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Meet Fred and Ginger. They have joined my breakfast table birds that I turned a few weeks ago. These guys are helping me learn how to turn. They are an experiment in off-center turning and presented a few challenges to me.

The first 4 photos are of them in various poses. That is Fred showing off his tail feathers. I used a V-bit in my router table to make a groove and then glued in a stick of walnut for his tail.

Photo 5 shows how I did it. I started with a build-up of two pieces of cherry for the body and two pieces of thin walnut for the wings. The bottom of the cherry has a tenon used to hold the piece in a chuck during the turning of the neck. First the neck was turned between centers. Then the head was freed and I completed the rounding of the top portion. Next I cut off the tenon and re-chucked the body on the big axis and turned it.

Photo 6 is of my first attempt at a Dodo. He is pretty much a disaster as far as design goes. His name is Zork, and he wanted his picture taken also.

They are finished in Danish oil and wax.

Thanks for looking,
Steve

P.S. I really wanted to scoop out the flat portion of the body, but I found it nearly impossible to do without a lot of tear-out (and it was kind of scary). I guess endgrain does not like this? Any turners have any helpful hints? This would be done while the neck was the axis and would yield a tail that would rise up at the back.

Gallery

Comments

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Nice flock.
 

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That's quite an adventure you took Steve. Do I dare call it a maiden flight? You apparently learned a few things and certainly got nice results.
 

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Cute design, Steve!

Some great thoughts you put into the glue up to allow for the offset turning!
 

· In Loving Memory
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Cute birds and nicely turned Steve.
 

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Very nice…

Slick way you turned them…

I thought Dodo birds were extinct… you're reviving them!

COOL…

Enjoy your breakfasts with Fred & Ginger!
 

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Hey Steve, ya just a big Kid at heart :)))
Nice colourful turn, well done
Pete
 

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I think I like zork the best - by having the entire bird as one piece of wood it makes folks wonder more how you did it!

Great job all around Steve!

-bob
 

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Steve: Very unique birds. I just uncovered my lathe this week and was looking to start turning again, but I don't think I would be up to doing offset turning just yet.
-don
 

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Very clever Steve….lots of engineering in the dodo bird. Whats next?
 

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Very nice
 

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Nice job! Steve,
Very clever turning, soon you will need an aviary.
 

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Great job Steve!!

Thanks for sharing
 

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Would that be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers?

Those are some cool turnings. i like off center work but have not tried this yet. If you scoop it out, that front will be turned down quite low and thin and would tear out. Try a flat round nosed scraper that is real sharp .

Nice job-thanks for sharing!!.................cheers,.Jim
 

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for your first try, they are fantastic. excellent work.
 

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Nice turning job, learning process or not. Which one is Fred? ha ha
 

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Looks like a great learning project, and one you had way too much fun doing! ;-). Congratulations on style and innovation, plus a piece very nicely done.
 

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Gotta love off-center turning.
I have done very little of it.
Just some mallets and handles.
Looks like you have got it down.
 

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Congrats on a "Daily Top 3", Steve!
 
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