Odd Jobs and Maintenance

Odd jobs they pop up everywhere no matter what field your in.

"Can you do this 5 min job please"

I learnt a long time ago there is no such thing as a 5 min job, if this was the case they'd do it themselves. I include myself in this crowd even when doing it for myself.


I had/have a list of odd jobs to complete a baby Swift to repair for winding wool, boxes to make, cabinets to put wheels on. Wood to mill, cut and store.

Maintenance of tools is important if they are worn, parts falling off, need re-aligning or tuning up for best performance. I try to put tools away when finished with them a quick clean isn't always good enough.

One such odd job was fitting the new metal bandsaw blade and giving it a test run. I covered two jobs in one a block of steel which had seen better days. I had to trim off the outer rust before it got tossed 5"x3"x2" it had been used as a door stop by my father in law. .

The cut has been the best as far as square and true I have got the thin cut to remove the rusted surface is excellent although I have yet to check it all for square.

The steel block will get used somewhere coated with oil or lacquer to protect its surface.

Requested 3 Tier Stand

Neighbours Wayne and Lor often stop in for a chat when walking their dogs.  Wayne mentioned this prior Christmas I thought he was joking. Nope he brought Lor down with a bribe.

Lor likes to entertain and has requested a 3 Tier sandwich and cake table serving unit.

I suggested NSW Rosewood which was sourced through Greg & Mal Ward at Boutique Timbers these are the slabs marked out. I have already cut them into rounds if and when it stops raining I'll do what I can when I can.

Platter sizes will be 18"x3/4 for the base, 14"x1/2" centre, 10"x1/2" for the top with 6" between plus a finial/handle. I might try the new Longworth out before I give it to Pat.

Time to stand down and hit the Workshop

To make a choice to stand down as Newsletter editor of the Ornamental Turners Group of Australia just prior Christmas for me wasn't an easy, I was enjoying the task.  Although its only a quarterly production its was 10 pages and lots of research etc. Trouble was I was not tackling my own work load in my workshop often enough.

Now with 4 grand children to make toys and tools for etc, as well as other projects and a growing family I need to spend time with let alone Sue and I.

1st up is one which should have been started and completed 2 years ago a pair of Longworth Chucks for Pat a mate.  Ok I created the drawings back then which Pat printed out.

1st one almost done is 590mm two sheets of 3/4 ply with 8 arms. The 2nd will be 900mm yet to be even marked out, It will be a two man job to handle the routing etc.This was done dodging showers and rain squalls. I have yet to mount it and test it, with the buttons etc fitted to true it up. A sand and quick finish for smooth running.

The two faces are interacting, when one is placed over the other in opposite directions. The plates are rotated in action they pull the buttons inward or outward to hold the work piece mainly used for finish the base of platters and bowls.

Wassail Bowl

Its Christmas Eve and what a finer time to find this Wassail Bowl  . What a magnificent piece of Ornamental Turning in miniature. The article and post is well worth the read. The craftsmanship is just magnificent, then there is his Rose Engine with which he produced the fine work.

One for Me

Today is the 20th December I spotted the other day when I had made a post that the date above is a day behind. Obviously USA time not Australian date and time ah well.  Ok I have reset the time and date lets hope thats fixed it.

Just a few more pens, this time Sierra Flat Tops from 043Turning which I bought at the Sydney Woodshow in June.

 This ones for myself a Sierra Flat Top Gun Metal and Gold  with unkown Burl.

The burl was very open and soft wood almost like paper bark. I had to stabilise it using CA. Left a little natural feel with some of the voids.

This lovely wood is Osage Orange given to me by a friend from Wallan in Victoria. Alan from Wallan in fact.  Sierra Flat Top  & Workshop Pencil.

 

Another Queensland Walnut pen.

Edited Wednesday 21st Dec well the date fix didn't work so it must be a Blog thing, will look into that further.


I also missed photographing a couple of pen and pencil combinations . This is either Tassie Blackwood or Black Heart Sassafras.

This is Native Olive from another friend Nick again Pen and Pencil.

Edited Wednesday 21st 10.41hrs I have gone into setting and re-set the time date situation hope this works now.

Adding Colour to Life

A dyeing day.

With  a friend coming over to play with some Kool Aid, it made for an interesting morning. Michele brought three cheeses to dye. They are not the dairy kind but a type of wool which has been partly drafted and a twist put in it so is extremely easy to spin. They are called cheeses as they resemble large cheddar rounds. After wetting the cheeses down with warm water and  a little detergent for a few minutes, the excess water was gently squeezed out and the cheeses put into plastic containers ready for the dye liquid. Michele chose Cherry, Grape and Tropical Punch. I had no idea that the tropical punch packet coloured blue, gave a reddish maroon colour. What a disappointment but with a very limited colour range we did our best. I mixed up two packets of the Cherry and Tropical Punch with hot water adding these to either side of the fibre. Using one packet of the Grape, mixed with hot water, the resulting liquid was poured between the other two colours. A few brief minutes to allow some of the dye liquid to penetrate and the cheeses were flipped over. Another packet of each flavour was mixed up with more hot water and applied to the other side then off to the garage to use the microwave.  I put all three containers into the microwave at once and started on low power for a minute. Its an old microwave and the plate doesn't rotate so after each burst of power its a case of pulling out the containers and giving them a quarter turn to make the heat penetration even. After a couple of minutes on low then medium power, it was onto high power. Taking note of the previous microwave dyeing session a few months ago as a reference, I thought about ten minutes on high power would be enough to set the dye but I had forgotten to add vinegar this time before starting the process so about half way through out came the white vinegar to help with the dye take-up. It took somewhat longer this time but that could be due to the amount of fibre being dyed. It took about fourteen minutes for the dye to be absorbed by the two large cheeses with a further four minutes for the smaller one. The lesson here is to use a container which will just hold the fibre without there being much room for movement. Finally the dye was all taken up and we left the containers to cool a little before squeezing the excess water out. Though the colours were a little muted and there were still some patches of undyed fibre lurking deep within the cheeses, we will have to wait and see what Michele does with the results after she rinses and dries the fibre.

With Love From Mum/Nana

To my 3 beautiful adult children, my daughters in-law & son in-law and my 4 grandchildren with all my love Mum/Nana. 

Home made Gingerbread House.

Hopefully there will be no roof collapse.

A Sons Request

Mark asked for a Fountain pen to go with his New Guinea Rosewood Sierra and Workshop pencil. I found the Baroness set of Fountain Pen and Roller Ball from 043Turning looked good. I purchased 6 of each. These are some of those already finished. Along with a few more workshop pencils.

 New Guinea Rosewood on Gold Plated Baroness, the background is the menu off the SS Orion on which Dad, mum and I emigrated to Australia on.

Buckeye Burl on Gold plated Baroness and Workshop pencil. This lovely wood was given to me by a good friend Pat just some of the many small off cuts he has passed my way.


 Queensland Walnut Baroness Fountain pen and Workshop Pencil

  Spalted Macadamia Baroness Roller Ball and Fountain pen this is a stunning colour. I made Sue a Workshop pencil some time ago.

More to come.

Fairfield Spinners Weavers & Dyers Guild 35th Anniversary Year

How remiss of me never to mention the lovely ladies of the Fairfield Hand Spinners Weavers & Dyers Guild 35th Anniversary Year or have even put a link to their web site (fixed as of today). Also a link to past works.

Sue has been a member now for some years, held a number of positions as have many of the ladies. Sadly the group is now quite small in comparison to the 70's and 80's just 15 ladies. This does not deter them at all, an active out going bunch. They display at various Sydney locations on open days at Linnwood House  at Marter Dai at Camden and at Collingwood House Liverpool .

They have even been filmed at Gledswood Winery by a Japanese documentary team, where they performed a Back To Back Challenge. A sheep was shorn on the day, they carded and spun the fibre and then knitted a jumper which they then returned to the original owner.

I have known this group since its inception, I was their first Coach driver when they first started out 35 years ago I was with Punchbowl Coaches. Then a few years latter, with Silverline Coaches I became their regular day outing Coach driver. The ladies often asked if my wife would like to join them but with 3 children under 5 it was a bit hard. Joan Fisher is the founder and in her 90's now living at Narrabeen still visits to Canley Vale. She is one amazing woman and her books tell the tale.

This coming year 2012 in August they will be celebrating their 35th year. Why not come along ?? A date is yet to be fixed and I/we will put that up as soon as possible.