T.Rob
I make stuff with code and with wood. Just, you know, not at the same time.
#actuallyautistic #cybersecurity #woodturner
Joined Oct 2022
A neighbor cut down a cedar tree and let me take some. I made this hollow form to give him as thanks for the wood.
Pretty easy to see why I LOVE turning cedar. The colors and figure in this piece are spectacular! It is about 4.5" wide and 3.5" tall. The hole at top is 2" wide. I sanded it to 1500 grit and applied Danish oil. Except for the bark inclusions, it feels like fine silk. You just want to run your hands over it and when you do it warms to the touch.
Learn from my mistakes: Don't feed the oven squirrel! If you do, he invites all his friends.
The two on the right are maple and the two on the left are spalted hackberry, all of which are new. The two bottom center are cherry and the oddball top center is zebrawood.
My kids are usually encouraging when I send them photos of stuff I make but rarely do they respond "I want that!" Surprisingly, last weekend's oven squirrel was one such item and I'm now on the hook for 4 more - one for each kid and one each for a couple of their friends.
These two are made of cherry. Grain is more subtle than the leopardwood but still evokes fur.
I texted this to my wife, then ran into the bedroom and said "Quick, check your phone! I think I just posted a Dick pic to the family chat!"
Which would have been funnier if after opening it she hadn't clutched her chest, faked a heart attack, and croaked "don't joke like that" in a hoarse whisper before collapsing into apparent unconsciousness.
My first-ever fountain pen build came out pretty good. The MAS Pro Table Top Epoxy turned very well with either very sharp gouges or negative-rake carbide, which is good because there's a good bit left to make more blanks.
Finally completed my wife's standing writing desk. 4-ft wide with hidden wireless phone charging, fast USB charging, tablet stand, and dimmable, color-adjust lighting. Flush-mount cable runs keep the underside free of wires.
She liked the bunny inlays so much she appointed them as her Quality Control Inspection Team.
Wife saw an oven squirrel online and asked me to make her one. Husband points achievement unlocked!
Rocky is made of zebrawood and finished with food-safe mineral oil followed by cutting board dressing.
(Why 'oven' squirrel? Use his ears to pull the hot rack out or his paws to push it in.)
My grandson picked a Diamondcast "Oil Slick" ring blank and I had only the one on hand. After turning the previous two (mostly) successfully, I had the confidence to cut into this one. Black ceramic core feels great and is easy to turn. I think he will be pleased.
FINALLY got some turning therapy. #HotOffTheLathe today - Grandson asked for a ring and he NEVER asks me to make him anything, so I put on hold the commissions in the queue and the fountain pens to make this for him.
The pine cone ring was for me and for practice. Grandson gets the ceramic core opal inlay ring... which was also for practice. I wanted to make a couple of rings before cutting into the blank he actually picked.
I was going to get a head start on Christmas crafting but decided it would be a pain in the ass.
Used some MAS Tabletop Epoxy on my wife's new desktop and made some hybrid burl pen blanks with the excess. Up to now I've used Alumilite and Total Boat for turning blanks and I have no idea whether the MAS epoxy will turn well.
These are about 3/4 x 3/4 x 6 inches. Top is purple/black, then orange/green, yellow/blue, and the last one is the overpour from the first 3 blanks.
My wife has a perfume called Neon Moon but I had my glasses off and mistook the name as "Meow Moon." We had a chuckle then got to laughing about how Meow Moon might be branded, then this happened.
Optimist: The glass is half full
Pessimist: The glass is half empty
Scientist: Unless it is in hard vacuum, the glass is always completely full.
Wife [cutting fresh cilantro from herb garden]: Do you want some on your fish?
Me: You know I don't like it. Why do you keep offering it to me?
Wife: Just being polite.
Me: Taking the other person's preferences into account would be polite.
Wife: No, that would be considerate.
Me: Fair enough. Can you be more considerate?
Wife: No.
You'd think after 40 years I'd have learned.
Gee, I wonder if I'm missing anything now that I'm not on birdsite anymore?
<checks birdsite>
Nope. Not missing a thing.
Also for my daughter is this badge reel with a bocote cabochon. Viewed from the side, the grain runs diagonally through the wood which is why the grooves cut into the piece cause the grain to shift. The result reminds me of a moiré hypno-disc pattern. Which is good because she works in a hospital and could dangle it in front of unruly patients chanting "you will calm the fuck down".
Took my daughter to see Steve Hofstetter Thursday night and discovered she doesn't have one of those purse hanger hook thingys. So I made her these today. On the left is bocote and on the right is a lamination of (R-to-L) paduk, walnut, black palm, cherry, and a smidge of maple.
A friend called after my toot abt the drill press & ceiling hoist.
Friend: I'd have helped with that!
Me: You'd have talked my wife into the ceiling hoist for me?
F: No, assembling the drill press.
M: Ah. You think the drill press assembly was the problem and the ceiling hoist was the solution. It's the other way around. I can't get the go-ahead on the hoist without an urgent need.
F: Make me a bowl and a pen and I won't tell her.
This is how I get commissions for woodwork now, apparently.
My 30yo benchtop drill press bit the dust so I splurged on a floor model. I was so excited when it arrived that I took some time off from work to assemble it, only to discover the motor is too heavy for me to lift onto the post!
So my shop upgrade will soon include a ceiling mounted trolley hoist but everything else is on hold until then due to drill parts scattered about the floor and bench.
My wife jokes about moving ourselves into the garage and moving the shop into the house. Seems legit.
They say an octopus can fit into any opening smaller than its beak, so I am attempting to gengineer a beakless octopus. It will be the most invasive species ever, but only against prey that it can gum to death.
Just like my mother-in-law.
T.Rob
I make stuff with code and with wood. Just, you know, not at the same time.
#actuallyautistic #cybersecurity #woodturner
Joined Oct 2022