Robust Lathe Review - More Woodturning

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Why Wood Turners SHOULD Pick Up Wood by the Side of the Roadby Matthew StaleyA Question Is AskedI would pose the followingquestion to anyone reading this(yes, all two of you), regardlessof whether you are a wood turneror wood worker of any sort, skilllevel, or age: How many times doyou drive/bike/run/walk past logsor branches lying by the side ofthe road waiting to be land-filled,burned, or chipped? If your experienceis anything like mine, my betis that the answer is “frequently.”What I propose is that you stopmoving for a few seconds, just longenough to pick up some “trash”wood, throw it in your vehicle, andtake it home to see what it becomes.You might well be surprised.Buying Wood To TurnI know from experience thatit is very, VERY easy to spendlarge amounts of cash on exotichardwoods. In fact today I was ina local Woodcraft store to pick upa Tormek T-7 and I was congratulatingmyself on NOT picking upany wood there. They were sellingwood by the pound even andalso had an INCREDIBLE bin ofdomestic wood in sizes up to 8”round. But, tempted though I was,as I always am by beautiful hunksof wood crying for a good home, Ileft the store without any.The reason I didn’t purchaseany doesn’t have anything to dowith having “found,” or “trash”wood at home, even though I do, butit still illustrates the point that thereare many specialty retailers all toohappy to sell you a chunk of pinkivory or ebony, among countlessThe Author’s two bowls made from the found wood.other species. And make no mistake,I am a big fan of all of those woodsand more. But my latest work hadeverything to do with the luck ofthe found discarded wood intendedto be burned until rescued from thecold wet ground and shipped on along journey.Origins of the Writer/TurnerI grew up in the central partof California, a land of olive andorange trees along with just aboutany other agricultural product youcan think of. Understand that thisis NOT the California of oceans,movie stars, or amusement parks.There is little, to nothing, amusingabout this part of California whichis why you have never heard of it orvisited it if you are not from there.But because some friends and familystill live there, and because thereare some tastes, like MellowGoldGrapefruit, that I can’t get anywhereelse, I find myself returning at leastonce per year. Another flavor I can’tfind anywhere else is a specific brandof olives that are packed literally afew blocks up the road from whereI grew up.Origins of the WoodI was driving out to the olivefarm in fact when I drove past oneof the many, although diminishing,olive orchards that I grew upamongst. It was in the early part ofthe year and it was time for pruning,which in the case of olives, can includesome branches that are severalinches thick. The wood was piled upto be burned so I figured that no onewould mind if I purloined a piece ortwo. My Dad, and also my turninginstructor, wasn’t sure if anythingcould be made of these branches,but I shipped them home to myselfto someday find out. Yesterday wasthe day.Turning the “Trash” WoodSome time ago, the day I firstassembled and fired up my newbandsaw, I cut out rough dish blanksfrom the two branches. Yesterday,I loaded one on to my screw chuckand started working on it. The woodis fragrant, although I don’t knowPage 20 More Woodturning February 2010
that I would say that it would bea universally appealing odor. Butmore importantly, the wood turnsabsolutely beautifully, almost likebutter, and it is a richly figured andcolored wood to boot. From theoutside looking in I don’t think onecould easily imagine how stunningscrap olive wood intended for theburn pile can be once turned andsanded smooth. But I think onceyou see a piece you will be wishingyou had the same inside source forthis “trash” wood as I do!What the “Trash” Turned IntoI was able to leave a naturaledge on both dishes; howevermore of the bark was preserved onthe first attempt. The second dishshows the rather severe crackingand checking that happened as thegreen wood dried in my shop priorto my turning it down. I fully realizethat for some turners the existenceof such severe cracking would bean automatic disqualifier and thatpiece might have been discarded andnever turned at all. But honestly, ofthe two, it is my favorite because itreminds me, and all of us really, thatwood is a natural material and likeall natural materials it has uniquecharacteristics from piece to pieceeven among that same species oreven the same tree. This piece ofwood cracked, that is what the wooddid, it isn’t anything I did rightto achieve an effect or somethingwrong that caused the appearance,and if you could feel the wood, youwould immediately know that greatcare and patience was exercised toachieve that smooth feel where thewood isn’t naturally cracked.The Unique Piece Waiting to BeFoundThis little dish reminds me thatif I want a certainty of appearanceand smooth finish 100% of the timethen I should stick with thermoformedplastic crap from China. Itwill always be predictable, and mostimportant, or horrifying, to someof us, exactly like the one before itand after it, multiplied by the literalmillions. WallMart is happy to sellyou as many as you can carry andmore. But with a piece of randomwood that is free for the taking younever know. It might be a rottenmess that you throw out, and if youdo, so what? It was free! But everynow and then you find yourselfwith a truly unique one of a kindpiece that no one else can ever havebecause you found the materialand your work, patience, practice,and skills turned that “trash” intosomething you can treasure for alifetime. So, the next time you seewood lying by the side of the road,pick it up because you never knowwhat it might turn out to be.New BGM-100 BenchGrinder MountWhile nothing on the planetbeats the Tormek at maintaining aperfect edge on turning tools, establishingthe shape on a tool can pusha turner’s patience and take the funout of the process. Shaping on adry grinder comes with its own setof trials and tribulations, too. Thesteel is coming off the tool veryquickly, which as all of us who havebeen there know, can be as much ofa curse as a blessing. If you’re tryingto control that process freehand-- good luck. Those who can do itwell are few and far between.Jig systems are nothing new todry grinders, but what we have now,with the BGM-100, is the controlthat has made Tormek jigs worldfamous combined with the shapingspeed of a dry grinder. Even better,if you use the TTS-100 Turning ToolSetter, the match of the profile to thegrindstone when moving from shapingon the dry grinder to sharpeningon the Tormek is nothing short ofamazing.Tormek is now accepting thatdry grinding is a reasonable alternativefor initial shaping, if donecarefully and under the same controlused on the Tormek.Setting up a BGM-100 is veryeasy. You just laminate a block fromscrap plywood that is 2 inches lessin height than the measurement fromthe base to the centerline of yourgrinder (2-½ inches if using a 6 inchgrinder). Screw the horizontal baseto that, position it in front of yourgrinder according to the detailed instructions,and you’re good to go.It is as easy or easier to constructthan any of the competitivesystems. It’s priced competitivelywith anything out there. And, itdoesn’t have the huge footprint inyour shop that some other systemstake up. If you later decide that youwant to take the next step and put theperfect edge on your turning tools,everything you buy for a BGM-100set up will be fully functional withyour new Tormek.More Woodturning February 2010 Page 21
Page 1 and 2: Volume XV, Number 02 February 2010
Page 3 and 4: ContentsRobust Lathe Review........
Page 5 and 6: turning on it for almost 2 years no
Page 7 and 8: Introducing: by Robust ToolsStanda
Page 9 and 10: the depth to which they can be used
Page 11 and 12: Mini-O-Bar and Maxi-O-BarNewsE-mail
Page 13 and 14: Pen Turner’s Corner Continuedfrom
Page 15 and 16: was about $25.00. Figure 2 showsthe
Page 17 and 18: chuck and had to wait what seemedli
Page 19: sculpture and a Southeastern Artist
Page 23 and 24: Figure 3. The pen has been complete
Page 25 and 26: MAKING A BABY RATTLE — 18th Centu
Page 27 and 28: find them more attractive if theyar
Page 29 and 30: Testing andCertification of LeadCon
Page 31 and 32: with a Forstner drill to begin thed
Page 33 and 34: Editor’s Books for SaleBooks Writ
Page 35 and 36: Tormek AnnouncesT-7 UpgradesThe thr
Page 37 and 38: as on a fulcrum, and gives to the t
Page 39 and 40: Tilt-A-Matic installs in minutes-ju

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