Sunday 10 June 2012

A day of turning...

I was going to say I haven't done much bowl turning, but it would be more accurate to say that I haven't actually done much turning at all. I've had a small Record lathe for a couple of years now, but because space is so tight it's not always set up to go, and so it seems like too much effort sometimes to just stick a chunk of wood on the centres and turn something interesting.

Simple birch bowl - needs drying and finishing
So, when Julian said we needed bowls and trenchers for the craft fair, I arranged to go round to his for a quick reminder of how to do it. I also quite liked the style of the antique Swedish bowls on Julian's previous post so thought I'd have a go at something in a similar vein (though I'm not presumptious enough to believe it would turn out anywhere near as beautiful).

It went well and I enjoyed myself. I learnt a few invaluable lessons:

1 - you can never underestimate the importance of a sharp tool.
2 - a chainsaw makes roughing out blanks a lot easier.
3 - despite my need for immediate results, you need to take your time in order to be successful.

I'm sure there were other things I learnt, like the need for a golfing umbrella in Julian's shed and that water and electricity are actually natural bed-fellows.

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