Bill Tarbell Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 We bought a lathe from harbor freight a couple months ago but hadn't really done much other than poke at a spindle the day we bought it. Well, this week we went out and bought some firewood from the grocery store to turn. It certainly wasn't the driest but i figured it'd work well enough for toying around with. My wife went first and turned out a pretty nice snowman. She was a bit timid at first but soon got her nerves and started doing great. I'm not quite sure what species of wood she had but it was close grained and had a beautiful two tone effect. It has about 3 applications of BLO in the picture. Attached is one without finish and a couple with finish. Once the lathe was freed up i chucked up a new piece of firewood and went to town. Mine appears to be some form of oak. The log had some pretty significant checking in it but i went with it anyway. I whipped it into a mallet for my chisels. I kept testing the grip while it was still on the lathe and the result turned out fantastic. It's so comfy to hold The weight feels like it's a bit over a pound, but i don't have a small scale to verify. First one is without finish, and the other 2 are with about 6 coats of BLO. The piece is checking a decent bit but i assume it'll still work just fine. Worst case would be that i get to make another one once we find a source for some drier firewood 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Both projects look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Nice looking stuff Bill! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Oooops, Mel's got competition! The snowman looks great, but what really impressed me is that you have your wife interested and in the shop with you! Did I just say that? Just kidding. Good job Bill! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Both look fine to me. I can see some friendly rivalry developing here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Awesome stuff. If I may suggest something, be very careful when turning anything that is split and has large checking in it. When it's spinning the force can blow the item apart if you get a catch, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Thanks Bill, now my wife wants at my lathe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Nice job Bill (& Mrs. Bill!) I've heard those HF lathes are really a pretty nice deal. I would recommend upgrading the face shield, though. That looks like one I bought from HF recently, and it is definitely not up to stopping anything more massive than dust. On the lathe it is a really good idea to use substantial face protection, because eventually you WILL have a piece explode on you, just like T mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Tarbell Posted December 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Thanks Bill, now my wife wants at my lathe Haha. If she wants the lathe, then that means she wants to nibble away at the wood pile too. My apologies Though in all seriousness it was fun to have her down there with me. She'd plan on the lathe while i was working on other things. We'd both take breaks to show each other how we were doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Tarbell Posted December 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Nice job Bill (& Mrs. Bill!) I've heard those HF lathes are really a pretty nice deal. I would recommend upgrading the face shield, though. That looks like one I bought from HF recently, and it is definitely not up to stopping anything more massive than dust. On the lathe it is a really good idea to use substantial face protection, because eventually you WILL have a piece explode on you, just like T mentioned above. Awesome stuff. If I may suggest something, be very careful when turning anything that is split and has large checking in it. When it's spinning the force can blow the item apart if you get a catch, etc. Thanks for the heads up on the face shield. I had only considered the occurrence of a big wood chip flying at us and not the possibility of the piece fully fracturing. I'll poke around on amazon for a beefier shield. The lathe is a good value and i'd definitely buy it as our starter lathe again. I'm not sure i would recommend it for anyone other than a beginner or an occasional hobbiest though. It runs true, but some of the components could use improvement. The tip of our tailstock bent over a bit, lots of machine marks all of the sliding surfaces, and the tool rest dings fairly easily. The motor seems decently powered and we really like the convenience of the reeves drive speed adjuster. Oh, the machine had a slight rattle to it until i threw a shelf with some sandbags on it. We're also using the harbor freight chisel set since they had good remarks on other forums. They seem ok so far and given that i'm still fairly new to sharpening with the grinder i think it's better to have this cheaper set than a fancy one. We also picked up a Nova G3 chuck, but haven't tried it out yet. I'm considering buying a better live tailstock but i haven't committed to it yet since the present one still works. Here are the HF links in case anyone is considering getting them. Google for a 25% coupon or at least a 20% one before snagging them. 12" x 33" wood lathe HSS chisels Nova G3 chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 I bought the same lathe a few months ago. I bought it to build a table for the wife, the pedestal was 7" X 28" ish ( don't remember) white oak. The lathe performed better than I could have hoped. Im glad you guys are enjoying it, stuff looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 I've been turning a few years, I've been using this for my face shield. Comfortable and lots of protection, with room for a dust mask underneath. http://www.amazon.com/Uvex-S8510-Polycarbonate-Anti-Fog-Hardcoat/dp/B001VY3ACE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top Turning materials. If you wanna play around and have some fun, check and see if your home depot has 36" poplar turning blanks. I bought a bunch of them. They are $2 each and they are 2x2x36. Great for learning, and practicing spindle turning. Made this tonight from a piece of it just for grins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Tarbell Posted December 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Thanks for the link. It has stellar reviews and is reasonably priced. Do you think it'll be quick/convenient enough for my wife and i to adjust it to size between uses? Does the anti-fog coating work well? Did it eventually wear off? I ask about the anti-fog because amazon also sells the S8500 for close to half price. It appears the only difference between the two is that the cheaper one does not have the anti-fog coating. I figured that if the coating eventually wore off anyway then i could save the money and put it towards a bottle of anti-fog treatment that i could just keep reapplying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 I think your wife will be using the lathe a lot Bill. Both projects are really good. I especially like the snowman. I do know that once you get into turning it is very, very addictive. Also good to see you have a lot of weight on the stand holding it down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Not sure if I am catching your meaning correctly, but I wanted to make sure you knew there is really nothing wrong with turning wood that is not yet dry, or even green wood. For some species like sugar maple, there is a stunning difference between how easy it is to work it green, versus air-dried (probably like your firewood), versus kiln-dried. For larger objects like bowls, you need to follow certain steps to ensure that it behaves as it dries, but nothing too challenging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Cancelleri Posted December 12, 2014 Report Share Posted December 12, 2014 Thanks for the link. It has stellar reviews and is reasonably priced. Do you think it'll be quick/convenient enough for my wife and i to adjust it to size between uses? Does the anti-fog coating work well? Did it eventually wear off? I ask about the anti-fog because amazon also sells the S8500 for close to half price. It appears the only difference between the two is that the cheaper one does not have the anti-fog coating. I figured that if the coating eventually wore off anyway then i could save the money and put it towards a bottle of anti-fog treatment that i could just keep reapplying. It's really easy to adjust, there is a knob on the back that you push and turn to adjust for your head diameter, that's the only adjustment. The antifog coating hasn't worn off. I try to keep it clean and I use my compressor to blow it off after each use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted December 13, 2014 Report Share Posted December 13, 2014 i bought a face shield and the fog is not a problem its all the dust that gets on it and the scratches from small pieces hitting it and one large one from the entire block coming off and smacking me in the face. thank god for the shield be happy the wife enjoys something you do i hope to meet someone who wants to do some of the stuff im obsessed about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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