Shopsmith Forums

fredsheldon wrote:The downside of using your garage for a workshop is dust. I just spent 1 whole day and 2 evenings using my shopvac to dust every square inch of my garage and all it's contents. So, if you are planning on using your garage as a shop, be prepared for everything to accumulate a layer of sawdust, especially if you sand 90 bowls

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It's a good thing I always wear a good mask. My Harley Helmet is looking kinda sad.

More lonely than sad.

My shop is in a dedicated, 24 7 temperature controlled space. Friends call it my man cave. I have a Jet air Filter, DC3300 dust collector and a fein vacuum. Yes I use my shop every day often for several hours at a time. Clean up is always a nuisance. Especially when turning. I had discovered the DC3300 picks up some. I tend to turn for a day and then use a monster dust pan and broom to pick lions share of sawdust, depositing it in the covered tin Trash can. When the bag gets full I dispose of it. Usually once every three weeks. Once a week on average I use the Fein to vac up all of the mess and then smile as I start over. My 43 year bride doesn't like being in the shop and always wears a respirator to control dust issues due to asthma. I keep trying new ideas and finally decided the broom works best. Jim

Is it possible to turn bowls from dry wood?

drlung wrote:Is it possible to turn bowls from dry wood?

Yes it is and you'll have LESS, if any wood movement.

Absolutely, but it will be harder on your tools and end grain tear out will be worse on the dry stuff so go slow, take light cuts, and sharpen often.

beeg wrote:Yes it is and you'll have LESS, if any wood movement.

I wood(I copied this from another member ) say that over half of my bowls that I turned from green wet wood had developed movement/cracks as they dried. However, I would always prefer to turn wet wood over dry wood if I had a choice. It is 10 times faster and your tools keep much cooler and don't require sharpening as often. I do have enough left over logs to turn another 15 bowls that have been drying for almost a year now so next year I will probably be using dry wood for any future bowls I turn. I will then see how my Carbide tools hold up to dry wood.

Thanks for the advice. I might be able to get wood from a dead tree that fell. Fred has inspired me to try some bowls.

I was shocked when the chip and dip bowl I donated to our annual Christmas Auction to raise money for some local folks in need sold for $251. Trying to pry $20 out of these State workers is almost unheard of so to watch the bidding war for the bowl reach $250 was very gratifying. You should have seen the expression on the faces of the 20 office mates that I gave bowls to later in the day. Good thing I have an RV since I have 18 more bowls in bags to hand out to family members here in New Orleans on Christmas Day along with all the other presents and luggage we had to pack. I guess this will be my last posting on this thread. I will be starting a new thread documenting my progress with my next year's project, Bandsaw Jewelry Boxes.

fredsheldon wrote:I was shocked when the chip and dip bowl I donated to our annual Christmas Auction to raise money for some local folks in need sold for $251. Trying to pry $20 out of these State workers is almost unheard of so to watch the bidding war for the bowl reach $250 was very gratifying. You should have seen the expression on the faces of the 20 office mates that I gave bowls to later in the day. Good thing I have an RV since I have 18 more bowls in bags to hand out to family members here in New Orleans on Christmas Day along with all the other presents and luggage we had to pack. I guess this will be my last posting on this thread. I will be starting a new thread documenting my progress with my next year's project, Bandsaw Jewelry Boxes.

It has been fun and very educational for me(I have never turned a bowl!).

????Did the purchaser of the $251 set get one of the 20?:D

JPG40504 wrote:It has been fun and very educational for me(I have never turned a bowl!).

????Did the purchaser of the $251 set get one of the 20?:D

I had one to give him but it turned out not to be necessary He is the Director of the IT Division for TDCJ. Five of his Managers pooled their money and were bidding against him But when he said he really wanted the bowl they stopped bidding at $250 and let him have it.