# First Bangle



## BassBlaster

This is my first bangleguy bangle and I got to say, these are fun litte projects. Also challenging for a guy that has only turned pens and stoppers up to this point.

This is the mid width bangle with BAB. CA finish, 20 coats, MM'ed to 12,000 and then polished with Huts.

There are a few things wrong with this turning. First off, my lathe has a slight bit of run out. Its so little that I have never even noticed it when spinning pens but it presents itself when turning something as large as a bangle that has a perfectly round core. I was able to make it nearly unnoticable but I'm thinking a higher quality lathe is in my future.

Next, I must have done something wrong during my glue up because there is a very small seam where the wood meets the steel. Its the lower side in the pic. The wife never noticed it and most that dont turn probably wouldnt either but I did and thats what matters. Definately will be more careful with the glue up on the next one.

Last flaw is in the finish. Its barely noticeable in the pic but that can be fixed. I put enough coats on it that I think I can repolish it and make the finish next to perfect.

All in all, I had fun turning it and the wife loves it!! Its far from perfect but for a rookie turner and a first bangle, I'll call it success!!

http://i964.Rule #2/albums/ae127/BassBlaster29/DSC_0925a.jpg


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## chippin-in

Thats a nice lookin piece of art. Great job.

Robert


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## West River WoodWorks

Thats a nice looking bangle anyway you look at it!
Bangleguys kits are a really nice project, I have a couple of them on the way.
Tom


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## BangleGuy

Great Job! I wish the first bangle I made looked that good! The BAB came out great, and the finish looks really nice. Now I am wishing I had more time to spend on my lathe and not hauling drywall to the dump! I gotta get my daughters room remodeled so I can get back to shop!!! LOL

Thanks for posting!

BG


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## BassBlaster

Thanks guys!!

Eric, looking at the pics in the tutorial, it looks like you have some type of spacer on your chuck to move the bangle out a little more. Is this something you purchased or made? It would really be nice to have a little more room on the chuck side to work. I tried using the piece that was trimmed off the blank but it wasnt perfectly flat so it made the bangle wobble.

I guess I could run a piece of scrap through the planer to get perfectly flat and make a spacer that way.


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## BangleGuy

BassBlaster said:


> Thanks guys!!
> 
> Eric, looking at the pics in the tutorial, it looks like you have some type of spacer on your chuck to move the bangle out a little more. Is this something you purchased or made? It would really be nice to have a little more room on the chuck side to work. I tried using the piece that was trimmed off the blank but it wasnt perfectly flat so it made the bangle wobble.
> 
> I guess I could run a piece of scrap through the planer to get perfectly flat and make a spacer that way.


Dennis, Yes I do have a metal ring that I made. Spacing the blank away from the chuck makes the pucker factor go way down  I will throw one in the box that is coming your way. I also made a few rings out of 1/4" MDF since the metal rings I have only work for the size 8/8.5's


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## BassBlaster

Sweet!!! Thanks so much!! Is this something thats available on your site? I'll gladly pay for it.


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## BangleGuy

BassBlaster said:


> Sweet!!! Thanks so much!! Is this something thats available on your site? I'll gladly pay for it.



No worries my friend!


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## NYWoodturner

Dennis - awesome job ! Excellent choice for wood. I'm going to have to do one of those. The seam is likely from not facing off the blank exactly square. Learned that one the hard way - twice. I'm not necessarily a quick learner...  
Wait until your wife wears it out... You will get orders for more.
Scott


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## BassBlaster

She wore it out tonight, just over to a friends house to let the kids go swimming and her friend called. When I told her the price, she flipped her lid, lol. I only qouted her $75 which I thought was very reasonable and I definately wouldnt sell one with the flaws like this one has even though she wasnt even aware it was flawed.

Thanks for the tip on the squared edge. I bet thats exactly what it was. Now that I think about it, I just cut the blank to the proper width and never touched the other side. I should have trued one side then flipped it over and cut the width.

For cutting the width, I took an old stiff wooden handle kitchen knife and ground the edge off and then ground a parting tool tip on it. Works like a charm and has a kerf of less than 1/16"!!


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## NYWoodturner

BassBlaster said:


> She wore it out tonight, just over to a friends house to let the kids go swimming and her friend called. When I told her the price, she flipped her lid, lol. I only qouted her $75 which I thought was very reasonable and I definately wouldnt sell one with the flaws like this one has even though she wasnt even aware it was flawed.
> 
> Thanks for the tip on the squared edge. I bet thats exactly what it was. Now that I think about it, I just cut the blank to the proper width and never touched the other side. I should have trued one side then flipped it over and cut the width.
> 
> For cutting the width, I took an old stiff wooden handle kitchen knife and ground the edge off and then ground a parting tool tip on it. Works like a charm and has a kerf of less than 1/16"!!



Thatsvn awesome idea ! Gail might be missing a knife tomorrow ....


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