Pill Holders - September 2010

This is one in a series of posts about some of my past projects.  This was done in September 2010.

I gave myself a concussion a few months ago and am still taking prescription painkillers as I need them; thankfully, no longer a daily thing. Last week, I was supposed to meet friends for dinner after an activity and ended up being late because I had to run home for a pill because my head was hurting so much. Well, I decided to do something about it and turned myself a small pill holder to keep in my pocket. It's made out of bone-dry apple wood.

This is how it was before I started:

After the scrap wood has been removed:

And after it has a coat of wipe-on poly applied; I love how it darkens down and almost looks like cedar:

Having moderate success with this, I decided to make something similar for my mother to carry in her purse for her medications. Since she takes pills instead of eating breakfast, it had to be larger. I ended up using the other end of the branch of apple wood I used for mine and ended up with this; no finish yet (dunno if I'm even going to bother finishing it; might just toss it):

And because I didn't verify that the headstock was rotated back to be in perfect alignment with the tailstock, the cover and body are 'off'.  Really confused me until I figured out what was going on...

Pear Toothpick Holder - September 2010

This is another in a series of posts about some of my past projects.  This was done in September 2010.

I made a toothpick holder for my sister's birthday. It's made out of pear and was turned very green. Since her birthday is Monday, I had to finish it before it was dry, but I don't think it'll pose a problem. Hollowing as deep as I needed for the toothpicks with my 1/4" spindle gouge was the hardest part.

Cherry Dish - September 2010

This is the continuation of a series of posts about some of my past projects.  This was done in September 2010.

A local business trimmed their cherry tree this past May and I snapped up the wood they discarded. My father owns a van and so we both went to pick it up. One piece was just a splitting off the edge of a trunk section maybe a foot long, 5" wide, and 1.5" thick, including the bark. My dad looked at me like I was crazy when I picked it up and ripped on me all the way home for taking the 'junk wood'.

Well, I went on the lathe this past Sunday and decided to use a piece of that junk wood - looked at it, cut the non-split end off, mounted between centers, and proceeded to turn it round. After I got done, there wasn't much left, but enough to make this small cherry dish. Having no chuck, I glued it to a waste block on my face plate and returned it after the glue was dry, but the wood had already cracked - this is the crack on the side you can see in the pictures. The crack has been filled with wipe-on poly and after the finish cured, had carnuba wax impregnated into the surface with 0000 steel wool, then another coat applied with a soft cloth.

I had some difficulty with the parting tool leaving chatter marks on the bottom, as the lag screws holding the waste block on and initial piece being so thin didn't leave much room for my parting tool - it chattered and rattled around more than a little, producing a series of spiral grooves on the bottom.

Overall, I'm happy with how it ended up, even though it's far from perfect. Plus, I now get to show my dad what I made out of a piece of 'junk wood'. 

Two Cherry Bowls - May or June 2010

This is another post in a series showing some of my past projects.  Because of the concussion I suffered,  I don't really remember even making them or when exactly they were made, but I do know that I did indeed create them either in May or early June 2010.

I also have two smaller bowls turned from pieces of a cherry tree that a local business trimmed. The first and second labeling below really mean nothing as I don't know what order I turned them in; all I really do know is that both must have been some time in May or early-June.

The first is one with a lip that overhangs the opening with sharp angles. As you can see, it warped slightly after it was turned and ended up cracking near a knot. Doesn't look too horrible though. I used wipe-on poly followed with wax again.

The second has a flared out lip and again warped after I was done, cracking in the process. You can also really see the warpage in it due to the flared out lip. Again, my standard finish of wipe-on poly and wax was used. I really like how there's an X pattern in the grain on the one side.