Downsizing is not easy! I have gone from a 2000 square foot shop with three rooms and a loft to a 10ft x 12ft shop. On second thought, lets call it a “work space”. To say this is small is a bit of an understatement when you consider that it also houses the washing machine, dryer, hot water heater and the freezer.  Floor space is at a premium. Shelves and cupboards on the walls have helped. Going from an 8ft workbench to a 45in workbench has been a bigger adjustment than I thought it would be. Surprisingly, that Black and Decker portable work station has been a real frustration saver. Talk about handy, I think another one might be in my immediate future.

I am still experimenting with making the utmost use of my limited space. I think I need to experiment with adding another 10ft x 12ft room. I really miss my Shopsmith, but can’t bring myself to haul it down here and have to keep it outside. I have been told in no uncertain terms that the spare bedroom is not an option.

More to come.

If you are interested in woodworking, it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a professional… you’ll find something that interests you at the Woodcraft store. When you walk in, the scent of freshly cut wood tickles your nose, and you know you’re in a store that is very different than the local home improvement store.

Of course you can find wood there… all kinds of exotic wood in all shapes and sizes. Whether you’re looking for ebony, rosewood or cocobolo, you can find it at Woodcraft. They stock wood in large planks, small chunks for carving, small rectangles for pen turning, and thin sheets for making veneer. They even carry doweling in interesting woods like cherry and walnut.

And woodworking tools and supplies… oh my. From the latest router to the finest grit sandpaper for finishing work, if you need it, chances are the store has it. Of course you’ll find specialized power tools here, but if you prefer traditional woodworking or carving, they also carry high quality Japanese chisels, sharpening stones and finishing supplies like sandpaper, stains, paints and lacquers. They tend to carry finishing products that your local home improvement store doesn’t, so if you’re looking for milk paint or an antique finish that is hard to find, chances are you may find it at Woodcraft. If you can’t find it locally, check the online store, which has even more to offer.

If you think that’s all there is to this store, you’re wrong. If you are interested in new techniques, Woodcraft has an entire library’s worth of books for sale on everything from birdhouses to furniture to carving. Want to try your hand at intarsia? There will be several books to address your needs. Some local stores even have a lending library of video tapes on various woodworking techniques.

If you want to learn something new, many local stores have classes and demonstrations. Sign up for a class on sharpening your chisels, or learn how to make a wooden rocking horse. Stop by and catch a demonstration on how to properly use a lathe or learn a new sanding technique. You can learn a lot at your local store. Maybe you’ll get inspired by the finished projects on display.

If you already have good woodworking skills but want a new project, Woodcraft also has many project plans to choose from. You can build your own patio furniture, build a baby cradle for a new member of the family, or build a piece of fine furniture like a chest of drawers.

Or maybe you want to get together with other woodworkers. Your local Woodcraft may have woodworking clubs that meet regularly at the store. At the very least, you may find new friends or even a mentor by visiting your local store regularly and asking questions or taking classes.

So, if woodworking is your thing, be sure and visit the Woodcraft store. It doesn’t matter if you visit your local shop or you visit the online store… you’ll be amazed at what you find to stimulate your creativity.

For more information on what you can get out of your local woodcraft store visit http://www.woodcraftguide.com , a popular website devoted to helping woodworkers of all skill levels. You’ll also find information on woodcraft projects, plans and supplies needed to get the most out of your next woodworking project.

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Being a pen turner and recently retired, I was looking for a small lathe I could take with me in my travels. After a lot of research, I settled on the little Grizzly G9247 VS Mini Wood Lathe.  It is not a high quality machine, but it does a satisfactory job for turning pens, bottle stoppers and other small turnings. The biggest advantage for me is the variable speed and the portability.  Overall I am pleased with this little lathe. It may not be the best quality, but it does the job for which I purchased it.

photo credit: [[MorphoMir]]
One quick look at a woodworking or woodturning catalogue will expose a bewildering array of tools from which the woodturner can choose. If we consider such things as chucks, centers and other methods of holding or measuring wood and restrict ourselves to hand held tools that cut wood, there is still an overwhelming assortment.

For the sake of simplicity, it is easier to divide the array into gouges, skews, scrapers, parting tools, hollowing tools and simply others. A look at the assortment of beginner’s sets on the market gives evidence that the first four are the most used tools in the wood turner’s kit.

Gouges are generally divided again into roughing gouges, spindle gouges and bowl gouges. The roughing gouge is usually the first one a wood turner reaches for to rough down a spindle on the lathe. It should have be a robust cross section of steel and be shaped to a half circle. It is sharpened straight across and all parts of the edge are used for cutting as the tool is rotated on the tool rest. One of the things to look for here is a long and strong handle for good leverage. Widths of 3/4″ to 1 1/2″ are readily available and a 1″ tool is a good, general compromise.

Spindle gouges on the other hand, are generally used after the rough shape of the spindle is set and it is now time to smooth the work and cut beads and coves. Thus the steel may be lighter in cross section and the end is sharpened to what is often called a “lady’s finger nail” shape with a long bevel. Most of the cutting is done just past the tip with the tool riding the long bevel for fine control. Widths range from very small to quite large but a 1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ will suit most people very well with the 3/8″ likely being the most used.

Bowl gouges are not usually included in a beginner’s set but are necessary for anyone interested in bowls and most face plate work. Look for a strong steel shaft and a nice cross section profile. This may vary from a “V” with rounded bottom to a “U” but should be proportional in its use of sides and bottom. While styles of sharpening vary, straight across with a 45 degree bevel is a good start. Long and strong tools are the norm with 18″ to 22″ long tools being common. Widths vary but 3/8″ is a good starting place.

The skew is the magic wand of woodturning. Under a practised hand beads and coves appear from a tool that is itself flat. In fact it excels as a spindle plane. Looking down on the tool one sees a skewed tip, ground back at an angle of about 70 degrees and beveled to about 30 degrees on either side. There are two cutting areas, each being the third from the long or short point. Cutting at the center of the tool is asking for a rather dramatic catch. Widths generally range from 1/4″ to 1 /12″ but larger and smaller are available. For most people a 3/4″ and 1″ will suffice.

Scrapers are capable of great hogging cuts with lots of tear out to be repaired or of taking delicate shavings. Profiles range from straight to all sorts of strange curves. Usually one straight and one rounded in the 3/4″ to 1″ range will suffice.

Parting tools are primarily for parting the work from the lathe cut are also used to size work to dimension and for some other cuts. In other words, they tend to be used for a straight in cut with lots of torque involved. For this reason they are used on edge to give a small cut with a lot of support. The cutting edge is found most often in the center of the tool with a bevel of 45 to 30 degrees. Profiles will range from flat to diamond and a 3/4″ to 1″ tool should meet most needs.

This should give a kit for a great deal of enjoyment to the turner. With that said, all tools need practise in their use but the practise itself is fun at the lathe. Also individual tastes vary as do styles of turning. Eventually, many wood turners settle on favourite themes in turning and their range of tools decreases. For others, variety is the watchword both in the style of turning and the vast array of tools. The important thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy the tools you have while dreaming of new ones out there.

Darrell Feltmate is a juried wood turner whose web site, Around the Woods, contains detailed information about wood turning for the novice or experienced turner as well as a collection of turnings for your viewing pleasure. You too can learn to turn wood, here is the place to start. Wondering what it looks like? Follow the page links for a free video.

You can easily ask your questions about wood turning at his blog at Round Opinions as well as comment on any thing related to the web site, this article or other aspects of wood turning, art and craft.

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Making custom pens is a very enjoyable hobby. Many woodworkers do nothing else, as this is an easy way to make a project from start to finish in very little time. It doesn’t require a large investment in tools and materials, or require a large work space.

Required Tools (the very basics)

1. A small lathe, used to turn the pen.
2. A single turning tool, like a medium sized gouge to shape the pen.
3. A small drill press, which is optional, to drill the center hole.
4. A mandrel, which is the tool the pen blanks are mounted on, and installed on the lathe, and have bushings, which guide you in turning the ends to the desired diameter.
5. A method of pressing the pen hardware together is really all you need to go from a square pen blank, to a beautiful, finished pen blank. Many people use a wood clamp for this.

Required Materials

1. Pen blanks, as they are called, is a small piece of material, usually ¾ of an inch square, by 5 ½ inches long, are readily available from many sources.
2. Pen Kits, also available at these same supply sources, contain all the actual pen parts.
3. Epoxy, or super glue, is used to glue the brass tube into the pen blank. (The brass tube is supplied in the pen kit).
4. A finish to put on the pen to protect it from the oils on your hand during use.

Sierra Click Acrylic & Wood Pen

The blanks can also be purchased with much of the work, if it can be called that, pre done. They are already cut to rough length, and rounded to an appropriate size to begin turning. The required hole is also drilled to accept the pen hardware, eliminating the need for a drill press.

These blanks come in many materials. Exotic woods, certain metals, plastics, solid surface materials, like Corian, and much more. Even deer antlers are a commonly used material, and are easily obtained.

The Pen Kits, which is how the hardware of the pen is purchased, are available in many styles and finishes, and include all the necessary parts to complete your pen. Specialty pens, created around other hobbies, such as hunting, or fishing, and sports like baseball or football, hockey or tennis, pretty much anything you can think of, have pocket clips customized to allow you to make the pen for anyone. Even clips for different professions like doctors or lawyers are available.

Procedure

If buying the standard sized pen blanks, the first step is to cross cut them in half. If making several at a time, laying them against a fixed object, and with the ends flush, mark the halfway point on one blank and using a square, mark all the blanks. The safest way to cut them is a band saw, if available, but even a hand saw is fine.

If you intend to mass produce them, it’s worth making a jig to eliminate the measuring and marking step. It is then just laying the blanks on the jig and cutting them with an appropriate saw.

The next step is drilling the center hole, lengthwise through the blanks. The hole size is determined by the type of pen kit used, and is noted in the kit. 7mm is very common.

Special clamping vises are available for drilling the center hole and are very handy. They make drilling the hole perfectly parallel, much simpler. Although they are around $30.00, they are well worth it. Another way to drill the blank is to hold it in a wood clamp, making certain it is square to the table. Doing this is a bit tricky, and a little aggravating, but certainly doable.

Once the drilling is completed, gluing the brass tube is next. Again, there is a tool designed for this, (around $ 10.00), but a nail set works just fine. Using super glue works well, as does epoxy. The thick, gap filling super glue is the one to use. Before applying the glue, sand the tube a little, just to rough it up and give the glue something to “bite” on to. Apply the glue around the tube and insert it into the hole. Depending upon the cure time of the glue, leave it until the glue is dry.

Again, there is another tool, ($15.00), designed to clean the excess glue from inside the tube, as well as drill the end of the blank flush to the brass tube. Another way is to sand the blank ends flush. If any glue resides in the tube, insert a small drill bit, matching the tube size, and drill it out.

Now it’s time to mount the two pieces onto the mandrel, surrounded by the included bushings. The bushings are the proper size to turn the blank flush to, and are sized according to the pen kit. The mandrel is held in the lathe on both ends by the chuck on one end, and the tailstock on the other. It’s important to use a live center on the tail stock. This simply means the pointed tip spins freely, apart from the center itself, especially with acrylics, otherwise, the end will overheat. The acrylic blank will actually start to melt.

Using the turning tool you choose, a gouge is recommended, turn the blank to the desired shape. Here it is a matter of practice, in learning the control of the tool, and the techniques used for turning. It is advisable to practice on a cheaper blank, at least until you are comfortable with turning. It’s really irritating to ruin a beautiful pen blank!

Once the blank is turned to the desired shape, and you’re happy with it, it’s time to finish it. The finishing process is very easy, and very satisfying. It’s when you get to see the fruits of your labor. Depending on the blank material, the finishing process is done with a variety of products, but in every case, is done while still mounted on the lathe.

When the pen blank is removed from the lathe, it is completely finished. Once more, a special tool can be used to assemble the pen. (About $ 30.00). This is a press, designed specifically to push the pen parts together, ensuring the parts fit properly. It can be done with a wood clamp, but the press is a much better way to go.

The entire process of making a pen can be done in less than an hour, and is a great way to enjoy yourself, and forget the hurries and worries of the world.

They can also be sold to generate an extra income, or given as gifts which will be very much appreciated. The user will think of you every time they write something. It’s the perfect gift that keeps on giving.

Overall, this is a terrific hobby, is very safe, even for youngsters, with adult supervision, and will lead to many hours of fun.

Written by: Lee A Jesberger.

Jesberger has owned of a high end General Contracting business for thirty years. He also owns and operates a custom Cabinet and Furniture business. He has written many woodworking articles, in addition to being the inventor of the Ezee-Feed, infeed / outfeed systems for woodworking machines, which is patent pending.

http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com

http://www.ezee-feed.com

Copyright 2007 – Lee A. Jesberger. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, give author name credit.

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For the beginning woodturner, woodturning projects need to meet four criteria: They should be instructive, inexpensive, interesting, and quick. Meeting these simple conditions will enhance the learning experience with enjoyment and have finished projects that serve to encourage the beginner to woodworking with the lathe.

photo credit: mandiberg

First they need to be instructive. While it can be argued that any woodturning gives instruction to the beginner, there should be a deliberate thought given to choosing a project that teaches one or two new skills. Ideally, the project will work on existing woodworking skills and build from that experience to gain confidence on the lathe.

The first tools to learn are typically the roughing gouge, the parting tool and spindle gouges. These allow the new woodturner to rough a square to round; shape with straight lines, beads and coves; cut to a determined diameter; and part off the finished project.

Second, the wood worker’s project should be inexpensive. Most of the price of a project is determined by the wood used. In fact, the first few projects should consist of local woods that are cheap or free. Any other embellishments should be easily found and inexpensive indeed, such as tea lights or copper pipe sections for handle ferrules. If a band saw is part of the shop set up it is simple to reduce a section of firewood to turning squares that will be fine for a variety of projects.

Third, the project should be interesting. Realizing that the beginning woodturner is intending to develop and refine skills, it is encouraged that the project be repeated several times. It is far better for the would be wood turner if the project maintains its interest through several incarnations. This is achieved in at least three ways.

1. It is developing new skills which has an interest value of its own

2. Most projects can be embellished with beads, coves, grooves, deliberate burn marks and other decorations, each of which is a learning experience for the beginner.

3. Projects can be used by the turner or given to friends and family unlike practice sticks that are at best highly decorated kindling.

Fourth, the woodturning project should be quick to produce. After all, the project is really secondary here. The primary need is to develop new skills on the wood lathe. One of the great ways to do so is to repeat, repeat, repeat. As the project is turned one time after another, the results can be lined up and compared to decide what is needed for improvement and where the new wood turner can pat himself or herself on the back for a job well done.

One such project for the beginner is a file handle. The lines are simple and can be performed with roughing gouge, spindle gouge and parting tool. Maple or ash from the firewood stash will do a great job and the only addition needed, if desired, is a ferrule cut from some scrap pipe. Besides, every woodworker can use another file handle as can almost any amount of friends who can give encouragement as they exclaim in awe over the beginning wood turner’s new skills.

Darrell Feltmate is a juried wood turner whose web site, Around the Woods, contains detailed information about wood turning for the novice or experienced turner as well as a collection of turnings for your viewing pleasure. You too can learn to turn wood, here is the place to start. Wondering what it looks like? Follow the page links for a free video.

There are several wood turning projects fully explained on the web site. In particular, a selection of beginner’s projects may be found on the Beginner’s Projects page complete with explanation and step by step photos.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darrell_Feltmate
http://EzineArticles.com/?Woodturning-Projects—Four-Things-a-Beginning-Woodturner-Should-Look-For&id=2805226

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