Woodcraft

Chess board for a client. Madrone burl and curly maple.

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Danny.
 
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Some recently completed turning projects. The first is my largest turning to date, a live edge Mimosa crotch bowl. It weighed 21 pounds when first mounted on the lathe, and 1 lb 8.4 oz after almost 4 months in the drying box.

I also made myself a natural edge pen pot for my modest collection of turned writing instruments, from a cracked and heavily spalted chunk of Red Oak, and used one of the off-cuts from the project to make a very nice looking cigar pen. The pot took many lathe sessions and liberal use of both CA and Varathane to stabilize the punky wood for sanding, as well as fortify the cracks. I like the end result.

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I wonder, Tony, if all those people who get such a wonderful pen from you are fully aware what they are holding in their hand. It's not only the wonderful structure of the wood that your treatment works out so fine, it's also its age that keeps you looking at it with awe.
 
I wonder, Tony, if all those people who get such a wonderful pen from you are fully aware what they are holding in their hand. It's not only the wonderful structure of the wood that your treatment works out so fine, it's also its age that keeps you looking at it with awe.
Walter, I always tell people the history of the wood I used when they get one of my pens.
 
Love the grains and colours Tony. Beautiful turning. Polyurethane Tony or something else?
Thanks Danny. All three are slightly different. The Chestnut was first stabilized with a heat-activated resin before turning and sanding, then treated with many thin coats of CA and polished with very fine grit sanding pads. The Sassafras was deeply saturated with CA before turning, then sanded again and many more thin layers of CA buffed and polished. The Hornbeam was first soaked in denatured alcohol and allowed to air dry, then stabilized by saturating with an acetone-resin mix before turning and sanding. The finish on it is CA over a mixture of turpentine, oil-based poly, and shellac. Funny you should ask, as I've been contemplating switching to a much simpler finishing regimine.
 
Thanks Danny. All three are slightly different. The Chestnut was first stabilized with a heat-activated resin before turning and sanding, then treated with many thin coats of CA and polished with very fine grit sanding pads. The Sassafras was deeply saturated with CA before turning, then sanded again and many more thin layers of CA buffed and polished. The Hornbeam was first soaked in denatured alcohol and allowed to air dry, then stabilized by saturating with an acetone-resin mix before turning and sanding. The finish on it is CA over a mixture of turpentine, oil-based poly, and shellac. Funny you should ask, as I've been contemplating switching to a much simpler finishing regimine.
Excellent info Tony, appreciated. Not sure how you get on in the US and if you can get two pot polyurethanes (cyanide in the hardener). We can't export products from here to the US using two pot poly's, but can with lacquers. Not sure on acid catalysed lacquers though. They do go rock hard with the two pot's though for sure.

Anyway, all the best and fine work.

Danny.
 
Thanks Danny. We can get 2-part poly here, but I've decided to go in a different direction for my finishes after this last batch of pens. CA makes for a nice finish, but can be messy and has nasty fumes, requiring a respirator. Today I mixed up a fresh batch of a friction polish similar to what I've used on bowls, consisting of 40% pure Tung Oil, 40% dewaxed shellac, and 20% Food Grade ethanol. It doesn't cure as hard as CA, but is easier to apply, dries fast, and has a very mild, non-offensive odor.
 
Thanks Danny. We can get 2-part poly here, but I've decided to go in a different direction for my finishes after this last batch of pens. CA makes for a nice finish, but can be messy and has nasty fumes, requiring a respirator. Today I mixed up a fresh batch of a friction polish similar to what I've used on bowls, consisting of 40% pure Tung Oil, 40% dewaxed shellac, and 20% Food Grade ethanol. It doesn't cure as hard as CA, but is easier to apply, dries fast, and has a very mild, non-offensive odor.
That sounds like a good mix Tony. Tung oil we have used here on timber counter tops.
 
My growing collection of handmade writing instruments with bodies from spalted woods, as well as the spalted vessels I've made to hold them. My newest, completed today from spalted Curly Mango and spalted Tamarind, are in the front row. I have another more complicated project from spalted Sycamore in the works.

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I wanted a nicer backdrop for my woodcraft photos, so I went to work milling some dodgy old Pine barnwood boards that were taking up space on my shelf. After gluing them into a single large piece, I sanded them and applied a satin oil finish. I also sanded off the yellowing original finish from my butcher block platform and applied the same finish that I applied to the backdrop. I quite like how the project turned out. Shown is my recently rebooted ukulele project, which I had set aside for a couple of months after I messed up the first two attempts at making an arm bevel. Time to move forward on that project.

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