This week has been a crazy week. Lots of activity, school work and more. I decided this week that Sunday I would be resting. Which for me means...you guessed it- wood turning. I am not sure what to make. I can do pens, wands, grill sets, handles, just about anything. So I have decided to leave it up to you. What do I make? I will take a look at the suggestions and post a picture of the result.
Oh and I haven't forgotten the chalk holder. Here is at least one picture of the holder. remember it is a prototype. I am already in the process of designing a better system for getting the chalk out. I think it will involve a wooden turned screw that fits into the back and then as you turn it the chalk comes out the other side. This one is made of white oak. It fits in your hand really well!
I would like to start off by saying that this is more spaghetti than I am use to. I tend to be more of a waffle guy. (If you read the book, you know what I am talking about)
My goal this week was to unveil a project I was working on with my daughter. Unfortunately, life got in the way of finishing our project. It's funny how that happens. This past week has seen a plethora of activities and signs are showing that a slow down is not in the forcast until next weekend.
I titled this weeks post, "Sometimes Turning Means...Turning Off." I did this because sometimes turning in life means that we need to turn off our wants and put them aside, just for a while, to make room for things that in the scope of life seem more important.
Sometimes taking care of yourself means taking care of others and putting their needs above your own. That has been the story of my week. Helping people at school during my planning time, taking children to math carnivals at their school, planning and organizing homecoming activities for next week and then on Saturday...I got to spend this morning (my iPad was acting up and the laptop was too, which meant work would have to wait) with my 5 year old son (he had earned a VALUABLE coupon from his teacher which entitled him to a free kid's meal at Chik-Fil-A). My wife needed groceries and medicine for her and the rest of the children. Two of the three children were laying on the couch in various states of stuffy noses and headaches. The fourth, my oldest was enveloped in his iPod and feeling "ok."
Needless to say I was not in a great mood at the state of things when I woke up. I am admittedly, a person who doesn't "change gears" easily. I have a plan...I stick to it. Do not change my plan unless you have given me enough time to process the change. Which will take somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 to 14 days (more if holidays are involved). But my wife so lovingly reminded me that all these things were not "have to's," they were "get to's."
So I headed out with number 4 and we proceeded to get groceries and medicine and stop off at the mall to happily eat Chik-Fil-A.
Upon returning home, the laptop was working and the iPad was too. Coincidence or even divine intervention some might say. For me it was a reminder that in our quest to achieve, we have to take time for the "get to's."
Oh, for those waiting...I have (with my daughter's guidance) created a pen that holds...chalk! Up until this year at my school I had only chalkboards to work with. No whiteboards, smartboards or anything fancy. Maps were painstakingly traced from my overhead projector. I still have and use my chalkboards (I finally got a smartboard this year!) frequently and my daughter noticed that I always come home with chalk dust on my pants. So we decided that I needed a chalk holder so I wouldn't get dust on my pants. It is rather unique and works wonderfully. I will post pictures later this week.
Take some time this week to turn off and take care of your self by reveling in a "get to" moment. You may not get another and you will be immensely happy that you did.
Recently I have been having a difficult time with my finishes turning out. For those who aren't sure what I am talking about, let me explain. To keep wood looking "nice," you have to do two things to it:
1. You have to sand the wood to smooth out the grain and seal the pores of the wood so that moisture doesn't get in and cause the wood to swell and eventually rot.
2. You have to seal the outside of the wood with some sort of finish that will:
bring out the natural beauty of the wood (or hide it--> i.e. Stains).
Protect the wood from dings, dents, smudges, and the natural oils found in the human hand.
There are many different varieties of polishes, stains, laquers oils and such for preserving the finish of the wood. There are also (I learned) many different ways that woodworkers apply these finishes.
So, like I stated earlier, I have been having trouble with my finishes. I typically sand the wood starting with a 150 grit sand paper and then move through the various grits (200, 300, 400) until I hit 600 grit. At this point I switch from sandpaper to micro-mesh sanding pads that let me bump up the sanding to much finer sanding (1200, 1400, 1600, 1800 and 2000). At this point I switch again to a friction wax which is simply wax with very fine particles in it. This heats up and literally melts and infuses the wood with wax (part of the sealing aspect) while at the same time giving it a super fine sanding.
Up until this point everything has been going fine. Its the last step that has me flustered. There are two methods for sealing my turning projects that I prefer to use. On my pens, I use a cyanoacrelate or CA finish. This is simply a glue that bonds to the wood and then provides a hard finish to protect against dings, dents and such. You may know this better by its more common name...Crazy glue or Super Glue. On my other turning projects I like to use a hand rubbed poly-urethane finish. It goes on smooth and lasts a very long time. The latter is not the problem...it is the former.
My CA finishes, lately, have been looking...off. They don't seem to coat the way they did earlier. It could be one of a myriad of issues (type of glue, lathe rpm, friction, etc.), but I think I have a few solutions.
As I said earlier (what you are still reading this? WOW!) there are many ways and means to finish your wood project. So I did what every red-blooded American handyman does in my situation...I went to Starbucks, got a grande double shot espresso with extra foam and hazelnut flavoring, and Googled a solution!
So here is what I came up with: Check it out it is a pretty good solution.
There were others but I liked this one the best.
I know I usually post pictures of things I have made...and I will be doing so this weekend, so settle down!
I have a classic chrome and gold cigar pen made of East Indian Rosewood I finished this past weekend and I have a special project I did with my daughter (the purse-wand fanatic). It is a bit old fashioned and probably not much in use anymore but most people still have one (I actually have two!). Have I piqued your interest enough? Left you on the edge of your seat longing to find out what it is? Maybe I should have a midnight upload? Anyway, you'll see it soon enough!
