Neat woodturning projects
A decoration between the handle and shaft serves as a place to tie the yarn onto. The main points are a handle that fits nicely into a Lady’s hand, a reasonable length to the shaft for winding the wool onto, and a slight taper on the shaft so that the ball, when finished, slides easily off the end. This is a wooden ball winder from Norway.
Local flowers and local woods are a great combination. This example uses glass tubes to hold the flowers in but you could call the vase a weed pot for dried local flowers. Small pieces of local wood would work just as well.
NEAT WOODTURNING PROJECTS HOW TO
Wood is Fun has some pictures showing how to turn a small vase out of off-cuts. On the other hand, a wand is a stirring stick with a thin end! Be creative with the decorations on the handle and careful not to give it to too young of a magician. These are excellent items to practice your spindle turning techniques. A blank at least 1″ in diameter should be used. Spurtles, Stirring Sticks, and Wands Spurtle/stirring stick and icicle tree ornamentĪ spurtle is a stirring stick used to cook oatmeal. You will have to experiment to find the shapes that work best for you. The spindle part for spinning needs to be fairly thin but sturdy enough to survive being a toy. Use a right angle layout square to give you an idea of the angle on the lathe. An obtuse angle (greater than 90 degrees) is better for spinning than a sharp one. Toy tops are turned the same way as fobs but without the hole in the centre. Toy tops Spinning tops turned from Douglas Maple and fruitwood These bowls could be used for catching change on a bedside table or paper clips on a desk.Ĥ. This would allow the bowls to contract and move without splitting, adding character and charm. As the bowls are small you should turn them with quite thin walls, 1/4 ” or less. Crotches of the trees are good spots to take bowls from because that is where the tree is stressed and the figure is formed in the wood. Do be careful to secure the blank to the lathe even though it is a small piece of wood. You could easily include a natural edge to the bowl. These are turned like regular bowls but are usually smaller because of getting branches from an orchard or limbed tree. These can use up lots of small blocks that are produced when you cut out larger items like bowls or billets. It is best to drill out the hold for the chord or chain while the item is still on the lathe. Turn the small blocks between centre and include a spigot to go into a jam chuck or a mechanical chuck. You also don’t need any hardware to produce them. These little items are useful for adding a personal touch to blinds or fans. Bottle tops usually require a greater diameter than for the pens or key chains. The length of the blank will be determined by the pen/key/bottle hardware that you are using. Remember to make the blank larger in diameter as there might be blemishes that need to be adjusted for. I was surprised by the whiteness of Columbia Hawthorne the first time I turned it. Straight branches let you see the texture and grain of the regular wood. These are places where you are more likely to find figure in the wood. Areas to select are points where there are branches or wrinkled bark. Work on larger pieces before cutting out the actual pen blank for the pens you want to turn. You might be able to drill that section out for your brass tube. Pens, Key Chains, and Bottle Toppers Small bowls and pens turned from local woodsīlanks for pens or key chains are small and easy to retrieve from smaller branches. These smaller items are great for filling out price points for craft sales and Christmas venues. Here are 9 ideas for taking some of the smaller pieces in your wood stash and producing useful items from them. Using up smaller branches and cutoffs gives you extra practice, in preparation for a bigger project, while still letting you make some beautiful and useful items to stock your inventory for seasonal sales. So many choices and so little time! One problem with so many choices is the need for practicing technique before tackling a really special burl or grained wood for a large bowl. So what to do with your wood? Sometimes walking into your shop feels like shopping on December 24th.
You’ve found some local wood and it is ready for the lathe. Local woods – Part III 9 surprising things you can make out of local wood