I have 15 pictures at flickr. Much of it is turning projects, some it old stuff. I am not a great turner, but I have enjoyed every thing that I have ever kept out of the fireplace. Some of it is turning. Some of it is not.
I included the current molding project, because I promised SWMBO to get that project done, before doing much more playing. She did say that I can certainly continue making a mess with my lathe, as long as the bathroom project gets done kinda soonish.
here it is
formatting link
In theory, it is set up so anyone can see it.
tom koehler
(a gandy is a railroad track laborer - they still pound spikes by hand and dig lots of holes by hand and eat their lunches in the dirt, and swear a lot
On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 16:20:05 -0600, tom koehler wrote (in message ):
I know there are flaws in my work, but there is nothing wrong with other folks saying what is on their minds, about my stuff, if they feel like it. I'm a big boy and can handle it. tom koehler
You aren't kidding about that sig! You have quite a collection of skills on display there. I hope the stuff I make is still useful and looking good in 25 years.
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 11:28:10 -0600, snipped-for-privacy@YAHOO.COM wrote (in message ):
Thank you, very much. I have tried a lot of different stuff. Sometimes just to see what it is about, and sometimes in pursuit of a specific goal. I'm kinda concentrating on wood, now, to try to improve my skills... see if I can make two of something, and have them look alike. tom koehler
On Fri, 9 Jan 2009 16:33:48 -0600, snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote (in message ):
Thank you.
FWIW, I have found that my method of reproducing the old molding works, but not the way I'd wanted. The cutter rides up and down, according to the harder and softer areas in the woodgrain, so the molding has a very uneven surface. Will have to rethink this specific project and come up with a better molding plane. It'll happen, just not sure when, now. tom k.
On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:26:22 -0600, Boru wrote (in message ):
Thanks! It was a fun project, and I have made a few others as gifts. There is a folk art school in Grand Marais, MN, where they teach all kinds of folk art techniques and methods. This box was one of those classes. Also learned how to make stave containers like buckets and basins, with wooden hoops. tom k.
Liked you pics! Looks like you are doing a lot of different projects
- a man after my own heart. I was really impressed with three things, in no particular order.
The shop-built molding cutter. Wow. That my friend is taking the project pretty damn serious. No one I know would do that, and I do this stuff for a living!
Like the butter mold. I haven't ever seen one, but I like all the features including the carvings, etc., that would give the butter relief when cooled.
I thought the round boxes were pretty neat, too. I like the design, but I have to say, when I saw them all I could think was dice cups. At 3" in diameter, how perfect could they be? I liked the profiles - I am tired looking at the plain, straight edged stuff.
A question though on the boxes. When I enlarged the the pics, it looked like there was a white substance in the pores of the walnut. Was that lighting? Was there something in there from finishing or polishing?
I like the fact that your work is practical as well as quite nice to look at. While I appreciate the effort from the woodturning community, I am tired of looking at pieces of wood "art". I like things that serve a purpose.
On Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:57:10 -0600, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com wrote (in message ):
oh, yeah... I'm here... lots of lurking
well, this is a kind of tool I have made and used before, but never this wide. It turns out that a cutter nearly 3 inches wide takes a lot of weight on top of it, to keep it cutting right. I will have to also re-make the cutter itself, as I used mild steel (only thing I had at the time) instead of some nice carbon tool steel. Sharpness issues. The varying degrees of hardness in the wood grain resulted in a wavy surface. (see weight and sharpness issues) I will try again, a little later.
yeah. It is a traditional Scandinavian thing, and the molds can come in lots of sizes, from single pat stamps, to about a pound of butter or more. The butter looks pretty nice on a big smorgasbord table.
my design sense is kinda stuck about a century behind times. A wooden dice cup w2ould be awfully noisy, though. Dice cups sometimes get slammed down on the bar pretty hard, too. More noise plus denting the bar top and maybe busting the cup. Leather is best. I can do those, too.
yeah, I see it too. I think it is wax. I do not yet use a powered buffing wheel, and that is one of my next things to get. This wood is really porous, and not something I have been accustomed to working with. I generally work with birch or pine or maple from the local forest.
I do not have the skill or the muse to create art, so my thing is to try to make something that is useful in some way. If a thing can be useful, it will have appeal to the folks I hang out with. The design elements or themes I use are my interpretations of what is familiar and pleasing to me.
Thank you for your commentary and your compliments. I appreciate both.
You're welcome. I enjoy show and tell. More will be posted as the stuff is made.
"tom koehler" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news.frontiernet.net...
a hint - when working with walnut - if you want a high shine, use lacquer, build up layers, sanding inbetween (I wet sand with 320 paper and water) until the pores are leveled out, then polish with the white automotive polishing compound, then buff, then wax - you will get a mirror like shine that will dazzle the sox off of a viewer at 100 yards
On Thu, 8 Jan 2009 16:20:05 -0600, tom koehler wrote (in message ):
I did a couple of bowls in hickory, from my stash of old wood. Seems like some of this old wood gets a little brittle when it is so dry. I am pleased with my new chuck, and this could be the start of a nice and a long relationship. tm koehler
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