You see, Rudy has a workshop. A full on, all the bells and whistles, wood shop. And he was willing to teach me! He gave me rights to the shop, to come and go as I please, and believe me, I have taken advantage.
In that shop, over in the corner, covered in junk and clutter, was a lathe. Could I maybe play with that? Sure! And a new passion is born. Annie's Hands are turning wood.
Since we heat our house with firewood, there is always something with which to practice. These two sticks are from a particularly nice pallet, and one of those sticks has been turned into a candlestick.
Along with the lathe were some tools, and I used most of them making this. Looking back, after having taken a class and reading a lot, I don't know how I came up with this. I doubt I could do it again.
So let the bowl turning begin!
These are some of the little bowls I have been knocking out. I play with shapes, and finishes, and wood. It's mostly been scraps of wood, but now learning has begun in earnest. Which means classes!
First training, really, was and continues to be Cap'n Eddie Castelin. He posts videos on You Tube, and I eat 'em up.
Next was a two day beginner class on bowl turning. Looky what I made.
Using a tool that was made for turning bowls was a revelation. The excitement was too much, so that when Ernie Conover strolled over to see how I was getting along, he was grabbed into a bear hug before he knew what hit him.
The bowl is walnut, and we watched as Ernie cut our blanks from a log.
Next step is to round off the chunk of wood into a real bowl blank, and from there to the lathe. Ernie is using a breathing apparatus to get fresh air from behind himself as he saws.
