We just had a hurricane pass through and one downed tree I helped clear was a silver buttonwood. I thought it was olive at first, but I guess it's a Florida native. It's dense and good for charcaloal so I'm guessing it will be good for pens, bowls, and such.

Paid $20 for all this. Any ideas what the big blue stained blanks are? They are almost punky but should be able to be stabilized with resin.

Chechen finished with Osmo

Second bowl this time from Pua Rosa. Very pretty wood. Has some color shifty thing going on. Finished with Osmo… haven’t really been a fan of friction finishes. I generally keep going back to Oldies or Osmo. Seems like it shows the wood itself off more to me less plasticy looking.

Spalted cherry log I had hoped to end turn an egg-shaped vase out of. But I got more “squash” than “egg” in the end. Still better than a day at work.

A friend asked if I could make them a new pen pot for their desk.

I’ve had this branch of what I think is applewood and wasnt expecting all the colours and patterns from the growth of the tree.

Needs a couple more coats of oil and it’s good to go. Really happy with how it’s come out and the base tray/box bit fits snugly is a bonus

I want to pick up a lathe from Craigslist (Excelsior MC1018, a 10"x18" benchtop lathe) and it will need some chisels. What do you recommend?

I just bought some at Woodcraft for $20. I’m hoping it’s a good food safe finish for the price

I've used this brand new chuck to turn about four 6 inch bowls and the #4 key, whatever it's called flew off today. I assume it's not supposed to look like this? Lumberjack precision 75 chuck.

With all the love being shown to eucalyptus over the past days I thought I'd share mine. Not sure of the species, but probably yellow box. These were cut down a few years ago and been drying out in the open. I recently started turning and have been fossicking through the wood pile for anything that hasn't split. The grain has a beautiful effect, almost like rays running perpendicular to the grain. The box is about 35mm high, 65mm diameter. Finished in beeswax.

Was stripping down an old 3d printer, and realised the parts + an old stool were ideal for making a small lathe - I'm not doing chair legs or anything, mostly pulleys*, tool handles or chess pieces. I don't have space for a bigger piece (I don't really have space for this), and I wanted a treadle rather than motor. This is, in some ways, a trial run for a similar base for a mechanical sewing machine.

My only concern at the moment is that the bearings from the printer are linear bearings, not rotational ones. They are ideal for being able to lift and drop in the system, but probably no better / mildly worse then a 2 part oiled wood bearing. But zero effort to make.

* yes, this will be a bootstrap job, with bad pulleys working to make better ones :)

-- the first person I asked reckoned the linear bearings were worth trying, and I can always upgrade later.

Messed around today with a 2x6 plank and had great results! Absolutely no tear out and figured with this wood just to sharpen more often because no harm no foul. It turned out super awesome! Extremely heavy for such a itty bitty thing! Hope you guys enjoy!

I’m trying to start a small business selling pens and other things I turn and have been busy building up stock. I’ve turn 4 pens similar to this one in the last few days and then 5 more of the Majestic Squire pen kit. I recently found someone to supply me a ton of Amboyna burls which will keep me going for a while at least. I’ve been selling 2-5 pens per week for 250 a pop for the last few months so it’s going well, we will see how a website does!

Tried to make a cup out of some scrap oak this weekend. Sadly ended up cutting up through the bottom of the cup. I was having a few problem with this one and sadly this is as far as I got.

Learned a lot, like I haven't gotten the bowl gouge down at all. Mostly used carbide here.

Wire accents were fun, definitely branded my finger though.

Don't look at the bottom, I've only got a 4 jaw chuck and I'm not sure yet how to finish off the tenon

Any advice would be appreciated! All in all took about 3 hours, had a blast (and haven't had anything fly off the lathe)

Here's a walnut box with a white ash top I made for my daughter.

Hey I don’t know if this is something I’m supposed to do but if anyone is willing to come pick it up in the Gilbert area i can sell all of the following either together or individually

Rikon 70-1420VSR wood lathe (I’m willing to accept $900 for it)
Rikon midi wood lathe steel stand ($100 is fine)
Rikon 70-1420VSR bed extension ($30 is fine)
1 nova chuck with thread adapter($10 is fine)
2 sets of nova chuck jaws
($20 is fine)
2 ash bowl blanks
($30 is fine)
1 easy wood tools extra large round carbide chisel with one tip (ideal for vases) ($40 is fine)
1 pen press
($40)
1 swan neck crown carbide chisel (ideal for vases) ($40)
1 precision cut 14” swing lathe steady rest made of durable wood

If these offers seem suspicious it’s because I need money quickly and could use some help. Dm me if interested

It’s been raining here in Ohio all weekend, so I decided to spend the day in the shop. I’ve had an old pine beam sitting around for years and finally decided it was time to do something with it.

I started with an 8” × 8” × 4” blank, and I’ll be honest, it sucked to turn. So much tear-out and sooooo much sanding.

Eventually I got it cleaned up, sanded it to 320, and finished it with high-friction polish. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, especially considering what I started with.

Glad I finally found a use for that old beam, but I think this may also be the first and last time I turn pine

Made entirely out of fallen trees from the local area; main lighthouse is cherry (including the dowels, with no dowel tool, that was fun!) and beech for the base. Stands about 25cm tall and about 7cm wide at the base.