Peter Brown's ShopTime

Block O Sycamore Cut to about 8" on band saw Rounded out with roughing gouge. added 1/4 tenon for holding in chuck Then I used the division to drill out a depth hole for hollowing. I put a burr all around the edge for scraping the bowl shape from the inside.  Here is my hollowing tool. 1/2 round nose scraper. Hollowing endgrain sucks. It just does.... Took forever and I had a hard time getting a nice final shape. The bottom was a bit blocky, but with the lenght of my goblet and overhang of my scraper it was the best I could manage. I stuffed a shop towel in the bowl and shaped the outside about 30 minutes of sanding with 100 then 180. Again given the shape, getting to the bowls bottom was problematic at best. Added some BLO just to see. Not bad. spindle gouge detail gouge All done except a finish. I put a coat of wipe on poly. Will add 2-3 more before it comes inside.

My new favorite finish! I added WOP to my maple bowl that I finished in April. SOLD

This was free piece of wood from my woodturning club. It's the first time I've worked with ash. A fairly hard wood, but worth the effort. I really like the sapwood on this piece and all the hairline cracks. They give this rather uniform wood some character. Size is approx 7" in diameter and about 2" high.  Finished with a layer of shellac to pop the grain, then 3 coats of danish oil. SOLD

Now I know what woodworkers mean when they say this. I was gluing up a couple of face frames when i came up short. I had no idea I had so few clamps. Looks like I need to invest in some more... Yes, that is an edge guide being used as a clamp. I was getting desperate.  It worked  by the way.

I picked up an old board from a local salvage yard. It was charred black on one side (preserved a bit on the rim) and the lady gave me a good deal on it. I sat under my bench for almost a year before I decided to tackle it. When I cut into the blank, it smelled strongly of wine. After looking at the growth rings I knew what it was. The vineyards here in wine country used local redwood in the construction of their larger capacity wine barrels. The vineyards have been moving to Stainless Steel tanks for years, and as such I guess this blank is about 100 years old depending on the vineyard it came from. I left it intentionally large at the base to preserve as much of the wine soaked side as possible (the dark line) and even through the danish oil it has a strong smell of wine. SOLD That dark line is where the wine stained the wood. Still smells strongly of wine after turning and finishing the bowl. The rim still has some of the charred marks from the inside o...

So I picked up a bag of 3/8 threaded inserts to make a tap handle. I have to say. those inserts are a freaking pain in the rear, to not only drive but center well in end grain. Of course I have to credit my poor installment for my first successful tap handle. Because one of my inserts was driven at an angle during the process, I was left with an off center blank. I decided to turn it for practice, but actually ended up liking it. The flat spot has a nice feel in your hand. Like it was meant to be there. It almost reminds me of an exclamation point. As if to say, "Beer!" Claro Walnut 7" CA Finish SOLD

Just bought a bench vice. How did I go this long without one? I have no idea. I've already used it several times since it's installation (a less than perfect one) Added some maple faces to it and it works like a charm. Buyer says it's from the 1960's. It's a Craftsman and the stamp on the back shows that it was made in Japan. Approx 7" opening.