Persian Meels
A guy contacted me asking for a set of
Persian Meels. I agreed to call him back,
giving me time for a little research.
They turned out to be a form of swinging
exercise club
He wanted them to be 7kg each, and
offered to supply the timber
This is the result
See my article on how I made these
in Woodturning Magazine 276
Sapele
Burnt Bowl
From a piece of old Oak fence post, to a burnt bowl, see how I made it in Woodturning Magazine 261 Oak
Offset Bowl
I found a blank of Southern Yellow Pine
in a job lot of wood I aquired, and when
I started to look at it seriously, I realised
I needed to turn something simple with
a wide rim to show off the beauty of the
wood
I decided on an offset bowl to give a
particularly wide rim on one side, and
provide a contrast between the rim and
the different grain orientation of the
bowl portion
Southern Yellow Pine
Hollow form with Marble base
I was creating pieces
for a demonstration
illustrating some options
for combining materials,
so I thought I would do a
small bowl with a marble
base, then it just cried
out for some legs in
silver plated wire
Sycamore, Marbles & Silver
Flowing Vase
Having been given a cherry butt I wondered how I could do it justice.
I really like to celebrate nice pieces of wood and make the largest
item I can from them rather than just creating lots of shavings.
As this log had a nice uneven natural edge I tried to preserve as
much of it as possible. It also had several splits at the top (now the
bottom) so these features influenced the design
The log was turned green (partially wet) and the greatest challenge
was to retain my fingers whilst creating a flowing rim drooping
unevenly several inches below the top
Cherry Root
Ding
I couldn't resist buying a nice shaped
bell in a second hand shop, but what
to do with it? Looking through my
stockpile of wood one day I found
some Brazilian Mahogany, so designed
a mechanism that would fit internally to
strike the bell
Brass & Mahogany
Striped Bowl
I had the idea for a striped bowl,
but wanted to emphasise what
happened when a curved surface
is cut from a striped blank
So I decided on a square bowl
with a raised rim in a splash
design
American Black Walnut
and Canadian Maple
BB Bowl
What can you do with a nice
small piece of Elm and a big
box of ball bearings?
Elm & Stainless Balls
Xmas Tree
We have all made Xmas trees, but I had a very nice unidentified
blank with a split in one end, so this was really the only shape
that it would allow me to make. The addition of a cherry twig
for the trunk and an English Walnut pot and we were almost there
As it was a commission for a Xmas present, we added some stars
with copydex, so they could easily be removed after the festive season
This is currently in a private collection
Unknown wood, cheery branch trunk & English Walnut pot
Copper Rimmed Bowl
Another find in a second hand
shop were large copper valve
gaskets, but what to do with them?
Incorpprate them into the rim of
an elm bowl of course!
Elm & Copper
Attractions
I have no idea where this idea came from, but I happened to
have a spare stainless steel garden sphere - as you do, some
stainless steel wheelchair spokes, and a nice big lump of Elm
This is currently in a private collection
Elm & Stainless Steel
This is currently in a private collection
Elm & Stainless Steel
Beech Box with Spalted Inlay
What to do with a small offcut
of Spalted Beech - A Beech
box with a Spalted Beech insert
in the lid. The insert is set into
the lid so that it can be seen from
both sides
What you can't see here is that
there is a thin sliver of Spalted
Beech in the inside of the box
at the bottom
Beech & Spalted Beech
Experiment in centerless turning
A first attempt at a centerless turning
Two trumpets with a ribbed centre detail in a small Ash trunk
Ash
Spiral Finial
I couldn't get the idea of this spiral finial out of my head, what I saw was a horn, something between a Gazelle and a Kudu horn. A stepped spiral.
What to do with a small offcut
of Spalted Beech - A Beech
box with a Spalted Beech insert
in the lid. The insert is set into
the lid so that it can be seen from
both sides
What you can't see here is that
there is a thin sliver of Spalted
Beech in the inside of the box
at the bottom
Beech & Spalted Beech
Experiment in centerless turning
A first attempt at a centerless turning
Two trumpets with a ribbed centre detail in a small Ash trunk
Ash
Spiral Finial
I couldn't get the idea of this spiral finial out of my head, what I saw was a horn, something between a Gazelle and a Kudu horn. A stepped spiral.
The problem was how to make what I had envisaged. Have a look at the
Tools page to see the jig I created to make this finial in American Black
Walnut. Ultimately it is destined to be the finial atop a London Plane lidded
dish.
However, I will also have to create feet in a similar style for the finished piece
American Black Walnut
Donut Bud Vase
I like to call this a sphere vase, though others call it the donut vase
American Black Walnut
Donut Bud Vase
I like to call this a sphere vase, though others call it the donut vase
It was made from scraps of Ash, the donut came from the waste
from one of my mug stands
I found a large test tube to connect the individual pieces which
results in the impression of the central sphere being suspended
in the ring or donut
A friend donated the Rose bud which seems to finish the piece off
See my article in Woodturning Magazine 271 on how I made this piece
Ash & Glass
Bud Vase
I created a simple Ash bud vase whilst demonstrating one day.
Later I happened across a local artist who produces these
intriguing wire men
I just had to have one to lookinto one of my bud vases
Ash & Wire
Yew Chalice
One day when I was turning for fun I selected a nice piece of Yew.
I just had to have one to lookinto one of my bud vases
Ash & Wire
Yew Chalice
One day when I was turning for fun I selected a nice piece of Yew.
I had no idea what would turn out from this piece of interesting timber,
but ultimately a chalice appeared
Supported vessel
Sometimes you just have to be led by the piece of wood, and see where it decides to take you
With this peice of Elderberry by contrastI had a good idea of what I wanted to create. Luckily the wood decided to co-operate
I had a vision of a supported vessel, butcreated from a single piece of wood
The stand is integral and created from justone piece of wood. The trick is to get
Supported vessel
Sometimes you just have to be led by the piece of wood, and see where it decides to take you
With this peice of Elderberry by contrastI had a good idea of what I wanted to create. Luckily the wood decided to co-operate
I had a vision of a supported vessel, butcreated from a single piece of wood
The stand is integral and created from justone piece of wood. The trick is to get
the flow of the vase to pass by the stand as if it was not there
Elderberry
Jewellery Box
I wanted to make something more than a typical Jewellery stand.
Elderberry
Jewellery Box
I wanted to make something more than a typical Jewellery stand.
So the idea of a Jewellery stand, box and necklace holder was born
Whilst this looks as is if it might have been created from a log, it was
in fact assembled from a plank of Yew I tried to provide the illusion
of it being made from a log by carefully cutting discs from the log to
include some of the sap wood I first stacked them as rough blanks,
before turning, to get an idea of how they would ultimately appear
in the finished jewellery stand
Yew
Sputnik Box
Sputnik Box in Cherry & Beech
Mug Stands
A pair from a series of mug stands in Ash
Splash
Splash in Red Malee with Stainless Steel Wire feet
Split Turning
An experiment in split turning in Lacewood
Labernum Vase
An early vase in Labernum
of it being made from a log by carefully cutting discs from the log to
include some of the sap wood I first stacked them as rough blanks,
before turning, to get an idea of how they would ultimately appear
in the finished jewellery stand
Yew
Sputnik Box
Sputnik Box in Cherry & Beech
Mug Stands
A pair from a series of mug stands in Ash
Splash
Splash in Red Malee with Stainless Steel Wire feet
Split Turning
An experiment in split turning in Lacewood
Labernum Vase
An early vase in Labernum