More Wood Stuff

"What did you learn this week Plutus?" I hear you ask. Well, aside from the fact that it is possible for an entire British summer to pass with only one solitary nice day, I learnt a bit more about wood. Last week was manual turning, this week I harnessed the almighty power of electricity to make my life easier. And easier it was! I turned a chunk of laburnum into a corkscrew handle, a piece of yew into a bottle stop and a piece of mahogany into a bowl. These are all a much more refined finish that my green wood pieces. Last week, after the final pass with a skew chisel, the only finish needed was a burnish with a handful of wood shavings. This week's pieces were sanded with four grades of sand paper, buffed with webrax and finally polished with wax or oil. Much finer finish that makes even my non-symmetrical corkscrew handle look good! I gained experience with several new tools that suit electric lathe work. I had great fun, the only down side is that I am impatient and it can be slightly frustrating when starting out with a new technique and a new tool.

As is becoming customary, here's a pic (albeit quite a bad quality and poorly composed one):


Now for a little rest and some wine...