Turned Tealight Holders

So, I’ve been practicing with that little ol’ Sears Craftsman monotube lathe I picked up last year, and I’ve (hopefully) been learning some things while burning electrons and making wood chips. Such as:

1) The Craftsman 4-jaw chuck that came with the lathe is not for me. It doesn’t center automatically, which means I spend a good deal of time guessing and fudging to get stock positioned. This detraction could be overcome, if it weren’t for the fact that _IT’S A 15-pound BLOCK OF STEEL WITH SHARP PROJECTIONS MOVING AT SEVERAL HUNDRED RPMs WITHOUT A GUARD AND IT LOOKS HUNGRY FOR HUMAN FLESH. 0.0
That thing is going up on eBay.

2) Exotic woods that look all nice and stable in the store don’t necessarily STAY that way once they move into the shop. My beautiful little hunk of moderately-costly Redheart cracked upon being turned and exposed to the atmosphere inside my shop. I’ll be buying exotic lumber well in advance next time, allowing it to acclimatize to local temp and humidity before machining.

These are all tealight holders, the first being turned of Olive, with an attractive grain and widely varied colours. I have to say I’m not a big fan of olive—the variations, for me, would be a bit much in large pieces such as a cabinet or table. For small novelty items such as this, however, I think this variation is an asset, especially for such a simple shape as shown. I can’t help thinking of “Mork & Mindy” when looking at this turning, which reminds me of Mork’s egg. Nanoo, nanoo!

The next holders are made of Redheart, and I really love the color. But, as noted above, I’ll be buying blanks well in advance next time. :0/

-- Leland, OC Calif., www.safetyshowerbars.com