# Sometimes I wonder if I should call myself a turner at all



## kweinert (Feb 18, 2018)

So, I have 3 bowls that are, in theory, identical. 

Obviously they are not. I've managed to get a catch and pull one off the lathe. I think I'm going to have to go to the vacuum chuck to finish that one. 

I also managed last night to get a catch at the base (which changed the shape) and I was nervous enough about getting another one that I used my trusty 80 grit to finish getting it down to shape. 

The outside of the third is shaped but I'll be going back to the 80 grit to finish off the top after I've taken the mounting disk off.

So, yeah, not really feeling much like a turner today.

Reactions: Sincere 4


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## Tom Smart (Feb 18, 2018)

I resemble that remark.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Smitty (Feb 18, 2018)

I often have the same feelings myself, including today, after turning something that did't come out so good, yesterday.


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)



Reactions: Agree 1


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## CWS (Feb 18, 2018)

kweinert said:


> So, I have 3 bowls that are, in theory, identical.
> 
> Obviously they are not. I've managed to get a catch and pull one off the lathe. I think I'm going to have to go to the vacuum chuck to finish that one.
> 
> ...


I feel your pain. I have been trying to make a decent pen for a month. It's like I have never turned one before.


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)

CWS said:


> I feel your pain. I have been trying to make a decent pen for a month. It's like I have never turned one before.



I hear @Tony is giving lessons

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 4


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)

I can also relate...turning some camphor and getting a lot of tear out in the end grain...probably going to be some sanding.


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## kweinert (Feb 18, 2018)

Lou Currier said:


>



Here are all 3 of them. 


 

Here's the one that came off the lathe on the vacuum chuck. 



 
This also made me a bit nervous because the pump never went off so I knew I had a small leak somewhere but it stayed on the chuck the whole time. 

I have a 30 second video of it spinning on the lathe but I'm not sure it's worth uploading to YouTube just for that. 

That thing sticking inside isn't actually supporting anything, I just wanted to limit how far it went if it came off the chuck.

They look reasonable from the outside for the most part, but it's easy to see the wider gap in the one that hit the floor and the insides aren't as smooth as I'd like, particularly where the two halves meet.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 4


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)

Still looks nice...like the pattern...kind of like honey jars.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## rocky1 (Feb 18, 2018)

They look great on cell phone!


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## Tony (Feb 18, 2018)

Ken, I think they are great! I know you're disappointed in them, but I think they are very nice! Tony

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Tony (Feb 18, 2018)

Lou Currier said:


> I hear @Tony is giving lessons



I can give lessons on doing this, got it down now I think! Tony

Reactions: Sincere 2


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)

@Tony When gluing up your blanks don’t be stingy with the glue use a lot. Twist the barrel and push it in and out a few time to evenly distribute the glue. Then when you get down to where you were on that one take light cuts. What glue did you use?


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## Tony (Feb 18, 2018)

Thanks Lou. CA.


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)

@Tony I usually use gorilla glue...have only had one failure with it and it is gap filling.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## Tony (Feb 18, 2018)

Lou Currier said:


> @Tony I usually use gorilla glue...have only had one failure with it and it is gap filling.



Gorilla glue CA?


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## Lou Currier (Feb 18, 2018)

Tony said:


> Gorilla glue CA?



No regular gorilla glue. You will have to wet the inside of the blank because it needs water to activate.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## woodtickgreg (Feb 18, 2018)

At least you guys are turning, failures are not a bad thing, you have all learned from them. Sometimes we turners call them design changes, lol. Ken, they look fine, you will save them.
And remember boys, when you show off your work or give it away or sell it.........never point out your mistakes, most people will never see them.

Reactions: Agree 4 | Great Post 1


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## rocky1 (Feb 18, 2018)

@Tony Yep... Been there done that a time or ten Tony. 

On the right side of that blank, it looks like your gouge/scraper, whichever you were using was sitting a little flat and square to the piece, looks like it was chattering. Ride the bevel, and turn the tool at a little angle to the piece to get a shearing cut. It'll cut much cleaner and smoother. 

I'd go ahead and finish the right side, and make a keychain out of it. In fact, you can take that left half to the band saw, cut it off and make a short keychain out of it too. It's either that, or finish turning it off for the practice, save the tube, and glue another blank on it. bat guana happens man, make the best of it, dust yourself off, and do it again!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## rocky1 (Feb 18, 2018)

@kweinert - Back in my carpentering days, my boss used to say the mark of a good craftsman is being able to cover up your mistakes. From the looks of that bottom bowl Ken you definitely deserve to call yourself a turner. That bowl looks even better blown up on my computer monitor. Beautiful work there! Very nice recovery.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## DKMD (Feb 18, 2018)

They look good to me, Ken!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## ripjack13 (Feb 18, 2018)

Tony said:


> Gorilla glue CA?





Lou Currier said:


> No regular gorilla glue. You will have to wet the inside of the blank because it needs water to activate.



I use gorilla also. Both the clear and the regular brown stuff. Make sure you wear gloves when doing them. 
If you must use ca, use the thick stuff....

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## ripjack13 (Feb 18, 2018)

Looks good to me Ken. I like that design....kinda like a honey pot...

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Tony (Feb 18, 2018)

ripjack13 said:


> I use gorilla also. Both the clear and the regular brown stuff. Make sure you wear gloves when doing them.
> If you must use ca, use the thick stuff....



How's the ear?


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## ripjack13 (Feb 18, 2018)

Tony said:


> How's the ear?


Still ringing. Still "leaking"....
Thanks for caring... :)

Reactions: Sincere 2


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## Spinartist (Feb 19, 2018)

ripjack13 said:


> Still ringing. Still "leaking"....
> Thanks for caring... :)




Sorry to hear...

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Spinartist (Feb 19, 2018)

I only use 2 part 5 min. epoxy to glue in pen tubes. Had c/a glue fail a couple times. Don't like it when customers bring back a pen because it came apart

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## Rich P. (Feb 19, 2018)

I like the Gorilla Glue as well. I use the acid flux brushes to put it on the tubes. Wet spray bottle to dampen the inside of the blanks. After a couple minutes I check the tubes, when the glue activates and starts to expend it can push the tubes out of the pen blank slightly. Have not had a failure with Gorilla Glue and it is much more heat resistant. Sometimes I can get a little aggressive with sanding certain woods and the friction can cause heat. 

RichP.
Stick with it Tony, it can become addicting and they are quick and simple to make once you get the hang of it.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 1 | Useful 1


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## kweinert (Feb 19, 2018)

ripjack13 said:


> Looks good to me Ken. I like that design....kinda like a honey pot...



To my knowledge that's an original design. If not original at least the thought process applying to a woodturning was. It came from those rugs where the colors blend dark to light. I tried it on segmented bowls.

In theory it's all based on a 3/4 slice. So the bottom is 3/4 walnut, next is 5/8 walnut, 1/8 maple, 1/2 walnut, 1/4 maple, etc. Just the colors interleaving. I put the walnut on the bottom because it looks odd to me to have the dark on top.

Even had a guy in England ask if he could use the pattern - kind of cool knowing that something I'd "invented" struck someone else enough that they wanted to use it as well.

Reactions: Way Cool 3


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## barry richardson (Feb 19, 2018)

Turning thing to a specific size/ shape is tough. Much easier for me to go with the flow. I have turned a few sets of legs for tables, they are all slightly different. I also realized recently when turning spheres that it it is not too hard to turn a sphere, but would be very hard to turn it to a specific dimension, unless you use a mechanized jig. Your set looks great to me, perfect is for machines and robots.....

Reactions: Agree 4


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## CWS (Feb 19, 2018)

Tony said:


> I can give lessons on doing this, got it down now I think! Tony
> View attachment 142067


Thanks @Tony but I think I got that part down pat.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## kweinert (Feb 19, 2018)

Well, it was more the method I ended up using to get the job done. If you don't look real close at the inside then aside from one glaring error I'd agree that they look pretty good.

But getting so nervous about popping one off the chuck and having it bounce across the shop that I finished up the shaping with 80 grit sandpaper is where my doubts about being a turner comes from. These were already late or I may have tried going back to the correct tools but I couldn't afford more delays.

I was kind of chuffed that that size bowl did actually stick to the vacuum chuck though. Mind you, it was only my hand and sandpaper on it but I still wasn't sure that something that heavy would work. About 3 1/2 pounds, 9" diameter, 7" tall.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Feb 19, 2018)

Nice work Ken! I would put one in my house and be proud of it. Being as I'm very new to turning, I can't give advice on it but I can say "great job"! Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And as @woodtickgreg said, don't point out mistakes they probably won't see them. If they do it's not a mistake, it's a personal Ken "the Wood Turner" design.


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## John Brock (Feb 19, 2018)

Is a man any less a hunter based upon the tool used?
Use of a spear, a bow, a musket, a rifle, or a motorhome to dispatch your prey are all effective means.
I will grant you that the bragging rights may vary considerably...

Reactions: Like 4 | Funny 4


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## Jeff M. (Feb 19, 2018)

woodtickgreg said:


> At least you guys are turning, failures are not a bad thing, you have all learned from them. Sometimes we turners call them design changes, lol. Ken, they look fine, you will save them.
> And remember boys, when you show off your work or give it away or sell it.........never point out your mistakes, most people will never see them.


Ken, Greg is right on this one, could be worse. you turned 3 very nice bowls, so chin up. 
I refer you to some Thomas Edison Ken - 
As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail *1,000 times*?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail *1,000 times*. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Reactions: Like 4 | Thank You! 1 | Great Post 2


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## Johnturner (Feb 25, 2018)

Ken
I think they look great! If you showed them to a civilian,e.g. a non-turner, they would be amazed. I have always found that we are our own worse critics.
Keep Turning.
John

Reactions: Agree 3


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## DKMD (Feb 25, 2018)

kweinert said:


> Well, it was more the method I ended up using to get the job done. If you don't look real close at the inside then aside from one glaring error I'd agree that they look pretty good.
> 
> But getting so nervous about popping one off the chuck and having it bounce across the shop that I finished up the shaping with 80 grit sandpaper is where my doubts about being a turner comes from. These were already late or I may have tried going back to the correct tools but I couldn't afford more delays.
> 
> I was kind of chuffed that that size bowl did actually stick to the vacuum chuck though. Mind you, it was only my hand and sandpaper on it but I still wasn't sure that something that heavy would work. About 3 1/2 pounds, 9" diameter, 7" tall.



I haven’t found anything that a vac chuck won’t hold (unless it’s got holes in it)... I’ve done a few platters and bowls in the 18” range with no issues.


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## Joe Williams (Mar 16, 2018)

Wow those are gorgeous, I love segmented turning so much. Someday I hope to fail as well as you because those are just awesome!

Thank you for sharing, it really helps people like me understand you expert types are human and helps us feel like we have a chance! :)

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Great Post 1


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## kweinert (Mar 16, 2018)

I think that calling me an "expert type" may be stretching reality a bit - although I do appreciate the sentiment.

For the record, the recipients like them.

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 1


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## chippin-in (Mar 29, 2018)

The difference between your mistakes and mine? Mine are obvious .

I think they look good. Real good.

Robert

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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