I was able to get some wood from a Hazelnut Tree being dropped a friends mothers house. Never having worked with Hazelnut, I was curious. I picked a few 5” logs and a couple 18”wide pieces from the trunk.

Tired of moving the small logs around that were qued up by my lathe, Set up one between centers and turned a tenon on one end for the 4 jaw chuck.
The wood looked like White Oak once the bark was removed. Even though the log was still wet, this wood was hard. End grain hollowing was slow and had to fight to get a smooth cut with little tear-out.
Knowing that this piece is going to move, I did not get to fussy with finish. Sanded to 320, and applied mineral oil with some bee’s wax.

So, if you like turning oak maybe you would like try Hazelnut. It is not for me. Wood scraps feed the fireplace, it may also see some hazelnut.

I frequently patronize our local pubic library for its wealth of woodworking and wood turning books and DVDs. Some of the ladies there have been so helpful in my quest, I had thought to thank them with a gift of a turned pen. The responce was positive and the smiles and service had increased 10 fold.

One of the librarians had suggested that I should bring some of my turnings for thier monthly display. So here we are, the fruits of my labors and the toiling over a hot lathe.

The month is now almost over, and I need to remove my turnings to make room for the next display. I do believe it is going to be someone’s collection of Commemorative Elvis Plates ;)

At a new home that I was wiring, there was a respectable pile of oak planking left behind from the flooring installation. The house is about 5000sq ft. and 80% of the deck was covered with oak in random widths from 4” to 8”. I had ask the owner about the fate of the wood, they said they were going to save it for possibly another room.

On a return trip to the job, I had found that the sheetrockers had thrown the oak outside, and some of the planks got wet. At this point the owner did not want it, and it was mine to take. I packed as much as I could into my van, and the rest got straped to the roof racks.

In order to clean up and flatten the oak, I had to plane them down to 5/8”. Using the same design, and left over plywood from the liquor cabinet that I had previously built, I had just enough wood to make one coffee table and two end tables.

Just a waste piece from a bowl blank. Too big to through away, almost too small to keep.
Finished with sanding sealer and sanded to 800. One coat of gloss lacquer.
Finished hight 6.5×1.75 wide.

This the first batch of bowls that I had rough tuned back in October with my new bowl saver tool.
The large bowl is 9.5”x 4” and 3/16th thick. I got greedy when to rought it, I had only left about 7/8”.
When it dried it looked more like a football than a bowl. The others didn’t move as much.
The middle one is 7.5” and the smallest is 5.25”wide.

Tom

A friend of mine wanted to try his hand at turning. He brought over a 8” x 2’ log of apple. After cutting out the cracks and worm damage, he was able to get 2 nice little bowls. On the otherhand, I got the mess and the waste.
From the cut-offs, I was able to salvage a few pieces. I glued on some Brazilian Cherry and attached the whole thing to a glue block. What a pleasure the Apple was to turn and hollow. The only thing that gave me a tough time was the worm damage and the cherry, boy that stuff is hard.
The vases are 3.5”x 2” , and the goblet is 6” tall.

I found the plans for this Country Icebox at Grizzly. The drawings were quite helpful and easy to follow.
The doors and sides are cope and stick, the inside bottom and back are plywood. The top is a Oak glue up.
I had seen something like this in a store, but they wanted $450.00. I built this for about $260.00 w/ hardeware out of real Oak and Plywood, not that press board crap.

Now I have a place for my Kool Aid, not scattered about the house in different cabinets.

Tom

I found wood in my stocking, too heavey to be hung by the chimney with care. I disappeared into my shop to mill and driil ten tiny pieces. I feel a rhyme coming on, but we wouldn’t go there.
Today the weather outside is frightful and shop is so delightful, so I made pens. I had even tried a Celtic Knot with Walnut and Red Oak. I does not look like much untill you turn it.
I am running low on Purple Heart, would anybody have some they could spare?

Tom

Finished just in time for Christmas, A storage closet for my 8 year old daughter’s 20” dolls and thier wardrobe.
My wife had seen it in a catolog, but she felt that the wanted way to much for it. I was tasked to make not one, but three. Most of my projects are one and done. In the past, I had mentioned that if you like something that will making let me know and I will make more than just one. It’s easier now, then going back and trying to set up the tools again.
I have two more almost ready for paint. One is for a niece, and the other is for a friend’s daughter.