Howdy folks!
I'm new in this section of the board, but I've enjoyed many of your posts and the remarkable turnings...
I don't have the budget for high-end tools, but I've learned to enjoy making things work in my price range. This weekend, I was Craigslist surfing and saw a HF mini lathe for $50 with some pen blanks thrown in. My Son was with me so I asked him if he was interested...and he was. This was from an estate of an older gentlemen (I have remarkable luck with this scenario) and we picked it up, brought it home and plugged it in.
I had a section of purple-leaf plum that I'd saved from a tree in our back yard a couple of years ago. I trimmed it down and had a workable blank to work. I consulted with my Junior partner and design consultant and he thought a chess piece would be cool. So we googled some different designs and came up with a profile that we liked.
I set in some depth markers for the different sections of the piece, and turned the lathe over to him. He's a natural. I finished things, but he did a good chunk of the work. We had a blast. He's 14, and I hadn't turned anything since I was his age. We sanded with 150 then 400, then finished with a combination of orange oil and beeswax. It was fun to see the figuring emerge as the oil and wax penetrated into the work.
We learned alot as we went, had a great time, and can't wait to do some more! Everyone in our family is going to get something turned for the holidays... Cheers!
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