Another Bowl & More Easter Eggs

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Edgar

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This time I made a little ERC bowl & some eggs for our granddaughter. The eggs are Olivewood, Padauk, Maple, Sugi, & Spectraply.

I have the procedure down to a fairly quick & simple method for making the eggs, still trying to get the shapes a little more realistic.

I just mount a 4" long blank in a 4-jaw chuck and do all my turning, sanding, & finishing from there, then hand trim, sand, & finish the parted off end.

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mark james

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I understand your process, and the results are very nice. Yes on a couple getting more "eggy."

Do you use the tailstock initially? These looks fairly easy as the shape is less precise.

Very nice Edgar, thanks for showing. 👍 Stay healthy 😷
 

sbwertz

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I segmented up some big blanks for Stephanie at the blind center to turn "decorated" Easter eggs. Can't show a pic because the center is closed. I used some spectraply to make striped bands in one, and did one in padauk and maple and another in African Pear and Chinese elm, and one in spectraply with a maple stripe. She loves to turn eggs. (She is the one I posted the video of.)
 

Edgar

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I understand your process, and the results are very nice. Yes on a couple getting more "eggy."

Do you use the tailstock initially? These looks fairly easy as the shape is less precise.

Very nice Edgar, thanks for showing. 👍 Stay healthy 😷

I do bring up the tailstock while I'm turning the corners down. I just use my mandrel saver rather than a live center with a point though.

Maybe it's an optical illusion or just my aging eyes, but sometimes the shape looks about right while it's on the lathe, but as soon as I take it off, I can tell that it's not quite right. I just need to get better at recognizing the proper shape before parting it off.

We are doing well, staying home as much as possible.
 

sbwertz

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Do like Stephanie does...use your fingers! She feels the shape constantly until she gets it just right.
 

Charlie_W

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Very nice Edgar !
you can also hold up a real or plastic egg to compare shape before sanding and adjust as necessary.

I do mine between centers, pare off the tiny nubs and hand sand the ends. I can have an egg almost to final shape while someone else is making a tenon between centers and putting on the chuck and mounting the piece.
 

sbwertz

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We put it in a 4 jaw chuck with the tailstock engaged, then when it is turned round and to the desired diameter, I cut off the waste at the tailstock end to get rid of the hole caused by the live center and back off the tailstock. I have large enough jaws I usually don't have to turn a tenon. I make my blanks extra long so there is about two inches between the jaws and the end of the egg so my blind turners don't blunder into the jaws with the gouge or their hands. The first thing I have them do is take the parting tool and cut away a lot of the waste at the headstock end so they have room to cut the curve of the end of the egg. I also wrap the chuck with vet wrap to cover the sharp edges on the jaws, and secure it with masking tape.
 
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Edgar,
I wouldn't worry too much about egg shapes and sizes... I've gathered enough eggs in my younger years to know that they will be some different shapes and sizes... hens will actually lay larger eggs as they get older... and even in store bought eggs, I sometimes find one that is narrow and longer than the rest.
 

Dale Allen

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Here's an idea. Using a real egg on a white background. Shine a light from above and draw the contour of half the shape. Now you have a pattern that you can cut out and hold up to the work.
 

Edgar

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Edgar,
I wouldn't worry too much about egg shapes and sizes... I've gathered enough eggs in my younger years to know that they will be some different shapes and sizes... hens will actually lay larger eggs as they get older... and even in store bought eggs, I sometimes find one that is narrow and longer than the rest.
Thanks, Chuck. I grew up on a farm and we raised chickens, so I know what you mean. My mom would take several dozen eggs to the grocery store every Saturday and trade them for other groceries. After we gathered eggs each day, we would cull out the undersized, oversized, and off-shaped eggs for our own use, leaving the most uniform & attractive eggs for the grocers in order to get the best price for them.
 
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