a blog on woodworking, woodturning and my journey of discovery in the theme of wood.
Cranked out four new pens tonight:
Here are four “Polaris” pen kits, which every one seems to have a different name for. The plating is Rhodium I think or Platinum.
Bamboo diagonally banded laminations. (Source: Discount store cutting board)
Ornamental Cherry (Source: LandfillLumber)
Curly Walnut (Source: LandfillLumber)
Bubinga (Source: Recycled wood, offcut from instrument maker)
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Gallery Here:
http://www.badger.cx/gallery/v/woodworking/segmentedpen/
This is a new pen style for me, something I was inspired to do by a challenge at the http://penturners.org. The challenge was to turn a new pen, using a “segmented” style, in the slimline style. I’ve never done it, but thought it might be fun to try.
The woods used in this pen are Bloodwood, Holly, Rosewood, and the ends are African Blackwood. I learned a lot doing this, including that my drilling set up is less than precise. I also forgot to keep track of the order of the pieces when assembling. The end result is that the pen has a real “patchwork” feel to it, which I quite like.
All in all, I’m happy with the pen, it was a lot of fun to figure out.
Here is the details:
Woods: Bloodwood, Holly, Rosewood, African Blackwood.
Finish: Sanded to 400 grit, and Mylands Friction Polish
Kit: Slimline Gold from Craft Supplies, USA
Assembly: I glued long thin strips of Bloodwood, and Rosewood to an even thinner strip of Holly. After the glue dried I drilled the hole down the center (or close). Then I cut it into half inch pieces. I was short a bit on each tube, so I capped the ends with some small pieces of African Blackwood. I turned each section 90 degrees during assembly to get the rotating effect.
A fun challenge, and a cool pen. Win!
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I was able to sneak some time to get down to the garage tonight. The baby was sleeping, and my mother was here to help my wife with the baby for a bit, so I got a chance to turn a few pieces.
I made a second rook, not quite the exact scaling as the other one, but I’m not worried too much about it. Same look.
And the Bishops I turned two of these in the shape I was going for. I still have to come up with some kind of design for the Knights though, they are being a design nightmare for me. I have some concepts for the King, and a couple ideas for the Queen in mind. I’ll get some wood on the lathe and turn it round a bit to see if I like them.
The Wood is White Oak, and the Source is Recycled. I found this great plank of white oak, with some streaking all through it that gives the pieces a lot of character.
So left to go is:
- 2x Knights
- 1x King
- 1x Queen
- true up all bottoms
- weight pieces (I’m going to insert some metal rod where the mandrel went)
- felt the bottoms
Then I need to make some decisions on the opposing side. I could make it in another wood, or use more the white oak, and dye/stain the wood. Also, do I do the same style pieces or a totally different style?
badger
Lathe Arbor
Shopsmith - Accessory Catalog - MARK V Accesories - Lathe Accessories - Lathe Arbors
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Shopsmith - Universal Lathe Tool Rest
Boy howdy, I do want that. I have the original tool rest on mine now, my old 50’s shopsmith that I use as my lathe. I saw this on a forum post, and it’s awesome.
With the baby coming, I’m not sure when I could afford it, but it looks like a great addition to my shop.
– badger
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Had a few moments this weekend (aka, just Sunday, since I worked all day Saturday) to get some turning done.
I randomly decided to start a new project, one I’ve been wanting to work on for a while now. A chess set.
The wood is a nice piece of White Oak I found at The Second Use store. I’m making this set out of recycled or reclaimed woods if possible.
As you can see, I’ve got all eight pawns done for one side, and a single rook. The style is going to be very simplistic, and smooth flowing curves. The pawns I did in a style of an old anglo saxon helm, with that pointy conical shape. I have no idea what any of the pieces will look like really, since I’m just making it up on the spot. I have some rough idea maybe on the bishop, and king, but that’s all so far. The toughest piece will be the knight, hands down. Not sure how I’m going to do that yet, but I have some ideas. I don’t want a standard carved horse though, I know that.
We shall see.
This guy details a really nice way of doing bracelets.
Turning_Bracelets [PDF]
I might have to give it a try.
badger
Woodbox 23 is back! At least for a while.
However, I am thinking of moving the blog to my woodworking site, Badger Woodworks but until then, I will leave this site up. I am in process of moving some of the information like my spring pole lathe, and sharpening jig articles over to the site though.
– badger
