To Everything, Turn…Turn…Turn

Alan's Turning Log – Adventures in Wood Turning

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about

I am a novice turner and woodworker, who can chew up many hours chewing up wood. I am also very good at spending money on my hobby.

Category: Projects

  • Project pen, start to finish – Part 3

    You might have noticed that the project that I started, or the wood anyway, was different from part 1 to part 2.  I started the photographs with the Chechen pencil and then when I started turning, I forgot to continue taking pictures until I moved on to the Olivewood pencil.  These projects are for a…

  • Project pen, start to finish – Part 2

    The pieces are now on the mandrel and on the lathe ready for turning. I have read that the dust from turning has some very deleterious effects on a person’s lungs and so I ALWAYS wear my respirator when turning. This has P100 cartridges and are intended for gases and fumes, but the rating is…

  • Project pen, start to finish – Part 1

    This is going to be an extensive post as it strikes me that I have never really explained how a block of wood becomes a pen.  I decided that I would chronical the work at every stage.  I will see how long this post is and may truncate a bit of it for a follow-on…

  • Change of Command

    I was the Master of Ceremonies for the Change of Command parade at work this past week.  One of the customs of the ceremony is that the outgoing Commanding Officer (CO) and the incoming CO each sign a certificate signifying the handover and then the Presiding officer signs.  For these ceremonies, we always have 3…

  • African Ebony

    When I took my pen-turning class eighteen months ago, the store wouldn’t let us use Ebony for any of our class pens.  I wasn’t sure why, but I assumed it was because of the hardness of the wood.  I have deliberately avoided it in the ensuing months.  Well, after I figured out my CA (cyanoacrylate…

  • Baron Rollerball in Chechen

    Made a new rollerball pen yesterday and finished it today.  I wanted to try the CA finish again and so I dug out my instructions again and followed them to the letter.  This finish turned out really well. It has a plastic finish that shows the colours in the wood really well.  This is the…

  • First Bowl

    Actually it turned out shaped more like a pot than a bowl, but it represents my first attempt at end grain turning and hollowing.  I picked up a piece of Orange Agate (aka Macacauba) and turned it down.  There are a few things that I need to figure out before I do some more bowls.…

  • New Baron Fountain pen… new finish

    Another frustrating day in the shop today.  I think I was preoccupied and failed to pay attention as I was trying to make a new pen.  The last Purpleheart Baron Fountain pen that I made ended up with blotches in the finish and I was sick and tired of looking at it.  I  started out…

  • Project Light

    I got this idea (actually I tried to duplicate/steal the project) from Alan Stratton who has a YouTube Channel called AsWoodTurns. Since I purchased my lathe and placed it in the shop in the basement, I have struggled with how to light the work area adequately.  I have a 4 foot flourescent in the room,…

  • Magic Wand (a la Harry Potter)

    It has been quite some time since I have actually completed something at the lathe.  I have gone down to the shop a few times but didn’t really know what project to start on. Last month, a colleague asked If it was possible to turn a Magic Wand in the style of Ollivander’s wands from…