Dear Diary....

Played double duty today taking the next
steps to prepare my stock for upcoming shows. I finally got the 300 pound flame box elder monster rolled out of my trailer and into the garage. Like you see here, my interest is in the quilted look on the outer surface. I know whatever is going on under there is going to look great as a set of special salad tongs. We also took down this bare Black Locust tree today. Still have not learned my lesson on Black Locust...it dulls everything it touches. Crap is so dense and heavy. But, I love how it looks when it takes that high polish and a beautiful color. Also turners, because it has a dense and heavy feel it can be turned thin for a great look, yet have a deceiving weight when lifted. Killer combination to play around with.

Website Update

Go to www.theurbanturner.com and check out our updates and new look!

Upcoming documentary

Last night we started the documentary. While it is not meant as an instructional it will cover a visual tour of a lot of processes that I go through in The Urban Turner Woodshop. More filming is scheduled for next week. Thanks for all your hard work so far, David! We will keep you updated.

Big flame box elder

Yeah now this is how it's done. Thanks to Limb Walkers out of Mukwanago for giving me a heads up on the flame box. These make excellent table platters because a little bit of the knarley bark remains close to the edge if you cut it correctly.
Bellow is an example of how this looks. If you can find a bit of this bumpy box elder, take it and try wrapping the bark over the edge!

Let's get it going! Hibernation time is over!

Well here we are with our first take of the season for The Urban Turner. We have a push this year to have 100 roughed out blanks by the end of the month. On the first day above 40 degrees out we were taking down this Norway Maple. Excellent tree. Lots of wood yielding about 30 quality bowls blanks 14" to 18" inches. Great start to the year!


I really like the look of wet shavings
all over the shop. It looks like some
sort of rain forest scene (right)....

Sculpted Cane Commission

 I wanted to document one of my new commissions; a sculpted cane. I am excited about the creative freedom a cane offers. Traditionally, a cane is used as a wonderful palette on which to carve and paint so we will see how true to tradition we choose to stay. First, I did find the length of the raw material was at the capacity of my 35 inches.

 Along the way I measured for an accurate fit with the handle...

and used a new technique with a bowl gouge. I welcomed the challenge to not use my steady rest because it was going to be fully sculpted I was not concerned about the finished surface quality. I scraped with the gouge at about 50 degrees while equalizing the pressure with my overhand to avoid too much vibration. It worked fine for my purposes here. Any thinner and it would be no good, I will thin it up fine through the hand work...

Black Locust treasure

I love the smell of Black Locust in the morning! I have a friend who needed his cane wood replaced so I have been looking for some branch stock. Lots of crotch wood in this load. Look for it in the future!

I love popcorn bowls!

 Failure is an option! Here is a little insight into the process of developing a production piece. First it must be repeatable. The size and profile must be relative. Below are three attempts at a popcorn bowl. The profile and size has been tweaked a bit until the one on the far right looked like something I can move forward on. Blank is cut from a 12" template and the finished bowl ended up a bit under 10" by 6.5" tall. The final model is then weighed every day from the time it is roughed. When the weight is unchanged for a few days, it is dry and ready for finish/carving. Right now it is losing an oz. of water a day. We will keep and eye on the progress. Basement storage will slow the drying. Green turned it will change to a slightly oval shape. The defining characteristic of our 2012 popcorn bowl is full round bottom. This allows the bowl to rock but not fall over.   

Salad bowl model

Our new Salad bowl features Kaiser design across the base and a slight Ogee profile. Measures 16" by 5.5". Thickness is just under 3/8. Finished in polished mineral oil and wax food safe finish. Heirloom carved details and utensil sets are always available!

We have a new Salad Bowl 2012!

Tip of the day- Bowl Blanks

Tip of the day August 15th, 2012

1. Always chainsaw 90 degrees from your pith line
    because you can never get a quality finish cut
     hitting end grain at an angle.
2. Band saw using a set size of circle templates with
    a hole in the middle. Hold it in place with an awl.
    After it is cut, flip the piece and use the awl to
    register the center on the other side too. Now
    you will have a much easier time centering your
    bowl on the lathe.
3. If one of your sides of the bowl ends up being a
    section that was closer to the pith line, your bowl
    may warp more than you rough out thickness can
    compensate for.
4. I have always had great success drying blanks in
    paper grocery bags. They fit up to a 14 inch bowl.
    Put it in the bag and pack with shavings, then slide
    another bag over the open end. If you stack up a
    few of these bag sandwiches in the corner it is even
    better. The idea being to just slow the free water escape
    and keep the open air off the rough blank.

Let's get into that Walnut

Not for the timid, a 30 pound piece of Walnut crotch from my journey on Tuesday. It is set up to be pretty special so far. I did finish the rough out last night. The figure is spectacular! I look forward to a wonderful large salad bowl or Coffee Table piece by Christmas time. What a gift!

A day of Walnut...and other things....

 Fell into some excellent Walnut today. Drove 45 minutes north but it was totally worth it...at this point. I would have no idea how the day would unfold from this point.

 Well, here is what came next. Twenty minutes later one of the tires shreds on the busy freeway which makes it so wonderful to change to the spare....






Of course, the spare was fairly flat and I had to pray to make it to a gas station, which I did. Then off to Farm and Fleet I went... $176 dollars and an hour  later I had two new tires, and lots of really nice Walnut!

Time to relax and paint the ends of what I am not going to get to for a while. Here's a little advise, always drill into the pith a bit before you paint so you can line up to cut down the pith at the band saw later. All said, it was a great day!

Oak Bowls

One of the great things about the business of woodturning is that even in failure, the material still has use. On an unusually cool summer night in Wisconsin, these bowls serve their noble final purpose on the back patio.

"The specific point of failure is the most opportune time in a mans life. Greet it with eyes wide open. Recognize the good in all things, and be a servant the teacher herein."
                                            Thomas Edison

Magazine photos of my selections- Turn-On Chicago 2012

Bottom View Open Hurricane

Maple hurricane bowl

Standard hurricane Bowl (Standing)

"Guarded Treasure" Oak Twisted Tail Piece

Stuart Batty- Fundamentals of woodturning

1. What  makes woodturning difficult is because it has grain which translates our skill.
2. We are always trying to cut side grain, no matter how the wood in orientated in the chuck.
3. Chucking- 2 elements- accurate and secure. Must re-grip tightening often as wood fibers will compress.
4. Elements to a sharp tool-
Angle of the edge- Lower to number of angle the more the tool self feeds
through the wood. The higher the angle number the more pressure is required in the cut. 40* is the primary angle which is considered neutral.
Shape- 40* on the bevel
5. Practice makes permanent- good or bad.
6. Tool rest factors- Angle, height, Overhang/Length of the handle.
7. Have some water at your grinding station- not to cool the metal, but to lubricate the grinding process.

Aesthetics of wood- How to orientate your log

1. Don't be random when cutting your log.
2. Know what you are making before you hit it with the chainsaw.
3. To be balanced in the end, the rough wood center line needs to go from the bark to the pith (face grain turn).
4. Face grain will always be oval. End grain turning will always be fairly round.
5. Big diameter woods will limit drying movement if you are able to stay further away from the pith.
6. Drying wood moves in all directions in different amounts.
7. Green turned wood can't be sanded effectively until free moisture has been released.

What did I learn from stuart batty?

1. How to clean cut never happens by using your left hand on the push cut. The pull cut is acceptable.
2. I have been finishing my turning with my speed way too slow should be at for over 1000 rpm on finiahed cut.
3. Sharpening with a jig does not allow you to control the angle of the wings.
4. Feet position- knee to start, angle of feet equals angle of cur sweep. Long bowl sweep outside foot in finished spot.

More from day one at Turn On Chicago Seminar

John Jordan during his carving seminar

An excellent example of Dixies work

The instant gallery at Turn On Chicago.

Dixie Biggs is my new hero

Her stuff is not really even conceivable in pictures. If you get a chance to pick 1 up and see it you'll know the surface quality is exquisitely detailed.

This one is Sold today for $2,500!