The gift giving season has been good for me! I got "New Masters of Woodturning" (Fox Chapel Publishing) Great images, great ideas, from several turners, showing some of their work, and a bit of information on their methods or techniques. A bit like a tour through an art museum of wood turning. Great source of inspiration for project ideas, and a great push for bettering and broadening my own skills, such as they are.
Got another great book, "Ellsworth on Woodturning" (also from Fox Chapel) My gosh, this is a great, comprehensive tutorial! Photos, illustrations and good comprehensive text on the full spectrum of stuff you need to learn about bowls and vessels - the what, how, and why. And the tools - making using, sharpening.
An interesting remark from Ellsworth about the variety of cutting tools used in vessel turning is that "With the exception of the standard gouges, skews, and a few parting tools, all of the specialty tools you see today have been designed by living makers, and most are made and marketed by those individuals."
This has been encouraging to me, because my own small assortment of tools came from Sears more than 30 years ago, and corresponded to all of the tools (and my own skill set) that were discussed in my turning books, all of which were (until yesterday) 30 to 50 years old. I'd see contemporary turnings, mainly hollow vessels of one kind or another and wonder if I'd been transported to another dimension in space/time. Howinhell did they do this stuff? I'd get hints and glimpses here, and try to find stuff on the 'net - but there can be a lot of chaff to wade through, to get to the good stuff. You have all given me some good links and information in the past two months, that have inspired and encouraged me to get back in the game - and now I have these two swell books!
I gave myself a gift, too. In accommodating my style of turning so far, I bought a dedicated bowl finishing chuck from Penn State Industries. This is a Chinese scroll chuck with jumbo jaws (?) so that I may clamp stuff up to 8" in diameter, and do my thing. Many of you cringe as you read this, and that is okay by me. The wood I use, the physical capabilities of my ShopSmith, and my own method of work is happily matched to this chuck, which cost me about
120 bux. I am pleased with the fit and finish of the metal work in this heavy little chuck, and the scroll is enclosed. The key is a robust square-end like you'd find on a machine shop chuck.
I'm all primed to make one heck of a big pile of shavings, after I get back from a trip to my back 40 with a load of frozen birch and white pine and maple... and I got a whole host of other woodworking jobs that are pressing on me, too. I have to reproduce some 100 year old molding trim that is on the top edge of the 11" wide mop boards (or base boards, if you prefer) in a couple of the rooms in my house. I can do this, but it will take some time. SWMBO has also indicated that I am supposed to make some new cabinets for the kitchen, too. Well, that is okay. Turn a few bowl blanks, make some molding. Turn a few bowl blanks, make some cabinet carcasses. Turn a few bowl blanks, make a few cabinet drawers.
I can do this!
I'm excited! Woo! Hoo!
Happy new year to you all!
tom koehler