Over the years, I have admired butterfly patches (also known as dovetails, dutchmen, bowties, or pewas) in turned pieces. Aside from becoming a primary visual feature, they add value to the piece by demonstrating the maker’s skill. Additionally, being able to turn a finished bowl with a crack in it extends your usable wood inventory.

Adapting to a Curved Surface

Butterfly inlays are common in flat work. Traditionally, the maker scribes around a hand-cut butterfly, drills or routs out most of the recess, then uses a chisel to work to the line for a perfect fit. But I wondered how to transfer that process to the curved surface of a bowl. I was doubly impressed with turners who had used butterfly inlays in turned work.

The opportunity for me to learn came when I offered to repair a broken bowl for a desperate customer. A bowl (made by another turner) had been dropped and all but broken in half. I researched various methods of repair and landed on the one I knew I could do with the tools I already had.

I decided to use butterfly patches using a router with an inlay guide-bushing set and a pattern to make both the recess and the insert. I chose a different bowl to illustrate the process in this article.

Note that the grain of the butterfly inlay must run 90 degrees to the crack to give it full strength. If it runs the same direction, the butterfly itself could eventually break. Usually, I prefer the butterfly to be of a contrasting wood, but that is a matter of preference. Choose wood that is strong but relatively easy to work by hand because you will typically have to do a little tweaking with a chisel or knife. I usually use black walnut for dark patches and birch for light patches.

Router Considerations

I originally used an old Craftsman router with good success, but its motor was often misaligned, and it required a lot of care to advance the bit and keep it in the same relative position. Although the handles were fairly high on the base, I didn’t find it a problem, but when I tried a friend’s small plunge router (trying to solve the misalignment issue) with even higher handles, I found it had a very “top heavy” feel and was hard to maintain fine control.

I decided to get a new router, a smaller one for ease of handling, with as much power as my old router, and handles as low as possible. Variable speed and a soft start are also nice features. But most important of all, it had to be able to stay on center when I advanced the bit. While there were several choices on the market, I bought a Bosch Colt.

Inlay Bushings and Router Bits

Inlay bushings are made to attach easily to most router bases, with the face flush to the bottom of the base. A centered protrusion around the bit follows a pattern and has a removable collar that allows for negative and positive shapes (recess and insert). Leave the collar in place to create the recess, and remove it to make the insert. Before you purchase an inlay-bushing set, confirm that it will work with your router base. In my case, I used the lathe to turn a custom router base from 1/4″- (6mm) thick acrylic, so it would accept the bushing with a perfect fit.

While it would be possible to make the cuts using a bit with straight flutes, spiral cutters make much cleaner cuts. Downward spirals leave a very clean cut at the surface but tend to load the recess with shavings. Upward spirals clear the chips better, but they tend to rip the surface of the wood. So if you find yourself installing a butterfly in a finished bowl, an upward spiral would be a poor choice. My preference is the downward spiral cutter; I simply clear the chips between levels of cut. Router bits are available in 1/8″ (3mm) and 1/4″ diameters, so you must take that into account when choosing a removable collar for an inlay bushing.

Make an Inlay Pattern

As far as I can tell, all commercially available inlay patterns are made from acrylic, so I had a friend with a laser engraver make my first one. I found pretty quickly, however, that I wanted more sizes because the inlays should be in proportion to the turned piece. So that I wouldn’t have to constantly go cap inhand to my friend’s shop, I came up with an easy method of making the router patterns from wood. Choose a hardwood like hard maple, oak, or similar.

A pattern should be large enough for the router to ride on it securely without rocking. About 3″ × 5″ (8cm × 13cm) is good, as it will work for most “bowl-size” butterflies and still provide a stable platform. If you had to make a significantly larger butterfly, consider increasing the outside dimensions to maintain stability. I now make my patterns 3/8″ (10mm) thick, rather than the more common 1/4″, for two reasons. First, I found (sadly, during an IRD) that because the pattern was barely thicker than the inlay bushing, the router teetered on the bushing on a small-diameter bowl, messing up the cut. Second, a thicker pattern allows more room for shavings, which helps to prevent build-up.

An inlay pattern requires a top, bottom, and four center sections cut to your preferred dovetail angle for the butterfly. After some trial and error, I chose to make my dovetail angles 15 degrees.

Make a simple clamping device and glue and clamp the components, as shown. This photo shows the completed inlay pattern, trimmed and ready to use.

Rout the Inlays

As described earlier, the router bushing set has a removable collar. Take the collar off, leaving the small-diameter “follower” when cutting inserts. Before adhering the pattern to the wood with hot-melt glue, I put masking tape on both the pattern and the wood being machined. This allows for easy removal of the pattern and the hot-melt glue.

Rout as many inserts as you can get from a piece of waste wood, making them as thick as you want. I make mine at least 1/4″ thick, from wood that is at least 1/2″ to 3/4″ (13mm to 19mm) thick. You’ll have to re-attach the pattern for each insert. When you have as many routed as you want, cut the inserts out at the bandsaw. If you don’t have a bandsaw, this can be done with a handsaw or table saw with a zero-clearance table insert.

Rout the Recess

Butterfly inlays are generally “blind,” meaning they don’t go all the way through the vessel wall. If you have a thin-walled vessel, where the butterfly does go right through, be aware that the small amount of handwork in fine-tuning the recess must be precise. Any cuts that aren’t 90 degrees to the surface of the bowl can show up as a gap on the inside.

I like to re-mount the bowl on my lathe at an angle, using the face of the chuck and the tailstock to position the work area as horizontal as possible. Determine where you want the butterfly inlay, place the pattern on the crack, trace around the inside of the pattern with a pencil, then check to see if the shape, orientation and proportions are to your liking.

Place masking tape outside those lines in any place you expect to place hot-melt glue (usually the full outside dimension of the pattern). I use blue painter’s tape because it tends to conform to the compound curve of a bowl nicely.

Apply a spot of hot-melt glue at the two points that form the “waist” of the butterfly, and secure the pattern in place. Once it is in place, glue wedges under the four corners, or wherever possible, to provide adequate support while routing.

Important: Be careful to maintain the angle of the pattern so that it is tangent to the surface of the bowl. I usually have a selection of wedges at the ready, dry-fit them, then apply a dab of glue on the top and bottom of the wedges before affixing them. Having long wedges keeps your fingers away from the hot hot-melt glue.

Butterfly inlays just 1/8″ thick will provide adequate strength, so I rout the recess at least that deep, plus an allowance for any finishing cuts on the bowl during turning. After setting the router-bit depth so that it is contacting the surface of the bowl, I put a piece of tape on the router’s depth scale at the full depth to make it easier to see. I like to use one of the corners for the “home” corner, extend the bit while the router is running, then move the router clockwise around the pattern.

Be sure to remove any wood remaining in the center as well. I usually take a 1/8″-deep cut, remove the router to clear the chips, go back to the home position, then lower the bit the rest of the way. If you can’t lower the bit while the router is running (like my old Craftsman), extend the cutter away from the pattern and enter the cut somewhere away from the edge before moving it to your home corner. Always let the bit come to a full stop before removing the router from the pattern.

After routing the recess, it will be necessary to cut the dovetail corners to a sharp angle, as the router will leave them rounded. Alternately, you could leave the rounded corners as is, in which case you would have to not only round the corners of the insert to match but also do all the fine-tuning on the insert, not the recess.

Fit and Glue the Inlay

Test the fit of the inlay in the recess to see which way it fits the best, then mark an “X” on one end so you will always test the fit in the same position. The inlay bushing creates a fit that is actually “too” exact, so the fit will have to be relaxed a bit. Place the insert over the recess, hugging one side of the recess with one side of the insert, and scribe around the other side and both ends with a sharp craft knife.

Use that line to locate the chisel to take off fine shavings as required. Alternately, you can work the sides of the butterfly insert to adjust the fit. It is safer and allows greater accuracy to hold the insert with a clamp while making these cuts. You can touch the ends on a belt sander or use your chisel. I’ve taken both approaches and have found that adjusting the recess is easier.

Chamfer the inside edges of the insert to make for an easy entry into the recess. The fit should be a nice push fit or even a tap fit. Don’t put it all the way in until you apply glue, as it probably won’t come back out without damage.

While cyanoacrylate (CA) glue is acceptable, I prefer regular woodworking glue, as I feel it offers a more permanent hold. If possible, drive the inlay home with a clamp, making a glue bond at the bottom of the recess. Depending on the glue brand you use, clamping is usually required for an hour, with full strength in 24 hours. However, there is very little stress on a well-fit butterfly while turning, so it is reasonable to turn in an hour. I have never had an insert move during turning.

With regular glue, there is usually some squeeze-out into the crack. I try to “dam” the crack with a sliver of wood to prevent that. You could also remove the squeeze-out with a series of pointy blades, slivers of wood, and/or dental picks. With the butterfly inlay glued in place, continue turning the bowl as you normally would.

Closing Thoughts

Generally, cracks that need a repair are obvious, but some aren’t. My feeling is that when the wood’s moisture content has reached equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere, as with a roughturned bowl that has sufficiently dried, it will not move or crack further. So if a crack is clearly minor, while others on the same bowl have been patched, most people will understand that the bowl will remain stable in its current state.

I am often asked if filling a crack (along with using a butterfly) is a good idea. If you have a salad bowl with a crack low on the walls, filling the crack would maintain the bowl’s functionality. But for more aesthetic pieces, I would leave it unfilled. You may also just simply want to fill it. In either case, I would fill after inserting the butterfly, in case the placement of the butterfly breaks the bond between the filler and the wood.

When I teach new turners, I emphasize the need to honor the wood, to give it their best effort. Using butterflies to salvage a broken piece or to make use of wood with natural imperfections is a way of honoring the wood. The Japanese call the art of repairing broken pottery vessels kintsugi. Cracks are part of the “scenery” and history of a vessel and should be honored, rather than disguised. A butterfly repair on wood is no less attractive than figured grain and becomes part of the story of a wooden vessel.

Ed Pretty has been turning wood for more than sixty years, initially learning traditional spindle techniques from his father. After retiring from a thirty-six-year career as a professional firefighter, Ed now turns full time. Ed offers an interactive remote demo (IRD) on crack repair in turned bowls. Learn more at edswoodturning.com.

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The idea of a small lidded container for holding pills, sewing needles, toothpicks, or garden seeds will probably conjure up different images for all of us. When we think of making a lidded box on the lathe, a long, narrow shape may not be the first form that comes to mind. I have turned many pill boxes over the years; however, calling this container a pill box might limit ideas for design variations. Regardless of the box’s intended use, choosing to make a small item just for the pure joy of making it might be reason enough. And whatever you call it — an ornamental case, a box, lidded tube, or even an etui — it ultimately is a lidded container with an atypical shape and design. As I present my procedure for turning this delightful little box, you will discover it is a project ripe for exploring options.

Etui: an Ornamental Case

French in origin, this small ornamental case, usually featuring a hinged lid, dates to the early 17th century. It was designed primarily for women to hold scissors, needles, cosmetics, perfume, or miniature writing sets.

They were mostly made of silver, ivory, bone, leather, gold, or enamel, and, not surprisingly, woodturners have adapted the form for the lathe as a long, narrow lidded box. Past President of the Yellowstone Woodturners Bruce Blackketter, now of Joplin, Missouri, turned his own version, as shown.

Material and Design Choices

Materials suitable for this small container include wood, cast resin, acrylic, and other man-made plastics. Some design choices may affect the material you choose. For example, when considering a threaded connection or a slip fit for the lid, material choices make a difference. For a thread-chasing project, I might select a hard, dense material such as African blackwood or a two-part cast resin. For a nice friction-fit connection, any material, hard or soft, will suffice. For a lidded box that holds my daily pills when traveling, a nice tight suction fit will hold the container together safely. But if you prefer more security, nothing beats a threaded connection.

The focus of this article will be turning a box using spalted cherry with a slip-fit, or friction-fit, connection of the lid.

The old maxim, form follows function, may be front and center in this discussion. If the intended use for this small object is to securely hold pills, needles, or toothpicks, long and narrow is a better design. Perhaps arriving at the best design requires first deciding what the container will hold. A prototype made from a suitable scrap of wood costs little in either time or material and may be the best method of determining the proper inside volume. Starting with a very small female opening in the lid will dictate the size of the opening in the base at right. Consequently, the opening is very small. Proper sizing of both the lid and base openings will provide the maximum volume for your project. The photo shows the completed lid above the base, which is chucked in pin jaws. In the finished box, the inside diameter (ID) of the lid is 25/32″ (20mm) and the ID of the base is 19/32″ (15mm).

With a rather long cylindrical form, the usual shape and design possibilities available in “boxes” that woodturners typically make may be difficult to apply. Fibonacci’s Golden Ratio, which is sometimes used to determine the lid-to-box ratio in lidded boxes, may not be optimal for an etui-inspired box. For my own favorite design, I lean toward long flowing lines with delicate details

As for etui dimensions, a good place to start is with a 1″ (25mm) square blank, 3″ (8cm) long. The dimensions of your own project will depend largely on the intended use of your container.

Turning Process

In the following steps, I chuck the blank directly into pin jaws, eliminating the need to form a tenon, or spigot.

This process does require alternative methods for reverse-mounting the lid and base (jam-fitting), which I’ll discuss later.

Start by turning the blank to a cylinder using a spindle-roughing gouge . With the tailstock removed, true up the end of the blank with a reverse and true up the other end.

With the rounded workpiece chucked up in the pin jaws, part the base section from the lid using a parting tool.

Turn the Lid

I drill a recess in the lid using a 5/8″ (16mm) Forstner bit. By drilling the recess in the lid, rather than hollowing the lid by hand, the walls are perfectly straight and parallel. Sand and apply a finish to the inside of the lid. If your container is to hold medication, it may be prudent not to apply any finish at all.

Remove the lid from the chuck, and mount the base section. The lid will mount to the base by way of a friction fit on a tenon at the end of the base, so I form that tenon using a small beading and parting tool.

Sneak up on a good fit by cutting and testing the connection repeatedly, until you have a snug fit. At first, I attach the lid to the tenon with a tighter than necessary connection while I complete the turning of the lid and add decorative elements. This connection can be fine-tuned for a more serviceable fit in a later step.

With the lid jam-fitted onto the tenon of the base, I use a beading tool to add some decoration to the top of the box and to the area near the join.

I complete the lid by sanding, applying an abrasive paste, applying a friction polish, and finally buffing to a nice sheen.

Wood Jam Chuck

A jam chuck is a workholding method, or fixing, that makes use of a tight friction fit, usually of the workpiece onto a piece of scrap mounted in a chuck or on a faceplate. This operation is accomplished by carefully turning the jam chuck to the correct size. A caliper can be used at first, followed by test-fitting until the two components mate securely together.

One key benefit is that it does not require tailstock support, allowing total access to a piece while completing the turning and finishing. Note that for larger pieces, tailstock support is recommended when possible. My favorite tools for this operation are a ½” (13mm) skew chisel and 3/8″ (10 mm) beading/parting tool. Both can be used in either cutting or scraping mode and will serve to accomplish the task.

I start with the skew presented in a cutting orientation to remove the bulk of wood . Next, I use the beading/parting tool to scrape the surface and make minor adjustments. Sneak up on a good fit by cutting and testing the connection repeatedly.

Correcting a Loose Fit

When you are learning to make jam chucks, it is common to remove too much wood, creating a fit that is too loose. Several options are available to tighten up the connection and make it more secure. One is to lightly spray the jam chuck with water, which will swell the wood fibers for a better fit. This can also be accomplished by applying a layer of wax. Another idea is to add a layer of tissue paper or paper towel between the jam chuck and the workpiece to help take up the slack. Finally, if the failed jam chuck is a piece of waste wood, save it for a future project and start again with another scrap.

Turn the Base

I drill the opening in the base with a 1/2″ (13mm) bradpoint bit. I make this opening as large as possible to allow for more volume inside the box. Note that if you drill too wide a hole in the base, the walls of the tenon will become too thin. Maintain ample thickness here so you won’t weaken the tenon that holds the lid.

To turn the rest of the box body, I reverse-mount the work onto a jam chuck made from a scrap of dowel mounted in the chuck.

I use a beading/parting tool as well as a small spindle/detail gouge to shape the base and add decorative details. At this point, I finetune the lid-to-base connection to my desired fit—not too tight, but not so loose that the lid will fall off.

The photo shows a good view of the dowel used to chuck up the base for final turning and finishing. At no point do I chuck up either the completed lid or base directly in the pin jaws. Jam chucking eliminates the possibility of marring the surface of the wood.

Threaded Lid option

The steps in making this project are similar if not identical to the process most turners use for making a lidded box. Adding threads to the female recess and the male tenon may slightly alter your approach to completing this container. A threaded connection will certainly add more security to the lid’s fit. Since most woodturners do not have the skills for chasing threads by hand, using a thread-chasing jig might be an alternative. If you prefer to add a threaded connection to this project, watch my video, “A Small Ornamental Container,” available on my YouTube channel, @wyomingwoodturner.

Conclusion

I find a certain joy in turning miniatures. Usually, a different approach and a higher degree of precision is required. You can transform a small bit of scrap wood or even a pen blank into a work of art. Many small items, from pills to batteries, can be held in this narrow-lidded box. However, no reason is needed for turning one other than the sheer pleasure of turning your own little ornamental case.

Sam Angelo retired in 2011 after forty years in public education. He is currently the president of the Yellowstone Woodturners, an AAW chapter in Billings, Montana. Sam has published hundreds of videos on his YouTube channel, @wyomingwoodturner, including one on making a small box, as shown in this article. He offers turning classes and continues to turn daily in his shop.

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I enjoy turning large platters from highly figured woods. Highly figured woods are beautiful, but they present special challenges for woodturners. They tear out readily and ripple if sanded excessively. In this article, I will explain how to cut highly figured woods successfully — to turn them absolutely smooth and tearout-free right off the tool. This reduces the need for sanding and thereby avoids rippling, resulting in gallery-quality woodturnings.

A Challenging Material

The figure in wood is created by irregular wood fibers. Think of wood fibers as a bundle of tiny cellulose straws. In straight-grained woods, the straws are arranged together in straight lines, hence the name straight-grained. But in figured woods, the cellulose straws grow in irregular patterns. The more irregular the patterns, the more figured the wood. The sides of the cellulose straws appear lighter and more reflective, while their open ends appear darker, creating beautiful patterns of light and dark.

As woodturners, we know that cutting into sidegrain (the sides of the straws) is easy, but cutting into endgrain (the ends of the straws) is more difficult and often produces tearout. As figured wood turns on the lathe, we are continuously cutting into a mixture of side- and endgrain fibers. Without specialized techniques, tearout is inevitable.

More sanding is not the answer. Excessive sanding on highly figure woods creates ripples because sidegrain and endgrain are intermixed, and the sidegrain abrades much more rapidly.

Ready Your Tools

For most of my woodturning, I use gouges with cutting edges ground at about 40 degrees. On straight-grained woods, these gouges cut fast and clean. But on highly figured woods, the 40-degree cutting edge tends to get under the irregular fibers of dry wood and tear them out. If the gouge is sharpened with a 55-degree bevel, however, it has far less tendency to get under the irregular endgrain fibers. So for finishing cuts on highly figured woods, I prefer a gouge sharpened at 55 degrees.

A dull gouge with a 55-degree bevel will hardly cut at all, but a very sharp gouge will cut like a dream. Dull tools always cause tearout, always! So keep your tools sharp. For finishing cuts on dry wood, I prefer a gouge with a U-shaped flute. Why? The U flute is broader at the bottom, and if the wings are not swept back, the nose of the tool has a longer, straighter cutting edge. If the gouge is presented to the workpiece with the bevel rubbing and the cutting edge held almost parallel to the direction of travel of the spinning wood, the cutting edge slices the wood fibers smoothly and beautifully, minimizing tearout and producing fine, hair-like shavings.

For years, I used tools made of M2 steel, which is a wonderful, conventional high-speed steel. But in recent years, I have upgraded to tools made of particle metal. I prefer them because the cutting edge of a particle-metal tool is richly supplied with tiny, uniformly distributed, carbides. There are many excellent particle metals. My personal preference is CPM 10V (an A11 metal), which contains almost 10% vanadium. Vanadium carbides are particularly hard and abrasion-resistant, which is why tools rich in vanadium stay sharp longer. For finishing cuts, I sharpen with a 600- grit Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) wheel. It gets particle-metal tools wonderfully sharp, so they cut highly figured woods cleanly and stay sharp longer.

Sharp Tools = Better Results

Keeping tools very sharp is fundamental to success when turning highly figured woods. To get the best results, take advantage of the technology improvements in both tool steels and grinders. Consider upgrading your tools to particle-metal. They offer significant advantages over conventional tools.

I grind and sharpen my tools on two low-speed 8″ (20cm) grinders, each fitted with two CBN wheels. One grinder has an 80-grit wheel for rough-shaping tools and a 180-grit wheel for sharpening negative-rake scrapers. The other grinder has a 350-grit wheel for sharpening gouges used for rough-shaping platters and bowls and a 600-grit wheel for sharpening gouges used for finishing cuts. Consider replacing your old wheels with CBN as soon as your budget allows it. You’ll be amazed at how much better they are.

Your grinder setup should invite you to sharpen frequently. The necessity to fiddle with anything on a grinder is a disincentive to grinding. My platforms are always set at the correct angles for my gouges and scrapers, and I never move the platforms. I can quickly regrind every tool and be back at the lathe in just seconds.

Two-step Turning Process

I advocate using a two-step turning process. I remove 99% of the wood with my gouges, but before sanding, I smooth and refine every square millimeter of the surface with negative-rake scrapers. These tools can smooth curves, crisp-up transitions, and remove every vestige of tearout, getting the workpiece “perfect” before any sanding commences. Negative-rake scrapers are particularly effective on dry highly figured woods.

You might be wondering…If the surface is “perfect,” why sand at all? Under magnification, the burr on the cutting edge of a freshly sharpened NRS looks like sandpaper. It smooths the wood beautifully but inevitably leaves a pattern of fine scratches. Light sanding removes these scratches and prepares the workpiece for a gallery-quality finish. I hand-sand, usually beginning with 220-grit sandpaper, progressing through 400 grit, and ending with a very slightly dampened 500-grit Abralon pad. This process removes all of the fine scratches left by the NRS.

Negative-Rake Scrapers

Unlike traditional scrapers, negative-rake scrapers have a bevel on both the top and bottom, ground to the same angle. You can customize their edge profiles to match the surfaces of your workpiece.

A negative-rake scraper need not be heavy. Since effective scraping requires a very delicate touch, I prefer a lightweight tool. And since it is a finishing tool, it should be “floated” delicately across the wood with almost no forward pressure on the tool. It should not be used to remove much wood, but instead only to smooth the surface. Used correctly, a negative-rake scraper produces fine, hair-like shavings, not dust.

At the Grinder

I set my grinding platform at 22.5 degrees so, after grinding both sides, the included angle at the cutting edge is 45 degrees.

As the scraper is ground, a burr forms on the upper side of the grind, and in use, the scraper is held horizontally on the toolrest, burr-side up. Feel the upper edge of the tool as it comes off the grinder to make sure it has a good burr. When the burr is gone, the tool must be resharpened immediately, as the burr is the only part of the scraper that cuts. When the burr has worn away, the tool is dull and will do more harm than good. But when a freshly sharpened negative-rake scraper is used correctly, it is very effective in removing tearout on figured woods.

In Summary

Keep your tools very sharp. A dull tool will always tear the wood, and heavily sanding figured woods may cause a different problem—rippling. Take advantage of new technologies by using particle-metal tools sharpened on CBN wheels.

When making finishing cuts on highly figured woods, choose a gouge with a U-shaped flute, ground to a 55-degree bevel. Then smooth and refine the entire surface of the workpiece with negative-rake scrapers, getting everything “perfect” right off the tool before sanding. Sand lightly but thoroughly before applying a finish.

Tom Wirsing is a physicist, woodturner, furniture maker, and a former AAW Board member and president. A past president of the Front Range Woodturners (Denver), Tom lives on a ranch in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where he turns wood, builds furniture, and grazes Angus cattle. For more, visit thomaswirsing.com.

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Glass pumpkins have turned into a huge industry, and my wife loves them, so I wondered how a wood pumpkin would go over. Turns out, they go over very well. They are fun to make, and I have sold every one I’ve ever made. Let’s take a look at how to make them. The basic process involves turning, hollowing, and carving, which is quite similar to processes used by John Jordan and Avelino Samuel, but with a vessel shaped like a pumpkin.

Sometimes, I color the pumpkins with wood bleach and/or paint. Oh, and you have to make the finial look like a pumpkin stem, which is also turned and carved. There are myriad ways to carve in wood; the following is the process I use, but certainly other methods can be used to achieve excellent results.

Shape the Pumpkin

For the pumpkin I made to illustrate this article, I chose a piece of Norfolk Island pine. A set of branches was at the top of the log, so I decided to see if I could incorporate them in the top of the pumpkin. The log initially was about 14″ (36cm) long and 7″ (18cm) diameter, so the first thing I did was cut it to length for a good height-to-width ratio for a pumpkin; I kept the remainder of the log for the stem.

Before I mounted the log on the lathe, I searched the Internet for photos of real pumpkins to help guide me as I shaped my pumpkin. Since I wanted to retain the Norfolk Island pine branches on top, I wanted a pumpkin with a fairly flat top. I often print a picture and keep it near the lathe for easy reference during turning.

Mount the work between centers, rough-turn your pumpkin, and form a chucking tenon at the headstock side. Then begin refining its shape. The apex of a pumpkin’s curve is usually about midway up, and that worked well for my pumpkin. I was able to start at the center, make similar shaping cuts in both directions, and then come back and blend the curves in the middle.

Since I was turning a larger workpiece in spindle orientation (with the grain running parallel to the lathe’s bed ways), a spindleroughing gouge was a good choice for most of the shaping. As I started seeing what the piece would look like, I decided to deviate from the photo and make my pumpkin a little taller than I had intended. A taller pumpkin would enhance the lines of the Norfolk Island pine branches and the spalting in this log.

Hollow the Pumpkin

Remount the work in a chuck, and begin the hollowing process by drilling a hole with a large Forstner bit. This creates a good starting point for hollowing, using whatever hollowing tools you are comfortable with.

When I hollow my pumpkins, I leave the walls quite a bit thicker than I do for most hollow forms. There are two reasons for this. First, you will be carving into the sides, so a little extra wood for the grooves is needed. And second, real pumpkins are pretty heavy.

One of the things I remember from my youth is picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch that were too heavy for my young body to handle; I want to evoke that feeling with my wood pumpkins. I want them to feel like you are picking up a real pumpkin, so my final wall thickness is typically about 3/4″ (19mm).

After the piece is hollowed, turn a recess in the top to later accept a spigot at the base of the stem. I have made pumpkins with wide openings, like you might see if you carved a jack-o-lantern at Halloween, but generally I prefer a small opening, where just the stem is removable.

After I have completed the hollowing, I give the piece a light sanding so I can evaluate the wood for the placement of the grooves. In this case, there were two bark inclusions that stood out.

I could have left the inclusions, as real pumpkins aren’t perfect, but I decided to fill them with epoxy and sawdust. I prefer West System’s G-Flex epoxy, as it is designed to accommodate wood movement, so I mixed up a small batch and added some of the shavings left over from hollowing.

Form the Pumpkin’s Grooves

Norfolk Island pine can look rather plain until you oil it. To better see where I wanted the grooves, I added oil to the piece, which really made the grain and spalting stand out.

Pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes and can have many thin grooves, a few bold ones, or anywhere in between. Using the Norfolk Island pine branches as a guide, I decided to make eight deep grooves; good thing I left plenty of wall thickness to work with.

Using my Harvey Fein-inspired router setup with a small-radius grooving bit, I routed the grooves into the pumpkin. This step could be done by power-carving or even handcarving, but I find the router makes quick work of this process.

After routing the grooves, I rounded their edges over using a series of rasps, then refined them with files and sandpaper. I have found that for carving on curved surfaces, especially in endgrain wood, Kutzall rasps are great tools. They aren’t as sensitive to grain direction as traditional rasps, and they cut on both the push and pull strokes, making this process quick and easy.

Make a Stem

The stem does not have to be from the same wood as the pumpkin, but I decided to use the remaining piece cut off from the Norfolk Island pine log. When I started making the stem, I hadn’t yet decided how I wanted to color it, but having grain that matched the pumpkin offered some nice options.

To make the stem, you could simply start with a scrap of wood and begin carving, but since I had a pretty big chunk of wood, I decided to use the lathe to remove the bulk of the material, accounting for a curve in the stem. Using the lathe also allowed me to form two tenons—one for mounting the stem in a chuck and one for fitting the stem into the recess at the top of the pumpkin. It is important to measure the tenon that will fit into the pumpkin accurately, as it will be difficult to re-turn it once the stem is carved. Ultimately, you may have to fine-tune the recess in the pumpkin to fit the stem.

After turning the stem, I still had a lot of wood to cut away, but you can see from the lines I drew that the turned curve established the basic shape of the stem. At the bandsaw, I cut away more of the wood in preparation for carving.

With the stem remounted in the chuck, I held the chuck in my Trent Bosch carving stand. With the work held securely, I was able to shape the pumpkin stem using first an angle grinder and then a Proxxon long-neck grinder with sanding flaps. The Proxxon tool is excellent for finessing the final shape and leaving a decent surface.

With the basic stem shape formed, you can begin carving the grooves in the stem. I like the grooves to have a twist to them, so I started by drawing their locations freehand. I then used a rotary tool to cut grooves along the lines I had drawn. Finally, I eased the edges of the grooves using a round carving bit, then completed the grooves with rasps, files, and sandpaper. Since actual pumpkin stems are pretty rough, I did not feel the need to make mine too smooth. Often the surface off the rasp or file is just about right.

Use a parting tool to separate the stem from the chuck, or simply cut it off using a hand saw (with the lathe off).

Remove Chucking Tenon

Once the stem is separated from the chuck, check its fit in the recess in the top of the pumpkin. It may be necessary to remount the pumpkin on the lathe to refine the width of the recess.

When you have achieved a good fit of the stem to the pumpkin, it is time to remove the chucking tenon from the pumpkin. Since there is no easy way to reverse-mount the pumpkin in a chuck, I create a custom jam chuck in the form of a long dowel that reaches into the bottom of the pumpkin.

Turn a dowel small enough to fit through the pumpkin’s opening, then form a slight recess in its end. The recess ensures the pumpkin is pressed against a wider base and not a small point. Applying pressure from the tailstock to hold the pumpkin on the jam chuck, turn away the chucking tenon.

Color at Will

The final decision is whether to color the pumpkin and/or stem or leave them natural. In this case, I wanted to see the grain of the wood but give the stem some contrast, so I bleached the stem with two-part wood bleach.

Just about anything goes when it comes to coloring—don’t be afraid to use bold and crazy colors on your pumpkin and stem. Above all, have fun.

John Beaver lives in Pacific Palisades, California, where his proximity to the ocean inspires his signature Wave Bowl turnings. You can see more of his work at johnbeaver.net.

The post PROJECT: Turned Pumpkin appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

When I was new to woodturning, I never tossed bowls away simply because I had turned through the bottom. They went into my “parts” bin, and when I had time, I would mess around with them, trying to figure out what they could be. Striving for perfection is great, but each item you make becomes precious, and you are less likely to explore alternative possibilities. Creativity comes from alternative possibilities.

In the early 1980s, my woodworking mentor taught me about pattern fences and how they are used in cabinetmaking. Later in my career, I used a pattern fence to make staves for coopered columns. And about six years ago, I adapted the concept to make elliptical vessels from turned bowls.

I take classes in as many nonturning- related subjects as possible. When I took metal-smithing classes, I was not thinking about metal smithing, I was thinking, How can I bring these techniques to my woodturning practice? When taking archeology classes, I was thinking, How do these objects from antiquity relate to my woodturning practice? As an architectural woodturner, I have spent lots of time standing at a lathe, a bandsaw, and a table saw, thinking about the objects I am making. That is how the adaption of the pattern fence for making the elliptical vessels came about. I was messing with my box of “holey” bowls, and that week’s job was coopering columns. I was using the pattern fence to make staves but thinking about the bowls in my parts bin. The two came together in my head, and I started adapting and experimenting that night.

What is a pattern fence? It is a simple jig that allows you to cut a straight edge on a workpiece that does not have a reliable working edge. Typically in woodworking, a straight edge is cut by referencing an existing edge against a fence, resulting in a straight, parallel cut. To make elliptical vessels, the idea is to cut the center out of a bowl and fit the two outer pieces together. But a bowl does not have a straight, or working, edge to run against the bandsaw fence, so you must create one. A pattern fence facilitates this process.

A Temporary Straightedge

Begin with the bowl you want to. work with. If you rough-turn a lot of wet bowls, I am sure you have a few lying around that have cracked on the rim, or possibly you went through the bottom.

Once you have identified a bowl to use, think about the final shape you want. You will be cutting a parallel strip from the middle of the bowl. The wider the strip, the narrower the final two side pieces will be, with sharper, steeper angles. The thinner the strip, the rounder the glued form will be.

In the example shown here, I started with a bowl that was turned wet and had dried to an oval. I wanted to remove the crack at one edge, but I also needed to take out a strip from the middle in such a way that the two remaining pieces would be as close in shape to one another as possible. To split this oval bowl symmetrically and remove the crack, I needed to remove a strip at least 1-3/4″ (4cm) wide. I like my elliptical vessels narrower and sharper looking, so in this case, I decided to remove 2-1/2″ (6cm). From a scrap piece, I ripped a temporary straightedge 2-1/2″ wide. Make sure to leave your straightedge long; mine was about 24″ (61cm).

The rough-turned bowl I used had a foot, so I could use the flat surface on the bottom of the foot as a reference to measure each side and ensure the two would be equal. If you are using a round bowl, you can use any remaining tool marks as a guide. Spend the time needed to get both sides as close to equal as possible, as there will be less sanding required after you cut them. I darkened the bowl foot edges with a pencil so it would be easier for me to compare visually.

Predrill and screw the straightedge onto the bowl. Predrilling makes it easier to maintain the careful alignment you have achieved. Don’t worry about screws going through and out the other side, as they will not come near the bandsaw blade. I use short sheetrock screws. If the center is missing from your bowl, place the holes out on the edges, where you know you will catch some wood. Now you basically have a bowl on a stick. Make sure the bowl is firmly attached.

Make a Pattern Fence

Now you will need a fence to run the straightedge against, and this is where the pattern fence comes in. The pattern fence — I call this variation an “overhead fence” — is just a straight piece of wood that is wider than the sides you are cutting off, say half the width of your bowl. I cut two notches in the pattern fence, so I could clamp it to my existing bandsaw fence without the clamps sticking out farther than the edge.

As an alternative, you could also drill a couple of large holes in the pattern fence. If your bowls are big and wide, it is best to position the clamping pressure closer to the bandsaw fence; drilled holes could be of benefit in that scenario, as you wouldn’t have to cut deep grooves into the edge of the fence.

The idea is to run one edge of your “stick on a bowl” against the edge of the overhead fence. The opposite edge must be exactly aligned with bandsaw blade, so it represents where the blade will cut. Adjust the position of the bandsaw fence accordingly and lock it in place.

Flattening Board

I made a dedicated flattening board from a sink cutout from a countertop, but you could use any board that is flat. Attach strips of self-adhesive sandpaper (80 or 120 grit) to the flat surface (I use Klingspor sandpaper). Clamp the sanding board down securely. This setup is great for flattening many things in the shop, from tools to guitar parts. When you need to change the sandpaper, use a heat gun or hair dryer to loosen the grip and peel off the worn abrasive. Then replace it with new strips of sandpaper.

Cut Away Bowl Sides

With the overhead pattern fence mounted and the bandsaw fence positioned, it is just a matter of keeping the straightedge against the pattern fence as you slide the bowl into and past the blade.

After cutting one side of the bowl away, flip the whole piece around and cut the other side. This will leave you with the middle section (waste material) still attached to the straightedge. Of course, this curved element can go into your “parts” bin for future creative possibilities.

Note that for both cuts, the bowl rim is securely registered against the bandsaw table. Never cut unsupported round or “rocking” pieces on the bandsaw, as this would pose a safety hazard.

Since I made the straightedge long, I could grab it on either side, without my hands coming close to the blade. For this kind of cutting, use a stiff blade that will not flex. I typically use a 1/4″, 3/8″, or 1/2″ (6mm, 10mm, or 13mm) blade with 4 tpi (teeth per inch), but any stiff bandsaw blade will work.

Prepare Gluing Surfaces

Now you have the two halves of an elliptical form that should be close to a perfect fit. But no matter how hard you try, there is always a little adjusting to do. Hold the two pieces together and evaluate the seam. You will probably have a wider gap at the bottom of the form. Now notice the top edges. If one side hangs over a little, you will need to sand it a little more than the other side.

To prepare the newly cut bowl edges for gluing, sand them on a flat surface. When you look at the soon-to-beglued edges, you will see blade marks from the bandsaw. You will need to sand these marks off to get a clean glue joint. Draw several pencil marks on both glue surfaces and sand on the flat surface, keeping the pressure as even as possible. When all the pencil marks are gone, you know you have a flat surface. Now check the fit for size. If one side is bigger, keep sanding that side until the two parts fit together perfectly.

Glue sides together Now comes the gluing. I like to use spring clamps for odd-shaped pieces such as these elliptical forms. I use Ulmia or Collins brand spring clamps. They are expensive but really come in handy during glue-up. I have purchased cheaper brands and ended up throwing them away.

Spring clamps come with a tool that opens them so you can put them in place. When you let go of the tool, the clamp squeezes securely. I take mine to the grinder and sharpen the tips.

They do leave a little mark, so if that is not acceptable on your finished piece, duct tape works well as a clamp, provided the fit of your glue joint is good. I use Titebond II for almost all of my regular glue-ups. Wipe off the glue squeezeout inside and out with a damp cloth.

Elliptical Form as Sculpture

I often use these elliptical forms in sculptural work, adding parts together and embellishing them. Sometimes, I do not glue but sew the pieces together instead. See where your creativity leads you—these forms are ripe for imaginative play.

The real trick is to find something to do with the leftover center section. I have lots of them in my “parts” box, just waiting for inspiration to strike.

Beth Ireland, a professional architectural woodturner and sculptor with more than thirty years of experience, lives and works in St. Petersburg, Florida. She teaches the two-month Turning Intensive at The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, as well as workshop classes at major craft centers around the country. For more, visit bethireland.net.

The post PROJECT: Elliptical Vessels appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Here is a modern table lamp project that is relatively easy to turn. Its shaft comprises three separately turned pieces in spindle orientation (grain running parallel to the lathe’s bed ways), which allows for the attractive use of contrasting woods and avoids the need for a long lamp auger. The lamp’s base is a simple component turned in faceplate orientation (grain running perpendicular to the bed ways).

The prospect of drilling long holes into endgrain with a lamp auger creates stress and anguish I can do without. This project allows you to avoid that stress by dividing the lamp shaft into three pieces and drilling all the holes on the drill press prior to turning. I used a table saw to cut the blanks perfectly square, which makes aligning them on the drill press easier and more accurate. If you don’t have a table saw, careful cutting on a bandsaw will do.

My students and I have made roughly a dozen lamps using this design. Over time, I have tried various alternatives (different hole sizes, no lamp rod, etc.). I have found the following simplified approach works best for most turners.

Material Prep and Layout

I like to use contrasting wood colors in the lamp shaft and base—black cherry for the dark color and hard maple for the light color. Using different species creates an attractive lamp and precludes any grain-matching issues that could result from using a single piece of wood cut into three sections and rejoined. I like to alternate the wood species top to bottom—either dark-light-dark-light or light-dark-light-dark.

When you prepare the blanks, start with square stock 1/4″ (6mm) wider than the finished diameter. Straight grain wood is easy to work with, but not required. Using wild grain can turn a simple spindle project into a torn-grain sanding nightmare. Following are the dimensions of each wood component prior to turning; the numbered pieces correspond to the labels in the drawing:

1. Lamp Shaft Top: 2-1/4″ square × 2-1/2″ long (57mm × 64mm)
2. Lamp Shaft Middle: 1-1/2″ square × 9-1/2″ long (38mm × 24cm)
3. Lamp Shaft Bottom: 2-3/4″ square × 5-3/4″ long (7cm × 15cm)
4. Lamp Base: 8″ square × 1-1/4″ thick (20cm × 32mm)

For many lathe projects, I see no point in making blanks perfectly square before turning them round. However, that approach will not work for this project. Since the through holes are drilled prior to turning, starting with perfectly square stock is critical to laying out the hole locations accurately. Pay special attention to making the ends of shaft blanks parallel. This means registering the same face of the blank against the miter gauge when crosscutting the pieces on the table saw (or against the fence on a chop saw). Mark precise centers on both ends of the three lamp shaft blanks and on the base blank. Drawing two pencil lines corner to corner works best. If you are using a center-marking jig, be sure to use the jig on all four corners and find the average in the middle. Mark the bottom of the lamp base “bottom” for future reference.

Lamp Kit and Hardware

You’ll need to acquire the following lamp parts, readily available online or at big box stores:

• Lamp Kit, including socket, harp, cord, nuts, etc.
• Lamp Rod, 3/8″ (9.5mm) OD, 20″ (51cm) long
• Lamp Shade, suggested size: 6″ (15cm) top diameter × 19″ (48cm) bottom diameter × 13″ (33cm) slant height

Pre-drill Holes

Shaft Blanks

You can drill straight holes using a good old-fashioned wooden hand screw clamp and a drill press. Before drilling, use a square to confirm that the lamp shaft blank is held vertically in the clamp. Use a 1/2″ (13mm) bradpoint bit to start the holes on center.

All of the through holes in the lamp shaft are 1/2″ diameter. A 3/8″ OD lamp rod fits easily in a 1/2″ hole. You can drill a hole all the way through the shorter top blank with a standardlength 1/2″ bradpoint bit. The lower two shaft blanks, being longer, are more challenging. You will have to drill the 1/2″ hole from both ends so the holes meet in the middle. For the 9-1/2″ blank, it may be necessary to complete the drilling with a longer twist drill.

Important: The holes in the lamp shaft blanks must enter the wood at dead center. It is less critical how the holes meet in the middle of each blank; if the lamp rod passes through the hole, it is good enough.

Base Blank

Using a 2-1/2″-diameter Forstner bit, drill a hole in the bottom of the lamp base 3/4″ deep. To drill a hole of this size safely, clamp the workpiece to the drill press table before drilling. This hole will be used as a chucking recess, so you may need to make it larger, depending on the minimum jaw size of your chuck in expansion mode.

Do not drill the 1/2″-diameter through hole in the base just yet—this hole will be drilled later on the lathe.

Next, drill a hole in the side of the lamp base to allow the cord to escape from the center. This hole is best drilled now, while the lamp base blank is still square and thus easy to clamp on the drill press table. Drill a 5/16″ (8mm) hole in the center of the sidegrain (not into the endgrain). This hole should intersect the 2-1/2″-diameter hole already drilled in the bottom of the lamp base.

Turn the Base

I like to start by turning the lamp base and then working my way up. The first step is to turn the bottom of the lamp base, but to do this, you’ll have to drill a pilot hole for your screw chuck in the top of the base. I have found this is best done on the lathe.

I cut my blanks close to round on the bandsaw and then make them truly round on the lathe. Draw a 7-1/2″- (19cm-) diameter circle on your lamp base blank with a compass. Then use a bandsaw to cut outside the line. Mount this blank in a four-jaw chuck, expanding the jaws into the 2-1/2″-diameter hole in the bottom. The jaws should not bottom out in the chucking recess.

Install a drill chuck in the lathe’s tailstock with a drill bit sized for your screw chuck—in my case, a 3/8″ drill. Drill a hole all the way through your blank. Now turn a flat area for the face of your chuck jaws to sit against when you mount the blank on the screw chuck. Don’t remove too much wood at this point, just create a flat 3″ to 4″ (8cm to 10cm) wide in the center.

With the workpiece remounted on the screw chuck, shape the bottom of the lamp base. Start by truing up the outside edge of the base with a bowl gouge. Then true up the bottom and create a 3/16″ dip in the middle (refer to the drawing). For stability, only the outside of the lamp base should make contact with the table. But beware — if you undercut the base too deeply, you risk cutting into the lamp cord hole.

Create the 1/4″ back cut angle on the side of the lamp base. I used a 1/2″ bowl gouge and a shear-scraper to form this surface. This subtle detail gives the lamp an elegant, modern look. Sand the bottom before removing the base from the lathe.

Flip the lamp base over and remount it on your four-jaw chuck by expanding the jaws into the chucking recess. Mark a 2-1/2″-diameter circle in the middle of the top. This is where the lamp base will contact the bottom of the lamp shaft. Since the bottom of the lamp shaft is flat, don’t try to also make the top of the base flat; any variation could mean a visible gap.

Instead, create a small recess in the top of the lamp base so only the outside edges of the shaft will make contact. I used a shear-scraper to create this small recess, running downhill from the marked 2-1/2″ circle to the hole in the center. Now shape the remainder of the top of the lamp base.

Since the screw chuck pilot hole was just 3/8″ diameter, the hole should be enlarged slightly to better accommodate the 3/8″ OD lamp rod. A 13/32″ or 7/16″ twist drill should do the job. Sand the top of the lamp base.

Turn the Shaft Pieces

Each of the three lamp shaft blanks should be mounted between centers to provide access to the entirety of each blank, end to end. The 1/2″-diameter through hole makes traditional mounting a challenge. My solution is to mount the shaft segments using two 2-1/2″-long pieces of 1/2″-diameter wooden dowels—no special-purpose lamp centers needed.

At the headstock end, mount a 1/2″ dowel in a collet chuck, small chuck jaws, or a drill chuck. At the tailstock end, remove the center point from the live center and replace it with a 1/2″ dowel. Some live center holes have straight sides and a setscrew, which can be used to secure your dowel. But if the hole is tapered and has no setscrew, you will have to turn a tenon and shoulder on the dowel to register against the end of the live center. Both of these approaches are shown. Be sure to make the tenon long enough to support the dowel sticking out of the live center. The dowel may not run perfectly true in the tailstock, but it will suffice after you mount your blanks on the two dowels.

Mount and turn each lamp shaft section, one at a time, on the 1/2″ dowels. Note that standard 1/2″ wooden dowels are frequently undersized, so you might need to wrap masking tape around the dowel to make it fit snugly in the 1/2″ holes in the blanks. The shape of each shaft segment is a simple taper or cylinder, so I just use a spindle-roughing gouge and sandpaper. If you are careful, you can get really clean finish cuts with a roughing gouge.

I have found that adding correctly sized wasteblocks on both ends of the blanks makes the turning simple. They help you avoid sizing mistakes and prevent tearout at the ends of the shaft sections. I make my wasteblocks out of 1/2″-thick plywood. Rough them round on the bandsaw slightly oversized after drilling a 1/2″ hole in the middle. To turn the three shaft segments as specified in the drawing, you will need six wasteblocks in the following sizes:

• Top segment: 2″ and 1-1/2″ diameter
• Middle segment: Two at 1-3/8″ diameter
• Lower segment: 2-1/2″ and 1-1/2″ diameter

Mount the appropriate wasteblocks over the 1/2″ dowels with the turning blank mounted between them. Turn the wasteblocks down to their final diameter before turning the lamp sections.

After the wasteblocks are correctly sized, you only need to “connect the dots” to turn the blank to the correct taper. Leave each blank a little oversized, and sand to the final diameter.

If you run into problems with the blanks slipping on the dowels, add masking tape to the dowels to get a tighter fit.

After you turn the middle section to a cylinder, you can add some decorative burn lines, but remember the old adage: less is more. Burn the lines with a wire after you make a shallow groove to get the wire started.

I form the groove with a point tool. You can purchase burn wires, but a piano wire or guitar string will also work.

Safety Note: If you make your own burn wires, securely install wood balls or handles at each end of the wire.

Never wrap the wire around your fingers! The lathe must be running at a high speed to create enough friction to make a nice burn line. Press the wire into the groove until smoke appears. Assembling the lamp will be easier if you turn the ends of the middle shaft section slightly concave. Undercutting both ends will help the sections mate up without unsightly gaps.

You can do this by reducing the wasteblock at the tailstock end, then use a spindle gouge to undercut the endgrain of the shaft. segment. Flip the piece end for end and repeat the process, again from the tailstock position. Use a spindle gouge to add a 1/4″ bevel at the top of the upper shaft section.

When sanding the lamp shaft sections, remove the wasteblocks so you can access the ends to slightly round over the edges. But do not sand the ends that you made perfectly square on the table saw.

Finish and Assemble Lamp Parts

It is a good idea to pre-finish all the wood lamp parts before assembly. I apply two coats of semigloss sprayon polyurethane, lightly sanding with synthetic steel wool and buffing between coats.

I like to use the lathe as a big clamp. Use it to align and dry-fit the pieces before gluing them together. Epoxy is a good choice of adhesive because of its gap-filling qualities. The 3/8″ lamp rod fits loosely in the 1/2″ center hole. I have found it easier to allow the epoxy to fill some of that gap near the joints than to force a 3/8″ lamp rod through a long 3/8″ hole with no play.

Insert the lamp rod through all of the turned parts and install lamp rod nuts at the top and bottom. Do not leave any extra lamp rod protruding at the bottom, but do leave 1-1/2″ or so extra lamp rod sticking out the top. Cut off any excess rod only after you have test fitted the lamp socket at the top of the lamp rod.

Mount the lamp base on a chuck on your lathe, expanding the jaws once again into the chucking recess on the bottom of the base. Then position the center point of the tailstock live center in the hole at the top of the lamp rod. Hand-rotate the wood parts on the lamp rod to position the grain to your liking. When you are happy with the dry-fit, loosen the lamp rod nut at the tailstock end and add some five-minute epoxy to the joints. You don’t need much glue. Tighten the nut to hold the parts in place while the epoxy dries.

If you need to clean up any excess epoxy after it dries, you can do this by turning the lathe on at a very slow speed and buffing with fine synthetic steel wool. Finally, I like to add one last coat of finish after assembling the lamp to help tie everything together and hide any problems created during the assembly process.

Install Lamp Hardware

Install the lamp socket and cord according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It is important to use a UL-approved lamp cord knot, also called an Underwriter’s Knot, under the socket. An Internet search for “UL lamp cord knot” will reveal the correct way to tie this knot, which prevents the electrical connections from being pulled and becoming disconnected. This is an important safety precaution.

When positioning the lampshade on the lamp, I like the bottom of the shade to be above the top of my beautifully turned lamp. The height of the harp determines how high or low a shade sits. The harp that comes in your lamp kit may not be the ideal size, but you can purchase a taller or shorter harp separately.

Carl Ford is an accomplished woodturner, a member of the Kaatskill Woodturners (Hurley, New York), and loves teaching people how to turn. His website is carlford.us.

The post PROJECT: Turn a Modern Lamp appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

A while ago, I was idly twisting a small cube of maple burl by its corners and went on to explore what shape could be made if a cube were held this way on the lathe. The result was a “triangular” bowl (featured in the October 2021 issue of American Woodturner.

It was while making another such bowl that a further idea came to mind—if the profile at the base started as round and continued outward to the tips of the cube, this would leave three “wings” as the top. The center could then be hollowed, for a three-winged bowl. My wife suggested making it into a jewelry box by adding a lid with a finial. Here is the process in detail.

Mount the Cube

Begin with a 4″ (10cm) cube of hardwood. To get the “wings” to come out at the desired flare, draw a 4″-long line across the three faces at the corner to be held by the tailstock. To do this, make a mark 21-3/16″ (7cm) along each of the three edges, then “connect the dots” by drawing lines across the cube faces. Each of the three lines will be 4″ long.

A three-jaw drill chuck mounted in the headstock serves as a drive, and a live center with the point removed provides tailstock support. Fit the tailstock corner of the workpiece into the live center cup, and bring the tailstock forward so the opposite corner engages in the drill chuck. Lock the tailstock and advance the quill to press the cube securely in place.

Turn the outside shape Position the toolrest so that it will clear the bottom edges of the cube, and begin to round the lower section, taking light cuts with a bowl gouge. Cut in the direction of the tailstock. Initially, you will be turning across the edges of the cube. To avoid tearout, set the lathe at around 2000 rpm, if you can do so without excessive vibration.

Aim for a diameter of about 2″ (5cm) adjacent to the drill chuck, then form a gentle sweep out towards the three corners at the tailstock end. Stop cutting when the wing tips reach the pencil lines.

Measure 2″ back down the slope and draw a pencil line to mark the base of the box. The diameter here should be about 2-1/4″ (6cm); if it is wider, re-work the profile to bring it down and re-mark the base line. Now cut straight in at this line and trim the area to the left down to 2″ diameter.

Using a thin parting tool, cut part-way in about 3/8″ (9.5mm) back from the base line, then finish parting the work using a handsaw with the lathe off. Remount the workpiece in a scroll chuck.

To ensure the tenon shoulder sits tight against the face of the chuck jaws, use the tailstock to push the work into the chuck before tightening the jaws. Proper contact of the tenon shoulder to the jaw faces will add important stability for when you are hollowing with the tailstock removed.

As there may be a slight eccentricity once the chuck is tightened, take a cut or two on the outside profile to re-true it, then sand the outside. It will not be practical to do this later.

Hollow the Box

With the lathe stopped, add two pencil lines on the three unturned cube faces, one 1/8″ (3mm) from the curved edge and the other, 3/16″ (5mm) from the curved edge. Position the toolrest so it is parallel with the edges running in to the tailstock, and begin to hollow the box.

Since, as before, you’ll be cutting across the cube’s edges, I suggest at least 1500 rpm with gentle cuts. And since the tailstock is still in place, a central spindle will remain, which I cut away with a handsaw before continuing to hollow.

To ensure a minimum base thickness of 1/2″ (13mm), I prefer to drill a depth-indicator hole before continuing the hollowing. When hollowing near the outer edges, take care when approaching the pencil lines on the three faces.

I cut away the inside line and preserve the outer line, cutting the wall parallel to the outside profile. With the relatively thin walls and increasing depth, it is not practical to try smoothing cuts, as chatter marks are likely to form. The bottom of the box should curve in to meet the bottom of the depth indicator hole.

When the hollowing is completed, sand if necessary, but take care not to catch the wing tips. Sand the rim edges by hand, with the lathe off; to avoid rounding the edges, use a sanding block.

The final step is to cut a shoulder for the box lid to sit on. The lid will be 3″ (8cm) in diameter. Cut a disk of this width out of stiff cardstock and a simple dowel handle attached with a dab of glue.

The dowel can then be fitted into a drill chuck in the tailstock and the disk brought up to contact the inner wall. Scribe a pencil line around the cardstock.

The shoulder can then be cut with a straightedge tool, just 1/16″ to 3/32″ (1.5mm to 2.5mm) deep.

Complete the Base

Remove the workpiece from the chuck. To reverse-mount the box and complete the bottom of the foot, I use a shop-made donut chuck. The chuck features a scrap faceplate held in a scroll chuck. The workpiece is held quite securely to the faceplate by a ring of thin scrap with a hole in the middle and hold-down screws. To avoid marring the piece, the ring should be made of hardboard or similar material, and the hole should be chamfered to match the outside slope of the box.

Turning at a slow lathe speed and taking light cuts, clean up the bottom of the box, shaping it to a slight concave profile and sanding as needed.

Make the Lid and Finial

The lid can be in matching wood or another for color/grain contrast. It should be formed as a 1/2″-thick disk from stock that can be final-turned to just over 3″ in diameter; this will allow for fine-tuning the fit of the lid to the shoulder. I turn a 2″-diameter recess in bottom of the lid, so it can be mounted on a scroll chuck in expansion mode. Once mounted, the diameter can be trimmed to a comfortable fit on the box shoulder. Use a caliper to confirm dimensions. A central 5/16″- (8mm-) diameter hole in the top of the lid will anchor the finial. To avoid drilling through, place a piece of masking tape on the drill bit to mark 1/4″ depth. The top of the lid can then be profiled/decorated per your preference.

The function of the finial is twofold: to hold rings and to serve as a handle for lifting the lid. After some experimenting, I found that an overall finial height of 3″, plus the 1/4″ tenon to anchor the finial in the lid, looks nice. A 7/8″- (22mm-) diameter bulge near the bottom of the finial is about right to catch the rings. I use holly for finials, as its close grain takes colorants well. If you do add color, this is best done before installing the finial.

Finishing

Apply your choice of finish to the box and lid. On this piece, I applied dye and then wipe-on polyurethane to the finial, and walnut oil to the box and lid. Glue the finial tenon into the lid, and the project is complete. A three-winged jewelry box makes for a unique gift. All it needs now is some earrings inside and a ring or two on the finial.

Michael Hamilton-Clark, a retired civil engineer, has been turning wood for seventeen years. He lives in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, and uses local woods to produce a variety of items. He is a member of the Fraser Valley Woodturners Guild, the AAW, and the Craft Council of British Columbia. For more, visit his website.

The post PROJECT: Three-Winged Jewelry Box appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

I have taught this bowl-turning project to more than 500 beginning woodturners over a twenty-year period, and I’m proud to say my students have had excellent success with it. If you have never turned a bowl, this project is a good one to start with; you’ll shape the bowl using only scrapers, and no chuck is required—just a faceplate, which comes with most lathes. It’s true that scrapers tend to cause more tearout than a gouge, but if you are just getting started, the scraper can be less intimidating and simpler to use.

Choose the Wood

Since the shaping of this bowl is done with scrapers, choose a hardwood, such as maple, walnut, cherry, or oak, that has been dried to a moisture content of 14% or less. Scrapers do not cut wood effectively in green or partially dried wood. They also tend to tear out the endgrain of soft woods such as cedar.

Start with a round blank about 10″ (25cm) in diameter and 2-1/4″ (6cm) thick. This is a good size for a functional bowl.

Attach Faceplate

Always inspect your blank before mounting a faceplate to it. Consider the grain, defects, and figure. Try to imagine the shape of your completed bowl and how it would best fit in the cleanest parts of the blank. Consider that you can turn away minor defects during the shaping process, as long as they don’t impede on the area that will become the finished bowl.

I use a 6″- (15cm-) diameter faceplate to mount the work to the lathe. Mount the faceplate to the side that will be the top of the bowl, as you’ll turn the bottom/foot first. Find the center of your blank, and use that center to place a compass point and draw a circle slightly larger than the diameter of your faceplate. This helps to center the faceplate.

While holding the faceplate in place, drill a 1/8″- (3mm-) diameter hole about 1″ (25mm) deep in one of the faceplate’s outer holes. I use a self-centering bit, which ensures the holes are positioned properly. Four 1″-long screws will safely hold this blank during turning. It is fine to initially drive the screws with a drill, but always finish by hand-tightening each screw with a screwdriver and double-checking that there is no movement in the faceplate before mounting it on the lathe.

Sharpening a Scraper

Edge Up or Down?

Most turners sharpen their scrapers with the cutting edge up—so the grinding wheel strikes the top of the tool first. I prefer the opposite approach, with the cutting edge down. In this orientation, the direction of the grinding wheel naturally produces a burr on the bottom of the grind, which in this case is the cutting edge. It is this burr that produces the cut on the wood, so there is no need to hone a scraper. Try presenting the tool to the grinder both ways, and see what burr you prefer.

A traditional scraper has one bevel. Adjust the grinder’s toolrest angle to produce your desired bevel angle (typically 70 to 85 degrees). For a square-end scraper, gently press the bevel into the wheel, then glide it across the rest using gentle pressure from the back to maintain contact.

For a roundnose scraper, you will need to stand back from your grinder far enough to pass the tool handle in front of you. With the grinder off, practice swiveling the tool 180 degrees without pausing.

The key pressure point is the tip of the index finger, which helps hold the tool flat on the rest. Then try it with the grinder on, keeping the tool in contact with the wheel at all times.

The Story of the Sparks

How do you know when you are done sharpening? The sparks tell a useful story. If the top of your tool bevel is not touching the wheel, the sparks will go down, under the tool. Use this as in indicator: when the sparks begin to come over the top edge of the scraper, you’ll know you are making contact with the entire bevel, top to bottom. Inspect your tool after each pass. When you have achieved a single facet on the bevel, from bottom to cutting edge, you are ready to get back to the lathe.

Rough It Round

During initial roughing, I set the lathe speed to about 500 rpm. If your lathe has a pulley-and-belt system, rather than electronic speed control, use the slowest setting possible to start. A small amount of lathe movement, or vibration, is normal when the blank is not yet trued up. Nonetheless, never stand in the direct line of the mounted blank; stand at the foot or head of the lathe when turning it on, and have your hand on the stop button, just in case the vibrations are too great. Having a well-rounded blank and a centered faceplate will help reduce initial vibration.

Set the toolrest slightly below the center of the wood, and use the tip of a bullnose, or roundnose, scraper to make tiny cuts along the blank’s outer edge until you are cutting wood continuously with no intermittent gaps. Stop the lathe on occasion and check that the tool marks made by the scraper cover the entire width of the edge’s circumference.

Now bring the toolrest to the bottom of the bowl, at a height that puts the tip of the scraper at the center of the blank, with the back of the tool slightly elevated. Starting from the center and cutting outward to the left, make gentle passes along the bottom face. Cut a little deeper with each pass, until you are cutting all wood with no intermittent gaps. Now the blank should run true, so you can increase the lathe speed to 1000 to 1200 rpm. This higher speed will produce a much cleaner cut. If your lathe vibrates too aggressively at the higher speed, however, reduce the speed to a safe level before proceeding.

Form a Rough Foot

Mark the outside edge of the foot by measuring out from the center. My rule of thumb for a functional bowl is to make the foot slightly smaller than half the diameter of the bowl. So for this 10″ bowl, I marked a 4-3/4″ (12cm-) diameter foot. Then add another line 1/4″ (6mm) outside the foot mark. This second line will become useful later, when shaping a smooth transition to the foot.

Next, draw a line on the outer edge of the bowl, 1/4″ from the bottom surface. Using half the blade of a square-end scraper, or about a 1/4″ of the blade, make a slow gentle plunge cut into the bottom surface, up to the 1/4″ depth.

Continue making cuts like this, working toward the center, until you are just shy of the mark for the foot. Try to keep your cuts consistent and flat.

A plunge cut with a square-end scraper should begin slowly, with gentle but consistent pressure from the right hand. Just as the cut nears the bottom, slow your feed rate and finish just as the unused part of the blade touches the wood.

Rough in the Rim

Bring the toolrest back around to the outer edge of the bowl. Always try to set the toolrest so you are not working at its ends; applying the tool as close to the center of the toolrest is best, as that is where you’ll have maximum support.

Mark a line on the outer edge 1/2″ down from the top surface. Then draw a line on the bottom surface 7⁄16″ (11mm) from the outer edge.

Starting at the bottom, use a square-end scraper to make a series of plunge cuts into the outer edge, 1/4″ deep. Work your way toward the rim, until you are just shy of the 1/2″ line.

Wood is much more resistant to cutting or scraping in this orientation, and you will notice this in your plunge cuts. Take a lesser cut, don’t push as hard, make sure your tool is sharp, listen to what your lathe is telling you, and find a happy place.

Shape the Bowl’s Profile

To shape the outside of the bowl, we will connect the two elements you just defined—the edge of the foot and the bottom of the rim.

Use the tip of a roundnose scraper to begin rounding the profile. These are sweeping cuts, and working from the bowl’s bottom to the top works best. After just a few cuts, your toolrest will be too far away from the cut to be safe; stop the lathe and move the toolrest as needed, keeping it about 1/4″ from the wood.

The next step is to round off the foot and rim. Start at the bottom of the foot’s edge, and engage a cut about 1⁄16″ into the wood. Carry the cut from foot to rim, all along the bowl’s shape. When the edge of your tool begins to cut the rim, ease off and pull the tool away. A couple of cuts like this, and the lines of the foot and rim will blend into the bowl smoothly.

The beauty of the roundnose scraper is that you can cut any part of the bowl in any direction without a catch—as long as the tool is presented flat on the toolrest, with the handle slighted elevated, and moved with gentle pressure.

Cut Foot Recess

Mark a line 5/8″ (16mm) inside the foot rim. Using a roundnose scraper, press the tip firmly into the center of the blank. The tool should begin to create a hole. Stop pushing but maintain the depth of cut, then drag the tool to the left to widen the hole. Stop cutting just shy of your 5/8″ line, and repeat this process until you have reached a depth of 1/4″ (6mm).

Now use a square-end scraper to flatten the bottom of the recess. When the bottom is flat, use the long point of a skew chisel to make the last cut at the outside edge. Strive to make this cut square and in a single push, stopping just as you reach the bottom.

Use a square-end scraper to turn the foot flat, and use the edge of a small ruler to confirm flatness.

Sand the Outside

Scrapers are easy to use, but it can’t be denied that they do not shear the wood like a gouge. As a result, scrapers tend to tear endgrain and, in doing so, create the need to begin sanding at a coarser grit. The most important thing to know about sanding is that rough grits like 60, 80, and 100 shape wood and remove defects like torn grain. Grits 120 and finer are best for removing the marks that the shaping grits create. All the torn grain and tool marks must be removed with the coarse grits before moving on to the finer grits.

Start with 80 or 100 grit. Tear a 2″ (5cm) strip of sandpaper and fold it to better insulate your fingers from the heat that will develop during sanding. Always keep the sandpaper in motion on the wood, sand with the lathe turning at a slow speed, and use your fingers to bend the sandpaper to the contours of the bowl.

Turn the lathe off before you proceed to the next grit. Spin the bowl by hand and inspect the entire surface. When you see only the lines from the current grit and no tearout, move on to the next grit. Proceed in the same fashion through the grits, up to 220. The final sanding should be done with the lathe off and in the direction of the grain where possible.

Sand the entire outside of the bowl, but not the very bottom of the foot. That surface should remain perfectly flat, and hand-sanding could round its edges.

Reverse-mount for Hollowing

Since we are making this bowl without a chuck, the way I reverse-mount the bowl for hollowing is to fit the foot’s recess onto a tenon turned from scrap wood. The trick is to apply glue to only the bottom surface of the foot (no glue in the recess). After you hollow the bowl, it is easy to part it from the scrap wood.

The scrap wood I use is a 5-1/2″ (14cm) length of dimensional 2″ × 6″ lumber. I use my bandsaw to cut off the corners. Mount a faceplate onto the scrap wood, then mount it on the lathe.

The object is to turn a peg, or tenon, that fits snugly into the recess in the foot of the bowl. Start by truing the face of the scrap block, then transfer the diameter of the foot’s recess and the outside diameter of the foot to the scrap block.

From the outer edge, make plunge cuts with a square-end scraper, up to the outer foot line. Now draw a line on the outer edge, 1/4″ from the front surface, and part down to this line, starting from the outer edge and working toward the inside pencil line. Ensure this area is flat, as it will be the mating surface for gluing the wasteblock to the bottom of the foot.

To form the tenon that will fit into the foot’s recess, bring the toolrest to the side and use a parting tool to gradually shape the tenon to a slight wedge. Now test fit the bowl foot on the wedge.

You want just the top of the wedge to fit in the foot’s recess. Now mark the point on the wedge where the recess becomes too tight to advance any further. Cut squarely from this mark to the bottom of the tenon and retest the fit. If the bowl does not seat to the bottom of the tenon, use 150-grit sandpaper to fine-tune the fit. This will ensure a snug fit of the bowl on the tenon.

When the bowl fits on the tenon with no movement side to side, it is time for glue-up. But first, I apply a coat of oil (in this case, Minwax Antique Oil) inside the recess, both to the bottom and the sidewalls. This will prevent any excess glue from adhering to those surfaces and will allow an easy parting of the bowl later. I use five-minute epoxy and apply a generous layer to the scrap block around but not on the tenon. The idea is to apply glue only to the bottom of the foot. Press the pieces together using firm pressure.

Hollow the Bowl

When the leftover epoxy in the mixing cup is hard, the bowl is ready to turn. Confirm this by trying to twist the two components apart. If everything feels solid, it is safe to proceed.

To determine the depth the bowl should be hollowed, measure the distance from the top of the foot to the top of the bowl. Mine is 1-7/8″ (5cm). I would like the walls of the bowl to be 1/4″ thick, so I subtract that from 1-7/8″ and determine I need to drill a depth hole 1-5/8″ (4cm) deep. I do this using a Forstner bit with a piece of masking tape on it to indicate the depth.

With the lathe running, peer over the top edge of the bowl on the lefthand side, and use a pencil to mark the outside edge of the bowl, minus the width of the rim. Then add another line 1/2″ inside that mark. Mark the inside of the center hole at 1/2″ deep.

Start the plunge cut at the edge of the hole, and carry that depth to the innermost line near the rim. Now make another 1/2″ mark at the edge and inside the center hole and repeat the next plunge cut, carrying the new depth from center to the line near the edge. When you reach the bottom of the center hole, leave the indent from the drill bit for now. This process should have created a series of “steps” leading down to the bottom of the bowl.

Now switch to a freshly sharpened roundnose scraper to turn away the tops of the “steps” until they are all level with the bowl wall. Stop the lathe and pinch the wall up and down to feel the thickness. Don’t just look into the bowl—peer over it to gauge the shape of the outside relative to the inside. Strive to make the two contours similar.

You can move the scraper in either direction inside the bowl—from rim to bottom or bottom to rim. Make the top of the bowl wall a thickness that feels right to you, then carry this thickness to the bottom. Once the walls are close to their finished thickness, cut away the indent left by the drill bit, blending this area with the sidewalls. It is important to stop cutting the bottom as soon as the indent is gone.

Again, since we are using only scrapers for this project, some coarse sanding may be required to remove tearout. Sand through the grits, as you did on the outside of the bowl.

Alternate Foot Design

Here is an alternate foot idea that looks great when using contrasting woods. It can be produced easily, with just a few variations from the basic bowl process.

Separately (not shown), turn a ring in a contrasting species. Rather than forming a foot with a recess in the middle, make a groove to accept the foot ring you have turned.

Ensure your chuck jaws will fit into this groove. Mount the bowl for hollowing using a chuck, either in compression or expansion mode.

Hollow the bowl as described in the article. Glue the ring into the groove for an elegant foot.

Part Bowl from Wasteblock

To remove the bowl from the wasteblock, it is a simple matter of parting through the glue joint at the foot. But this should be done slowly and carefully. I bring up the tailstock with a large cone center, wrapped in electrical tape, to support the bowl without marring it.

Use a parting tool to begin removing scrap wood from behind the bowl, under its foot. Remember, the foot is 5/8″ wide, so these cuts must go at least that deep in order to separate the bowl from the scrap. Sneak up on the glue joint, so that the final thin cut just removes the glue line where the bowl and scrap meet.

Guide the tool in at a slight angle toward the bowl, leaving the outside of the foot a bit higher. Once you see the foot of the bowl end and a tiny bit of the scrap emerge, stop cutting. The bowl can now be removed from the lathe by retracting the cone center and pulling the bowl off the tenon by hand. The oil inside the foot’s recess should have stopped the tenon from adhering to the bowl. I like to use a hardening oil, such as Minwax Antique Oil, as a bowl finish. In this case, an oil finish is best since I had already applied oil in the bottom recess.

Scott Belway is a woodturner based in British Columbia, Canada.

The post PROJECT: Turning Your First Bowl appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Here is a project that allows you to transform a small piece of hardwood into something elegant and functional—the classic letter opener. Over the years, I have made and sold more than 1,500 of them, as they are a good production item. An effective story stick makes the process go faster; in an eight-hour day, I could make ten letter openers. But it is also good as a learning project. There are three elements that make a quality letter opener: beautiful wood, an elegant design, and a well-filed blade. I hope my design and this article inspire you to make one—or twenty.

Material Prep

Consider that the harder the wood, the longer the letter opener edge will last. Dense, straight-grained woods with closed pores are the best choice for this project. Woods like oak and ash are poor choices because their open pores show up on the blade edge and weaken it. Here, I’ve chosen a piece of ornamental plum, harvested from a local tree.

Start with a piece 1-1/4″ (32mm) square and 8-1/2″ (22cm) long. Mount the work securely between centers; I like to use a small spur drive and live center. With your lathe speed set around 1200 rpm, bring the wood to round with a roughing gouge. Make sure to stop cutting the moment the piece is round. The finished diameter of the handle will be 13/16″ (30mm), so there is not a lot of excess wood in the blank.

Story Stick

If you want to make multiples, it’s a good idea to make a story stick—a quick physical reference that eliminates the need for measuring key transitions repeatedly.

With the toolrest close to the wood and the lathe running, use a story stick to mark the transition points on your rounded blank.

Tips for a Good Story Stick

Here are a few tips for making a useful story stick:

• Use a thin strip of light-colored hardwood for your story stick, so numbers and lines stand out. I use 1/8″ (3mm) holly, but light maple would also do nicely.

• Make it easier for your pencil to find the transition lines by filing a V-shaped slot at the edge at all pencil marks.

• Write numbers between the lines to designate “ledge” diameters.

• Write numbers through lines to represent the depth of parting cuts.

• Circle lines that need to be redrawn after initial sizing.

• Always mark the back of the story stick with basic information about the project, so you’ll be able to identify it in the future.

• Sand the bottom of the front edge round; this makes it is less likely for the story stick to catch on the spinning wood as you are marking the workpiece.

Form “Ledges”

The way I copy a spindle is to first part in to make a series of “ledges” that represent each element’s transition lines and maximum diameter. The diameters of these ledges are recorded on the story stick and are the maximum diameter of any given element.

Start by paring down the scrap wood on both ends of your workpiece—the solid grey areas on the story stick. Stop this cut just as you get close to the spur drive and live center. This action will define the beginning and end of the letter opener’s elements and is always a good place to start on any spindle that has a scrap area.

Set your caliper to 1″ (25mm) and use a parting tool to make a series of cuts to that depth along the blade section. Remove the excess wood between the parting cuts to flatten this section to 1″ and then remark the blade line that has just been cut away.

Now for the 5/8″- (16mm-) diameter ledge behind the blade, set your caliper and make two parting cuts to this depth, one on either side of the 5/8″ section. Use your parting tool to remove any extra wood, and to level and clean the shelf you have just created.

Now set your caliper to 3/4″ (19mm) and part the next section to this diameter. The full width of a 1/8″ (3mm) parting tool should create the 1/8″-wide ledge. The last section that needs to be sized is 7/8″ (22mm) diameter. Once this section is sized and the scrap removed, you will need to remark the line on the handle that has been cut away. It should be equal in width to the 3/4″ section just to the right of it. Don’t worry if everything is not exact; small variations are part of what it means to make something by hand. The letter open is now ready to have the final shapes cut into it.

Shape the Elements

Before shaping any element, ask yourself, “Where does the majority of the wood need to be removed to make this shape?” Start cutting at that point. As you make several small cuts in the waste wood of any element, try to mimic what will become the final shape of that element.

When cutting shapes in a spindle, I prefer to start at the tailstock end and work toward the headstock, one element at a time. Start by defining the tip of the blade. I use a parting tool to make an angled cut to a diameter of about 3/8″ (10mm). After turning, the blade section should end up as a long “cone,” so use several sweeping, angled cuts with a roughing gouge to slowly define this shape. Use the remark line on the blade as the end point for the top of the cone. Stop the lathe and confirm that the blade’s taper is flat using a small ruler.

The next element is the cove directly behind the blade. Set your caliper to 5/16″ (8mm) and make a parting cut to this depth right at the transition line between the 1″ and 5/8″ ledges. The bottom of this part defines the bottom of the cove. I use a small gouge to create the cove. Start by making the half cove on the blade side, then halve what’s left of the 5/8″ ledge with a pencil line.

The right side of this line is for the other half of the cove; the left side is an angled cut down into the 3/4″ ledge. Cut the left side of the cove .

If you are using a gouge, don’t cut “up” the walls of the cove; cut “downhill” (from larger diameter to smaller), stopping at the center to join both sides. I use a skew to make the angled cut from the top of the cove down to the start of the 3/4″ ledge.

Before starting the 3/4″ ledge, which will become the small central bead, cut another angle into it from the handle side. Use the first line on the handle side as a reference for the top of the angled cut. These two angled cuts will make the bead stand out and clearly define its boundaries.

Mark the center of the 3/4″ ledge with a pencil; this reference mark will help keep the bead symmetrical during its shaping. I like to lay a small skew on its side and use it as a scraper to shape the bead.

Shape one half of the bead to the pencil mark, then flip the skew over and shape the other half.

Now it’s time to shape the handle. Set your caliper to 3/8″ and make a parting cut to this depth at the end of the handle section. The bottom of this cut is the bottom of the handle’s cove. First, cut the half cove at the top of the handle using a small gouge.

The other half of the handle cove needs to make a smooth transition into the elongated bead of the handle. To make this transition easier to visualize, I start to make the elongated bead on the back of the handle first.

Start by shaping the left half of the elongated handle bead; I use a small skew for this. Carry this shape down into the scrap wood at the headstock.

Now begin cutting the other half of the handle bead until it is in balance with the first half. The scrap wood that remains in the middle of the handle can now be gradually cut away to create a smooth transition to the top of the handle.

The last element I like to add is a small ball, or bead, at the end of the handle. Avoid rounding over the crisply turned details on your letter opener during sanding. I start with 120-grit abrasive and sand up to 400 or 600 grit.

Sanding Fine Details

I have always told my students that good sanding can make a poorly cut piece shine, while bad sanding can make a crisply cut piece look brutal. Here are some tips for sanding those well-turned details without rounding them over:

• Good lighting is synonymous with good sanding. A movable, crane-neck light that can light up every crack and crevice is imperative.

• The higher the sanding grit, the lighter your pressure on the wood needs to be, or you will load the fine grit and end up polishing the wood instead of sanding it.

• Just because we start sanding with 120-grit paper doesn’t mean every element gets sanded with 120. If any shape is cut so well you can’t see tool marks or torn grain on it, leave it until you reach 150 or 220 grit.

• Notice how the color and texture of the wood changes precisely where the sandpaper touches the spinning wood. Use this as a gauge to make sure each grit of paper touches the entire surface area of each shape.

• If you pause the motion of sandpaper on the wood, you will create a series of sanding lines that appear as white rings. These rings are not easy to remove so try to always keep your paper in motion.

• To sand coves, roll the sandpaper onto a drill bit whose diameter conforms to the shape of the cove. Start sanding at the bottom of the cove and roll the drill bit between your fingers as you bring it up to the outside edges.

• To sand beads or short angled cuts, pinch the edge of the paper between your thumb and two fingers. This action makes the edge of the sandpaper rigid and is perfect for sanding right down to the bottom of curved or angled shapes. It is never a good idea to fold sandpaper if you want to maintain sharp lines between shapes. The folded paper will inadvertently sand the opposing shape and blur transition lines.

• When you reach 220 grit, stop and sand in the direction of the grain with the lathe off. Then continue sanding, using the same methods, until you reach 400 or 600 grit.

Shape the Blade

After you have sanded the letter opener, it is time to shape the blade. I begin by drawing lines to mark the two blade edges. The good news is that you don’t need an indexing head, just a jig that holds a pencil at center height and slides along the bed of your lathe. Start by standing at the headstock end of the lathe; now look into the cove behind the blade. Here you should clearly see the grain direction in the wood.

Turn the lathe by hand until the grain is horizontal. Using the pencil jig, make several gentle passes along the entire length of the cone, on both sides of blade, until the lines appear dark and defined.

With the opener removed from the lathe, I use a fine-tooth Japanese saw to remove the scrap pieces from the ends, then a sharp utility knife to roughly shape the outside half of the end bead. To refine this bead, I first cut a strip of 320-grit sandpaper. With the letter opener handle in one hand and the strip of paper in the other, pull the strip of paper over the top of the bead. At the same time, use your thumb to apply gentle pressure to the top of the paper. This action produces an effective “belt sander” that quickly sands away any tool marks.

To start shaping the blade, I use a disk sander outfitted with a 60- or 80-grit disk. The object is to sand away most of the unneeded wood without impacting the blade edges. Hold the letter opener tightly with both hands and use gentle pressure against the sanding disk. Referencing the letter opener against the sander’s table adds an element of safety. Make sure the blade line is facing straight up. Pause frequently and check that you are sanding evenly on both sides of the blade. Keep sanding until there is 1/8″ to 3/16″ of wood left on both sides of the pencil lines.

There is no doubt that the blade can be completely formed with only a sanding disk or belt sander. This method is much quicker than handfiling, but I find hand-filing is a joy and not a chore. With the right files and a bit of practice, wonderfully crisp shapes can be made quickly and easily in wood.

Filing starts with a fine-toothed wood rasp; a piece of felt glued to the edge of my workbench protects the workpiece. I always hold the letter opener directly behind the blade, so my fingers prevent the file from accidentally impacting any of the other elements. Use your index finger on top of the file to produce a light downward pressure as you push it forward to cut. Take that pressure off when you pull the file back over the wood. If your file chatters over the wood, you are pressing too hard or moving too quickly.

Start filing the blade edges first and continue until the rasp is just starting to touch the pencil line on both sides. Then pick one side of the blade and file the middle of that side until it joins the edges you just made. Remove all the marks of the sanding disk and then file some extra wood away from the middle and tip to thin the blade. As you file the second side, stop frequently and compare it to the side you just completed. When the two sides are reasonably close to matching each other, you are ready to move on to a finer file.

I use a coarse file made for metal to begin thinning the blade line even more, passing it over the wood with long, even strokes. Work both blade edges on both sides until just a wisp of pencil line is left. Now move to the middle of the blade and file away all the marks left by the rasp.

Finally, I use a fine mill file with long, even strokes on both sides of the blade to make the pencil line disappear and set the edges straight. No need to file the center of the blade, as a little 150-grit paper over the entire blade, followed by 220, will remove any remaining marks. Always sand in the direction of the grain on the blade.

Apply any finish you like. My preference is three or four coats of a hand-rubbed hardening oil, such as Minwax Antique Oil, as I like its appearance and durability.

Scott Belway is a woodturner based in British Columbia, Canada.

The post PROJECT: Elegant Letter Opener appeared first on Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To.

Inspiration!

This story is as much about inspiration as it is about making a box. It’s about that spark that turns into an idea that gets kicked around and eventually gets put out into the world.

When I attended the final Utah Woodturners Symposium in 2018, I made sure to see Benoît Averly, who was a demonstrator that year. In one session, he offered a slideshow featuring textures. I have always applauded Benoît’s way of showing slides—no more than about two seconds each— which keeps the audience focused. In this demo, he showed an amazing array of images, all of textures and patterns, meant to inspire. One in particular was of a cast iron manhole cover, the image cropped square, with brickwork around the cast iron. Bam! I was hit with a desire to make a square box with a round lid, textured and colored to simulate cast iron, maybe even the brick. And before I knew it, Benoît moved to the next slide. I’m not sure how well I paid attention after that. It was one of those ideas that takes over once started.

When I returned home from the symposium, I started sketching what I was thinking about. At first, I hesitated to search for images of manhole covers, but to my surprise, there are many people in the world who take photos of manhole covers and share them online. I found all sorts of cast iron “street art,” from grates and sewer covers to water access lids and urban tree grills. Some are old and worn to anonymity, while others are easily recognized, plain or complex, painted, rusted and patinated; they are a great source of inspiration!

I also sent a message to Benoît, telling him of my excitement, and asking permission to take the inspiration I found in his images and see where it would lead me. Like the gentleman he is, Benoît pointed out he doesn’t own manhole covers, had not made a box out of them, and he was happy I had found some ideas to explore from his demo.

Tip-up Lid

I am both an artist and a production turner, and that is often how I think about my projects. Sometimes, it’s a one-off piece, never to be repeated, and sometimes a project leads to an ongoing series. I approached this project by first making a prototype, expecting to find problems that would need to be solved—one of which was how the end user would remove the flat lid, which sits flush in the box. There are no knobs or fixed handles on a manhole cover, so I had to find a creative solution.

Manhole covers often have small holes that accept some kind of “key” used to pry the cover up. I thought about devising a decorative key for this purpose but discarded the idea. I didn’t want to require the user of the box to have anything extra that could get lost, which would then necessitate turning the whole box over to remove the lid. I also considered making a finger hole that could be used to lift the lid. I still do some lids that way, but I am not overly fond of the design. I also could have incorporated some sort of toggling ring that could be used to lift the lid, but that seemed too complex for a box that I wanted to be at a certain price point.

Finally, I realized I could design the box’s interior so that the flat lid could be “tipped up” at one edge by pressing down on the opposite edge, much like a teeter-totter. The drawing shows the design that makes this work. Actual manhole covers are too heavy for this approach, but my box could incorporate such a design and retain the flat top surface I was after. Eureka!

Other Considerations

I had pretty well thought through the making of the box before I even set tool to wood. A key consideration was the wood—its source, cost, and stability. Typical 8/4 (2″-thick) kiln-dried stock would work for the base of the box, as it could be purchased readily at a reasonable price and would retain its shape and flatness (for the most part). The lid material could be 4/4 (1″ thick) stock, and since I was planning to add some decoration, it wouldn’t necessarily need to be the same species as the base.

I wondered how I could use the lathe to help speed up the process of decoration and embellishment. Cutting concentric grooves is easy enough, fast and regular if I’m careful. I could use the lathe’s indexing wheel to create regularly spaced intervals, which would help in making any sort of radial designs. Center medallions would be an easy task, as would any sort of edge treatments on the lid.

Other considerations came to me as I thought through the process of making: the base should be wide and stable, as I would be pressing on the edge of the lid to flip it open. A heavier base would also help in its dimensional stability; thin walls lead to distortion. Working the bottom face to completion and then remounting the box on a recess is a quick way of working, but useful also as a means of remounting the work for decorating. I needed the basic box to be simple, and therefore less expensive to make, so keeping the base flat and square would help. With this in mind, I sent my stock through the planer before cutting blanks to size.

I decided to use 8/4 cherry to make a 7-1/4″ (18cm) square box. If you buy presurfaced stock, make sure the top and bottom are clean and parallel.

I also decided to cut the base of the box square on the table saw, and then angle the blade slightly (9 degrees) and run it through on all sides. The angled sides gave the box a simple bit of sophistication with little extra effort.

Turn a Square Box

My turning sequence was to first mount the square box so I could turn the bottom, then flip it around and hollow its interior. I decided to start with a screw chuck. The predrilled hole for the screw could also double as a depth indicator when hollowing.

After planing, my 8/4 stock ended up 1-3/4″ (4cm) thick, so accounting for a mounting recess 1/8″ (3mm) deep, I drilled a screw chuck hole 1-1/4″ (32mm) deep. I used a brad-point bit, measuring to include the brad tip itself. This would leave 3/8″ (10mm) of wood in the bottom, plenty of material to be sturdy, but not so much as to be overly heavy.

With the work mounted on the screw, I formed a recess in the bottom to match my large set of chuck jaws. My recess measured 4-1/4″ (11cm) diameter and just 1/8″ deep; form a recess to accommodate your chuck jaws in expansion mode. I also turned some crisp beads and a shallow V cut inside the recess to add some simple decoration.

After sanding the bottom completely, I took the box off the screw and flipped it around, expanding the chuck jaws into the recess. It held well, with no need to over-tighten. My plan was to hollow the interior but leave a “shelf” for the lid to sit on and a bit of material around the lid.

This would leave a healthy wall thickness, even with the angled sides of the box. Use a pencil to mark the diameter of the box opening—in my case, 6-1/4″, or 16cm.

To hollow the interior, I used a skew to make a peeling cut, but a bowl gouge or even a scraper can be used just as easily and will produce similar results. Remove the waste wood down to your drill depth. I undercut the interior opening, but was careful not to overdo it. The peeling cut is efficient but doesn’t leave a good finish on the endgrain, so a spindle gouge made quick work of cleaning up that area, leaving a clean cut all the way down to the corner.

The shelf, or ledge, that the lid sits upon is 5/8″ (16mm) wide and 1/4″ (6mm) deep. After forming this shelf, I needed to address how much “lift” the lid would have by angling the shelf surface slightly deeper at its outside edge.

The shelf is inset below the box surface by 1/4″, but the outside edge goes 3⁄32″ (2mm) below that—just enough to allow the lid to tip up when its opposite side is pressed down.

I then sanded the interior of the box. Slow the lathe speed down, use good sandpaper, and it won’t take long. All of the interior was finish-sanded on the lathe.

The sides, top, and bottom of the base were sanded on my workbench with a palm sander. I then sanded by hand to ease the edges.

Turn the Lid

I used 6/4 (1-1/2″-thick) cherry for the lid, as I had that material on hand, but 4/4 would work as well with less waste. Just be careful how you mount it on the lathe. I mounted the blank on a screw, using spacers to reduce the depth of the screw in the lid.

I turned the lid’s outside diameter carefully, then formed the “step” that would sit inside the opening in the base. This notch should be kept very square; undercutting the angle would counteract the tipping action we are trying to achieve.

I measured and transferred dimensions from the base to the lid, which requires a somewhat loose fit.

Using a skew, I scraped a recess to accept my chuck jaws in expansion mode, 1/8″ deep, in the middle of the lid. You could make a spigot here and tighten your chuck jaws onto it, but I prefer to expand into a recess so as to have wide stability and not crush the wood fibers.

Decoration on the lid’s underside is optional; I added a few beads within the recess. As you consider decorating the underside of the lid, remember you are shooting for about 1/2″ (13mm) total lid thickness.

Sand the underside of the lid completely, then flip the lid around, expanding the jaws carefully into the recess. Now reduce the thickness of the lid so it will sit flush in the box base. Sand the top of the lid.

Remove the lid from the chuck and test its flip-up action in the box. Pushing on the outside edge of the lid should kick it up a good 3/4″ (19mm), allowing you to grab it. If the lid is rubbing the base anywhere, re-mount it on the lathe and adjust to a looser fit.

Decoration

With the basic box and lid completed, you can add some decoration quickly on the lathe. Grooves, beads, or bands can be formed on both the lid and box. I almost always include a shallow groove at the outer edge of the top, which helps disguise any tolerance changes in the lid. But go easy here—even small accents make a big impact visually.

Stop the lathe and use its indexing head to lay out any radial lines you might want to use as carving guidelines. I made a simple shaft to fit in my banjo and a wood crosspiece to aid in drawing straight lines. I normally draw in all the lines, hitting every division that is included on my lathe’s dividing plate—in my case, that is twentyfour divisions.

Another method of decoration is to drill shallow holes in the lid, some of which can run off the edge. I made a jig to hold the lid during drilling. Clamp or block the jig in place, then spin the lid to shift to different positions.

Creative embellishment is up to you. I use all manner of colorants, carving, and burning, often making the lid a different color than the box. After adding decorative elements, I usually finish the boxes with a few coats of tung oil.

Some who have never seen this type of box may be stumped as to how it opens, but once the trick is shown, it quickly becomes a favorite. secret to share.

Keith Gotschall, a fulltime turner and furniture maker, is a frequent demonstrator and teacher of traditional turning techniques. He lives in the mountains of Colorado with his wife Catherine and a very bad dog named Roscoe. For more,
visit his website.

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