The Salad Days

Here's another project I've been working on using the lathe - a small bowl. I actually started this project several weeks ago, but have been sidetracked by other projects in the meantime. So it isn't really any further along yet than you see here. All I've done so far is rough out the shape of the outside of the bowl. But what I like about these pictures is the before-and-after effect. You can see how much of the wood blank gets turned into shavings even from just this first step. It was fun to do, so far. But I can tell I've got a lot to learn. I kept getting 'catches' with my gouge. I don't know if that's because of my technique, or because my chisel was starting to get dull. I've sharpened all of my chisels since then. So once I start working on this bowl again, I'll have a better idea where the problem was.

I haven't posted anything about it yet, but I think a lot of you have heard about it already, as Sean talks about it constantly. He and I have been building a modular marble machine based on plans from this site. It's taken a long time, and it still isn't finished - but it's definitely in a 'playable' state right now. Next time you're visiting, ask Sean if you can see it. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to oblige!

I've been noodling around on the lathe at night over the last week, and here's what I've made. These are pretty fun to make. They're a good project for someone new to the lathe, because they are pretty easy to make, and I can take one from a raw blank to a finished pen in a single evening. Plus they're a good way to use up some small offcuts of figured wood that I can't really use for anything else.

Yesterday afternoon, I tried the lathe for the first time. Wasn't really trying to make anything specific - just following the book I've got, and tried practicing with several different chisels and techniques. When I was done, I sanded it and gave it to Carter to play with. Planning to try to make a pen next - might start on it tonight.

Over the past several weeks, I've re-arranged, re-vamped, and cleaned up the workshop. I added mobile bases to everything, so I can reconfigure the shop for whatever activity I'm trying to perform, and then park all the tools tightly in the corner of the shop when I'm done, which leaves most of the garage free. Two weeks ago, I finally got my review at work, and my raise was retroactive, so I got a nice little unexpected bonus that I used to finally get the last three major tools my shop was missing - a planer, jointer, and lathe. Now I've got every big tool I should need for a long time. I finally got all my clamps collected together and hung in one place on the wall, which is a lot easier than the digging around through cardboard boxes and desk drawers that I was doing before. I also finally did some work on the router table. I bought the lift almost a year and a half ago, but didn't get around to starting to build the table until just recently. The only things left to finish it are to install the router in the lift, and a dust collection port, hook up the electrical safety switch, and assemble the mobile base. The other big thing I did this past weekend was to build a bench for the lathe. It's not quite finished - I still need to add a face frame and drawers for my chisels, chucks, and the like. But it's still useable right now. I built the top from three layers of 3/4" MDF, banded with hardwood and topped with laminate - so it's super-heavy and super-strong. I also added another 150 pounds of sand to the bottom of the bench (not shown - I did that right after I took this picture), to make sure the whole thing is rock-solid and vibration-free.