First 'larger' sized lidded box.

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Skye

Skye

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Joined
Jan 3, 2006
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Location
Rock Hill, SC
Ok, before I start, the finial is WAAAAAAAY too thick. The dang thing broke on me and I just shortened it and used it anyway. Being broken kept me from going thinner. I'll probably pluck it off and start over. Also, it's only maple with some spraypaint. I don't have any ebony that large, so I had to improvise. It's not a piece to sell or give away, just a practice piece.

Also, I didn't do it with proper tools. I've got a fingernail gouge and it's just to aggressive for a noob like myself. It popped out of the bottom and scarred up the lip, making me remove another half inch material, screwing up my continuation of the spalt at the seam. I turned the whole thing with a THIN parting tool (lots of vibration) and a round nose scraper. So, it was sloooooow going. But, I figure if I can do it with crappy tools, I'll be real good when I get some decent ones.

Anyhow, the wood is an unidentified local wood. Really plain color, but it's nicely spalted. I got the wood when clearing some woods at the local Children's Attention Home. Saw it and saved it from the brushpile. I've got enough for another one of these, so we'll see how it goes. Oh, and it's also got a lot of worm hole marks, so it was interesting to work with.

Oh, and apparently I'm allergic to whatever it is because my right eye has a bag under it and my top lip looks mad. Really pathetic seeing how this is just some ho-hum domestic wood. Time for a Trend or a Triton. :(

It's a Monet for sure (looks nice from a distance, bad up close) but for the first box that wouldn't fit in the palm of my closed hand, improper tools, 20 degrees outside, it's not that bad.

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Next time use a bowl gouge for the sides and a scraper for the bottom. There's a trick to bringing a gouge across the bottom when you have steep sides - something I still do mostly by accident.

Switch to a small spindle gouge (often called a detail gouge) for the finial. Choose a tool you can manage with one hand and use your other hand to support the finial and guide the end of the tool as needed.

Both Raffan and Drozda have DVD's where they demonstrate finial work.

However, you did pretty well for using a parting tool.

Marc
 
I've got two gouges that I'm not sure what to call them. I'll have to take some pics. I turn pens with the scraper and am gouge dumb. Thanks for the tips!
 
Somewhere in Internet space is a formula using salt, steel wool, and water to make a concoction that will stain Oak and make it to look like Ebony. The only piece I ever saw was very dark and pretty. Maybe a Google search would produce the formula for ya ...

Very nice lidded bowl. I like the finial like it is, but would possibly make it a little bit shorter.
 
Vinagar and steel wool are all you need. Disolve the steel wool in the vinagar, let it sit for a few days- shake or swirl periodically to mix. The salt you can toss over your shoulder for luck or to ward or demons or some such.
 
Skye, I also have problems with my finials being to thick. For some reason it always looks thinner on the lathe and then bulks up when you put it on the piece. One of the guys in my wood turning club wears those magnifying glasses when he is turning finials to counteract this tendency.
 
Yeah, there's a tenon to hold the halves together.

I probably should have shot that too. It's ugly though because when I parted off the lid, it didn't occur to me to make another tenon for the chuck at the very top so I could reverse mount it to hollow it out as well. Guess you learn as you go along, lol
 
I second the spalting probably causing your irritation, but there's a small chance it could be the wood. Some people I know are alergic to mahogany and even walnut! It could just be something strange like that as well.

You're pretty brave for even putting your 'practice' piece for the world to see. Most of my 'practice' pieces end up in the wood stove or in a deep dark place that the world will never see (until I'm wildly famous and they become invaluable, haha).

I don't know how you turn in that weather either. Thankfully I insulated my shop and even with the radiant heaters cranking I can only turn for a few hours a day because my hands begin to lose their dexterity. You should get a pat on the back just for turning in the cold.
 
Skye,
That's still a good looking box. I like the shape of it. Turning unidentified wood can be a real bummer.. like the time I turned Brazillian Pepper. It turns out that it is much like poison ivy. I am still scatching.
 
as for the finial, I personally dont like them to be too thin on a box. what if it breaks off because someone grabs it to open the box. I think it looks good the way it is. nice job.
 
cnirenberg said:
Skye,
That's still a good looking box. I like the shape of it. Turning unidentified wood can be a real bummer.. like the time I turned Brazillian Pepper. It turns out that it is much like poison ivy. I am still scatching.
Click to expand...
As a standing rule, pretty much assume anything from Brazil or the tropics like that is dangerous. I had a bad case of poison ivy from Brazilian Tulipwood, but a good DC with a vent hood on my midi lathe took care of that problem right away. I also use an overhead air filtration in tandem when I know I'm working with toxic woods like that. I know Tulipwood is a 'sensitiser' which means its not only bad for you, it will seriously cause you long term damage, especially if inhaled. Many of these exotic woods cause more of a reaction the more you're exposed to it as well. Just be careful. And as a standing rule, anything in the rosewood (Dalbergia) family is not at all good for you!!!!!:doctor:
 
Well, my 'shop' is now insulated and I've got one of those little heaters you put under your desk. Maybe 8" square. It defiantly wasn't 20 degrees in the shed.. er... shop, but it wasn't toasty.
 
Hey, Skye, I think it's nice! You should have seen the first box I ever made! Tools do help, but you'll get there.

Well done!

Dale
 
Skye,
Nicely done for a first time... hope my first lidded box does as well.

It looks a lot like some of the spalted maple I have, but if it came from a brush pile, you might have gotten into some poison ivy.. that stuff is nasty and can stay on wood and tools and clothes and whatever for a year and still be viable...I'm extremely allergic to Poison Ivy.
 
Skye,

I like the finial the way it is - although I am not a big finial fan - it is well balanced for the piece.

Tools will make life much easier. I think you did a great job with the shape. Wish my first lidded box looked that good.

It looks like Ambrosia Maple to me - but then again, what do I know as I have only been turning since April.

Florida Don
 
ozmandus said:
you might have gotten into some poison ivy..
Click to expand...

Well, the trees there did have those fuzzy poison oak vines growing all over them. No idea if this one had one on it at any time as it was already dead and the bark had fallen off by the time I found it.

Chris, I'm my own worst critic..... which is why I'm often other people's worst critic. LOL
 
I think you did good with the tool you had. What bother me is your alergic reaction. You really want to protect yourself when working with spalted wood. Like said before, it is a fungus and it emits spores that can be very bad for some peoples. Lungs can react very badly to them. We almost lost my father a few years ago because of a lung infeciton caused by this kind of fungus. Of course, not everyone will react the same but since you seem to be affected, good dust control is a must when turning these peice.
 
Yeah, it's the dust control I lacked. I have a double canister for the lungs, but I guess it was when I popped it off that it got to me. I'm going to avoid spalt for the time being, until I get a real filtration system.
 
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