Christmas gifts

The "whir" coming from my garage has died down for a few days. I had been frantically turning some gifts to give, and some that people had asked me to turn. Anyway, I was in production mode for  a little while, and now I can go back to turning a few things I have had in my mind for awhile.

This set of salt and pepper mills were actually an experiment. My step-daughter wanted a set for her boyfriend's parents, and didn't give me any other parameters to work with, so I took it as a license to experiment. This is what I came up with. They are both from Ash, and both made with the same technique, although very different results.

I have been experimenting a lot with color, and would like to explore it more. The new year holds some exciting ideas I have floating around, so we'll see what I can make of them. Merry Christmas everyone!

Show Season

Well, it's show season in the Phoenix area. Unlike most parts of the country, most of our art shows/craft fairs, etc., are held in the winter months. When other parts of the country are battling snow and ice, we are just coming into prime outdoor season.

This is an urn I made for a friend's dog. It was a special request for a very unexpected passing of his English Bulldog. I used a piece of Olive I had and filled some cracks with Turquoise. For the top, I used Texas Ebony. I know it's hard to see, but the small "finial" or top of the lid resembles the top of a fire hydrant.

As Christmas approaches, my sales tend to go way up, as well as special requests for items. This is a two edged sword. As great as it is to be able to spend time in the shop, it can get a big hectic making sure I am meeting everyones needs. It can also be a big overwhelming turning a bunch of different things. My preference is to turn one of a kind, larger artistic items such as hollow forms and decorative bowls and platters. However, in this economy, they are sometimes cost prohibitive for people to buy. I find most shoppers are more attracted to the less expensive items such as bottle stoppers and small vases. This isn't a bad thing, turning is turning. I just have to make sure I keep enough of those items in stock.

Finally, my peppermills are really taking off, and more design ideas are flowing fast. That is a good thing. However, finding antique doorknobs on the internet has gotten more expensive, which drives prices up.

Christopher Robin and I

I took my kids to see Winnie, The Pooh at the theater a couple of weeks ago, and the strangest thing inspired me. A friend had given me a piece of Walnut, and here we are. It is about 8" high. The center band is bleached, and then the whole thing is finished with orange tinted shellac. I then gilded the top with Dutch Metal (imitation gold leaf) for the honey. Not an exact replica, and I need to re-take the photo without so much glare, but the kids love it.

A new market?

I have been working with pool balls a little bit. I have done some peppermills and small boxes, and working on a few other designs. Yesterday, my mom2 (long story) called and said she met someone through her work that was interested in my stuff. He owns a billiard's store, and is interested in having putting some of my stuff on consignment.

I think this not only opens up a new avenue for me, but has inspired me to try a few new things, and hopefully a new niche. I love it when I get motivated.

Wood haul, and changing times

I've had my some of my work in a shop in downtown Glendale for awhile now. A few things have sold, nothing spectacular, but I was beginning to wonder if it was the right venue. It was more of a curio shop than anything else, and they had some of my pricier items. I went in there yesterday to have some engraving done, and they informed me that they were changing the format of the store. They were going to get rid of all their consignment stuff and concentrate on their cookie business. Well...problem solved, they want my stuff out after Christmas.

Well, OK, I can handle that. I wasn't sure it was the right fit anyway, it was just a start. I walked into another shop a few doors down, and immediately formed a new relationship. It is more of a "mens" curio shop, with unique gifts for men. They are interested in seeing many of my items, and I will be making an appointment next week to show them some shaving sets, etc. Keep your fingers crossed.

I also spent the day chasing down wood. I got some Sissoo and Acacia from a friend in East Mesa, and ended up getting some Alligator Juniper from my uncle who was down from the eastern part of the state.  That species of Juniper is named for it's bark, which resembles Alligator hide. It is a very soft wood, and as such, is actually hard to turn and get a good finish. Most turners don't like such soft wood, and I admit, I really don't either. However, between the smell when I am turning it, and the finished product, which I think is beautiful, it wins. At Right is a pic of a previous Alligator project I did.

Time is not on my side

I don't know about other artists, or even other turners, but my creativity runs in spurts. I feel like I really need to capitalize on it when it comes, because it will be gone soon. I have even resorted to carrying around a small notepad that I can jot ideas down on as they come, because I know they will be long gone by the time I get home. Even then, sometimes the sketch does not translate to what my brain really wants to do.

Lately, I have been experimenting on a few pieces of Walnut a friend gave me. I also have several different peppermill designs down that I need to beta test before I demonstrate them for my club in September. I also  have been kicking around an idea I got from Stephen Hatcher, a turner who does a lot of design with crushed mineral inlay and combining that with some of my own ideas.

Here is one of the experiments. It didn't turn out exactly like I had expected, but close enough to spark some new ideas and give me a different direction to go in. It is hollowed so it is very light, and has copper pipe and Turquoise Inlace (an imitation turquoise- epoxy type material) inlaid at 8 places around the base.

Finally, a new post

OK, so to say it's been awhile since I have posted in this blog would be an understatement. Truly, I don't really have an excuse. That's not to say I haven't been busy turning, because I have. There has just been a lot going on at home and at work, and I got lazy.

My turning hours are pretty restricted right now. I get up at about 5am and go out in the studio (translation: garage) and work on my turnings for a few hours. By about 8 or 9, it is just too hot to be out there. It averages about 110 degrees here right now, and it heats up fast in the morning. I never thought I would be grateful to be in Arizona in the summer, but at least our high humidity days are nothing like those in other parts of the country. If it hits 30-40% humidity here, I think we are under water. I wouldn't want to deal with 100 degrees and 90% humidity. I'll take my hot garage.

Anyway, I have been playing with a few things here. the first picture is a pool ball that has been hollowed out to make a small box. It is not at original idea, but they are kind of fun to make, and really fun to get people's reactions. The only down side is that they are actually very time consuming to make. It is actually really easy to shatter the material. You wouldn't think so in a pool ball, but when you are spinning it at 2000 rpm and sticking a piece of sharp steel in the side of it, it reacts very differently than hitting it with a que stick.

The next piece is turned from Desert Olive that blew down near downtown Phoenix last year in a monsoon storm. it had a large bark inclusion that I could have done several things with, including turning it away and leaving a hole in the side, or filling it with one of many materials. Instead, I chose to leave it as it was, and use some of my grandmother's clay sculpture pieces to fill it in and use the bark as a sort of backdrop. At this point, I think the turned piece almost becomes secondary to the sculpture pieces.

My first demo

Last Saturday was my first live demo. I did it with another turner at a function his church sponsored. The biggest lesson learned was that I took just way too much stuff. I have another demo this week and I think I have most of the bugs worked out.

Another issue I had is with the lathe itself. I am very grateful to the man who let me borrow his small lathe while he was gone for the summer, but it is quite an adjustment. I am used to turning on a large lathe in my shop that weighs about 800 pounds and runs on 220 volts. For the demo, I use a small lathe with a 10" capacity that only has a 1/2 hp motor and weighs about 50 pounds, if that. You can't turn large things or things that are too far out of balance. You also can't take large cuts like I am used to doing during the initial stages of turning. The trade off is the portability. There is no way to transport or power my large lathe when I am at these things. I think the best option is just to remember to turn small things.

I haven't done much turing in the last week or so. I have been busy with related things, though. I made a card on casters for the mini lathe. I have been getting requests for live demos, and had no way to do them because the lathe in my shop isn't portable. I was able to borrow the mini lathe and build the cart from plywood I had around the shop.

My grinder is portable, so I put a shelf to be able to take it with me so I could sharpen my tools on the go. The metal uprights are EMT conduit that will receive a plexi-glass front for safety, just in case something flies.

It's not exactly heirloom quality. My wife said she knows now why I am a turner and not a cabinet maker. She is right. However, it is sturdy, portable, and only cost about $6 for the casters and $9 for the plexiglass. Everything else I had around the shop.

I have a demo coming up this weekend, and another on April 2. Hopefully, I can work the bugs out. I'd really like to scale down. I always seem to over pack, but I guess that is better than getting caught short.

I also sat on my first board meeting for the Arizona Woodturners. The club is buying a new lathe, and has some other decisions to make. I'm glad to be a part of it.

New wood arrival

One of the greatest things about being a woodturner is when someone remembers what you do. Yesterday, a friend at work came to me with a log of black walnut. He said it was destined for the fire pit when he remembered what I did and thought I might be able to do something with it.

It was too small in diameter to get any good size bowls out of, and after cutting it up, one side was fairly well infested with beetles and dry rot. However, there was enough good wood to get 4 good end grain pieces out of. One of these will be turned and given back to the man who gave me the wood as a thank you. As for the rest, I'll have to think about for awhile.




Today, I also went to Woodcraft. After observing and helping with one of their introduction to woodturning classes, I talked to the assistant manager. I am going to be added to the roster of instructors and worked into the schedule to teach. It will be somewhat sporadic, and not a ton of money, but that is not the point. I love to turn, and I love to teach. What a great combination. It will also be good to stay in front of a group as I gear up to do more live demos.

First live demo

Well, yesterday was the big day, my first live demo. It went well for the most part. There were a few mishaps. Lesson learned: don't spill analine dye when you are trying to airbrush something. I met a lot of people and may have even got a few people interested in turning. I know one person is going to join the AZWoodturners.




I actually over prepared for the demo, that is, I had way too much to get to in the time I had allotted. I supposed that is good. I would rather have too much than to run out of things to do. This way, I have more to work on for the next time, I guess.

I primarily did some burning, but added in some dyeing work, and experimented with a little eggshell work. I can't say I particularly liked it, but I also realized what I would do next time to make it a little more appealing.

The piece that got the most attention was a large piece that I dyed white with shoe polish, airbrushed, then burned. In this photo, I have penciled in the music notes, but they still need to be burned. I also have to put it back on the lathe and do some finish sanding to blend the colors a little more.

I didn't sell much, but some good came out of it. My wife brought her mom and the kids to the downtown festival, and when I was in doing my demos, she found out some valuable information about being a part of the actual festival. I have put in my application for next month's show, so keep your fingers crossed.

News from the Desert Woodturning Roundup

I just completed the 3 day Desert Woodturning Symposium in Mesa. In short, I had a great time and met some very talented turners. Not only the presenters, but some of the attendees. We had people from as far away as Alaska attending.

As for the presenters, it is hard to nail down a favorite, because they were very diverse. Two that stand out are Mike Mahoney and Christian Burchard. They are both great people to talk to and learn from, but polar opposites in their approaches to turning. Christian is more of an artist/sculptor who uses the lathe as a one tool for his artwork. His sessions were based on good form and design, but taking it beyond the lathe, seeing defects as opportunities, and "thinking outside the box."

Mike Mahoney is probably polar opposite on the turning spectrum. Mike is what is known in the turning world as a "production turner." That is, he turns a lot of practical items. A LOT of them. If he is not the most famous production turner in the world, he is in the top 2. He is impeccable at what he does, and his work is highly sought after.  His demos were aimed at how he makes things that can be used for everyday kitchen use (Bowls, plates, etc.) choose the right kind of timber, and make it last for generations. He also used a session to turn a very thin Calabash bowl, (more on that in a later blog) and discussed tool design and sharpening.

These things are pretty busy, and everyone wants a piece of the presenters time. I got the privilege of talking with him for a minute or to about an idea I had, and I also got to show him one of my peppermills using antique doorknobs. He said he liked the idea and thought I had great design. Now, I am not naive enough to know that he may have just been being polite, but either way, I'm going to take it!

I'm still here

Yes, I'm still here and I'm still turning. I've just been busy with other things and haven't been able to spend as much time in the shop as I wouli like. However, this last week I have been able to spend a few minutes out there. I have been working on an idea that a friend gave me to solve a problem.

When I go to arts and craft shows to sell my things, I have to explain to people that I actually turn them. Most people don't belive it and think I buy this stuff wholesale somewhere. (Although where you could buy a peppermill with an antique bath faucet top, I'm not sure.) It is also hard for me to do demos since I don't have a small portable lathe. The one in my shop is too big to transport and runs on 220v. Plus, it gets a little messy. How to solve this.

A friend pointed out that I should video myself turning, edit it on the computer, and put it on a computer or tv screen where I am selling, so they could see how the product is made. DUHHH. Welcome to 2011, Dale. So that is what I have been working on. Unfortunately, 2 of the bowls I used for the video, I got a little aggressive on, and went throught the sides and bottom. Oh well, show biz.

I was also able to spend Sunday at Woodcraft where David Marks was doing a demo on turning and gilding with metal leaf and chemical patinas. You may have seen David on the DIY network where he used to have a TV show called Woodworks. It was a great demo, but I wish it could have been hands on. Tuesday is the hands on day, but I will have to miss that one. David was a really nice guy and a good presenter. Unfortunately, it ran a little long and I had to leave before then end. Every time I see a demo, I come away with something, so it was well worth the trip.

Off to try some of my ideas.