I was able to repair my Shopsmith today. My father hunted down a replacement part for me on ebay, I picked it up yesterday, and installed it today. This means that I am up and running again on my wood turning. I guess that this means that my next craft endeavor has been decided for me. The problem here is that the olive wood that I had looked forward to turning seems to be all cracked beyond use. I have now attempted three goblets (one today and two a few months ago) and given up shortly after roughing them to round because of too many deep cracks. Perhaps the climate here is too dry and I should have put them in plastic bags to slow the drying process. It seems that sealing the ends with wax was simply not enough.
Today I worked on one piece of olive wood and the piece of purple-heart that I damaged the lathe with. I finished the outside of the Purpleheart bowl and stopped to consider the inside. I can see a lot of hairline cracks on the surface of the bowl and now I am worried about the bowl exploding when I carve out the inside. I think I will give it a try while wearing a full face shield and making sure to keep out of the plane of rotation. I have been making an effort to be safer on the lathe lately. I don't want to learn to be safe the hard way and this time I wore safety glasses the whole time and a dust mask while sanding. These failures leave me with a dismal record of success on the lathe, and I am starting to get disheartened.
I really need to get a job so that I can afford to build a raku kiln and buy the stuff to do lost wax casting. What ever happened to the days where you could make a living as an artisan?
1 comment:
Those were the days when you had a wealthy patron to support you in your endeavors. If the Medici family ever rises to prominence again, I'll let you know.
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