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.

New Inspiration

Yes, it's been quite some time since I've posted. No one's fault but mine, really. That doesn't mean I haven't been turning, though. I have. I have been working not only with color, but will gilding and patinas. Gilding is adding metal leaf to a project, and patina is the art of using chemicals to add different color and effect to the leaf. The first picture is a Quilted Maple platter with Analine dye and a 24 Karat Gold Leaf center.

This picture is a small  hollow form covered with copperleaf and patina'd with 3 mild acids. It was then finished with about 12 coats of spray lacquer.














Finally, I want to give a little "tease" if you willl, to something that inspired me. My wife and I went to Jerome a few weeks ago for our anniversary. I saw something up there that really inspired me to expand what I have been doing. I don't want to say too much before I am ready to reveal it, but I have been working on some prototypes and working on something that I really hope you will enjoy.

Gearing up for fall

I haven't posted much lately, mostly because I haven't been turning much. It has just been too darn hot. My "studio" is in my garage, and even with a small evaporative cooler blowing on me, July and most of August were just too miserable to spend more than about 15 minutes at a time in my shop.

The last few days have cooled off considerably. The storms that usually start sometime in late June have finally arrived, and the temperatures have actually been bearble. At 5am, it is actually nice outside.

I have a few shows planned this fall, so I need to build up some inventory of smaller items. These are the items that usually sell pretty good. They include Pens, Bottle Stoppers, Small vases, Make-up brushes, Men's razor handles and shaving brushes, and similar items. And yes, a lot of men still shave with Boars Head Bristle Brushes. I have to say I tried it, and it is an awesome shave. Men, if you have never tried it, I highly recommend it. I'll post a few pics of the ones I have made as soon as I finish a few more.

Once I get the smaller items finished, I can concentrate on some of the larger, more "artistic" items. They don't sell as readily, but they do command a higher price, and to me, they are more satisfying to turn. I also am doing a demonstration at my woodturning club in October that I need time to prepare for.

The best laid plans...

Have you ever started out to do something, only to have it go completely awry? How about when you moved on to the next project, and it blew up in your face as well? That happened to me today, twice.

The first project I worked on was supposed to be a hollow vessel made from Alligator Juniper. It is a very soft wood. Almost too soft to easily turn. It comes off in a powder. However, the grain is so beautiful it is worth the effort. This piece started out to be a really nice piece, but vibrations caused some micro cracks to become large splits. I tried some repairs with sawdust, CA glue, and some powdered brass, but it is not right for this peice. I will put a coat of finish on it just to see how it looks, but it is probably destined for the fireplace.

The second piece I turned, however, came out completely different. I knew this piece of cherry was rough when I started it. It started out as a very nice cherry burl, but it had very had rough edges and a lot of bark inclusions. The original plan was to turn a platter with a natural bark edge and some bark inclusions. A little bit into the turning, a very large piece came off and flew across the shop. OK, change in plans. It is now off center, and is going to be a shallow bowl/platter. It is also very punky wood. That is to say, there is a lot of decay and rotting areas. By all rights, this one should be headed for the fireplace also. However, I have bigger plans for this one. If I can keep it together, it is going to be enhanced with another clay dove my grandmother made, similar to the hollow form I did a few months ago. It means it will be a decorative piece instead of a natural edge functional one, but that is alright. If my plan comes together, it will be a nice tribute to my grandmother, and a special gift for someone.

Go big or go home

Today I started on what will ultimately be almost a year long project. I roughed out the largest bowl that I have ever done, and just about the largest bowl my lathe will handle. The blank measured just under 20" in diameter x 8" deep. the roughed out bowl is about 18" in diameter. It will ultimately be dried, re-turned, and I wm planning on embelleshing the outer surface with a flame motif of analine dyes and wood burning. It is going to be a gift for a good friend who is retiring from the fire department next May.

I was also able to core out the center and save a few bowl blanks from it. This not only saves time by not having to rough out the whole bowl, but it gets much more yield from the blank. This blank ultimately will get me 4 finished bowls. I would have had a 5th bowl just a little smaller than the biggest blank, but I don't have the large size coring tools and had to improvise a little bit. This resulted in losing the larger bowl. I'll still take what I can get. I'm happy getting the 3 smaller bowls out of the piece.

Clean up

I spent the last several days catching up on projects around the shop. Somewhere in the middle, I decided it would be a good idea to re-arrange a bit. It was a lot of work, but I think it will be much more effecient in the long run.

I also spent some time working on my vacuum chuck which will allow me to better finish the bottom of my bowls and vessels.

Half of the problem with turning is that my head gets ahead of my hands. I have several ideas for projects just waiting to be turned, but I have limited time in the shop right now. Besides that, I have to admit that as much as I love to turn, it is not near as much fun when it is 110 degrees in my shop.

Finally, hats off to Jason Clark, who is a great help and to Mike Mahoney. Mike is a production turner out of Utah that also does some really excellent art pieces. Mike is also puttin gup a blog and is a great inspiration for both technique and design ideas.