Apologize if this is not the right place but I’m looking for a wood carving of a lid for a coffee accessory. I have an stl file I can share but really wanted a wood version of the lid not 3d printed so it would be food safe.

A tree fell in my friends backyard and I acquired some birch wood for turning little bowls. I'm gonna rough turn em first as the wood is still wet. When I learned turning at my school, they had a dry box for drying the wood out - I don't have access or space for such a dry box. Looking for recommendations on how you guys dry out bowls after rough turning them? Preferably sped up methods, rather than having them sit for 2 years. Also if you have recommendations for sealing the end grain. I did a titebond 3 and water mixture at school for when putting in the dry box, looking to learn of other methods for this.

Hello all,

I’m trying to figure out what brand this chuck setup might be. There doesn’t seem to be any insignia anywhere on its. It seems nice enough but I dunno. I have a smaller nova and this one seems like an upgrade but I dunno. I looked online. It couldn’t really see any that resembled it. Anyone have a similar one? Any info would be appreciated!

I've got a couple old Starrett outside calipers that seem in good nick, but using them with a parting tool, the adjustment knob loosens up pretty quickly. Just the vibration of the points rubbing the wood.

I suppose a jam nut could fix that issue, but I'm wondering if this is typical for these tools.

I'm brand new to wood turning and was a little frustrated yesterday trying out my new roughing gouge. If I apply the tool for more than a few seconds moving down the spindle, the piece slows down significantly, where I have to back on and off until I'm done. I feel like it took a really long time to round a 12" ~2.5" diameter piece of cherry.

Granted the lathe is very old. A walker turner, with a Delco 1740 rpm 1/4 horse motor. Despite it being old, it was made to specifically turn wood, but were they just not as effective as today's models? I really have nothing to compare it to. Anybody else use old lathes and motors?

Some of my favorite pieces are asymmetrical and imperfect. I like to turn them down to final form, then either bake them on low heat or microwave them before finishing. It makes sanding more laborious, but I enjoy the natural movement of the wood.

Interested to know if anyone has made their own; the three-roller type? I’m sure a sturdy plywood one would be easy to make. You’d just need to buy 3 cartridge bearings.

Would love to see people’s home made devices, if there are any!

As I was applying the finish - the rim was a bit too thin

Tried my hand at turning an apple today and I’m really happy with how it came out. The body is from a knotty branch of mulberry that a friend gave me, and the stem is a tiny piece of ziricote offcut that I’ve saved for years despite it being too tiny to use (or so I thought, lol).

I watched “making a wooden apple” on YouTube by Fabian’s Tiny Workshop to learn the process.

Anyone ever turned a utility pole?