Month: June 2017

D-Way Tools for Wood Turning Tools and Supplies

Wood Turning Supplies and
Products from D-Way Tools

I was listening to Cap’n Eddie talk about using and how to use bowl gouges, roughing gouges, skews, scrapers and other wood turning tools. As always the Captain is just full of knowledge and wisdom so I pay attention to suppliers he recommends and uses. In fact, I really like when he recommends a woodturning supplier.

He mentioned that he got his Elsworth Grind bowl gouge from D-waytools.com and I checked out their site.

WoodTurning Tools
for the Wood Turner

dway tools a source of woodworking tools and suppliesThey have a solid line up of wood turning tools for the woodturner…. more high end stuff. I would love to get my hands on some of their tools. At this point I’m still using Chinese wood turning tools and I would like to find out what the difference is between cheap tools and expensive tools.

Anyway, D-Way Tools looks like a good source of wood turning related tools and supplies. I have not talked to them, nor have I purchased anything from them. They look like an American based company, which is something or someone I would like to support either with a web link or by purchasing some of their tools.

I’ll itemize the categories from D-waytools site:

Bowl Gouges
Detail Spindle Gouges
Roughing Gouges
Beading Tools
Handles
Scrapers
Negative Rake Scrapers
Skews
Parting Tools
CBN Grinding Wheels
CBN Hand Hone
Hollowing Tools
Tool Rests

I want an Elsworth Grind Bowl Gouge!

I’ve wanted an Elsworth Grid Bowl Gouge shortly after I started turning. I looked at the Elsworth site and the Sorby Site and just trying to save up the cash I need ….but have been very sick so I don’t know if I’ll ever get one. But just because I can’t have one doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

I’ve read many Amazon testimonials regarding some of the more expensive tools and high grade steel versus some of the less expensive tools….the ones I have. They all say they are amazed at the differece, they all noticed how much easier it was to turn projects and how cleaner an expensive tool cuts.

Of course you need to learn how to use your tools, I know I do.

Hope you found this post useful, hope you visit www.D-WayTools.com to see what they have. I saw a phone number across the top and I’m sure you can communicate via email.

Let me know if you get something from these guys and let me know how the whole experience goes!

Finally, there are some videos on the website and a quick view of them makes me want to spend some time watching. I think his name is Dave, the owner of d-way tools …..he did a very good video showing tool position for a couple of different bowl gouges. Really good stuff. I can see the difference in tools from mine to looking at his in the video.

Boy oh boy, I wish I weren’t so sick and broke because I would really like to get some of the awesome cutting bowl gouges that he is using. I think if I ever can come up with the cash I will invest in D-Way Tools!

Watch this video on Bowl Gouges, its a little long but it is some of the best teaching and camera work I’ve seen for woodworkers, a woodworker tutorial extrordinaire!

Make sure you view in hi def and full screen ….you will learn much!

Sealing End Grain on Your WoodTurning Blanks with AnchorSeal or Latex Paint

Sealing End Grain on
Your WoodTurning Blanks

I was out collecting some wood for turning the other day. Found a pine or fir tree about 12″ at widest end cut up in 2, 3 and 4 foot lengths. Just what I was looking for.

I got some ash and beech a couple months ago. A neighbor was cutting down some small trees and I grabbed some choice pieces. I brought them home and stuck them off to the side and forgot about them. I figured I would seal the ends when I got around to it.

Guess what, I never got around to it and it looks like the pieces will be ruined for wood turning. Very disappinted since I had some burls and other pieces that looked interesting. So reminder to self …..always seal the ends right away!

Anchor Sealer for end grain sealingSo, I grabbed my new pine pieces. Had some old Latex paint laying around and promtly painted the ends to seal them. The theory goes like this. The ends will dry quicker while the wood in the middle of the log stays nice and wet. You’ve got some uneven movement due to the dryness and continual drying going on so something has to give …..you ususally see it right in the end of your cut logs.

If it hasn’t been too long you can still seal it or better yet, cut off an inch or two and see what it looks like, you might find that the log is still “check” free. Make sure you seal that puppy right away 🙂

What to use for sealing end
grain on wood blanks?

Basically you can use any ole paint you have laying around for end sealing, some swear by it others think a commercial end sealer is better. Put in on thick and store it outside under cover if you can. A good place to find cheap paint is your local Home Depot, Menards or Lowes ….any hardware store will have paint that someone returned or didn’t get mixed right. A gallon of paint goes a long way when sealing ends.

I’ve tried spray paint and it works, but unless you can pick up a can for $.25 or so, it really isn’t worth it.

I’m on a facebook group for sawyers, portable sawmills. These guys get 10′, 15′, 20′ or more length of trees that are 36″ or more in diameter and they still seal the ends otherwise the checking and cracking can ruin much of the log.

These guys use the same thing us woodturner’s would use, old paint …except they’re looking for 5 gallon deals! I would say 70 to 80% of these guys use latex paint on their slabs and other produced wood and stock tree trunks!

AnchorSeal Stops Logs from
Checking and Splitting

There is a commercial product made specifically for sealing the end of wet wood, wether small stuff like we use or whole tree trunks. I believe it’s called “anchorseal”. Seems as though they have several different versions of Anchor Seal now and it looks like it ranges from $25 to $35 dollars. If I was doing a project where I wanted to be absolutely sure there was not splitting, checking or cracking I would use Anchor Seal.. but for my budget and normal woodturning I do I will continue to use paint I have laying around. Maybe when the old paint is no longer available and I get rich, I’ll switch over to AnchorSeal!

Here’s a guy who did a quick video using AnchorSeal for End Grain Sealing from Peter Matthew

Using Glue to Seal Log Ends
to Prevent Splitting

Rick from RickTurns shows us another way to seal end grain on your woodturning logs using Elmers Glue. Notice the nice little jig he set up to slice his logs into slabs and other usable features. A pretty interesting video since he actually performed some tests on the best method to keep logs from splittng!

GreenWood End Sealer Stops
Splitting on Wet Wood

There are a lot of great reviews for Rockler’s Green Wood End Sealer. A product similar to AnchorSeal but cheaper. Next time they have free delivery I think I will grab a gallon to use on some of my choice wood finds. Or I could go down to the local Rockler store to get some 🙂

Check out some of these reviews.

http://shrsl.com/?if28

I have always used Rockler Green…
I have always used Rockler Green Wood end sealer or Anchorseal to seal the ends of my wood. It will seal the wood from cracking until you are ready to use it. Another advantage is, I believe it keeps bugs out of the wood. I don’t know this as fact, but it just seems so. The wood I bring in is not only crack free but bug free. I don’t know if Rockler’s product is the same as Anchorseal but it performs exactly the same. Excellent.
Ash
Had 3 trees taken down and milled into lumber. This product is great, easy to apply and clean up. I fully expect my boards to have no end-checking after they dry out.
Great end seal
I’m new to this and as you can see I bought the smaller bottle and applied using brush on the freshly cut ends on all ten of them while I wait for them to dry and eventually make them into cutting boards and or to turn them into bowls. Each one of these averages in 1′ 2″ to 1′ 5″ in diameter and I still have some left over. I notices some sap coming through later in the day and I brushed more on them. Easy clean as instructed used hot water only to clean my brush. So far so good. Thanks to one of the Rockler sales rep. who introduced me to this stuff. I am definitely going to buy more of this stuff.

You can always see what’s new at Wood Turning Basics!

Finishing A Wood Turned Bowl with CA Glue the Cap’n Eddie Way

Finishing A Wood Turned Bowl with CA glue the Cap’n Eddie Way

Before I start, I’m sure you know there are probably 100’s of ways to finish a bowl. Eddie talks about one method using CA glue, seems to be very popular and used by a lot of wood turners. However, the think to do is start a notebook with various finishing methods, experiment with differnet finishes for wood turners and then use the ones you like best. Sometimes a turned piece is just for show, then there are turned pieces that are funcional and you want them to be food safe.

Food Safe Finishes for
Wood Turning Projects

You can find all kinds of arguments and different thoughts on food safe finishes. One that makes the most sense to me is that after a certain period of time almost all finishes are food safe since they have cured or hardened and the food can no longer react to the finish.

I’ve used mineral oil since it is inert and any type of finish can be applied on top of it. Here is a list of finishes you can put on a cutting board, if it can be put on a cutting board then I’m sure it would be safe for anything you turn that comes in contact with food.

food safe finishes for wood turning projects
Mineral oil or wax for your wood turning projects are both safe for food contact

If You Can Put it On a Cutting Board ….Then Surely it Can Be Applied to a Wood Bowl

What finish to put on a cutting board?

Pure tung oil. Extracted from the nut of the china wood tree. …
Raw linseed oil. Pressed from flax seeds. …
Mineral oil. Although derived from petroleum, it is colorless, odorless, tasteless and entirely inert. …
Walnut oil. Pressed from the nuts of the walnut tree. …
Beeswax. The work of the honey bee. …
Carnauba wax. …
Shellac.

Food safe Finishes from Rockler.com

I suppose you can use just about anything to finish your woodturning projects, however, I prefer to find out what the old timers are using and have been using. Usually these guys try new things but they fail, every once in a while they find something that adds to their repertoire finishing solutions.

My Mentor and CA Glue Finishes
For Wood Turning Projects

As usual I turn to my mentor Cap’n Eddie Castelin from Big Guy Productions and you can find him at www.eddiecastelin.com.

I must be behind times. Most of my carpentry work came from home building and the standard finishes that apply to a new home. I never heard of someone apply CA glue (superglue) to their projects. But after seeing a few wood turners doing it, I became hooked! It’s easy to apply, might not be the cheapest but it is very forgiving and the finish product looks absolutely beautiful.

In this video I think Cap’n Eddie spends around a half an hour doing some sanding, applying the CA, buffing and a little more sanding and final coat of CA.

You should try his technique, make sure you do it on a spare piece you have laying around ….nothing ever comes out perfect the first time 🙂

If you watch his video you’ll find some of the below hints and highlights

  • first he applies 2 coats of sealer
  • next he cleans the spinning project with an CA accelerator first using paper towel
  • Eddie is very persistent in some things ….he just doesn’t want us to waste money, get hurt or ruin your project so he tells us to apply one coat of CA per application, even showing how to use a small piece of paper towl properly

Safety First…Ventilate Your
Work Area When Using the CA Finish

The cap’n advises us to make sure you have proper ventilation, I guess the CA vapors are not too good for you so keep your air system running, open some windows and doors ….keep that air moving….that is moving outside!

Finishing Points for Your
Wood Turning Project

Toward the end he shows his bowl with a beautiful fins and Eddie calculates it took 16 coats and then buff, then clean again (remember a coat is only a couple of drops of thin CA on a piece of paper towel)

At this point you need to consider the following:
-do you have some places you need more sanding on, decide if you can polish it out
He recommends sandpaper from:
-sandpaper from www.vinceswoodwonders.com
-to polish Eddie uses Meguiars PlastX
-doesn’t use a wax finish
-and please listen and watch his video because his throw out golden nuggets of information throughout his video ….I know I missed some so watch the video a couple of times until it soaks in and don’t forget to visit his website at www.eddiecastelin.com

Comments From
Other WoodTurner’s

Here are some comments I thought you might find interesting:

Hi Capt. There is another really good reason for using nitrile rather than latex gloves: I’ve worked for a long time in science laboratories where ‘latex sensitivity’ was a real problem for some staff, and latex gloves were banned. Nitrile is not so allergenic. Stick with the nitrile ever time, rather than promoting an allergic response to latex.

That is food safe, got to try this finish.

I will be doing a series of posts on finishing. I find it very interesting to see what other wood turners use to finish their projects, both those that come into contact with food and those that are merely for decoration.

Personally, I like to see my pieces used to store apples, used in the cooking process, maybe to stir soup or to roll out some pizza dough. So, I’ll keep looking and let you know what I find. But I really thought Cap’n Eddie has some of the best stuff with his OB Shine Juice and CA glue finishing.

Let me know if you have any secrets for finishing your wood turning projects! And remember, you can check out a variety of food safe finishes just click here!