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It's All In the Process

My previous blog entry was one of 'Impatience For TheWork.'  I had a piece of spalted birch on the lathe, and was anxious to get it hollowed out so I could start on newer pieces waiting for me.  I completed the spalted birch piece with a red cedar collar:

The collar on it was intended to sweep upward in a beautiful cove, standing tall and polished above the spalted birch. In cutting it thin, I destroyed that idea with one dramatic catch, which cut a chunk out of the collar a full two inches down the cove I'd so lovingly completed. The collar, with much gnashing of teeth, then became a narrow rim. It was obvious after that, that I needed to make a lid for it.
 The first lid was an ill fit, so I moved on to a second try.  The second sported a thin, tall finial that comically looked too small on top of the vessel. The third lid was better, but it seemed to emphasize the fact I'd missed a 'fair curve' on the vessel itself. The outer curve flattens toward the bottom instead of continuing in a natural arc:

So, the vessel went back on the lathe over a jamb chuck, and I re-cut the bottom half, allowing the arc of the curve to sweep down to the base.  It was only a small difference, but it made a big difference in the look of the turning.

I am learning to not get too impatient with what I'm trying to do, and I'm finally satisfied!  The vessel is 10" tall overall, and is available for sale at BarbS Woodworks

Impatience for the Work

  I'm wondering if other woodworkers suffer this malady: after thinking through design options and solving many problems, there seems to be a certain threshold that is crossed in thinking through the process of making something.  It isn't intimidation, it isn't fear of failure, and it isn't really impatience. I think it is simply a lack of interest in the piece after the challenges are solved.

  Before final completion, when I can at last 'see' what the finished product is going to look like, and when I know it is stable and no longer threatened with disintegration, I so often feel like setting it aside and getting on to the next one. Here's a vase form of spalted birch that I've set a narrow collar on, shaped and filled with ca glue and sawdust to fill small, unsightly gaps and flaws, sanded wet with oil and successfully hollowed out to about 3/4 of its depth.

  I'm anxious to get this thing completed and off the lathe.  I've little interest in it now.

  And this may be the reason, a 14" walnut blank 3" deep given by a friend, with another below it waiting to be assessed and its shape determined.  Just look at the streaks of color in that side grain!  I cannot Wait to get to it and see what it will reveal.

Meanwhile I have to finish the spalted birch vase.  I'm really just humming along trying to hurry the old project so I can get to the new.  Having so much beautiful wood all at the same time is a curse,  I tell you...it's a curse.  Back to the shop!

  

'Feel Good' woodworking

 Some days, the quiet attraction of this work is just soul-satisfying. The stresses of the world can close in on a person's daily life and make even a bright sunny day feel oppressive, but we woodworkers can always go to our 'cave' for some solace.  Just sitting on a high stool and closing the eyes to take in the smell of natural wood shavings can fill the heart with what is real...can make one see forward to unhindered possibilities in creating something new.   When I put a hand plane to wood, with the tool perfectly fettled for peak performance, and a consistent, full-width shaving peels off under my hand, the 'Ah-h-h-h factor' is a fine reward.  I've kept a few, and used others for packaging or landscape bark. These few hanging in my shop, manage to bring a smile.

  

  Woodworking is a completely tactile experience. It doesn't fade into the ether like software programming, outdated before its completion.  Woodworking is the original 'hands-on' activity, designing and making something intended to last for generations. As skills improve, so do design concepts. There is always a new challenge to take on, new ideas to bring forth. Those curlicue ribbons of wood I've saved make me want to get back to designing something, building something, bringing something to life.  The heart lifts, and it's all about the Potential Act.  Onward then, while the weather is good and the day has just begun...

 

What Turners Call a 'Design Opportunity'

  Finding bug-eaten holes deep through a work piece is always a disappointment.  Deciding what to do about them puts one in a quandry that can last for days.  This piece of Western Red Cedar looked sound as I prepared it for the lathe, but once the cutting began, it revealed a nasty flaw that would leave a 5/8" hole through the side no matter how I cut into it.  I could have drilled a round hole and plugged it with the same wood.  I could have filled it with colored epoxy.  I could have left it alone and titled the piece 'What's Bugging Me.'  Instead, I decided to let the flaw become a feature:

BarbS Woodworks

  Adding a leather strip looped through the hole and decorated with jewelry baubles seemed a nice way to make up for an unattractive flaw.  So, now it is a unique piece of artwork as well as a functional bowl.  This is, in the Turning World, what is called a 'Nice Save.' 

Commissioned Work

  Working to detailed specifications and having to duplicate a work piece was a new experience for me.  This is a commission offered to me by a local turner who had recently moved and hadn't yet bought a new lathe. He was asked to make 14 lamp finials to a customer's design, and offered me the work. Then he mentored me through the steps necessary, and even if I won't receive top dollar for my time, it was worth doing in how much I learned about the process!
  Eight are maple, six are walnut, and they'll sit atop a glass globe and a base made by the buyer. I worked off a CAD drawing done up by the other turner, and having several sets of calipers loaned to me to check dimensions as I turned was a real bonus.  I'm putting more calipers on my shopping list.
  The main lessons I took away from this experience probably apply to all woodworking:  Assume nothing, Check everything, and Never work when you are tired!
  It feels good to have completed the task and to get a "well done."

Using and Re-Using Sandpaper

  I've seen many discussions recently concerning the use of sandpaper, and one of the widely circulated axioms of wisdom seems to be, "Use it up, and throw it away!"  The idea is to prevent the unknowing from overloading and using a bit of sandpaper beyond its useful life.

  What is often missing in this advice is precisely how to extend the life of one's sandpaper. Of course, it does wear out, but there are a couple of things I've been taught to prevent having to buy stock in a company that produces the stuff.  First off, here's a photo of a handy storage system that can be carried around the shop to different workstations. It's helpful in not having to search through piles of used pieces.

It is simply a piece of 3/4" plywood with 1/8" wide grooves cut into it on the table saw.

   For a fine finish, it is important that a new sheet of sandpaper be gently raked over a sharp edge of something like a table saw, or the front edge of the ways on a lathe before use. Even drawing the paper over the square edge of a board will help to make the uneven distribution of granules on its surface become a more consistent size. The old rule of increasing the sanding grits in stages and not skipping a reasonable grit is sound advice,  and gently drawing each one over a sharp edge helps to give a smoother surface to the abrasive, so going from grit to grit in stages will leave fewer gouges from use of the previous grit. 

  It is also important to clean off the remaining sanding dust from the workpiece before starting with the next grit of sandpaper.  And here is the real secret to extending the life of all those used bits of paper:  a crepe block placed near your work, so when the sandpaper becomes loaded it can quickly be drawn across the crepe block and doesn't become so overloaded with dust that it is ineffective.

This particular crepe block comes attached to a plastic base that can be screwed down near a bench area, or screwed onto an independent block of wood and clamped near multiple work stations.  I found this one at Klingspor.

 With the two of these devices set up near the lathe, sanding becomes an efficient process that is highly repeatable and not the nerve-wracking, disorganized effort so many people seem to make it.

  I'd also like to mention a great resource for sanding advice of all kinds, from the Wood Central archives of Russ Fairfield, a well-known wood turner and teacher who recently passed away and is much missed.

Russ's Corner

 
©Barb Siddiqui, use with permission only