[OP]
Member
Maple globe with finial from Cocobolo pen blank.
I had some difficulty with this sea urchin shell; it has a kidney shape. The big gap was ugly. Next time, I should choose the shell with that in consideration. I think the disk was too heavy for the shape. Comments are welcome.
Gordon
Contributor
Great looking ornaments Gordon. Like those icicles. Well done.
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.
Contributor
Very nice--I like them!
Member
Man I love seeing other peoples creations. That is good work. Looks very nice. Thank you for sharing!
One good turn deserves another
Moderator
Great concept and very nice work Gordon! They make for some very interesting ornaments!
Steve
“You never know what you got til it's gone!”
Please don’t let that happen!
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Member
Very nice. I also like to see how different our creative abilities can be from one person to another. I'm now inspired to implement off center turning into something.
Member
Man, Gordon, those are some nifty looking pieces. That off-center turning thing gives me the jibblies, though, thinking about the strange way that wood must be spinning. Did you have a mentor help you with the technique, or did you teach yourself?
That's not a light at the end of the tunnel; It's a naked singularity.
Henry C. Gernhardt, III
[OP]
Member
Henry,
I took a two week class with Jean Francois Escoulen and Mark Sfirri at Arrowmont. The off-center work has always fascinates me. It seemed there was absence of information for beginners before the articles in recent issues of AAW journal.
Actually you can do a lot with just turning between the centers. There are several things you have to watch when you explore.
Turn down the lathe speed
Use a safe drive (allowing the blank to slip if you have a catch)
Rotate the piece by hand to clear the tool rest before turning on the lathe. Keep your hand behind the tool rest.
Do a small scale first, gradually increase the off-set and size.
By nature of this style of turning, you can't move the tool rest as close as normal turning. There is always a lot of tool overhang; a good shallow flute detail gouge is a must to reduce chattering. My current favorites are the Thompson shallow flute detail gouges. Detail gouges are not just spindle gouges that has a pointy grind; they have more steel left for rigidity.
Use the highest speed that is comfortable to you, don't push your gouge. You are making interrupted cuts -wood, air, wood, air... The air has no resistance for your tool to advance; you will never get a smooth cut if your tool is bouncing in and out.
Once you remove some unbalanced wood, you can increase your speed gradually. Therefore Electronic Variable Speed is a very nice feature to have.
Have fun.
Gordon
Contributor
Beautiful work Gordon, as usual. I remember your pieces at the Yankee Symposium very well. You really took to the eccentric/offset techniques and use them to produce excellent work.
Your tips and advice are much apprecited too.
Happy and Safe Turning, Don
Woodturners make the world go ROUND!
Member
This is inspirational work. Well done, Gordon. Thanks for sharing,
Member
Great looking ornaments, Gordon. I always like your off center turnings.
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