Turning Projects Page

I purchased my first lathe back in 1999 or thereabouts, but it was a piece of junk from Harbor Freight (their $79 special).  What a waste of time and money.  I did invest in a decent set of lathe tools at the same time from Rockler.  These set me back $100 for an 8 piece set of Buck tools.

After a few attempts with the HF lathe and dull tools, I became discouraged and didn't try to do any type of turning for a few years.  Then in 2001 I purchased a Jet 1014 mini-lathe with bed extension.  I tried a few more times making spindles and a few tool handles, but I really didn't go very far with this. Inexperience and no teachers, and I got discouraged.

My breakthrough came around 2006 when I was looking for a woodworking group in my area, and I stumbled across a post on rec.woodworking by Owen Lowe about the Northwest Woodturners. I started attending the demonstrations, became a member, took advantage of the video library, learned how to sharpen my tools, and learned how to use them.  I still only turn maybe 1 project per month, but I now enjoy doing so.  Here are those projects, and my progress in wood turning.

In late March of 2008, I purchased a Jet 1236 variable speed lathe.  While most people would consider this a entry level lathe, it was an upgrade from my Jet mini.  I still prefer to make pens on the Jet mini, though.

Spalted Maple Bowl My first (in 20 years). 2006	Wormy Oregon White Oak with carved feet Made for a friend of the family, Dec. 2007 I believe this was my second bowl.
Spalted Maple Pen/Pencil Set  This set is available for sale for $45  Click Here to send a note requesting this.  Shipping is extra.	Doug Fir for Gales Creek school auction Feb. 2008 A friend of the family was having a school fund raiser, so I made this bowl to sell in their auction.
3 point bowl in Douglas Fir Mar. 2008