Aside from a few turnings and the ugly but now very functional router table, this is my first “real” project so to speak. My son is 2 1/2 and he likes to do things like brushing teeth and getting water on his own but is not quite tall enough yet to clear the edge of the sink.

So I made him this little stool. The top is sapele and the sides are purpleheart. Simple (though not exact) mortise and tenon joints for the legs (my first attempt at m&t). Sealed with shellac, then a good sanding, a coat of BLO, some more sanding and drying time. Then 3 coats of danish oil moving from 220 to 400 grit sanding for the final.

He’s happy with it and just went running to the kitchen with it so he could get a cup of water. That makes it all worthwhile plus it was fun and a good learning experience for me. I’ll probably put on a wider bottom just to negate the possibility of tipover but as it is I’ve told him when he’s standing on it his feet have to hide the purple so he’s good and centered. :)

Thanks for looking.

Oh and this evening, he used the lathe for the first time with standing against me holding onto the roughing gouge. He had so much fun!

I checked it and the top is quite level. It just appears strange in the photo. The bottom of the fence is not a straight edge.

Just finished turning and finishing this little bowl a few minutes ago. It’s about 5” diameter. Finished with 1 coat of stain (sounded down greatly) then 7 coats of superblond shellac, rubbed down with 0000 steel wool and completed with 2 coats of Renaissance Wax.

I’m still working on getting rid of tool marks. The oak really dulled my skew chisel and scraper.

The new jaws for the chuck arrived today so finally I can actually finish the bottom of a bowl!

This was a third and a quickie. It took about an hour to turn from a rough chunk of wood to ready to polish.
Blank I cut from an oak log found along the road. Sanded to 400 then coat of shellac, then sanded again 150, 220, 400 before using Danish Oil (3 coats), then 4 more coats of shellac (I use the superblonde flakes). Then since it arrived yesterday, I used the Beale Wood Buff wheels to finish it off and wow, it’s much shinier in real life.

My friend at work saw the little Myrtle Burl thing I made and really liked it so she asked if I could make her something so I said ok. She likes to have a flower (usually just a silk one) at her desk so I turned this little vase It’s about 6.5 in.

Thanks for looking

Just finished this about 5 minutes ago. It’s the first time (of several things actually) I’ve used Australian Myrtle Burl (small block) and I didn’t really have a clue as to what to do with it. It’s also a first using the new NOVA G3 chuck, MT Drill Chuck, Danish Oil, and Renaissance Wax at the end. (though I did use 8 coats of homemade shellac after the Danish oil and before the wax).

I messed up parting from the bottom which is why it’s a bit off kilter but I’m planning to put this into a bowl of rice to steady it and use as an incense holder.

I think the danish oil, shellac, and wax really brought out the color. It’s almost like parts of it are on fire.

Now that I have my lathe. This is the first turning project I’ve completed. I’m also working on an Australian Myrtle Burl flower vase that’s about 3.5” tall but that’s for another day.

The shaft is maple and the base is cherry. I sanded it from 120 grit up to 600 then burnished it with wood shavings before applying a mixture of shellac and wax (7 coats) then polished it to a high gloss and burnished it again with shavings to get a satin finish. The pieces are attached with a simple mortise and tenon with no glue and set to expand and contract along the grain in parallel.

Makes me happy. :)