The Fun Begins

While we were in Colorado during the summer, we gathered several pieces of dead Aspen so I could turn bowls out of it. Now that my lathe is set up, I needed to start working on the project. I have been waiting for the man who taught me turning last year to return for the winter. Finally, I resorted to the internet to find information on how to select what part of a lot works best and which way to have the grain going.

This morning, John cut a piece off one of the logs and I set it up to start turning a bowl. It was spinning on the lathe

and then it was spinning off the lathe! Not what I intended.

One piece ended up on the floor across the room.

Only a small piece was left on the lathe. Obviously, the wood was rotten and two weak to work on.

So we choose another log of Aspen. Here I am holding the log for John to cut with our hand saw.

This log was better wood. So I began making a real mess in the shop.

And a mess on me.

The good news is, the wood stayed on the lathe and I was able to shape it.

It's not done. I hope to use the part I cut off the top to make a lid and I will have a box. I will have a lot of sanding to do by hand because I didn't want to keep working down the inside until I cut through the bottom, something I did last year. I'll show you the completed project in the next week or two, if it works out. Right now, it's looking pretty good.