info.woodworkingtooltips.com Open in urlscan Pro
54.172.137.155  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

GET https://blog.woodworkingtooltips.com/

<form method="get" class="searchform " action="https://blog.woodworkingtooltips.com/">
  <input type="text" name="s" class="searchfield" placeholder="Search">
  <input type="submit" class="searchsubmit" value="" name="searchsubmit">
</form>

POST https://highlandwoodworking.activehosted.com/proc.php

<form method="POST" action="https://highlandwoodworking.activehosted.com/proc.php" id="_form_65C1C49681B57_" class="_form _form_25 _inline-form  " novalidate="" data-styles-version="4">
  <input type="hidden" name="u" value="65C1C49681B57" data-name="u">
  <input type="hidden" name="f" value="25" data-name="f">
  <input type="hidden" name="s" data-name="s">
  <input type="hidden" name="c" value="0" data-name="c">
  <input type="hidden" name="m" value="0" data-name="m">
  <input type="hidden" name="act" value="sub" data-name="act">
  <input type="hidden" name="v" value="2" data-name="v">
  <input type="hidden" name="or" value="79068a80539906dfd507984f41913445" data-name="or">
  <div class="_form-content">
    <div class="_form_element _x66849777 _full_width _clear">
      <div class="_form-title">Subscribe for Email Updates</div>
    </div>
    <div class="_form_element _x63837070 _full_width _clear">
      <div class="_html-code">
        <p>Receive articles, videos, savings and more directly to your inbox!</p>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="_form_element _x78927849 _full_width ">
      <label for="email" class="_form-label">Email*</label>
      <div class="_field-wrapper">
        <input type="text" id="email" name="email" placeholder="Type your email" required="" data-name="email">
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="_form_element _field8 _full_width ">
      <label for="field[8]" class="_form-label">zip</label>
      <div class="_field-wrapper">
        <input type="text" id="field[8]" name="field[8]" value="" placeholder="" data-name="zip">
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="_button-wrapper _full_width"><button id="_form_25_submit" class="_submit" type="submit">Submit</button></div>
    <div class="_clear-element"></div>
  </div>
  <div class="_form-thank-you" style="display:none;"></div>
  <div class="_form-branding">
    <div class="_marketing-by">Marketing by</div>
    <a href="https://www.activecampaign.com/?utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=acforms" class="_logo">
            <span class="form-sr-only">ActiveCampaign</span>
        </a>
  </div>
</form>

Text Content

WOODWORKING BLOG

Helping you become a better woodworker
 * Home
 * About
 * Contact Us
 * Shop Highland Woodworking

HomeAboutContact UsShop Highland Woodworking


TURNING THE CORNER: REFINING TURNING SKILLS

May 112023
 
Save

In the lull between the frenzy of December/January holidays and the activities
of the anticipated winter, the shop is relatively quiet. The backlog of
architectural copy/multiple orders have all been completed and shipped; I have
almost caught up with the several Christmas gift certificate lessons of 2022;
and my grandson helped me give the shop its annual deep cleaning (not that that
will last very long).  As a result and benefitting from the unusually mild
winter thus far, I have some rare discretionary time to work on projects of my
own while I build inventory for the upcoming summer season.  (In reality,
Downeast/mid-coast Maine is known for only having two seasons – “off-season” of
10 months and “summer” of two months (July and August) when our population and
activities swell geometrically.) 

This year, I decided to hone my basic skills by turning a series of calabash
bowls waiting within several elm logs and four beautiful black ash tree logs
dropped off by a friend whose conscience would not allow him to split them for
firewood.  To vary my occupation, I also planned to turn a number of
natural-edge hearts (Valentine’s Day is coming) by tackling a sizable pile of
likely crotch blanks I had accumulated for “later.”  Now has happily become
“later,” and with the calendar and a recent visit to the local pharmacy in mind,
the avalanche of Valentine’s Day gifting is nearly upon us.

The popular calabash bowl distinguishes itself from a standard bowl by its
smoothly rounded bottom.  The starting blank should be green (pictured in elm),
should be turned to a smooth finish using only the bowl gouge (not sanded), and
the sustained thickness of the thin wall should extend all the way around the
rounded bottom.  The interior of the bowl should be a matched copy of the
outside profile.

A more typical bowl (pictured in ash) has a flat bottom to keep it from rocking
on the tabletop and might even include a foot or other profile decoration. While
the interior of the bowl will be gently rounded, there is usually a thickened
section of the wall where the inner side curves more severely to the inside
bottom and the exterior profile of that wall extends to the flattened table-top
outside bottom surface frequently with a reverse curve.

The beauty of the calabash bowls is that it is truly a “once-turned” bowl from
green. As the finished wood dries, the bowl warps to an irregular shape giving
each its own unique profile. Each bowl is characterized by its natural color,
grain, figure, as well as its warped profile.

The skill challenge for turning calabash bowls lies in first establishing a
pleasingly rounded curve from the sides through the bottom on the outside that
in the second step when the blank is reversed for hollowing is accurately copied
through the bottom on the inside. When the bowl is reversed to turn away the
tenon required by the chuck in the final step of the process, the turner is
challenged to accurately predict (imagine) where that inside curve runs as the
bowl gouge carves away the tenon to complete the rounded bottom.

Like so many woodturning projects, the sensual return of handling the smooth,
finished surface – using the hand’s palm to stroke the outside curve and then
tracing the inside curve with the hand’s back – is enormously rewarding.  The
creative insights come from studying and trying to anticipate how the drying
process of only a few days will re-designed the shapes and curves of the
carefully carved profile. The eventually finished dry bowl, sometimes dramatic,
sometimes subtle, affirms nature’s artistry well beyond the turner’s skill with
the gouge.

Contrasting with the calabash bowl’s stringent tool-control and design
discipline, the natural edge, heart shaped crotch pieces offer a different kind
of challenge.  With these the final design begins with and is totally controlled
by the selection and positioning of the blank at the beginning.  Many wood types
lend themselves to making these, but oak, cherry, and maple seem to yield the
most dramatic and pleasing results.  The goal is to display the clear outline of
a bark-lined heart which at its center reveals the chaotic interweaving of grain
where the two branches joined as the tree grew.  (Pictured – maple)

Identifying and harvesting the crotch in the woods is relatively easy, and the
most desirable part is the swollen ridge of bark along the seam where the grain
of the two branches converge/diverge (depending on your point of view). 

Ideally both branches should be of similar size, and the blank should be sawn on
the bias before being trimmed to a rough circle for turning.

During my week of turning on my own for a few hours each day, I alternated
between turning the green bowls of calabash and digging into my store of
crotch/heart blanks.

Turning several bowls in the morning and several crotch/hearts in the afternoon
encouraged me to explore different techniques and test the boundaries of my
skills while building my inventory for the gallery and summer customers.  More
importantly and beyond the simple pleasure of being free to spend the time
turning, I know from experience that my sustained time practicing and
experimenting with similar forms and projects leads me to a new level of
performance.

Ultimately, the message I regularly offer my woodturning students as well as my
readers is that focusing on each set of skills – regardless of the level of past
achievement – and spending the time and effort practicing by setting new goals
that replicate that rehearsal pays off in the clear gain over time.

In 1969, I vividly remember telling my (then) girlfriend (later wife) that I had
decided I wanted to become “really good” at something that required skill in my
life rather than hit-or-miss “pretty good” at many different kinds of things
that I could see in others around me.  Fortunately, my wife and her mother, both
of whom like me knew nothing about woodturning at that time, steadily encouraged
and supported me from the beginning.  My adventure continues today as I happily
spend hours each day working in my shop with the wood, the lathes, the tools,
and a host of wonderful friends who share my passion.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Located in Castine, Maine, Highlands Woodturning gallery and shop offers
woodturning classes and shop time, a gallery of woodturned art, custom
woodturning for repairs, renovations, and architectural installations. You can
email Temple at temple@highlandswoodturning.com. Take a look at Temple’s Website
at http://www.highlandswoodturning.com/


 *  May 11, 2023
 *  Posted by Temple Blackwood at 11:00 am
 *   No Responses
 *   All, Community, Tool Tips, Turning, Wood Turning, Woodturning, Woodworking,
   Woodworking Projects, Woodworking Tips
 *  Tagged with: highlands woodturning, temple blackwood, Woodturning practice




TURNING THE CORNER: A FOLLOW-UP

Dec 212022
 
Save

In a recent Turning the Corner column, writer and woodturner Temple Blackwood
detailed the turning process for creating a mouthpiece for a Hardy Tinfoil
Phonograph. The process Temple used for turning the replicas was interesting
enough to stand alone as its own article, but we had even more questions when we
were done about the machinery the mouthpiece was used on. See below for more
information about the Hardy Tinfoil Phonograph, sent in by Temple’s client, Lee
from Virginia. Thank you Lee for the follow up!

“The Tinfoil Phonograph that I have is a “Hardy”. I have included below a page
from “Tinfoil Phonographs” by Rene Rondeau who is the world expert on this
subject. The example I have is a reproduction commissioned by the late Ray
Phillips who was a big phonograph collector.

Click the image above to enlarge

You can find some interesting footage on YouTube of the Ray Phillips Hardy
Tinfoil Phonograph (the one featured in the woodturning column). And I am
including a few more photos below.

I also made a Tinfoil Phonograph out of junk about eleven years ago, that you
can also see on YouTube. I have learned a lot since making this crude device.”

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 


 *  December 21, 2022
 *  Posted by Highland Staff at 12:29 pm
 *   No Responses
 *   All, Community, Tool Tips, Turning, Wood Turning, Woodturning, Woodworking,
   Woodworking Projects, Woodworking Tips
 *  Tagged with: temple blackwood, turning the corner, unique woodworking
   projects




TURNING THE CORNER: TEMPLE BLACKWOOD ONLINE EXHIBIT!

Oct 272022
 

Our contributor and prolific woodturner Temple Blackwood is being featured in a
very cool online gallery, courtesy of the Witherle Memorial Library in his
hometown of Castine, Maine. Take a look and prepare to be inspired!

 *  October 27, 2022
 *  Posted by Highland Staff at 11:45 am
 *   No Responses
 *   All, Community, Tool Tips, Turning, Wood Turning, Woodturning, Woodworking,
   Woodworking shops, Woodworking Tips, Woodworking Videos
 *  Tagged with: temple blackwood, woodturning maine




TURNING THE CORNER: RESTORING THE DARK QUEEN

Oct 252022
 

As seems often to happen, I received an email from a stranger asking if I might
be able to replicate a small a chess piece for a miniature set to replace a
missing queen for his girl friend’s birthday.  Apparently the unusually small
chess set was a favorite of hers that had been missing the […]

 *  October 25, 2022
 *  Posted by Temple Blackwood at 10:00 am
 *   No Responses
 *   All, Community, Tool Tips, Turning, Wood Turning, Woodturning, Woodworking,
   Woodworking Projects, Woodworking Tips
 *  Tagged with: maine woodturning, temple blackwood, the highland woodturner,
   turning replicas




TURNING THE CORNER: NO-WEIGHT-GAIN DONUTS

Oct 052022
 

One of my most admired local friends retired last fall from her 50 year career
working for and running an amazing museum of global artifacts and colonial
living history program.  Soon after retiring, she realized that there were parts
of her life she did not want to leave behind.  As a result, she started up […]

 *  October 5, 2022
 *  Posted by Temple Blackwood at 12:13 pm
 *   1 Response
 *   All, Finishing, Tool Tips, Turning, Wood Turning, Woodturning, Woodworking,
   Woodworking Projects, Woodworking Tips
 *  Tagged with: temple blackwood, Turning a donut




HOT TIME, SUMMER IN THE SHOP

Aug 022022
 

It’s getting hot in here! This is the first summer I have spent significant time
woodworking. I work in a garage without any kind of environmental controls
beyond raising and lowering the garage door or cracking a window. What I have
learned quickly is that it gets really hot, really fast! I thought surely there
[…]

 *  August 2, 2022
 *  Posted by Travis Remington at 11:05 am
 *   No Responses
 *   All, Beginner Woodworking, Community, Featured Products, Safety,
   Woodworking, Woodworking shops, Woodworking Tips
 *  Tagged with: shop organization, staying cool in the workshop, summer
   woodworking




TURNING THE CORNER: SEGMENTED PORCH POST COLUMN BASE

Apr 062022
 

For the February 2022 issue of Wood News Online, Temple Blackwood shared his
process for turning a replacement porch post column. One of my regular
contractor customers came by some time ago with an interesting problem that he
decided I would be the perfect person to help him with. An elderly customer of
his had […]

 *  April 6, 2022
 *  Posted by Highland Staff at 10:30 am
 *   No Responses
 *   All, Community, Tool Tips, Turning, Wood Turning, Woodturning, Woodworking,
   Woodworking Projects, Woodworking Tips
 *  Tagged with: temple blackwood, woodturning projects


Page 1 of 22212345...102030...»Last »


SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Subscribe for Email Updates

Receive articles, videos, savings and more directly to your inbox!

Email*

zip

Submit


Marketing by
ActiveCampaign


CATEGORIES

 * All
 * Beginner Woodworking
 * Book Reviews
 * Community
 * Featured Products
 * Festool
 * Finishing
 * Get Woodworking Week
 * Hand tools
 * Links
 * News & Events
 * Poll
 * Safety
 * sanding
 * sharpening
 * Tool Tips
 * Turning
 * Wood Turning
 * Woodcarving
 * Woodturning
 * Woodworking
 * Woodworking Projects
 * Woodworking shops
 * Woodworking Tips
 * Woodworking Videos
 * Woodworking Wish List
 * Workshops & Instructors


BLOGROLL

 * Free Newsletter
 * Shop Highland Woodworking
 * Woodworking Sites
 * Woodworking Tips


ARCHIVES

Archives Select Month May 2023 December 2022 October 2022 August 2022 April 2022
March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021
September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021
February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September
2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February
2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August
2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January
2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July
2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018
December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017
June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December
2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016
May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November
2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April
2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October
2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March
2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013
September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013
February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September
2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February
2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August
2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January
2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July
2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010
December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009
June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December
2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008
May 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007
October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007
March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006
September 2006


TWITTER

Check out the new Generation 2 Shaper Origin Handheld CNC Router at Highland
Woodworking. highlandwoodworking.com/shape…

About a year ago from Highland Woodworking's Twitter via Twitter Web App

Are you attending #IWF2022 next week here in Atlanta? If you're here early, stop
by Highland Woodworking on Monday, August 22nd from 3:30-5:30pm and meet Michael
Pekovich, @fwmagazine Creative Director and Author. #iwfatlanta #iwf

About a year ago from Highland Woodworking's Twitter via Twitter Web App

We're excited about the upcoming July episode of The Highland Woodworker! Watch
a quick preview below and lookout for the next episode this weekend!
pic.twitter.com/NARX1Q5ulg

About 2 years ago from Highland Woodworking's Twitter via Twitter Web App




RECENT COMMENTS

 * Patty on Turning the Corner: No-weight-gain Donuts
 * Barkley on March 2022 Woodworking Poll: What Season Do You Use Your Shop the
   Most?
 * Steve on Don’t Know Where to Start? Three Ways to Work Wood!


ADSENSE



© 2010-2018 Highland Woodworking Blog
PRIVACY POLICY


Highland Hardware™
Highland Woodworking™
Highland Hardware, Inc.





Highland Woodworking
1045 N. Highland Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
800.241.6748
Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha