turning blanks

[dewibp]

Ken, "turning blanks"???

[Ken Talbot]

'Woodturning' blanks actually, mostly burls that I work on my wood lathe. Wanna buy some fancy sawdust?

Red Cedar burl:


Red Oak sculptural turning - Family Portrait


Red Oak sculptural turning - Male/Female


So many things to do, so little time.....

[Dragonrider]

Hey cool Ken!

I was visiting my best ridin' bud's grand-dad...he had turned out a cowboy hat out of something wood...it really was thin enough that a lightbulb inside shined through consistently...

The brim was made seperately and glued on...

It was almost like a good canvas hat....amazing!

(the guy is about 93, and I can't arm wrestle him and win...)

[dewibp]

I, like you, also enjoy woodturning. Do you have a source for wood turning blanks like you are showing? If so I have some Bubinga blanks that I could swap with you. I got a whole butt load of bubinga pieces from a wood broker in Switzerland that was the middle man for these mamoth drums made out of wood (25' diameter) for blue chrome tanning of hides where I work. There is a company in one of the African nations, can't remember which one, that bevels the would into a circle and tongue and grooves the ends. These pieces are about 4" thick and are heavier than you know what. Bubinga is extremly hard and really turns and finishes nicely.

[Ken Talbot]

I work for the Forest Service here in British Columbia, so I have lots of contact with people who work in the bush. People are always bringing me cedar which range in size from approx 8" to an occasional one up towards 30". Most of them are red cedar, but I've got a few douglas fir and spruce pieces on hand too. This is also really good country for cultivating spalted birch.

I've read about bubinga, and seen it in lots of books, but for me it is an exotic to deam about.

It might be really interesting to look into import/export restrictions on this kind of material and if it not too much hassle, see what we could come up with for a cheap way of swapping some pieces across the border.

Have you ever worked with spalted birch?

[dewibp]

I have "made" spalted maple (very common cheap wood around here) by piling up leaves over logs for several months. Must keep it damp to get the "fungi" growing. It is soft maple so you need to pay attention to the decaying process or you end up with junk (punky) wood which is unusable. I've looked into importing Bubinga/purple heart and even ebony but it is just too expensive in small lots. They ship our drum kits in shipping containers. I will ask the Hides/Tannery guys what it costs to ship drums across the water to get an idea. Like I might have said, the wood broker, sent me some sample pieces in an order for our Nebraska plant. When I went to pick it up it was on a pallet that really made my half ton truck squat when it was set in the back. I would guess there was about 1,800 lbs. I will take some pictures of finished turnings when I get a little time (I only like making weed pots for some reason). The nice thing about Bubinga is it is so dense that when you finish it (I like penetrating oil finishes) that it is smooth as glass as there is very little open grain. Now a native wood to the midwest of the usa is walnut. I buy small pieces called "shorts" that come from areas where the limb attaches to the main trunk and the crotch area on the lower trunk. This is some highly figured wood too. I like making fancy desk name plaques with this. Must go to work....

[Ducky]

Ha!!
Fellow turners!!
My wife and I have recently started turning perfectly nice pieces of wood into great dusty heaps of sawdust. "inherited" a very old home made Lathe with a 44" bed. Some of the parts from Model T Ford transmissions, old car frames, and the like. Also has an oak jigsaw as part of it that is a woodworkers dream!! So my garage is no longer for car/trucks. They live outside in the weather. INside are the motorcycles, my tools, and a great heap of sawdust making equipment. Turned a "thing" out of a palm tree trunk. Very unique.
How I babble!!
great to see others who love their bikes and also play in wood.
ducky

[fredintoon]

Turning

Those are really nice pieces. I'd prefer natural wood finish to black paint on the artworks but what do I know?
Our cross-street neighbor Gordie bought a set of chisels for a bargain and then found they were in fact wood-turning tools he'd no use for. So he gave them to Eddie next door who then used my welder to built himself a woodturning lathe.
I moved from that town years ago but I still have the mallet that Eddie turned up for me.
He'd bring over all the pieces that didn't turn out as he'd hoped to light my fireplace with. Eddie was of Cree ancestry but as he said, "had to learn to be an Indian out of a book"
It's not everyone who can boast of having aboriginal hand-crafted kindling.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[Ken Talbot]

Actually, Fred, the black pieces were burned heavily with a propane torch, scrubbed with a variety of wire brushes, then finished wiah about 15 or 20 coats of spar varnish. Up close, you can really see the grain because of the way the slightly softer early wood has been burned/scrubbed away.

[fredintoon]

Achieving texture

Hi Ken,
Shows there's tricks to every trade.
Have you seen pieces made from chute boards salvaged out of grain elevators? Years of having grain poured down them has scoured away the softer layers in the wood to give the same textured effect. Generally the pieces are finished in transparent varnish to enhance the two-tone coloration.
Rather than reducing the soft layers with a torch and wire brush to inevitably leave scorch marks have you tried sandblasting?
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[Ken Talbot]

Sandblasting - sure!

Here's a little piece I call trianguloid - pretty heavy sandblasting on the inner face. The outside face was lightly charred and brushed, but left to a more natural cedar colour.

[dewibp]

Just checked and our Tannery Dept. has (6) Bubinga drum sets coming from Africa. I ordered a dozen or so 4.5"x12'x12" blanks for bowl turning. They are going to throw them in with the order. I will send you one so you can turn a bowl out of Bubinga. It will take about 30-45 days for delivery. I will send you one to try when I get them. Maybe even take some pictures of the new drum sets so you can see how we use Bubinga drums to blue chrome tan beef hides!

[fredintoon]

Drum sets?

I had this mental picture of rock'n'roll tannery workers pounding out that ol' rhythym on their drumsets but that's drum as in vat, tank or container, right?
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[Ken Talbot]

Wow, that would be awesome, Dew! Looking back through your notes, and seeing you mention turning weed pots, it dawned on me the other day you might enjoy working with WESTERN YEW (taxus brevifolia). I've got some very nice pieces that I salvaged from logging operations a few years back, but they're smaller that what I use most of the time. I'll check what I've got on hand, maybe post a few photos to give you a better idea....

[dewibp]

Sounds good to me Ken.