The first pic is so good it looks like the seam has been photoshopped out. Beautiful workmanship and the grain is awesome!
The first pic is so good it looks like the seam has been photoshopped out. Beautiful workmanship and the grain is awesome!
Member Illiana Woodturners
Kathy,
That is pretty dang cool. Love it.
Alan
As someone who can't turn a solid sphere, I can only admire those who can make a sphere box. Neat!
That is cool Kathy and like the donut idea.
Bernie
Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.
Nice work Kathy, neat idea.
Always drink upstream of the herd.
Exceptional workmanship and creativity Kathy, you should be proud!
Thanks guys!
This was fun to do and I think I'll be doing more of them. I have some ideas for some little embellishments to jazz them up.
Thanks David, and now that you mention it, I agree, the donut would look better and less conspicuous if it was thinner. I've also got some ideas for some different bases that would look more like they belong.
Thanks Nate, I like the name you came up with and I just might have to steal it!
Thanks John, I cheated a little bit on the 1st pic and Doug saw right through that one! He's right, the opening goes around the perimeter in the 1st pic. The seam was almost invisible when it was finished, but it moved just a hair and that was enough to allow a tiny gap. It looks to be stabilizing and moving back to where it was.
Ray, I removed the dirt. It was all heavy clay with a few rocks thrown in. It was wet, sticky and heavy and didn't want to come off the shovel. I hope it's a long time before I need to do that again! On the bright side, I found a good use for some of my shavings, I lined the hole with a generous amount so I wouldn't be slipping and sliding around in the hole. Worked like a charm.
Thanks Doug! You've got a sharp eye, you caught me out on that 1st pic!
"If it is wood, I will turn it."
vor-tex: any activity, situation, or way of life regarded as irresistibly engulfing.
Kathy I'd love to see a dozen or so viewers have a go at this one & see how good they get that sphere, & then have a go at that match up, looks easy eh, have a go.
Great job Kathy.
Pete
I like your donut concept...& great" almost can't see centerline"
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning, the devil says, "oh crap she's up!"
Tolerance is giving every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.
"What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts are gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts will happen to man. All things are connected. " Chief Seattle Duwamish Tribe
Kathy, great job on your sphere box. I'm only guessing that after you create a sphere you parted it in two, hollowed each half, joined it, then went through the sphere forming all over again?
Thanks Hayes! Actually, I started out by turning a cylinder then turning a tenon on both ends (about 2" longer than the sphere diameter). I then parted it in half and then hollowed each half about to what I thought might be close to the inside of the sphere, being sure to leave enough that the outside wouldn't meet the inside when I turned the sphere form.
After both halves were hollowed, I put them together using the tailstock to hold them together and marked for length. I 1st measured the diameter of the cylinder and that would be the size of the sphere. The joint would be the center line (I drew a pencil line all the way around the joint), then I measured half the diameter from the center line in each direction to get the length, then added about 1/16th to each end. I used a parting tool to cut the ends down to about 1" diameter, then started shaping the sphere by eye. I didn't try to get it perfect at this point, just close enough to fit in a jam chuck. When I got down to the parting line, I continued shaping until it was down to about 1/4" then used a saw to free each half sphere.
Then I mounted it in a jamb chuck with the center joint running parallel to the ways. I centered it using the live center in the tailstock to line up with the pencil line around the joint. Then I used a little pen blank cutoff between the sphere and the live center so I could use some pressure to hold the sphere in the jamb chuck (with a solid sphere and a good fit in the jamb chuck, it can be done without pressure from the tailstock). The sphere will fit into the jamb chuck to just a little less than half way. Next, I used my parting tool to cut down in the center until it almost took out the pencil mark (which is perpendicular to the parting cut). The parting cut establishes the length to exactly the diameter of the sphere. Then the sphere was remounted in the jamb chuck so the joint was perpendicular to the ways and the parting cut was parallel to the ways. Then it's just a matter of turning it down to the bottom of the parting cut, then sanding through all the grits, moving the sphere randomly so the entire surface is sanded.
For completing the hollowing I used another jamb chuck that I had cut about 8 slots down the sides, then using a large hose clamp I was able to squeeze the jamb chuck tightly around each half sphere to hold it securely for final hollowing.
I had planned on taking pics during the process, but we all know about best intentions . Maybe I'll remember pics on the next one!
"If it is wood, I will turn it."
vor-tex: any activity, situation, or way of life regarded as irresistibly engulfing.
Kathy, thanks so much for taking the time to explain. I read through this a number of times this morning and took note on how this differs from your tutorial on solid sphere turning. I will try this when I get some time in the shop. Thanks again!!
Sorry about your troubles but I sure do like this piece!
A few hours south of Steve Schlumpf