All posts by admin

Market Day

Misc

Here I am, flogging my wares at Market Day today. Market Day happens 3 or 4 times a year, and is an event held by the Saugeen Trading Community, which is “a regionally-based monetary system that endeavours to meet economic and social needs of the local community by providing a vehicle for the exchange of labour and goods.” Most people at Market Day, and throughout the year for that matter, pay in “Saubucks”, although some people today payed in “federal” (real) dollars. Vendors can specify which they prefer, but I’ve found it easier (and better for sales) to let people pay in the currency of their choice.

Flogging My Wares at Market Day Dec. 15/2013
Click photo to view larger on Flickr (photo by Lynda Chiotti)

Anyway, I had an exceptional day today, selling more than double my previous best-day from December 2011. All three spice grinders went, all but one of the large cutting boards, both mini-magnifiers, and a bunch of pens.

I think it was the magical antlers that put it over the top.

More Fun With Plastic

Woodturning

Well, I don’t know if “fun” is exactly the right word. I do like the end result you get with acrylic blanks, very shiny and dramatic. But it’s a long, hard slog to get there compared to turning most wood species. While there are no grain issues with acrylic blanks, they are very brittle and hard, and on three of these four, I had chip-out around the ends, taking out several big chunks in an instant. Fortunately I was able to turn down past the chunk-holes, so it wasn’t fatal.

New Acrylic Bottle Stoppers
New Wine Bottle Stoppers (Click photo to view larger on Flickr)

A fresh carbide blade on the Easy Wood Tools Finisher is the key to my success with turning acrylic blanks. Wood too, for that matter. I love these things. They do have their limitations, and I still reach for other tools once in a while. But not often — aside from the parting tool, I use these for just about everything.

Maple Bowl Done!

Bowls

I finally finished this simple wooden bowl, made from a figured maple bowl blank I had lying around for a while. I took my time with it, since it’s pretty big for my little lathe, and I didn’t want any drama. The only drama was when my paper towel got sucked up into the dust collector. Twice. But that’s easily fixed.

Figured Maple Bowl (1)

(click photo to view larger on Flickr)

The bowl is about 6 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall. Finished with EEE Ultra Shine and Shellawax.

Almost a Bowl

Bowls

I thought I would grab some photos of this bowl-in-progress today, in case something goes horribly wrong tomorrow. Woodworking can break your heart — it’s best to be prepared for the worst. It just makes success that much sweeter!

Almost a Bowl (1)

The outside is fully shaped and has a first coat of finish on it. In the picture below you can see I added a couple of detail rings on the bottom which nobody will ever see, but I’ll know they’re there.

Almost a Bowl (2)

The S-shaped tool rest allows me to get in closer to the inside of the bowl. I’m using mostly the Easy Wood Tools Finisher because I love the carbide cutters. I went back to a bowl gouge briefly and it felt scary and unpredictable by comparison. No looking back now.

Almost a Bowl (3)

I’m at that delicate stage in the process where you have to find the compromise between making the bowl thin and delicate vs. staying safe and not risking all that’s been invested. I figure I have a little ways to go yet, it still feels a bit clunky to my hand, and it feels like a stable enough piece of maple, despite some nice figure, that I can take it a bit further. Fingers crossed.

“Carbara” Pens in Acrylic

Pens

While we’re talking plastic, I thought I would capture my current inventory of other pens still remaining from the last time I did some acrylics.

Carbara Pens in Acrylic
(click photo to view larger on Flickr)

These are a style called “Carbara” – they’re a tiny bit shorter than the “Stratus” pens (see previous posts, here and here) but have about the same thickness, for those who like a thicker pen. If I have to write with a Slimline or similar skinny pen for any length of time, my hand cramps up. So these are a personal favourite style for me as well.

If, by the way, the one the right in the photo above reminds you of coffee beans, that’s because it is coffee beans. The beans are embedded in white acrylic. You can actually smell them, especially while turning of course. Not really a plus for me, as I don’t drink the stuff, but they do look cool.

Like the “Stratus” I also enjoy a pen style where the body material (wood or plastic) is presented in one single piece, rather than broken up into two with a center ring. Although I do love my rollerball pens, and they’re in two pieces, so it’s not like a rule or anything.

One More “Stratus” Pen

Pens

One more of the “Stratus” pen kits (see yesterday’s post), turned in a camo-style acrylic.

Camo Pen

There was to be a fourth one, as I had four kits. And in fact I turned a very nice body for it, in padauk which I love, but sadly upon assembly the kit proved to be defective. Sometimes you can salvage it for parts, but in this case all I could save was the refill.

Small consolation is that it was not user error. Between kit defects and user error, I probably waste one in ten pens, on average. Some kits, usually (but not always) the more expensive ones, have a better track record than others at going together without a problem. My rollerball kits have been pretty good to me, knock wood (or acrylic).

Another Fine Mess

Pens, Woodturning

When you turn acrylic on the lathe, it doesn’t get more or less messy than when you turn wood. The problem is, I use the vacuumed-up wood shavings and sawdust as mulch on the paths out in the back 40, and I don’t really want multi-coloured plastic mulch out there. Tends not to compost and might be harmful to critters. So therefore I don’t run the dust collection, or vacuum up the leftovers. So therefore I don’t turn acrylic pens very often.
Acrylic Pen - The Aftermath

Despite the mess that turning acrylic makes, the results can make it worth the effort. These are a new-to-me kit called “Stratus” in a “Gun Metal” plating. I like the style. It’s masculine without going all the way to being one of those obnoxious lock-and-load bullet-style pens. They’re a decently large size, for those with larger hands that tend to swallow a lesser pen.
Two Acrylic Pens
(click photos to view larger on Flickr)

Small Kit Projects

Woodturning

Small project time… here is a pair of mini-magnifiers… the wood is a laminated product called Dymalux, in Cranberry. It polishes up very nicely, like an acrylic, but behaves more like a very even-grained wood when turning. I’ll be trying more of this. It’s similar to Spectraply, but a little denser, I think.

Mini Magnifiers

Here are a couple of couples of seam rippers. A couple in walnut and a couple in padauk.

Walnut Seam Rippers

These are double-ended seam rippers, for those who sew and are not perfect. There is a large and a small blade, and each can be turned around to store the blade inside the tube.

Padauk Seam Rippers

(Click photos to view larger on Flickr)

Small Stripey Trays

Misc

This is a pair of small wooden trays I just made. One is for a favourite client (I will give her the choice) and we’ll probably keep the other one, unless somebody speaks up. They’re modelled and sized after a plastic version that sits on our dining table to hold the salt and pepper shakers, and occasional other items.

Small Stripey Trays

The one with the maple sides (the one on the right) is the result of a “last minute design change” referred to in my previous post, “Don’t Get Cocky“. It’s a good feeling to have rescued it. I may even prefer the look of it, although they both work.