Ok, I’m turning a new bowl and something just didn’t feel right.
My back was killing me, I tighened my back brace. Still, something wasn’t right.
I figured out what was the problem and did a quick post to my Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/woodturningbasics
8″ Makes a Difference When
Standing at Your Wood Lathe!
So, December I went crazy making bowls, bats, vases, cups and pizza cutters and fire starter kits. I also turned a bunch of bowl blanks and probably 15 or more tool handle blanks.
I went back out to the shop, been busy with other stuff and wanted to clear my head. I started turning a bowl/dish from some willow that floated on my beach. It was dry, I put a faceplate on and began to turn.
Something wasn’t right
with my WoodTurning!
My back was killing me, I was having a hard time seeing and positioning myself while turning this project. It was really uncomfortable, I didn’t even want to put a camera up because something was wrong.
Dummy me! Clean Your
Woodturning Shop 🙂
I’m somewhat of a slob. I’d rather do or make than clean up.
I had been planning to clean up and put all the shavings in some of the old chicken feed bags and give my chickens and turkeys some new nesting materials.
If you haven’t figured it out, I had anywhere from a 6 inches to a foot of shavings and sawdust on the floor. It caused my lathe to be 12″ lower than normal ….just was totally uncomfortable.
Lesson learned, clean up after yourself while woodturning !!!!!
I don’t know about you, if you turn wood or consider yourself as a woodturner, do you …do you just want to go out and start turning bowls, tool handles, candle sticks, lamps, baseball bats or under the seat “personal protection device”? And if a day goes by and you’re not turning wood…..Do you get angry at yourself for not getting into the shop???
Woodturning Passion?
I do. That is, I get mad if I miss a day of doing some woodturning. I guess it’s my addictive, compulsive personality. When I fall in love with something, I want it all the time. Probably a bad character trait, but maybe it’s the difinition of “passion”!
I’ve become addicted to the hobby of woodturning. I guess you could say I’m addicted to turning wood. I was a little apprehensive at first, you need a lathe, lathe accessories and some turning tools and off you go. Putting everything together took some time and I purchased probably some of the cheapest stuff out there, harbor freight lathe, harbor freight woodturning gouges and a lot of DIY type tools. Not the best but my setup could turn a branch or log and I made a wood bowl!
I was addicted after that first bowl!
Somebody said, “that new woodturners are always so impatient“. That was me. I tried and tried to make my projects look like a piece of art, or just a nice looking bowl. But most didn’t turn out. I watched videos on new tools, new woodturning techniques and I practiced…. and I practiced.
I’m a better woodturner
after I’ve practiced.
But I still need more practice, I love learning new wood turning techniques. I love making your own tools. And I now really enjoy trying out real, professional or high quality wood turning tools like the new Sorby 1/2″ Bowl Gouge.
I was like a kid at Christmas, I just couldn’t wait to try that Sorby Bowl Gouge and when I as I used it, I was just as excited. I also picked up a quart of Food Safe Salad Bowl Finish by General from the new Woodcraft store in Buffalo Grove, IL …..can’t wait to try that out. I have a couple of blanks ready to finish so maybe I’ll be able to finish with my new bowl gouge and try the Salad Bowl Finish …..will keep you posted on how that goes.
Food Safe Salad Bowl Finish By General
I tell you all this because I wanted to share the fact that I really try not to let a day go by without doing some woodturning. Sometimes a week will go by because I’m to sick to go out, but …..I watch videos or read about woodturning.
And….. a whole day has gone by, it’s too late to do anything except to type a few words, to diclose the fact that I did not turn anything today and I was really “disappointed or upset” that I didn’t get to lathe today!
Another Day Gone….No Woodturning!
I actually wrote this yesterday and sadly another day has gone by without any turning due to a bad reaction to some new medicine I was taking …..sometimes, life just sucks! I literally thought I was gonna die, started shaking, hard time breathing, hallucinations, couldn’t walk ….should have woke up my wife but it was 3 am and I wrote her a note in case I didn’t make it through the night. But I did …that’s my life, hope you don’t mind me sharing the good and bad of it ….along with some good woodturning tricks, tips and thoughts!
As they say, there’s always tomorrow (sometimes) 🙂 But I was pretty scared last night so I share this word of God with you Psalm 103:15 “As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.” The older I get the more inevitable it is that life is really short. God says our life is like the grass and flowers of the field, here for a couple of days, weeks….beautiful and healthy and then gone. So are we. Question you need to ask yourself is are you ready?
