Home workshops - Who's got one?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Beautiful work guys!

Woodworking is one of those things I'd love to get into (my grandfather in particular was a pretty talented woodworker, as is one of my uncles - who has built several pieces of fine furniture). Problem is you really need (1) either a place you own or a warehouse space (I have neither and given the prices in this area, am not likely to anytime soon), (2) a lot of raw material. Again, southern CA isn't really known for having a lot of wood around as an indigenous material. Yes, you can import stuff, but it's difficult and expensive - sure to get a lot more expensive with the rising cost of diesel fuel/shipping.

I have a bunch of light tools to work wood - jigsaws, biscuit joiners, routers, etc. Nothing even remotely close to the large/heavy shop equipment like you show. It's good for what I need (largely building models).

Back in grad school one of my classmates worked part-time for Hamer Guitars. He'd fill up his trunk with large chunks of mahogany that they discarded from the dumpster in the back of the factory and bring them into studio. Pretty funny when a couple of starving architecture students show up with beautiful carved mahogany study models for studio while most other guys are making them out of cardboard or whatever they could scrounge up. Fun stuff.

[ramonesfreak]

those bowls are amazing. do you have pics of the guitars you made?

[svandamme]

i have a sweatshop full of illegal immigrants in my basement, does that count?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Jeff, that's funny about wood in SoCal. Here in hick KS, I can pretty easily find anything from quartersawn oak or cherry to exotic stuff like lyptus (beautiful stuff) from S. America.

[slodave]

Tim, I have seen the violin before. Beautiful work. Do you play as well? I have a violin that my grandfather in Germany played. I did learn when I was younger, but now I think the thing would just make horrible screeching noises.

Jake, there is a big aluminum 'brake' cartridge, that is spring loaded, that has some electronics built in. The saw has a couple of lights on the on/off switch. Since you produce a small amount of electricity, the saw senses it and if you touch the blade (not while on!!!), the lights will go out, cutting power to the motor. If part of your body touches the blade while it is spinning, the cartridge is activated and it springs the aluminum brake into the blade stopping it instantly. The cartridge and blade will be destroyed, but your body parts remain intact - but for a small cut.

Here's a link to their site with some video demos:
http://www.sawstop.com/how-it-works-videos.htm

[slodave]

Some more bowls. These are a bit larger than the others.

I think this is walnut as well.


No idea of the wood.


Bacote, Native American style.



My only duplicate. Carob.

[slodave]

My favorite piece. Ambrosia Maple.



Unknown wood.


A couple of boxes.


Wine stoppers.

[BRPORSCHE]

Dave, those pieces are amazing. I have done some woodwork, and trying to learn as much as I can from my dad. He has made quite a bit of everything from intricate furniture to framing an second addition onto my old house. I am pretty good at making solid oak floors using biscuits and gorillia glue. Let me take some pictures of some of the things we have laying around.

Woodworking is truly one of the greatest accomplishments.

[slodave]

Thanks Tom. Do yourself a favor. Never bite into a biscuit, they are a lot harder than they appear.

[slodave]

Jeff, It's true that you have to pay an arm and a leg for exotic wood, but there are woodworkers that travel to shows and bring logs with them. You can get great deals through them and get some great wood from other parts of the country. Calling the local tree trimming companies can work as well. Some will actually call you back when they cut down some transplanted exotics. There are actually plenty of local trees that work well too. Magnolia is one.

[slodave]

I started another bowl today and thought I'd take pics of he steps. So, for those that have no clue what a lathe is or those that do, but are not sure of what's involved....

This one is a 17# piece of Elm burl.


Mounted on the lathe.


Make sure that it won't hit the tool rest.


Once you get it roughly centered and balanced by hand, turn it on slow and stand to the side.


Remember the safety glasses! Full face mask is an option as well, but tools have been known to go right through them anyway.

[slodave]

My preferred bowl gouge. Hand for reference.


I find that I end up at the sharpening wheel about every ten minutes.


Edges knocked off.


Almost round!


Stopping point for today. Next is to finish making the bottom round, cut the rough base, reverse the bowl and mount it to a four fingered chuck.

[MBAtarga]

Dave,

Have you ever used the band saw to knock the corners down on one of those log turnings? It can save substantial time.

Mark

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by slodave

Tim, I have seen the violin before. Beautiful work. Do you play as well?

I can play a few simple tunes, but no I don't really play. My daughters both took lessons and were starting to get somewhat proficient, but they lost interest as they were in their teens and already played other instruments quite well.

Beautiful bowls by the way. Nothing better than applying the finish for the first time and seeing all the features of the wood show up.

Today, I am working on a small rowboat I built for my girls several years ago. After sitting in the pond and the sun for many years, the epoxy under the varnish gave up the ghost and I am sanding/re-epoxing/re-varnishing in preparation for a fourth of July party next week.

While wood is interesting, I like bouncing back and forth between wood/metal/composites/cars etc. Keeps it interesting.

[allaircooled]

I find this to be one of the most interesting threads in off topic. I am anticipating the conclusion of the making of that bowl. Lots of gorgeous wood working projects I see here.

[slodave]

Mark, I could have rounded it on the band saw, but I only seem to do that with square "blanks". I almost went that route with this half log, but the burl on the outside was making it hard to find a good mounting position. Rounding it on the bandsaw would have made it worse.

Tim, I'm not so much into metal work, but I bounce as well, just into photography or one of my other hobbies.

Scott, my acoustic guitar no longer exists - I was practicing my Pete Townsend impersonation with it . I will get a better pic of my electric soon.

[slodave]

I spent a little more time on the bowl this evening and I am finished roughing it out. Even thought the wood has been sitting for years and seems to be 100% dry, I still decided to leave the wall thickness at about 1/2 for the night. With most of the mass gone, I think it will still move a little overnight.

Basic rough out is done and now time to turn around and work on the inside.


The chuck can mount two ways, grabbing the outside of the base or expanding out. I chose the latter. The center gets knocked off and the bottom will be finished last.


The chuck has for "fingers" that are removable/reversible, so that you can grab onto almost any diameter base/foot.


Mounted back on the lathe. Make sure to spin the object at low speed, as it most likely will be a tiny bit off center.


Tool rest moved to work on inside ( I moved the center of the rest to the right a bit more after the pic).


Starting on the inside. At this point there is a constant stream of shavings flying into your face. At the end of the day, shavings and dust will be everywhere in the shop and on you.

[slodave]

Be sure to check that the chuck is tightly holding the piece. Not fun when the thing loosens and flies off.


Where the bowl sits for today. Sidewalls are about 1/2" thick. Tomorrow, I will bring it down to the final thickness (undecided) and the bowl should also have had enough time to move.


The various tools that are used. There are a few other longer tools not shown. They are mostly used for hollowing out vases and vessels that have small openings. On the right are gouges of different sizes. I mostly use the large and medium, the small one tends to be too thin and dances on you. Of course, it is good for small pieces. To the left are a three scrapers, two flat, but each has an edge on the opposite side and a rounded scraper. On the left side, a couple of parting tools and the last large tool is a blade. I tend to stay away from that one, as it is the most dangerous and you can do everything without it, but it will add a little more time to the most projects.


I like this tool. I believe it was designed by a woodturner by the name of Stuart Batty. It's a scraper, but you can move the tip around and change the amount of material that is removed. It's also heavy and allows for a tight grip, preventing a lot of tool chatter that can develop while working on the inside of bowls.




At the end of about 6 hours. Lots of cleanup ahead!

The pile of lumber on the floor is not usually there. It's for another project.

I should be done with the bowl tomorrow night.

[DARISC]

WOW! Lottsa beautiful work you guys do!

If you don't already know about it, read the story about the spiral staircase in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Better yet, gp see it. It'll blow your minds!






No nails, no screws, no glue!

[slodave]

Well at least give a link, so those that don't know the story, will. I have seen it.
From Wikipedia:

The resulting staircase is an impressive work of carpentry. It ascends twenty feet, making two complete revolutions up to the choir loft without the use of nails or apparent center support. However, the central spiral of the staircase is narrow enough to serve as a central beam. Nonetheless there was no attachment unto any wall or pole in the original stairway; it was only later, when a railing was added, that the outer spiral got fastened to an adjacent pillar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretto_Chapel