Shopsmith Forums

I haven't tried posting photos to the forum before now, but I thought I would try posting a couple taken this weekend of a project I just finished. The candlestick and base are walnut; the base was turned as a bowl, using a chuck, and I was able to move it from the right side of the headstock to the left as I went through the sanding grits, reversing the grain direction as I did so. This worked really well, and by the time I got to 320 grit the walnut was almost glassy. I brushed it with 400, but I really didn't need to.

The spindle portion of the candlestick is something I have wanted to try for years and finally I heard of a book (maybe it was mentioned on this forum a few months ago??...can't remember for sure where I learned about it)...Anyway it is called Techniques of Spiral Turning by, I believe, Stuart Mortimer. Great book, he steps you through the whole process. I did one single twist as practice and then jumped right into this open double twist. Its a fun project, part turning, part whittling and it got a lot of attention from people who saw the finished product.

Ed
Idaho Panhandle
MkV 500 +/-, bs, dc3300, jointer

My wife was very impressed with the double twist. Very nice

Now she understands why I want all that Shopsmith lathe hardware for turning.

Thanks for making the sale.

glad I could help!

Ed
Idaho Panhandle
MkV 500 etc

Again, I am amazed at what turners can do!

John

Very cool! I should note that at least for me, I like to see the finished product photos but also photos of the project being worked on attached to the SS such as shown above.. Very nice!

[quote="edflorence"]I haven't tried posting photos to the forum before now, but I thought I would try posting a couple taken this weekend of a project I just finished. The candlestick and base are walnut]
That is a great candlestick, Ed! Someday I hope to have the turning skills necessary to do something like that. The lathe is one tool that I have under-utilized. I keep accumulating tools though, for future use.

Ed,
The candle stick is really nice. A fine piece of craftsmanship. How long have you been turning? I made one failed attempt and had to find alternative ways to make what I needed. Have you taken classes to learn the basics?

Andy

Beautiful candlestick, Ed! Like Andy, I also appreciated your photo of the work in progress. Did you use a hand saw to start the marked spirals?

In addition you have accomplished, what was only previously talked about here. That is using the ability of both sides of the headstock for sanding in opposing directions. Reversible motor? Not necessary!:)

Thanks for your post.

charlese wrote: Did you use a hand saw to start the marked spirals?


Thanks for your post.

Exactly. I started with a blank that was about 2 1/2 inches square, turned it to a cylinder and shaped a tenon on the bottom end to be fitted into the base. Then I laid out the spiral twists using dividers and colored pencils. After the layout was in place, I turned the decorative parts and the candle cup, then the next step was to drill a 3/8 hole the full length of the blank (about 12 inches). I used a jacobs chuck mounted in the tail stock and a really sharp spade bit. Had to come at it from both ends to get the full length, but it worked great. I switched to a larger bit and drilled the hole in the candle cup. After I drilled the holes I had to fit temporary dowels in the ends to remount the cylinder on centers so I could start the whittling part of the project. The spiral grooves were started with a backsaw, as you guessed, then deepened with a small gouge and finally broken through to the central hole with a 1/4 inch chisel. After that it was chisel, knife, rasp, rattail file and sandpaper until the twists were defined.

This project was made as a gift, but I think I will be doing another one sometime soon, since the wife decided, after seeing the finished product that we need one around the house as well. I am thinking that the next one will be out of maple and maybe a little shorter.

thanks for your interest...

Ed
Idaho Panhandle
MkV 500, dc3300, bs, jointer

If you don't mind where did you acquire the brass holder parts?