Tag: Woodturning Bowl Scraper

Finally Getting Some Needed Woodturning Tools and Supplies

Just Placed An Order for
Some Needed Woodturning
Tools and Supplies

First let me say that I would rather support my local woodturning supply store ….if I had one nearby, and if they had prices that were reasonable.

There’s a Woodcraft store about 30-45 minutes from me and I would really rather give them my business than Amazon …simply because I know what it takes to run a small business and when I had one, I really appreciated when local folks used us instead of someone from the city or 2 towns over. That being said, today all businesses including Walmart have to fight with Amazon and Amazon crushes most of them.

Amazon for WoodTurning
Tools and Supplies

Let’s face it, Amazon usually has the best price for woodturning tools and if you join their Prime club you basically get free shipping and the best deals on many products. That’s really hard to ignore when you don’t have a lot of money. Regardless of what I think of Jeff Bezos’ and his politics!

It’s hard to keep politics out of the conversation these days, you know what they say if you don’t stand for something you stand for nothing …just something to think about.

Anyway, I still get excited when the UPS guy pulls up and drops a box at my front door. I try to look cool, like it’s no big deal but I kind of feel like a kid at Christmas even if I paid for it myself 🙂

And Amazon has some pretty awesome deals, you can get extended warranties if needed and their support is second to none. If I buy a bowl gouge from the local Woodcraft store and find out I don’t like it….they probably won’t take it back. With Amazon if a woodturning tool breaks, I send one email and I get my money back and I can try something else.

Bottom line….I want to support the local guy. But the local guy sells his stuff for full list price and that really doesn’t help me save any money. If we’re going to…. or I should say, if the paradigm is changing and there is going to be 2 or 3 suppliers of the goods I want, guess I’ll just find the cheapest and go with that!

Sorry for the babble.

My New Woodturning
Tools and Supplies

I was excited because I just placed an order to Amazon for some woodturning tools and supplies I’ve needed or wanted to try. Want to see what I ordered and have coming in the next week? Check it out

Woodturners Food Safe Epoxy substitute for alumiliteFirst up. I’ve been wanting to try an epoxy finish called alumilite but I ran into Max Clear Grade Epoxy System. It’s food safe once it’s cured, you can use it on bowls and cups. I have a mug and after reading some of the revies I found several guys using it on cups and mugs. I also saw one guy turning wood sink bowls and coating it with alumilite but this appears to be the same thing. I’ll do a review on it once I give it a try. You can get some here if you want to try it.


Hurricane Turning Tools,
Woodturning Round Nose Scraper, High Speed Steel, 1 1/2 Inches Nose

I’ve never had any or used any Hurricane turning tools, I’ve read a ton of reviews and I really needed or wanted a big bowls scraper. So, I got a 1 1/2″ inch round nose scraper. It’s a nice beefy scraper at 3/8″ thick and 1 1/2" round nose scrapershould help me get in some of the deeper bowls and cups. They had a set of 3 scrapers, the big round nose, right side and left side but I really didn’t have the cash to dish out so I thought I would see how this scraper works and then grind down the left edge about an inch and a half or so. Anyway, once again I will do a review and video on how this thing works. I was going to get one from Penn State because it was cheaper ….however, it was slightly under 3/8″ thick and I really wanted something beefy. I think my 3/4″ chinese round nose is about 1/4″ thick and it jumps all over the place. Anyway, if you think you need a big bowl scraper … check this one out


Uvex Bionic Face Shield with Clear Polycarbonate Visor (S8500)

I guess I’ve been testing my luck by not having a woodturning face shield of some sort. Just didn’t have the extra cash laying around so I tried to be Uvex Bionic Face Shield with Clear Polycarbonate Visor (S8500) careful, always tried to stay out of the line of fire and keep my turning speed as low as I could. However, I really didn’t want to test my luck much further so I ordered a Uvex Bionic Face Shield. I did so after see some pictures of a bowl that would rather fly than spin. I saw some nasty accident results mainly to the head, that would be the face. I have enough problems so I ordered one of these. Now I just have to get used to wearing one. Check out what others are saying about it, click the link below.


Robert Larson 800-2875
Plastic Center Finder

Robert Larson 800-2875 Plastic Center Finder I’ve got along until now without a center finder gadget. Seems like a lot of people use one and I can see how you might be more accurate and quicker at finding centers …..anyway, I thought it was time for a center finder like this ….lots of good reviews. Can find centers in the following:

 

  • Round stock capacity 8”
  • Octagon stock capacity 8”
  • Hexagon stock capacity 5 3/4”
  • Square capacity 8”
  • Handy for all woodworkers


Starbond EM-02 Super Fast Thin,
PREMIUM Instant CA
(Cyanoacrylate Adhesive) Super Glue

When I first started turning wood I was surprised how many woodturners used CA or superglue for their projects. I was surprised how many different uses there were and then I was surprised how many different types of superglue that was. Starbond seems to be the superglue of choice Starbond CA Glue for Woodturnersfor woodturners. Up until now I used those small tubes of superglue, in face I got about 10 little tubes for 10 bucks, I used them for fixing bowl cracks mostly, you mix it up with saw dust or shavings to fill voids ….works great and sets up fast. If you use an accelerator it will even set up faster. One big purpose for CA is for finishing pens and bowls. I’ve never tried it but would like to. I saw someone comment that a CA finish doesn’t last that long…..first time in reading a couple 100 videos and watching a ton of videos ….I suspect he didn’t apply correctly or prepare the surface correctly.

I soon discovered there are different viscosities of superglue or CA. The thin is like water and soaks into the wood. I had a bowl that was just about done and I found a bunch of cracks coming off a branch area. I soaked the cracks with CA glue and everything worked out fine.

I tried to use the thin CA with shavings and saw dust but it requires a little work to get it right. So I thought if I got some of the thicker CA glue, I thought it would be more like epoxy and I could more easily mix saw dust, shavings or coffee grounds and fill larger voids. For the really big ones you need to use epoxy. Anway, I got a couple of different kinds of CA glue so that I might be a little more proficient in my woodturning and woodturning repairs.





Wood Turning My Second Wood Bowl

I really wish I documented my first wood turning bowl!

I grabbed a piece of willow that was laying in the river for 10 years or more, surprisingly it dried quickly and I was able to turn it. It was soft, there were many spots that were almost rotten, however, I still turned it and my wife has it on the table with some apples in it 🙂

my first wood bowl
My First Turned Wood Bowl from a Piece of a Willow Tree

I finished the bowl with mineral spirits from rockler.com, although I could have gotten the finish cheaper elsewhere, I wanted to make sure the finish was safe to put food into.

Now my second bowl was from the wood pile that was destined to be firewood. I’m almost positive it’s a piece of ash, it’s very hard and very difficult to shape…. although that could just be because I have a Harbor Freight Lathe 🙂 It had a diameter of 11″ or so, it was perfect for my harbor freight lathe.

My Second Wood Bowl with Recess for Nova Chuck
My Second Wood Bowl with Recess for Nova Chuck

This is really the first time I started a bowl or any wood turning project and had my Nova Chuck, I wasn’t sure if I should make a tennon or make a recess. I ended up making a recess on the bottom of the bowl for the Nova chuck jaws, first I cleaned up the end of the log and then I flattened it.

I had some cracks and checks. Just mixed up some CA glue with wood shavings and also used some plain ole wood glue with wood shavings. Basically, you stuff the crack or hole with wood shaveings or sawdust and squirt some CA into it or you can use plain ole wood glue, but remember both will take on a different color when you apply a finish to the project. You just need to experiment to see what works best for you. Most wood turners seem to be using CA or an Expoxy mixed with the wood shavings. You can look up more on the subject and also search for “stablizing wood” you’ll get a good idea on how to use the different glues and expoxies on your wood turning projects. Did you know that you can use CA glue for a finsh? I need to find a good supplier for CA (superglue) glue in a larger container. I ended up getting small tubes and they always dry up or harden if not used right away.

I suppose I should tell you how I started.

I grabbed the ash log, it had a diameter of 12″ and I cut it to length of 12″. Then I cut the log in half, thru the center of the log.

I wanted to mount my face plate on the outside (bark side) of the log so I flattened that area of the log by running it through the band saw, the other bowl project I just used a chain saw. Next I flipped the log over and traced a circle from the faceplate side and cut the circle out using the band saw. It was a rough circle and I’ve watched some guys just mount the log without rounding the corners …..looked a little to dangerous that way so I wanted to round it off first.

Creating a wood bowl from ash log
Prepared Ash log blank to be turned into a wood bowl

I mounted the faceplate with attached log, pushed my live center into the log and started turning. You can see by the image what I had and how it was working. So far so good, I like the shape, I’ve been sharpening my tools by hand, I haven’t had the time to set up my oneway grinding/sharpening guide. I really need to do that because I want to see what these tools can do before I invest in anything expensive or I try some of the carbide tipped tools I plan on making.

All I can say is this that wood turning is a log of fun, very addicting! Already I wish I had a lathe with a little more power 🙂 The harbor freight

Laguna Revo 13\36 wood lathe
This Laguna Revo Wood Lathe wreaks of quality, gonn be my next purchase!

has turned some of the softer woods very easily, but this dry ash is really tough on the lathe. I was thinking of a Laguna or Nova Wood Lathe, several guys have these and love em!

For instance if you’re looking for a new lathe check out some of these features. I have a couple of other Laguna power tools and really like them.

The Revo 18|36 Lathe from Laguna combines power, precision and advanced features, resulting in a turning experience like no other. The lathe features a polished steel bed for the utmost in strength and stability, and the smoothest possible movement of the headstock, tailstock and tool rest. A full 18” of outboard capacity allows you to turn large bowls, while 36” of inboard capacity lets you turn long spindles, table legs and island legs. The lathe is powered by a unique motor that converts a 1-phase input to a 3-phase output. This 3-phase output delivers smooth, even power, even when the lathe is under heavy loads. It also provides infinitely variable speed within the two general speed ranges without sacrificing power or torque at lower RPMs. The anodized aluminum control panel is exquisitely designed, and angled for easy visibility and accessibility to all knobs. It features a large blue-hued digital read-out that gives you precise RPM readouts at all times, and easy adjustments with the comfortable rubber-coated knob.

Second bowl for me, a lot less tears, less gouges and a lot less tear outs! I used my Woodstock Bowl Gouge and 1″ scraper for most of it so far. I also used the skew to create the recess for the Nova Chuck.

I think I’ll make up some of Cap’n Eddie’s OB Shine Juice for a finish. One thing I didn’t think of is how do I deal with the insert hole for the Nova Chuck Jaws? I know with a tennon I can just cut it off, but not sure how to deal with a hole in the bottom of my bowl….. guess I’ll have to do a little research!

Maybe I’ll shoot some video of turning and finishing this bowl. I will post some pics of how it turns out and will try to do a sequence. My wife thinks they are beautiful, all I see are the imperfections …..I could easily throw them away. Oh…I need to tell you about the cup I made from gluing up about 5 2×6’s …. looks really cool!

keep your eyes peeled for different sources of free wood
Every township, city or county cleans up after storms, just ask if you can pick thru the wood…. free wood for wood turning projects.

And…. I have another project in mind. I was driving past a local city landfill…. organic stuff, and I found some pine with a 8 to 10 inch diameter. I have a lamp project in mind!

You gotta keep you eyes open for downed wood, cable, electric and phone line guys are always around keeping the right away clear for their lines…. an excellent place to pick up enough wood to turn for a whole year!

I did a post on how and where to find free wood for your turning projects. Not quite done with it, but I think it will help some of you guys out. Will try to get that stuff posted in the next week of so.

Until then….. happy wood turning!!!