Month: December 2019

Starting A Bowl Blank Using A Drill Press To Create A Recess or Mortise

Reorganizing Shop for More Efficient Woodturning

In an effort to clean and organize my shop I had an area that had a Jet jdp-17dx drill press https://amzn.to/2QbHmGR, next to it was a cheap steel tool cabinet, purchased at Menards, and next the the cabinet was an exterior door.

Drilling Speed Guide For Metal,
Wood and Different Bit Types

Before I tell the story, I’m going to link to a drilling speed guide for using various drill bits with different materials. Might save you some time and aggravation when trying to drill steel versus wood, and if you are not used to differentiating between the two this chart will help you cut clean holes with the bits that you have. Drill speedchart

I do not drill a lot of steel, but since I started turning wood I’ve been learning and doing more steel work…..that probably does not make sense but if you start making turning tools or making hacks to your lathe it will be helpful to learn how to drill steel and cast iron.

Make a Drill Press Jig to Hold
Your Wood Bowl Blanks

It all started with the bowl blank jig I made for the drill press. Typically my bowl blanks are flat across the face and round, following the curvature of the tree on the outside, bark included.

drill press jig for creating a recess for a turning chuck like Nova 2
Drill press jig from wood bowl waste that is used to hold new bowl blank to drill a recess for your Nova or Wooturning Chuck

For a standard bowl, I would drill a 2-1/8″ forstner hole  https://amzn.to/37tfnbd in the center of the flat face of the bowl blank, I push then mount the bowl blank on my Nova Chuck https://amzn.to/36cE8br and push the live center into the back of the wood blank.

I would then shape the profile of the exterior bowl and put a tenon or recess at the bottom of the bowl.

I had a problem with the drill press. It is a floor model and I bolted it to a harbor freight moving dolly. That turned out to be very unstable so I shimmed it so the drill press table was close to level. It wasn’t level though and I always had problems so when I put my bowl blank jig in place the Forstner hole  https://amzn.to/2QbrXpL was uneven and I had the shim the jig ….big pain in the behind if you know what I mean.

So, I decided to fix it. I drilled some concrete bolts, shimmed, and shimmed some more and secured the drill press to the floor. I moved my tool box next to the drill press and lo and behold…… I put the f’ing drill press in the wrong place!

I called it a night and approached it the next day.

Fresh Outlook with A New Day

I moved the drill press over, drilled some new holes for the lag and shields in the concrete and finally got my drill press in the correct location. The drill press table is as close to level as I could get, now I simply stick my roughly constructed bowl blank jig on the drill press table, level out the bowl blank and adjust so the laser cross hairs hit center and BAM!!!! only takes a couple of minutes to drill a hole for the nova chuck and get started on a new bowl.

What’s the Difference With My Approach to
Start Turning A Wood Bowl Blank

Many woodturners will start a new wood bowl blank with a worm screw. That is, they drill a hole in the center and place the worm screw in the chuck and twist the blank until it backs onto the jaws of the scroll chuck. There is nothing wrong with that, however, I found it easier and more accurate to drill the 2″+ hole for the jaws of the scroll chuck. I have more options and I think it holds the bowl blank more securely.

By the way, the tool chest fits in nicely. I had to replace the cheap ass wheels with some I had laying around. You get what you pay for, I might go and fight with Menards and see if they will flip for some new wheels …..I kind of know what they will say 🙂 …..although, legitimate returns are always handled well at Menards.

I’m talking about the drill press and woodturning because drilling a 2-1/8″ hole in a wood blank is perfect for the Super2 Nova Chuck jaws and is a fast way to get your wood blank on the chuck and turning. I use it all the time, I have a simple jig

Bowl Blank Jig
Hold bowl blank so you can drill recess for chuck with forstner bit

I set the blank in, drill 3/8″x 2-1/8″ hole for a recess and attach it to the Nova Chuck Jaws.

I usually pull up the tailstock to help keep the blank in place.

Then I shape the exterior of the bowl or project. I will leave the tailstock against the piece if I decide to turn a tenon, if I decide to form a mortise or recess I will pull the tailstock away and cut the tenon along with the dovetail profile.

Once again, everything depends on the original hole by the forstner bit (recess or mortise) to be squared to the piece as much as possible, that requires the drill press table to be level or leveling the wood blank by hand….a big pain in the backside……that’s why I spent so much time leveling my drill press!

Cherry Burl Woodturning Projects Using Epoxy Resins and Lacquer Finishes, Best Lacquer Finish

I watched a video of someone turning a Cherry Burl along with using epoxy resin. It was very interesting and since I am still trying to learn some of the basics of turning wood with epoxy resins I ended up picking up a few tips. However, I think I posted more information for him on how to use Lacquer Finishes with your woodturning projects and basically that’s what this post is. First I will show you the video and then you can read my thoughts on how to apply an finish using Lacquer.

Good video, thank you for your efforts ….and Merry Christmas along with wishing you and yours a fantastic 2020 ….a year full of prosperity, good health and good luck 🙂

cherry burl and epoxy resing I wanted to mention something about lacquer finish while watching one of your videos, not sure if I did so excuse me if this is a duplicate!

I’ve been messing around with lacquer finishes for the last 2 years, its a good fast finish if done right.

I pretty much always use Deft Lacquer Sanding Sealer……if necessary you can apply multiple coats in 15 minutes, but it seals up the wood very good https://amzn.to/34Z1X5h I ususally thin the Deft Lacquer Sanding Sealer with anywhere between 10% and 25% Lacquer Thinner. It gets into the wood while stiffening the fibers and filling the pores ….thats why I put multiple coats on. I lightly sand either between coats or on final coat before the lacuer spray begins.

I use Deft Lacquer Spray with good results also. https://amzn.to/2Q1eQYw

However, I also have used Watco lacquer spray ….all the way from Matte at the bottom to Satin to High Gloss. https://amzn.to/2t2jRXz Buffing out any of these finishes produces outstanding results. All will give good depth of finish, the sheen or shine comes from the gloss factor. Its amazing but you can get a slight and deep gloss finish from a matte spray.

Depending on the wood you can build up multiple layers fast. However I found that you get the best results if you spray a coat, wet sand and then spray another coat….it takes time but the finish will be exquisite!

The real trick is to know how long to let it dry before you can turn it at slow speed on your lathe and use a soft cloth to buff it out. You can buff out a Satin finish to a nice gloss with good depth. The trick is to use a very soft cloth, small piece while trying to buff a spinning project on the lathe. Capn’ Eddie says to never use a rag or cloth on a spinning lathe project for obvious reasons, however, I found that an old sweat shirt inside out provides some very nice buffing surfaces that really brings out that sheen or shine. But please be careful because if you are working with a piece of burl, live edge or other irregular piece of wood the cloth can easily get caught and send you to the hospital!

The problem with buffing too soon is that you will burn through the finish. And…..if you try to buff it out on a buffing wheel you must take great care otherwise you will mar and burn through the lacquer finish. The most important variable for taking a lacquer sprayed piece to the buffing wheel is “how long has the finish dried?” I let it dry a couple of days before I attempt and if I have the time I let it dry for 30 days for I do any heavy duty buffing. I have a buffing motor/station and it might turn too fast …if you want to get into finishing lacquer seriously you might want to get one of those Beal buffing systems for your lathe. https://amzn.to/353wCOO

Hope you find this info useful …..I really enjoy watching your videos ….I haven’t gotten into too much resin/epoxy work so I am learning much from your efforts.

Again….Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🙂

Turning a Vase From a Choke Cherry Crotch

I like turning vases …so I’m always looking for new techniques and methods for turning a vase.

In this video, you’ll find a cherry crotch piece being turning into a vase, the wood is kind of punky so he uses some CA and looks like he is also using some casting resin. He uses the resin to cast a foot and fill holes, cracks and some weak spots.

cherry vaseThis is probably old news for you experienced turners, however, if you are new or learning the tricks of the trade for woodturning watch what tools he uses, pay attention to the type of cut whether scraping or slicing. That’s what I’ve done since I started wood turning…..just watched and payed attention to what an experienced wood-turner did …..how he did it and just tried to duplicate their efforts.

I can tell his tools are nice and sharp……something you need to do!

He has some unique methods of forming a mould for developing a unique bottom to the vase.

He reverse chucks the piece several times. I mean, he turns the piece around on the lathe by forming a tenon on the bottom, then shapes it, then he forms a tenon on the top and further shapes the piece until he decides what he needs to do to stabilize the vase and then hollow.

Some of you might think this is too much work. That’s OK, some turners will spend a ton of time on making a piece they are working on turn into a master piece …..some turners will give up and move on to the next project ……there is no right or wrong, however, you can learn from this video different techniques you can apply to save a piece and turn it into a work of art!

I thought it was a good video, project finished nicely …..imperfect but that is the medium we deal with, so all wood is imperfect.

He was using Watco Lacquer finish and kept commenting on the Satin look when he expected high gloss. First I recommend Watco Butcher Block Finish for your bowls . I use this Watco lacquer finish all the time  its cheap and easy to use, pick it up on Amazon or I get it from Menards, there are 2 things you need to do when applying and finishing Watco Lacquer. Sand down to a very fine grit, minimum 1500, preferably wet sand it. Also, allow to dry at least 24 hours between coats ….I know that doesn’t work for those of you that are impatient. But, the finish is outstanding when you wait.

My favorite is Deft. I like all the Deft products ….especially the sanding sealer, if he used Deft sanding sealer he might have been able to eliminate the resin and acetone applications  but you can try Deft Spray or buy it by the quart, thin it a little with lacquer thinner and apply while spinning on the lathe ….it does the same thing, it will set the punky wood and allow you to further sand it or cut it with your scraper or gouge. This is the Deft Lacquer spray . And for the Deft Sanding sealer, you can apply 5 coats in 10 minutes if you wanted, if you dilute it a little with lacquer thinner it will soak into the wood and do the same as in the video, that is, soak into the wood ….stiffen it and allow you to sand and further shape with your tools. I remember using this stuff in high-school 50 years ago and when watching a Capn’ Eddie video I was reminded of Deft …..once you smell it you will never forget it 🙂

Finally, after the last coat let it set up ….again 24 hours and buff it out while on the lathe if you can, if not, use a buffer wheel or drill attachment. Be careful go buff lightly otherwise you will burn the finish, that is, you create enough heat to melt the lacquer and create streaks.

I’ve found out that finishing is somewhat of an “art” each lacquer manufacturer will give you different results and it takes time to experiment with finishes. I’m only just beginning when it comes to finishes and how to apply. Capn Eddie preaches on sanding, I hate sanding ….but he is so dead on, you need to progress from the heavy grit down to the smallest, the more effort you put into sanding the better you project will turn out.

In this project there was a combination of resins, epoxy, CA and lacquer. It was interesting to watch and I thought the project turned out beautiful ….he can still buff it out, if he is careful, and is looking for that high gloss finish.

I hope you check out this video on how to turn a Choke Cherry Vase https://youtu.be/Kfg4kkkebfY