# who turns big stuff!



## jimmyjames (Apr 14, 2013)

I was thinking to myself today (dangerous I know...) that there's a lot of turners on here but never see anything big, I really want to see some big ol bowls and vases and hollow forms..... I'm talking about the size of pieces that when you strap that chunk of wood on your lathe you think to yourself "is this safe?" I see so much wood trading hands but not a lot of finished photos, don't be shy, SHOW ME THE MONEY!


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## Kevin (Apr 14, 2013)

How's this . . . 

[attachment=23196]

You are too much like me. Building a big lathe, and using that lathe, are two very different things. I have a little old bitty Delta Midi lathe that I use on occasion. I also have assembled the parts to turn actual trees (I am not BSing there are members here will vouch for this) because I want to turn 12'+ porch columns out of ERC logs. 

The reason I still have not assembled my "tree lathe" is many-fold, but the main reason is because I know just from using my midi lathe, turning is a serious business. It's dangerous. I still have serious engineering to do but more importantly I need to work up to it. 

If you haven't, it's very difficult to appreciate the energy in even a 6" diameter hunk of wood spinning at 2000 RPM. It's a LOT! You're used to spinning metal. Metal spinners always under-appreciate the difference between the two mediums. You should spin small wood stuff before even thinking about nuclear bombs like you are thinking about. A wood blank 30" in diameter has more energy than the entire federal congress has hot air and BS combined. And that's a lot of energy.


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## jimmyjames (Apr 14, 2013)

Thats the plan kevin, im going to start with some small things and work my way up, i have alot to learn and many of the things cant be taught or read and just come from hands on experience. Heck no if i went straight to big things i would be to scared to even turn the lathe on.....


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## Mike Jones (Apr 15, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> I was thinking to myself today (dangerous I know...) that there's a lot of turners on here but never see anything big, I really want to see some big ol bowls and vases and hollow forms..... I'm talking about the size of pieces that when you strap that chunk of wood on your lathe you think to yourself "is this safe?" I see so much wood trading hands but not a lot of finished photos, don't be shy, SHOW ME THE MONEY!



Well, my avatar shows my Marianne holding a pretty big djembe (African type drum). Had to special order the goat skin cause typically drum makers don't make 'em that big. It is a single piece of redwood finished out to around 17" by 30". My experience with bowls: they aren't as desirable to buyers big and take more wood/work/drying/sanding/finishing than it's worth. (to me)

I'll scout for some pictures of some large HF's, but for now, I'll just say that somewhere around eighty pounds is where it gets tough for me to get one on the spindle.


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## Mike1950 (Apr 15, 2013)

A wood blank 30" in diameter has more energy than the entire federal congress has hot air and BS combined. And that's a lot of energy.

Kevin. I what to see the mathematical proof of this- I mean it is proven physically impossible to be more full of them selves and Sh!t then our congress.:dash2::dash2::dash2::dash2: I mean lets be reasonable. And compare it to bazillions of megatons of power or something else realistic. :rotflmao3::rotflmao3::rotflmao3::rotflmao3:


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## barry richardson (Apr 15, 2013)

I turn stuff as big as my 16"swing lathe will allow. It's like turning small stuff, just bigger


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## Dane Fuller (Apr 15, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> I was thinking to myself today (dangerous I know...) that there's a lot of turners on here but never see anything big, I really want to see some big ol bowls and vases and hollow forms..... I'm talking about the size of pieces that when you strap that chunk of wood on your lathe you think to yourself "is this safe?" I see so much wood trading hands but not a lot of finished photos, don't be shy, SHOW ME THE MONEY!



My lathe has a 20" swing and I'm always on the lookout for something that big to turn. There's that big chunk of walnut I got from you calling my name in the shop. WAY TO MANY irons in the fire right now for me to take a stab at it. I'll make sure to post pics of that "build by subtraction" when I get to it.


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## AustinTom (Apr 15, 2013)

jimmyjames said:


> I was thinking to myself today (dangerous I know...) that there's a lot of turners on here but never see anything big, I really want to see some big ol bowls and vases and hollow forms..... I'm talking about the size of pieces that when you strap that chunk of wood on your lathe you think to yourself "is this safe?" I see so much wood trading hands but not a lot of finished photos, don't be shy, SHOW ME THE MONEY!



As Jimmy knows, since he sold me the blank, I am about to turn a 25" bowl. I probably wouldn't be crazy enough to try this except I have a NOVA DVR XP LATHE with infinite speed adjustment between 100 and 3500 rpm. Turning this bowl at 100 rpm has an edge speed the same as a 6" bowl being turned at 417 rpm so it should be safe. As an extra safety cushion, I will use a face plate or spiggot rather than a dovetail recess. The expansion of the chuck in a recess contributes to any any wood defects splitting apart. I learned this the hard way when experimenting with turning "cedar" (actually ash juniper but we refer to it as cedar). I still have the scar on the face shield where one of the pieces hit me when it split.


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## DKMD (Apr 15, 2013)

I've done platters up to about 18", and the outer core of the bowl I sent you which was about 16"... Neither of those is massive, but the same principles apply: Wear protection, stay out of the line of fire, and use your noodle. Large blocks of suitable wood are harder to source for me, and the appeal/utility of giant turnings is somewhat limited... I don't know of too many people who consistently turn massive things probably for those reasons. 

The large turnings I've done have been less frightening than some off-center/eccentric things that I've tried. The Asian style lidded box that Jimmy Clewes is known for is a good example... It's only about 8 or 9 inches at it's largest dimension, but the damn thing sounds like a turbo prop when you crank it up to 2000 rpms.


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## Gary Max (Apr 16, 2013)

I like turning a few bigger items but like the guy said---- They ain't easy to sell. This walnut has been off the lathe for 3 days.

[attachment=23236]


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## TimR (Apr 16, 2013)

Joe Rebuild said:


> You may find yourself a niche market. I know I have seen some giant pieces in a gallery online recently but I do not remember the artist. I say go for it follow that dream Jim



Definitely a niche market. We have one local turner, Anatoly who does big stuff. His studio is about 10 minutes from me, and I occassionally go over to see what he's working on. Always fun watching him stab 4 ft+ down inside the end of a log while hollowing!


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## Jake Respondek (Apr 16, 2013)

TimR said:


> Definitely a niche market. We have one local turner, Anatoly who does big stuff. His studio is about 10 minutes from me, and I occassionally go over to see what he's working on. Always fun watching him stab 4 ft+ down inside the end of a log while hollowing!



That guys shop is BADA**!!!


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## jimmyjames (Apr 16, 2013)

Holy crap, when one says they strap a log on the lathe it has nothing on that guys meaning of it... darn near an entire saw log!! That's gigantic!


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## Mike Mills (Apr 16, 2013)

[/i]From my little history, nobody seems to want them, just too big to use and hard to store.
I do still want to turn a table top.

I take the opposite approach of some on the tenon vs recess. I do use a tenon on some small items; I have never heard of anyone crushing a tenon but many have broken off along the grain. Using a recess with 2" jaws, there is three times the amount of wood holding the item on if there is one inch around the jaws. The area of a 2" tenon would be about 3"; the area of wood in a recess (after subtracting the tenon area) would still be about 9" or three times as much.
For anything over 20" I would go with a 6" faceplate.

I agree with the Clewes example, I saw a demo by him and he_ started __at 3,200. Eveyone lookup for the helicopter coming in._


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## Mike Jones (Apr 16, 2013)

DKMD said:


> I've done platters up to about 18", and the outer core of the bowl I sent you which was about 16"... Neither of those is massive, but the same principles apply: Wear protection, stay out of the line of fire, and use your noodle. Large blocks of suitable wood are harder to source for me, and the appeal/utility of giant turnings is somewhat limited... I don't know of too many people who consistently turn massive things probably for those reasons.
> 
> The large turnings I've done have been less frightening than some off-center/eccentric things that I've tried. The Asian style lidded box that Jimmy Clewes is known for is a good example... It's only about 8 or 9 inches at it's largest dimension, but the damn thing sounds like a turbo prop when you crank it up to 2000 rpms.[/color]




This is my interpretation of a Jimmy Clewes Asian style box.
[attachment=23251]


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## jimmyjames (Apr 16, 2013)

Dang that looks spectacular mike! Looks scary to turn as well!


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