Wood Turning

Still somewhat crippled but feeling is almost normal.
Good enough that I don't notice it anymore.
Squished my thumb between a chunk of wood and the splitter yesterday.
Sure felt that. :lol:
 
Well that's a vast improvement for sure. Not squishing your thumb, but that you don't notice reduced feeling so much any more.
:)
 
When I had that young woman, Anna, out logging with me last year, I cut a chunk out of a tree she felled and dried it.
I was going to make her a candlestick, but she got pregnant, so a baby rattle seemed a better choice.

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That's funny, my daughter ( the vegan one) just asked me if I can make 4 plates, bowls and glass in wood. Sure I can, but as I don't have a wood lathe, it will be all hand carved. Lot of work LOL.
So, what I'm sure of, is I'm not sure at all of the time frame to achieve that. It should be fun, but long.
 
I figured the young woman who logged with me this summer and cut some really large beech trees on Island Møn would like something made from one of the trees, she cut.

So I made a pair of candlesticks for her.

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>Hi all

Late last Spring (2003) I posted a query about turning green Hemlock. A couple people responded, but of those who responded, no one had turned Hemlock (eastern, that it). One reply asked for a follow up report on the turning qualities. So, for that individual, and for future turners who might search the archives, here it is:

As most of you seasoned turners probably know, it's a very soft wood. I roughed out a few bowls and it turned very easy -- no sap or pitch like you might find in pine. I set the roughed out bowls aside to air dry. I did not treat them with end grain sealer, nor did I use an LDD solution.

After a few months of drying, I picked one of the blanks up and noticed immediately the difference in the weight. When I first roughed out the bowls, they were very green (wet) and had some heft to them. They lost a considerable amount of their weight in the drying process. The first bowl I put in the chuck had a dove tail recess. As I cranked on the t-bar, the dovetail proceeded to split wide-open. Too much outward pressure. I took another blank that had a traditional base, that the jaws gripped, and placed that in the chuck. No problem.

I began to work on the outside to true the bowl up, and learned that during the drying process the wood had become difficult to work. By that I mean, the wide grain between rings tore out very easily, some of it came out in chunks. I only got somewhat of a clean cut by going to an Ellsworth shear scrape.

I decided that, for bowl material, Eastern Hemlock isn't that great. Turning the green wood was fun, and easy. If a new turner was learning the skill and practicing techniques, it would be good 'scrap' wood to play with. As a roughed out, dry wood, it's value (to me, at least) was practicing techniques I learned from other turners. Next time, though, when I'm loading the truck, I'll forego the Hemlock and take the Red Maple (or any other hardwoods). Lessons learned.

So, the reason for the post, is, months or years from now, if a beginning woodturner searches the archives for Hemlock, s/he might find this, and make a better informed decision about the woodturning stock they use.

Take care,

Donna Banfield

 
Good looking bowl, what wood is that? Wish I could find time to turn a few ideas I have.

That mat isn’t there, you’re imagining things. :/:
 
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