I’m sorry for the lack of posts lately. Been having some rough times lately with one of my cats. He has been in and out of the vets. Last week, he had to be put to sleep. So this is why I haven’t posted anything. I will be posting again later this week.
Upcoming posts will be a special made box for a friend of mine, a couple of designs on Christmas ornaments and making a base for an antique treadle scrollsaw. Keep checking in to see which is next.
What are templates, you ask? Templates are nothing more than a form you trace around on a piece of lumber. It is a piece of material (plywood, cardboard, masonite….etc.) that you cut out in the shape of whatever you are building. For example, say you want to build a box. You have the designs already drawn up. You layout the top piece on your piece of material that you are using for your template. We will just say you are using cardboard. You draw the top out on the cardboard. Then cut out the shape you have drawn. Voila, you have your first template. A template is used when you are planning on making more than one of any item. So if you are making more than six boxes, you can trace around your template for the lids to each box. This will save you a tremendous amount of time. All you have to do is lay the template on your piece of lumber and trace around it. Then repeat this step for the lid to each box you plan on making.
Depending on the dimensions for all the parts on your box, a template could be used for more than one piece. I just made a few templates today, one of which can be used for two sides of a box. Another could be used for all four sides. This will give you less time laying out the pieces and more time constructing the boxes. This helps in speeding up production. Have fun and experiment with this!
This past fall, I finally got myself a wood lathe. I have been spending some time learning how to use it, mostly by trial and error. Ok, mostly error. I guess I’m just kind of stubborn that way. I prefer to look at it as hands-on learning, my way. Most people would say that it is wasting precious time and material. Not me, I look at it as a mad scientist experimenting in his laboratory. Muaaahaaahaaa! Sorry about that. Couldn’t help myself. Ok, I started with square blocks of wood, and I tried to round off the sides to make a cylinder.
My first attempt at making a cylinder didn’t turn out so well. By the time I got the sides pretty much level, it was too skinny to do anything with. So, my first tip would be to use scrap wood to start with. You don’t want to waste a good piece of Osage….like me. Next, I would be sure to find a good way to secure the workpiece. I prefer to glue a small block of scrap wood to what will be the bottom of the cylinder. Then, I screw the small face-plate to the scrap piece of wood. Be sure the small block of scrap wood is centered on the workpiece, and that the face-plate is centered on the scrap wood. Another way to secure the workpiece is to buy a chuck for your lathe. I personally haven’t used one yet, but I’m sure I will eventually. A chuck works just like the mouth of a drill that holds the bit. Or at least that is my perception, again, I haven’t used one. I would recommend you go ahead and buy a chuck for your lathe. Gluing the workpiece to a scrap piece of wood doesn’t always work. Yes, I have experienced this failure. I can happily report that everytime the workpiece flies across the room, it has missed my head by at least a couple of inches.
This Osage box is 2 1/4" in diameter and 4" tall.
Ah yes, be sure to wear your protective gear: safety glasses, ear plugs and dust mask. And for you guys, a cup might not be a bad suggestion. No, you don’t need a kevlar vest.
Once you have your piece secure, you are ready to turn some wood. That is after your tools have been sharpened. Always make sure your tools are sharp before you turn. How you sharpen them is up to you. Most of the time, it takes a while for the sharp edges to dull, unless you are using hard woods. I prefer to sharpen my tools by hand using a couple of different sharpening stones. That’s just my preference. There are places you can go to get your tools sharpened, or sharpening machines you can buy.
After all of this, you should be ready to start turning. My only advice is this: take it slow and don’t rush it. If you start to get frustrated, stop and walk away for a little while. You might want to see about finding some books on wood turning or take a class on it or do both. Here are a couple of pictures of my experiments.
This spalted Sycamore box with Walnut knob and band is 2 3/4" in diameter and 5 1/2" overall height.
So You Think Yer a Woodworker? 
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