This is my next project. It still needs hollowing, but the outside is completed, except for the finish. The burn lines were done with 15,000 volts of electricity using a transformer from an old neon sign. Sounds crazy? Probably. But I really like the effect. It needs a little more experimenting, but I think there is some real potential here.

Well, I got through it.  All in all, it didn't go too bad, although I would have done a few things differently. This is the first time I have done this particular demo, so a few things could probably stand a little tweaking. I'm sure a few people got something out of it, and that was the point.

I have done one demo a year for the last 3 years. Hopefully, I will get a break next year. I also wouldn't mind taking this demo to some of the other woodturning clubs around the state.

Now it's time for a turning break. As much as I love it, it is really hard to get motivated to turn when it is 112 degrees outside and I am turning in my garage.

About once a year, I volunteer, or get volunteered, to give a demo for my woodturning club. I enjoy doing it, so I'm not really complaining. It just takes quite a bit of preparation. They say never demonstrate what you haven't done, so I have to turn a few practice pieces. Then I have to make sure my presentation fits the time frame. I have to gather everything I will need, and turn a few pieces part way. In a lot of ways, it is like doing a cooking show. You put all the ingredients together, pop it in the oven, and it magically comes out 30 seconds later as a finished dish.

Last but not least, I would like to make it not only informative, but somewhat entertaining. No one wants to sit through a 2 1/2 hour presentation that is slightly less engaging than watching paint dry. All this comes to a head next Saturday, when I do my presentation. I will be talking about different types of tool handles, as well as different ways to make your own, both for turning tools and regular hand tools.

turning green

A friend recently gave me a large mesquite log that had been freshly cut, or "green." Turning green is great because it is easier on the tools, easier on the turner, and cuts down on the dust. The downside is that you have to turn the log fairly quickly after it is cut, because wood has a tendency to split as it dries.

These are two hollow forms that got turned from that "green" log. They were turned to finish thickness. The platter was from a piece of dry mesquite that had been in the shop for a long time. The number (must have been running through my head, because the short one is 9" wide x 7" high, the tall one is 9" high x 5 1/2" wide, and the platter is 9" wide. The pencil is just in the picture for reference.

The platter has 3 coats of oil so far, and the hollow forms do not have any finish put on them yet.