I know days like that aren't easy
What did you do in your shop today?
- Thread starter woodtickgreg
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Glad you are able to associate a little joy in spite of circumstances.
green wallet is my favorite as well
Turning can be soothing and a great distraction from whatever’s on your mind. And - sorry to hear about your loss.
(Lovin’ those bowls)
That’s a good question. I’m new to bowl tuning and have yet to finish one. These are green rough turned, so I’ve got to wait a bit for drying and final turning. I’ll need to do some reading to figure out the best finishing option.
Dan - lots of good options for finishing the bowls. Kind of depends on if you plan to keep them functional, or decorative. I've turned a lot of Walnut and I typically use Tried and True Original finish. Dries nicely and the bowl "feels good" to me after a couple of coats. (I sand Walnut to 400 usually)
I also use Mahoney's Walnut Oil, especially if I'm making live-edge bowls. A little easier to work the oil in around the bark edges (Tried and True has a thicker consistency). Walnut Oil does typically "dry" but, in my experience, sometimes it takes a long time. Both finishes are food safe and can be easily "re-oiled" by a future customer if they so desire.
If the bowl is more for decorative use you can use any finish you are comfortable with. Either of the above mentioned or Tung Oil, Danish Oil, Poly, etc. I think everyone has their favorite finish for their own reasons, so good to experiment.
Well, isn't this special! The other day when I was finishing that reel seat insert, my lathe was making some funny noises when the gear traveler would reach a certain point. I fiddled with it, listened to it, felt for catches or jerks or something, nothing, couldn't figure out what was wrong and the lathe worked allowing me to finish the piece. This morning after one pass on a new insert, the gear traveler stopped dead. Took me a ahile to find the cause but the keyed bushing inside the thread gears busted in half. I hate bushings! That's what broke the last time. I have a Central Machinery 9X20" lathe which is no longer made or supported by CMI or Harbor Freight. Last time, after some searching and maybe some help from someone here, I found out that the Grizzly G4000 is almost identical and most the parts fit. So I ordered the bushing today and we'll see. Keep fingers crossed it fits.
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I hope that the bushings were cheap enough that you could get a spare or 2.
Postage was more than the bushing but I don't have any other option.
woodtickgreg
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Moped water again this morning. Ground is still frozen, lots of rain last night, snow melted off. Water has no place to go so it goes along the basement walls. It's just a trickle and not a flood. Just a p.i.t.a. my Betty is home on mop detail, gotta mop up about every 30 to 60 minutes. Ittl quit today when the rain quits. Standing water everywhere and flooded roads here, river flood warnings are up.
That’s just gotta suck especially with other things you’d obviously rather be doing
woodtickgreg
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It could be worse, one of the guys I work with went home early, his wife called him and said they have 6 inches in the basement and it's rising. I remember when that happened in my neighborhood 8 or 9 years ago.
Got started on this rootball today, it is acacia, willow or shoestring acacia Im guessing, it is bone dry and very hard. looks like it will have some nice figure though, next I will mount the steady and hollow it out...
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woodtickgreg
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Man thats cool. 
looks like huisache to me, sweet acacia
Nope, not huisache, definitely Acacia...
I bet that really pops nicely when you apply some sort of finish.
Barry, you are saying this could be Acacia. Would Catclaw enter into this description? I like the look down by the base with the growth rings. They resemble the lines I've seen on some of the Olive I have. When do you think you'll have this piece completed? Am waiting to see this done as it might inspire me to turn one or two of the root burls I have.
Jerry, I believe it is shoestring acacia, or River Cooba, as they call it in Australia, I have never worked with catsclaw Acacia so I dont know how they compare. I will have a finish on it by tomorrow, so I will show some pics then...