playing around NE plate

[Tom Jones III]

I was cutting an inch or two off a pecan bowl blank and couldn't bring myself to throw the disk away so I turned it. I set my snack on it last night. I let the plate dry in the open air and there was little or no distortion in the white part, but the brown parts shrank a lot. Obviously I didn't put much time or effort into the plate since I was just playing around but now I wish that I had. I'll be keeping a close eye in the future for another disk with a twig coming off it like this one has.

Just think, I got the lathe thinking LOML would like it more and that I really wouldn't use it too much. So much for the slippery slope, this was more like a diving board!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tom.........if you wanted to do some more work on that .....could you put it in a friction chuck using your tail stock and finish it?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

BTW.......you're right......it's not a vortex that sucks you in.......you just become so enthralled that you dive in........no looks back..........take me....take me........

[Bernie Weishapl]

I agree with Ken. Use a friction chuck and finish it how you would like. I made one out of PVC and glued leather chamois over the end. It is a reducer type. One end is two inch and the other is 3 inch. Works pretty good. I think the next one I make will have some kind of rubber type material instead of the leather.


By the way Tom don't let old Ken fool you. He didn't get sucked in he got thrust into the vortex period.

[Tom Jones III]

By friction chuck do you mean a jamb chuck? I've been using one to finish the feet of bowls. I put a folded towel over the faceplate or scroll chuck and push the bowl onto it with the live center.

With Ken it was like the little kid whose Dad throws him into the pool to teach him how to swim.

[Bernie Weishapl]

You got that right Tom about Ken.

Yes that will work. I just got some PVC so it wouldn't scar the inside of the bowl. I had it happen on the first bowl I did. So I decided the PVC thing would work better especially lined with leather or like a thick shelf liner.

[Keith Burns]

Tom, I can honestly say I've never seen a NE Platter, but you know what...I like it !

[Ken Fitzgerald]

With Ken it was like the little kid whose Dad throws him into the pool to teach him how to swim.[/quote]

As a matter of fact....that's how my Dad taught me to swim.....Salt Creek ....just a little out of Bedford Indiana.......Fish weren't biting......Hot summer afternoon......Dad needed a little entertainment........"If he learns to swim...he won't drown".......Wait a minute.........Kinda sounds like how I got into turning doesn't it?.....Only difference .....cold December/January.......Folks bored .........needed a little entertainment....We'll throw this guy in......He's never seen a lathe or seen someone turn......I can hear Dennis, Andy, John Hart, John M. 's conversation.....Aw......Hey if he reads a book or sees a video....he might not get hurt.....Shoot those Jet MiniVS cant hold over 10" ....wet...what's that weigh.......20lbs.......that knuckle head can take a 20 lb. blow to the head........

It's deja vu ......all over again!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Yea Ken what a conversation. You can't win can you Ken. But you sure fooled'em with some good turning though and learning fast.

[Andy Hoyt]

Actually, the conversation was more like this.

Hey guys. I'm headed off to Tahiti in the spring and need some more flyer miles on my UAL CC for a free ticket. Who can we scam?

[John Hart]

Nice looking platter Tom! Yeah...I'd definitely throw some finish on it. It's a keeper!!

[Ernie Nyvall]

Oh yea, that's a keeper Tom. Nice work.

Ernie

[George Conklin]

So, what's it like to turn pecan?

[Robert Mickley]

Nice NE plate Tom. Sometimes playing around gets you some cool stuff

Actually, the conversation was more like this.

Hey guys. I'm headed off to Tahiti in the spring and need some more flyer miles on my UAL CC for a free ticket. Who can we scam?

You could scam me next, that oneway coring system looks prettty nice

[Tom Jones III]

So, what's it like to turn pecan?

Not much to say, it is fairly hard and cuts nicely. Harder wood than walnut, maybe not as hard as mesquite. When wet it cuts very easily, long thin curls even from a beginner like me. When dry it is still pretty nice to cut. Sanding is easy and it polishes to a nice hard surface. I've included pics of my first bowl in pecan, no finish but sanded to 600.