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Description: Two peppermills I made last Christmas. They look decent, but they've got some flaws - I wish I'd seen Ted Sokolowski's video before I made these!
Description: I've started turning birdhouse ornaments based on Dick Sing's book Turning Miniature Birdhouses http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Sing-Turns-Miniature-Birdhouses/dp/0764320807 You can see the mandrel I made, using a Be-all spindle tap.
Description: I'd like to do a segmented bowl someday!
Description: Bob's knife amazed me - I'd love to do something like this someday!
Description: Woodturners use tool rests when turning. My Powermatic 3520 came with a 14" long toolrest. I wanted a shorter one that would fit between my headstock and tailstock when turning small Christmas tree ornaments. The Powermatic aftermarket 6" toolrest (P/N 6294739) costs $60 ... $70 after shipping. I decided to make my own, and did it in about 40 minutes in the shop.
Description: Woodturner's Catalog sells this specialized toolrest for making boxes (specifically, scraping the insides of an end grain box). The rest is $85. I think I've got a 1/2" thick slab of steel around somewhere that would be perfect for this ... I'm going to make my own some day!
Description: Ordered (5) 18' long 2x12s. Cut them to half length, yielding (10) 9' long 2x12s. Ripped each into three equal pieces, yielding (30) 9' 2x4s. Planed the faces of each, reducing thickness to 1 3/8". Picked 24 good ones, divided into 4 groups of 6. Started gluing up the four flitches (each will be 8 1/4" wide x 3 1/2" thick). Each will be allowed to cure for 24 hours, then will be run through the planer. Then the four bench segments will be glued together. I'll install one Record face vise on the front, and either two on the right end, or a single Vertias twin screw vise.
...oh, and thanks for the kind words!
Very nice! Unfinished, you can't really seem much of the wood grain, but I imagine that that burl is REALLY going to pop once it's finished. Btw, I read about a technique to make burl look even better: stain it black, then sand most of it off - the dye affects the swirls and knots of the burl and really brings out the details. I mean to try that technique myself with a small box that I'm turning on the lathe out of burl.
Woah! Very cool!
How did you texture the clay for the roof? It almost looks like you used a waffle iron or something!
Not to mention on DVDs from SmartFlix!
I'm actually watching one of them at home right now (well, not ** RIGHT ** now - but it's in the DVD player for when I get home tonight).
Neal,
I actually made a light tent over the weekend - it's about 2 feet on a side, made out of 1" PVC pipes and fittings, and has two halogen bulbs in cheap reflectors from Lowes. In my test shots I've used an old tablecloth that happened to be sitting in the shop's rag box, but I want to use something better (and without a hole in it!). What did you use for a backdrop? Also, do you filter your lights at all?
Oh, and also the turned item is amazing!
Wow! Amazing!
Can I ask how much you were asking for it?
The video is quite professionally done, and consists of four threads, interleaved: Steve Jeck's trip to Iceland to carry the Pen Slab and thus prove himself "fullsterkur" (fully strong), Steve's weight-room training, excerpts from Steve's motivation speaking to high schoolers, and short interviews with professors of medieval literature, wherein they talk about the place of proving stones in Western culture. I was fascinated by the video for several reasons: I'm interested in Icelandic history and I'm interested in stone lifting (the most I've ever done is a clean and overhead press of an approximately 100lb stone, for one rep...I've got quite a ways to go before I enter Jeck territory!). The video was so good that I've watched it twice, and plan on watching it at least once more.
I enjoyed this DVD. The video is a full hour long (longer than many of the other boxing DVDs), and covered a lot of topics. The video was professionally shot and editted, and the instructor/narrator has a very nice, rythmic, enchanting voice. This DVD is a complete mini-course on one disk: everything from wrapping hands, to stance, to punches, to workouts.
The Title-brand DVDs cover more topics (because there are a lot of DVDs in the series!). If I was looking for just one DVD to watch, I'd pick this one. If I wanted more in-depth coverage, I'd likely go with the other DVDs...but either way, you can't go too far wrong: these are all good disks.
This review covers the first video in this series: "How to Box".
I thought that this was a good solid intro to boxing. The instructor begins with the basics: stance. He gives a good explanation for the standard stance - it's not "just do it this way", but "stand this way BECAUSE doing so will get your weight aligned like so, your reach like so, and your...", etc.
The instructor then covers the basic punches, clearly explaining what joints pivot, what muscles move...and, just as importantly, what parts of your body DO NOT move (his explanation of how a lot of people hurt their elbows was a good one).
I'm just using the boxing techniques to practice with a heavy bag as a warmup and a cool down in weight training, but I really dislike the idea of greasing the groove with bad technique, so this video was quite useful to me - I got my stance and punches right from the start.
This review is just for the video "How to Hit the Heavy Bag".
I enjoyed this video. It is well shot and well narrated. The video assumes that you've watched an earlier / more basic video (such as "how to box", or Everlast's "Boxing Workout"), and know how to stand, put on your gloves, and have a basic idea of how to throw a punch.
The instruction reviews the different types of heavy bags, reviews the basic punches, and then talks about how to use punches in drills on the heavy bag. Since watching this video I've been incorporating heavy bag work into my weight training, and I'm quite pleased with it. The first time you try to throw 90 left jabs at a bag (with very quick recovery of the punch, and good stance) in 90 seconds, you'll KNOW that you've been doing something new!
The video is a bit shorter than I would have liked, but I ended up watching it several times to get all of the great information out of it (so, in that sense, I got several hours from it!).
Recommended.
I really enjoyed this DVD.
I've seen several how-to DVDs, and this is at the top of the pack as far as production quality. The video is well lit, shot with good equipment, expertly edited, and very very well scripted.
Ted is a great teacher, with a very calm, clear demeanor - but without being boring or sleep inducing. He's clearly thought out all of his lines ahead of time, which means that there are no "umms" or "ahhs", or pointless digressions.
The video does not go deeply into proper use of turning tools (there are several other good videos at SmartFlix that cover this), and the upside of this is that the video can spend its entire length talking about:
* design * process for turning a peppermill * tricks and tips
The design bit (including laying out the mill on a wood blank to use features in the wood to best effect) was outstanding. A lot of artists talk about design, but - in my experience - the vast majority of them use a vocabulary that is imprecise and vague. Ted does a great job of explaining WHY he likes a certain curve or shape (his most memorable phrase compares components of the overall shape to "water balloons" - it makes a lot of sense! Go watch it!).
The process is also quite straightforward - I've made several peppermills before watching this video, and his process clearly does a much better job than mine. Every step is well thought out, and is there for a reason, and this results in clean holes, concentric parts, a nice surface, and a good finish. The "process" section is the longest part of the video, and that's a great thing!
Finally, the tricks and tips are also great.
Five out of five lightbulbs!
Go rent this.
I subscribed to Woodcarver University via SmartFlix, and this was one of the first batches of DVDs shipped - excellent work by SmartFlix (just who is the masked genius who put this DVD in the university and pushed it up to the front of the "course" list? ;-).
Anyway, the DVD is excellent, on two levels. The camera work, editing, etc. are seamless, and among the very best available on how-to DVDs.
Second, the instruction is really crisp, clear, and presented in the appropriate order. There are a lot of simple simple rules that as a heretofore self-taught carver I didn't know. They're obvious in retrospect, but having someone lay things out clearly for me was really helpful. I liked the tutorials on sharpening, holding knives and gouges, stop cuts, and more.
Highly recommended.
I wish it wasn't Christmas this week - I'd like a chance to slip down to my shop and give it a shot. The good news is that I can keep the DVD as long as I want because I got it via Woodcarver University (small plug there), so I'll just hang on to it for another few weeks.
This review covers the bottle stopper disk.
This is a pretty light weight DVD - if you've done much spindle turning before, you already know 80% of what's on here. There were a few good points, though - there are two finishing recipes that I'd never heard before, and both seemed to give amazing results. I took notes and am going to go out and buy the relatively cheap and simple supplies to try these finishing tricks myself.
A decent video. Nora Hall did a fine job of teaching how to carve a bas relief scroll. The presentation was well lit and shot, but a bit bland. A solid "B".
Outstanding.
The presentation was well scripted (well, actually, it didn't SOUND "scripted", so let me say that the presentation was well planned and well designed). The visual aids were very clear. The video was well lit and well shot - the camera placement was always perfect.
The explanation of deep hollowing was very well done. I have every confidence that I can build my own deep hollowing rig (or, easier yet, buy one from Lee Valley) and start doing a good job hollowing ASAP.
The best bit was all of the little potential gotchas that were covered. I wish more videos were this thorough.
A solid video. The tips of lathe setup were decent. Most were good info that I'd heard before, but one or two were quite surprising, make perfect sense in retrospect, and yet I had NEVER heard anywhere else (his secret to making a tailstock and banjo clamp down to the lathe ways was astoundingly simple, and genius!).
The stretching exercises were an interesting twist. They loaned the whole thing a bit of a hippie flavor, but are probably a good idea.
A solid "B+" video. Worth renting!
This review covers the "elegant bottle stopper" dvd in the series.
Decent. I come away from the video thinking that turning a bottle stopper is pretty much exactly what I might guess - a small bit of work between centers. There are a few good hints.
I rented this as part of Woodturner University. In that context, I'd say "watch it, pay attention, learn a few things". Aside from that, I'd say only rent it if you intend to turn bottle stoppers (sort of obvious, I guess).
I give Woodturner University five stars!
I'm a medium-skilled woodturner, and I find that Woodturner University is invaluable for me - by getting three new woodturning DVDs every month, not only do I learn new techniques and get information on new projects I've never attempted before, but - perhaps more importantly - I get a new kick in the behind every few weeks, reminding me how much fun woodturning is, and keeping me motivated and interested at the lathe!
The second disk in the series was quite sparse in terms of material. If you watched the first DVD (already a bit light), the second one added almost nothing - just a demonstration of how to use a drill mounted to a toolpost, and how to glue cheap looking fake gems into a turned project.
Good material, but pretty dry. I recommend the Richard Raffan disk instead.
Pretty basic.
I'd recommend any of Raffan's videos instead.
Description: "Cotton and his Candy Shoppe" are part of the new Village series, just one of the many projects delivered each month to Poly Clay Play Club Subscribers at polyclayplay.com I am having tons of fun designing these and writing the projects for club members to make their own village. It is hard to tell from the photo but light glows in the windows too from the real lights inside the house. The project instructions include the different techniques involved, including ribbon candy, image transfer, a "candy cane" cane and how to make "Cotton, the Elf". "Cotton" was delivered in November. December's village piece is going to be "Santa's Castle" along with Santa and Rudolph. Happy Holidays! Trish
Description: Hope Louis Tiffany's heirs don't sue me. Inspired by Tiffany's stained glass lamps. About 24" x 10" x 4" deep. Purple heart box, butterfly of African ebony and pink ivory, leaf of yellow heart, black walnut and mora. I'm not too pleased with these photos -- the box is nicer. Represents a good month's hard labor. Dividers are left loose till the owner decides where they should be. If at all. PS -- Sold it for the price I was asking, the day I finished it!
No, it's just an ornament, for a Christmas tree...although I have been thinking about scaling up the project and making REAL birdhouses this way!