more newbie observations

On Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:00:41 -0500, Vic Baron wrote (in message ):

although this is not wrong, you will likely find that there are certain tools you keep coming back to, depending on just what kind of projects you like to make. For years, I had just six tools, and was happy. I have since been expanding my skill set and interests, and soooo... have gotten a few more tools.

after enough bandages, you will develop a certain deliberate consciousness of just where you are, and where you want to avoid. You will learn to mentally rehearse a move before making it, and not be too fascinated by the shavings and the shiny light reflecting from the chuck.

ah... I'm so tight with a quarter I can make the eagle scream - or other 4 letter verb. Eventually you will have boxes of little bits of perfectly nice wood that you can't part with - and either get into segmented turning, or a small woodstove

yes

ah, this will depend upon the diameter of the piece you are turning, and the kind of wood, and how sharp your tools are, and how agressive a cut you want to take, and what the moisture content of the wood is, and how lucky you are feeling today

part of the quality of the finish is determined by how smooth the surface is, of course - and some folks here will sand to finer grit than 400, maybe as fine as 800 or 1000 if the wood is hard enough and close-grained. Part of the quality of the finish depends on whether the wood is porous or close-grained. Part of the quality will be limited by the hardness of the wood - a very soft wood will not take a very smooth sanding, and may benefit from something to harden it up a bit, first. Part of the finish quality will depend upon the product, whether shellac or varnish or french polish or tung oil or any of a dozen other commonly used coatings. How the final coating is treated will include the way it is applied, dried or cured, smoothed between coats, topped off with a finishing product like a wax or oil.

this is the key. If you are having fun, then the exploration is much easier to do, and failures will be more instructive, less discouraging. and just turned my two first projects - a small lidded box and a

Well done! Welcome to the fray!

tom koehler

For a nice gloss finish, try using lacquer. If you don't want to spray, get some brushing lacquer, thin it 50/50 with lacquer thinner, and wipe on with a soft cloth or paper towel with the lathe stopped. Let it sit for a minute or so, then wipe off the excess. With the lathe running, buff it out with a soft lint free cloth or paper towel. If you use cloth, do not wrap it around your fingers! If it snags on something you want it to come out of you hand, not pull your hand into the work. The friction will cure the lacquer pretty quickly.

Instead of paste wax, try carnuba wax. It's really hard and will get really shiny. Just hold it on the piece, then buff it out under power with a cloth or paper towel. Same cautions apply.

Some folks swear by the Beall Buffing System although I've never used it myself. I have seen it used however and it does produce a nice result.

S'later...

...Kevin

Ok - that sounds like something I can work with. Thanx!

BTW, another newbie observation - no matter how hard you try, you can not blow shavings off your chisel when wearing a facemask!

Vic

LOL. Been there, done that. Just don't sneeze...

if I want a true mirror finish, here is what I do, AFTER sanding the wood properly - spray several coats of lacquer (I use a spray gun), needs to be thick enough to sand - then start with 280 or 400 wet/dry and a sanding pad AND WATER!!! and wet sand up to at least 600. then spin it up on the lathe and polish using automotive polishing compound - first the brown "cutting" compound then the white polishing compound - you will get a finish just like a mirror - but it will show every little scratch that you didn't sand out of the wood underneath the finish - This finish works very well on walnut pieces that are dark - don't waste your time on light colored wood

I've been using the Bealle system for about 10 years, Kevin.. I'm on my 2nd set of wheels and figure that I've saved many hundreds of dollars on finishes during that time..

I do use a coat or three of Danish Oil on soft woods before buffing, but other than that, all my work is natural/buffed and folks seem very happy with them..

Like most of us, I evolved through friction polish, sanding sealer, etc., before getting talked into buffing.. Wouldn't do anything else, now..

Or try to smoke..

OK, I've done that on some boxes I've made in the past. I was curious as I've seen a bunch of turning videos and they all seem to sand and apply the finish on the lathe and in the end credits the pix always show this glossy finish. Since the videos are about turning technique I assume they don't show all the steps in the final finish. Finishing the pieces off the lathe using my normal furniture finishing steps would work fine.

LOL! At someone's suggestion I picked up several 8' long 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 pine furring strips and cut them into 8" pieces for practice. A friend just stopped by and saw the stack of little blocks of wood and gave me the strangest look, like I was a candidate for the "Hoarders TV Show".

Vic

I've always been curious how a buffed bowl holds up. Does it still have it's luster after 5 years?

...Kevin

Even scarier are catches that knock the work loose and bounce it off your face shield.

I have a small crack in the shield to remind me that if I'd slacked on safety equipment, I'd probably be missing an eye now.

If it has been sitting on a shelf, yes. If it has been in use, no. But then use will give it a very pleasant patina. While a lacquer finish flakes off

Of course the difference is, it's easy to restore the luster of a BLO and buffed bowl. While, IMO a lacquer bowl is almost impossible to restore the finish on

I'll take your word for it and try not to give myself a practical demonstration.

The only things missing on me are my teeth and that's due to age so I am a big fan of safety equipment!

Vic

disagree RE lacquer finish - just spray again, resand and polish again on the lathe - that part is fast, what is slow is getting the wood ready. One trick on lacquer that gets scratched or hazy is just to spray lacquer thinner on it, then polish

launching a 90 pound bowl blank into the fluorescent light over your head and then hunkering down in the shower of glass while wondering if the bounding bowl will exit the building stage left or bounce up and down on your body is an even better learning experience. I learned a LOT from that and there is still a dent in the 1X6 roofing board to remind me.

Unless they've been using soapy water to clean the piece, a brisk rub with a flannel cloth brings the glow back.. I've been carrying an ironwood pen for years and when it gets dull I just wipe in with a rag and it's good to go..

In extreme cases, I'll rebuff the piece with the wax wheel..

I have a fairly tall shop (14 ft). I once launched a platter and had enough time to wonder where it had gone, when it came back down and bounced off the ways

But what about something like maple, or walnut. Ironwood is so dense it almost takes a shine just looking at it. I tell my customers not to immerse the bowls, but if they wipe a salad bowl out w/a damp cloth then dry it what kind of effect will that have?

...Kevin

On Tue, 25 Oct 2011 1:29:19 -0500, Mac Davis wrote (in message ):

I took a look at this outfit, and it looks very promising. I've seen some buffed work, and am gonna give it a try! Bealle site has plenty of info on its stuff, including some well done utube vids. Thanks for the tip. tom koehler

Are these due to something breaking or something first coming loose from the chuck?

I read about gluing a base to a blank with wax paper. Seems to be the glue bond could pop if you get a serious catch, no?

Vic