Peter Brown's ShopTime

    Making a Super Mario Bros Mushroom Birdhouse turned from a log. This build was a lot of fun and I think it will make a geeky addition to my garden! Getting the last coat of lacquer This was turned from a pear tree that came down in a storm a couple winters back. It is easy wood to work with and turned easy. The trick was hollowing out the base.

I've gotten a few question on how to turn this. I might do things differently then others, so here is a quick and I believe easy process for turning bird ornaments. Start with a 1 1/2 to 2 inch spindle blank in your chuck Now rough it to a cylinder. Mark and drill your two holes with a hand drill. I think mine are 1/2 and 1/8. Whatever looks right. (twist bit not brad point) Then hollow it out down to the bottom hole you drilled. leaving 1/4 or so of wall. ( I hog it out with a large forstner in the tailstock then clean up with a round nose scraper) Next shape the outside and then part off the base from the rest of the blank. Now with the stock you have left you will make a jam chuck to hold the base True up the face with a scraper. Then with your parting tool make a tenon (1/4 or so) to match the hollow in the base. Stop frequently and check. The mating should be snug but not too tight. Mount the base and turn the bottom. (light cuts!) Now sand and finish. The base is done. Now fo...

It's Christmas in July... Another fun challenge at the WoodNet Turners Forum . Mine was mediocre in comparison, but I learned some new techniques and enjoyed it. Plus once I'm done with my cabinet build, I'll probably make some more of these. Nothing improves results as well as practice!