold. The picture shows three of these boxes made from sugar maple.
The top of each box is a spinning top. Hence the title: Box with a top top.
In the picture the box on the right is actually upside down with the top spinning on the bottom of the box. Hope that is clear??
In a (much) earlier post I described how I made the tops. Each top takes about five minutes to make to completion.
The box takes longer as it must be measured as it is turned. Every time that the lathe is stopped it takes time.

Metal Spinning Demonstration at the Kingston Woodturners

Photo above shows Dave mounting a copper disk on the lathe. The copper is from some sheet copper that was part of my house roof. Dave has annealed the copper by heating it cherry red with a propane torch before mounting it. It is clamped between the wood form on the headstock and a small wood plug against the live center in the tailstock.


Here you can see Dave leaning in to apply pressure on the copper. As the tool moves to the outside the speed of the lathe must be increased. The tip of the tool is held below center.


Here one can see the copper disk taking shape.


The disk was a little larger than the form so the upper edge was not held against the form hence the ripples in the form. This needs soaking in a water, vinegar and salt mixture to remove the oxide coating.

Christmas Craft Sale at RMC

Had some of my woodturnings at the annual Christmas Craft Sale at the RMC gymnasium this past weekend.
Sold many small items but NO big bowls. Customers seemed scared off by anything over $20. Good thing I made a pile of tops and little boxes before the sale. Will have to remember that for next year. However one can never tell as I sold a few larger items last year at the same sale.




At least the club was not out of pocket and made enough to cover the costs for the booth.