Turning

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I have a great deal of experience with intricate woodturning where very close tolerances are required. Some of those intricate projects can be seen on the BAGPIPE & BELLOWS page while others are shown below. I also have a much larger lathe capable of turning 95" lengths inboard and 48"diameters outboard.

	Glue up of 8/4 poplar.
	Look closely. Top two pieces and two bottom pieces were glued up separately. Once dry, each was ripped down the middle, run over a joiner and glued back together with paper bag paper between them. Those two assemblies were run over the joiner and glued together with more paper between them. So, the 12 o'clock - 6 o'clock center line has paper in the middle as does the 9 o'clock - 3 o'clock center line.
	Assembly turned round and parted every 1 1/2" or so to just a bit over 6" in diameter.
	Turned close to the lines.
	Right down so the lines all but disappear.

	Turned close to the 6" diameters on the ends.
	Sanded and done.
	Split in half.
	Split into quarters.
	4 quarter rounds with a near perfect 3" radius X 43" long. 42" was the intended end length. These are paint grade, custom cabinet corners. 7-2014

16 of 68 hand turned, quartersawn white oak knobs 2 5/16" in diameter X 1 3/4" thick. 6-2014

2 inch tall teak and holly control knobs for a company that uses them on boats.

	Last 2: Way too many drawer knobs (about 125) that I will never do again.
	These three little finials were turned for a man who restores antiques. To replicate the original, they are made from ancient whale bone.

First 2: A pair of 10 inch diameter pine bowls with lids. Each bowl is made from one solid piece of wood.

	18 inch diameter turned and carved mahogany pattern for mold for the top of a 3 tier, 7 foot diameter, cast stone fountain.
	Last 2: 36 inch spire and application.

This mahogany form was glued up from 9 segments that were 2 1/2" thick and 28 1/2" long with a 20 degree angle milled along each edge. These pictures show how this wooden form was made into a 30" tall pedestal with a rotating top that is now being used to display a cast bronze sculpture.

	The form is shown hoisted up on the big lathe, ready to be turned.
	After a lot of shavings are on the floor, the finished shape finally appears.
	Before leaving the lathe, 2 coats of epoxy were applied, with plenty of sanding before and after, to fill the pores and seal up the wood. The inside was coated as well. Note the inside rabbet.
	Plywood was cut and fastened to the rabbet so that the pedestal wall could move a bit should it need to. A "lazy Susan" type of bearing was then fastened to the plywood.
	A 2" thick top turned from 2 laminated pieces of medium density fiberboard was then attached to the bearing.

	A couple of coats of black lacquer followed by two clear coats finished the project.
	Finished pedestal displaying its Pan.

Four turned and carved white oak finials for a four post bed. The dime in the third picture is for scale.

	The first picture is a composite of two separate pictures and all are of the same bowl blank mounted on my big Oneway lathe. This is a beautiful piece of clear, heartwood cherry that came from a 31" diameter log and the composite shows it with the outside turned and the inside still solid.
	The second pictures shows the bottom of the bowl.
	The third picture shows the same piece about 30 minutes later with the inside "cored" out. This is done with a very large and long parting tool that has a curve along its length.
	The last three show the finished bowl. 21" diameter, 7 1/2" high, 7/16" thick at the rim.

	Makore finials. The finished finials will have a carved leaf pattern. First picture shows the rough turned blank on the left and the nearly finished finial on the right.
	12 makore finials, turning complete, ready for index lines.
	Using the indexing head on my Oneway lathe, carving lines were put on each finial.
	Two out of 12 artichoke finials carved out of makore.
	Finial from the bottom.
	Finial from the side.
	Finial from the top.

	The first five pictures are of a 16" turned, white pine bowl with hand carved reeds and billets. It was finished with raw tung oil after the outside was flap sanded. Flap sanding removes more of the softer and lighter colored "early wood" and leaves the harder "late wood." So, the texture you see is the texture you feel.
	Last 3 pictures - 16" turned, white pine bowl with hand carved flutes.

15" white Pine bowl, glossy finish with 23K gold leaf inside and hand carved cherry burl rosette. I started this bowl in 2002 and screwed up the top edge after the gold leaf was applied. In the first picture you can see the repairs. I was so irritated at myself that I put it aside. This year (2005) I dug it out, re-guilt the inside, carved the cherry burl rosette, mounted it on the side to cover a large knot that had an ugly repair. Gold leaf comes in squares and you can just make out their faint outline in the second picture. The bowl is 6 1/4" tall and the rosette is 2" in diameter.

15" turned white pine, glossy finish bowl.

Six views of a cremation urn that I turned for my friend Lou Ulm. Walnut, birds eye maple with an African blackwood finial. Being asked to make something as personal as this for a fellow woodworker is a rare honor and privilege.

	It is always great to be asked to build something different. Newel posts like this were found in some of the more beautiful, Federal style, New England homes.
	With the finial off and the center counter-rotating spiral pulled half way out, we see one of the secret to it's stability. How the old stair makers did it is a mystery so I found my own solution - a 5/8" diameter steel rod.
	In the third picture the center spiral has been taken out.
	The top (less finial) looking down into the 1 1/2" center spiral hole with the steel coming up through an 11/16" hole in the central spiral's shaft.
	The bottom of the finial showing how it locks onto the rest of the post, the hole for the steel shaft and the method of achieving a tight fit for the cylindrical tenon.

Here are two pictures of the painted newel without the center, counter rotating spiral. The architectural detail really shows up much better when painted. I changed the light to show off different aspects of this interesting piece. Light is everything.

Four pictures of the completed newel post with the painted center installed.

	Another interesting newel post for a new house in California. After a 1 3/4" hole is drilled from one end to the other, it is mounted on the lathe and layout lines are added.
	Second: The power saw makes quick work of the edge wood that is not needed.
	Third: A sharp rip saw quickly finishes the cut.
	Fourth: Edge wood gone.
	Last: Preliminary carving on the lamb's tongue.

	First two: Carving begins.
	Third: All elements rough turned.
	Fourth: Octagonal flats carved in.
	Fifth: Lamb's tongues finished.

	Ready for carving layout work to begin.
	I turned the post 180 degrees to make work a bit easier for this right-handed carver. Spiral carving laid out and done. Star carving on the octagonal flats has begun.
	Finial finished and fitted.
	Finial carved.
	Completed newel.

AndreNewelInstillation.jpg (92102 bytes)

AndreNewelInstillationClose.jpg (90015 bytes)

AndreNewelInstillationCloser.jpg (72135 bytes)

	First three: Here are some great pictures sent to me by the gentleman who ordered this newel for his new home in California. He saw a post that he liked and took pictures with a tape measure beside the post. I worked out the rest.
	Last: A 16" tall urn that will be used as a newel post finial in a Texas house.

	The first three pictures are of a cherry crock that is 6" outside diameter X 7" tall, X 4 1/2" inside diameter X 5 1/2" inside depth. The thing that makes this piece so unique is that it is made out of one solid piece of cherry. Rarely do you find a piece of solid cherry this size dry enough to do something. I cut and dried this piece myself.
	Next picture is of four small finials out of mahogany. 50 cent piece for scale.
	Last picture is of turned white oak, 1 3/4" in diameter. Each if the 16 pieces was 30" long and will be ripped into four pieces lengthwise to make quarter round molding.

	First three pictures: This foot prototype was eccentrically turned to provide the stop cuts for carving.
	Next two pictures: Completed, 5" tall foot.
	Last picture: Foot as it appears on the leg. Set in 1/8" from the front and side.

	Front and rear foot prototypes.
	Top of both front leg showing 1/4" nosed brass which will be nickel plated.
	Last three pictured: Vanity assembled without finish and brass as yet to be plated.
	Vanity made by:

Grace, Ryan & Magnus Millwork, LLC
17 North Bleeker Street
Mount Vernon , NY 10550
Tel: 914-925-9741

I made this table for my wife over the 2011/2012 winter out of air dried cherry cut in York by Mike Lee from The Lee Tree company - a business he built by himself. The butt logs were cut by a local band mill sawyer and stored for 7 years in a airy shed and 5 years in my shop. It is 4 feet in diameter expanding to 5 feet or 6 feet by the addition of two leaves. The leg and table design is my own.

	First: A set of 4 tulip top bed post made out of curly maple for a fellow woodworker. 2 3/4" square X 54" long for this head board post. Note the applied sacrificial poplar pieces used for the center steady.
	Second: Turning done, the poplar semi-circumferences are cleaved off along the paper glued between the them and the post with water soluble, white glue.
	Third: A back saw is used to cut section lines run parallel to the edges of the square center section. These sections were quickly cut off with a flat chisel.
	Fourth: A low bevel block plane finished the job. No more than 15 minutes per corner to do the job.
	Last: Leg is secured to the head stock with a small face plate with a centered hanger bolt screwed into the plate and leg. I really like this picture of the leg with no visible means of support.

	First: Center steady and steady rest positioned for cutting the tulip top end.
	Second: Last cut with a skew on this finial end grain.
	Third: Finial end hollowed with a spindle gouge.
	Last: and last: Finished head and foot posts.

	First: Finished foot posts.
	Second: Finished foot post.
	Last: Finished bed.

Color and finish work provided by:
GLL Restoration

45 Thurrell Road / Lamberts Lane

South Berwick ME 03908

207 651 5233

gllamberts@gmail.com

Same design for the same customer only this time in curly yellow birch.

	Below: Same design for the same customer only this time in curly cherry. All of these posts were taken out of 3" thick stock. The finished dimensions were 1 3/4" square with the head posts at 46" in height and the foot posts at 36" tall.
	Last picture shows the outstanding finish job GLL did on the curly cherry posts.

	Time to make a bowl out of this large beech burl I have had for a while. I use this process for all of my sculptured burl bowls.
	First you make a foot socket so you can gather it up in the big chuck.
	To begin with, I always take out the largest core I can.
	The last two pictures show the sculpting process well along. The actual turning part of the project is complete. The lathe is just holding the work and allowing me to turn and lock it into different positions so I can work on it. If you can hold the work you can do something with it. This rule applies to everything you make.
	It has a hard oil finish. One soaking coat and another lighter coat after the first is cured.

Here are different views of the finished piece. I grew up and live near the ocean so shells are among my favorite study objects. December 2017

[ Home ] [ Carving ] [ Signs ] [ Pattern Making ] [ Turning ] [ Restoration ] [ National Archives ] [ Bagpipes & Bellows ] [ Sculpture ] [ Bellamy Eagles ]

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