Woodturners Resource

Ambrosia Maple

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:41:58 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This one I barely got in the house and SWMBO laid claim to it. Good thing she has such good taste. Not the greatest picture but it gets the point across. Bowl is 2 7/8” tall x 9” wide. Sanded to 400. Has 2 coats of sanding sealer, Seal-A-Cell. Wet sanded. Several coats of Arm-R-Seal wet sanded between each coat. An ogee curve inside and out. Love to hear your thoughts, good or bad. I already know the pic is cruddy. Need to see about taking a better one so that you can really see it.

7 comments

Just a few pieces I've been working on.

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:09:26 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Starting in the upper left and moving clockwise, cherry, ash, cottonwood (the core of another piece I've done), olive ash, and cherry again. There are several others that I'll share with you later. Even these I'll show one at a time and give more details.

6 comments

Ponderosa Pine

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:46:07 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

5 comments

Another view of Ambrosia Bowl

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:37:27 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Sorry the edges look fuzzy. So hard to shoot a deep, glossy finish. At least it gives you an idea of the ogee curve I used for the outside curve. Very pleasing to the eye and the hand.

2 comments

Ambrosiad Maple Bowl

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:03:13 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Got this piece of wood @ Choice Woods on discount because it didn't have much ambrosia to it. Came out pretty nice. LOML is going to be pretty particular how this one leaves the house. Thought she was going to come unglued when she thought I was donating it to the auction last week. Anyway, this is one of the prettiest bowls I've done, IMHO. It is 8 7/8" wide by 2 3/4 tall. I think it is a bit deceiving, looks to be taller than that. Anyway, the finish is 4 coats of Seal-A-Cell that were sanded between coats with 400 wet, about 8 coats of Arm-R-Seal, which were also wet sanded with 400 between coats. Not buffing this one because I do not want to pull the finish off like I did with another piece or two. Pretty deep and clear as is. I'll buff up with some Ren. Wax before it goes out the door for sure. All comments and questions welcomed

5 comments

Ash Shallow Bowl

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:46:34 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Nice little piece of Ash I picked up after the ice storm that hit here the end of January. Bowl is 8" wide x 1 3/4" tall. Finish is General Finish, 2 coats of Seal-A-Cell and then about 6 coats of Arm-R-Seal. I wet sanded with 400 between each coat. Used water as lubricant. Haven't decided about the buffing at this point. Might try WD and then carnuba before I use the Renaissance Wax. Slight warp on the rim. LOML says "too bad." I kind of like it with this little bit of imperfection. More organic I think. Questions and comments always welcome.

3 comments

Osage Orange Bowl

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:19:42 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: 6 1/2" wide x 3" tall. Finish is 2 coats of Seal-a-Cell followed by 5 coats of Arm-r-Seal. Sanded between coats with 400 dipped in water. Seems to worked pretty well. Not flawless, but came out pretty nice for this piece. I don't care much for the shape myself. The intent was something a bit different, but it ended up like this. So it is what it is. Might sell it for something less than the normal. We'll see. Comments and questions always accepted.

6 comments

Yellow Heart Pine Bowl

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:07:34 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: I thought I posted these before but I don't see it in my gallery. Anyway, this one is about 6" diameter x 2" tall. Finish is loads of DO and then buffed. The wood came from a post that was taken out of a church in Louisville. It had been there for about 120 years. They stopped counting the growth rings at 150. There were more in the post and surly even more in the tree. So the tree began life at least 300 years ago. I got a couple of pieces of it to make a bowl and goblet for the church. I used what was left over to make a set for myself. I'll post the goblet the next post. Any questions and/or comments welcome.

6 comments

Ponderosa Pine

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:38:37 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Roughly 6 1/2" wide x 3 1/2" tall. 1/8" or less thick from top to bottom. In fact, the center of the bottom will let light through without any problem. This is one of those turnings that if I still had a bunch of DO, I would have done the multiple soak and dry cycle thing ala Ron Kent. Finish is several coats of Seal-A-Cell followed by several coats of Arm-R-Seal. This is another case to show us all that too much under the top coat is detrimental to the finial finish. The buffing wheels pulled the top coat right off. I had to sand it back and start again. No more than one coat of the sealer for me from now on. Questions and comments always welcome.

6 comments

Spalted Pecan Bowl

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:15:45 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: I bought this piece of wood from Dale the Burl Guy several years ago. At that time I only had the ShopSmith and it was just too light to do any good with this chunk of wood. Way off balance and even after I got it round. I even took it over to Phil's to get it round. Once round I still had an out of balance blank. It has been sitting on my to-do shelf for a long time, until a few months ago when I pulled it down and turned it on my Nova 1624. This bowl is 9" x 3 3/4". There are 4 coats of Seal-A-Cell and 5 or 6 coats of Arm-A-Seal. Each coat was wet sanded with 400 grit wet/dry. It is still not perfectly smooth because of the various inclusions and deep open grain areas. It was really a joy to turn once I had it on the Nova and applied sharp tools to it. All comments and questions welcome.

6 comments

Two Bowls from One Blank

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:39:58 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is a pair of cotton wood bowls. The smaller bowl was cored out of the larger one using Richard Steuss' Bowl Saw. Proceedure is to turn the outside of the blank, reverse, cut a deep groove into the inside of the bowl, insert the saw into the groove and rotate the saw blade into center. Pretty quick the core pops out and you have 2 blanks. Smaller is roughly 3" x 3/4". I sanded through the bottom and inserted a piece of olive. Came out pretty nice. The larger is about 5.5" x 3". Both are finished with 2 coats of Seal-A-Cell and several coats of Arm-A-Seal. As usual, the cotton wood had nothing going for it before the finish was on it. After the finish, well, you be the judge.

5 comments

Cherry Pot

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:27:26 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is a small cherry piece that I gave to my secretary for Christmas a couple of years ago. As I remember it was about 3" tall x 4" wide. Sorry about the lousy pic, but it really was a nice little piece. Mostly wanted to test the new settings to see if the thumbnails would settle in proper orientation. Maybe you'll be able to see enough for a bit of inspiration. Hope you like it.

1 comment

Spalted Curly Maple

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:19:57 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is a nice little piece I turned a while back. Missed getting a picture posted of it. Wife fell in love with it right away. Measures 4" across by 2" tall. Finish is Seal-A-Cell and buffed. The final wax feels so good in the hand. Hope the customer likes it as much as LOML does. One of the few "small" bowls she likes. Questions and comments welcome.

8 comments

Spalted Sweet Gum 1107

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:37:51 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: The 3rd in the group of 4 from the same chunk of wood. 2 3/4" tall and 6 1/2" wide. finish is tung oil finish followed by Beall buff. Found a bit of a punky area in this blank. The inside bottom is not smooth all the way across. For what ever reason there is a ridge that runs across the bottom. May be a line that swelled with the finish. Anyway, not the best piece I've done, but it does feel nice in the hand. As usual, questions, comments, and critiques are welcome.

3 comments

Tiger Stripped Maple

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:33:20 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: For your perusal, 2 3/4" tall, 6 1/4" wide Maple that has a bit of spalting, but the primary attraction is the tiger striping. I knew it was there from the start of the turning process. But, like so many features, it really showed up when the first coat of finish went on. Wow, that stripe really jumped out and grabbed me. Sides are a pretty consistent 1/16" with the bottom getting just a bit thicker. Finish is a wash of thinned lacquer, tung oil finish, and finally buffed with the Beall. As usual, your questions, comments, and suggestions are encouraged.

5 comments

Spalted Sweet Gum 108

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:18:49 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Our next contestant is 2 1/2" tall and 4 3/16" wide. she's finished with one coat of Seal-A-Cell and then buffed with the Beall system. Wood came to me as a participant in the Wood Exchange program. Seems it was being threatened in it's previous location. Well, it found a safe home here. Good or bad it was cut into 4 pieces, this is the second that I have posted. BTW, this is my January piece for those of you taking up the challenge to turn, finish, and post a piece each month this year. February's will be up soon. Questions & Comments encouraged.

6 comments

Old Pine #2

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:00:39 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is the second of this group. Not much of this old stuff left. Anyway, this one is 1 5/8" tall and 7 1/2" wide. It came from the other side of the beam from the other one. You may or may not be able to see the nail holes in it where something was nailed to this beam. Holes were filled with coffee and CA. Finish is, you guessed it, tung oil finish followed by Beall buff. Questions, comments, critiques welcome. 8-)

3 comments

Very Old Yellow Pine Bowl

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:12:43 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: I'm like most of you in that soft woods aren't my favorites to turn bowls from. You may remember the goblet that I turned shortly after the goblet challenge and trade. This pine came from a beam out of Highland Baptist church in Louisville, KY. It was a main support beam in their fellowship hall that was remodeled a couple of years ago. It was figured that this wood was at least 200 years old since the church building is over 75 years old and they were able to count 150 rings in the wood itself. This is the first of two bowls that I've turned from some of that same wood. The goblet went back to the church as will this bowl. Finish is Tung Oil Finish followed by the Beall system. 2" tall, 7 1/2" wide. Questions and comments welcomed and encouraged.

6 comments

Cherry Burl, another view

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:32:10 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Just another view of the same cherry burl. Thanks for looking. 8-)

2 comments

Cherry Burl

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:24:12 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Piece of wood that I got from Smoky. Absolutely wild grain movement. Color galore. Piece is 6 1/2" wide by 2 7/8" tall. Finish is tung oil finish followed by Beall buffing with all three grits. Not sure what else to tell you about it, so feel free to ask any questions you might want to ask. All questions and comments welcome.

5 comments

Walnut Bowl

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:13:37 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: 2" tall, 7 1/4" wide. Finish is tung oil finish followed by Beall buffing system. Not much remarkable about this piece unless you hold it in your hands. Feels right. Really nice movement in the grain. Comments and questions encouraged. 8-)

4 comments

Magnolia Winged Bowl

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 04:35:56 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Wood came from a limb that I trimmed off the tree in my front yard. Turned very green, yet it did not move much at all. Bowl is 3 3/4" x 2 3/4" Wing is 11" X 4 1/2" Thickness - 1/16" except in the very bottom where it got a bit thinner. Sorry, I didn't get a pic of the thin spot. Finish is thinned lacquer wash with tung oil finish followed by Beall buffing. Still have all my fingers and even all the skin that belong on those same fingers. Whew! Questions/comments welcome

8 comments

Birch Trumpet Bowl

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 04:29:41 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Received wood from Bill Turpin at the GA Gathering a year and a half ago. Color is very light and unfortunately you cannot the feather that runs across one side of the rim. What you can tell is that I turned it green and it did move a bit around the rim. Size: 4"x2" Roughly 3/16" thick Finish is thinned lacquer wash followed by Tung Oil finish and Beall buffed.

Sweet Gum bowl

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 04:06:21 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Sweet little piece that is about 3x3.25. I had never turned sweet gum before. Came out pretty nice. About 1/8" thick. Finish is cut lacquer followed by tung oil finish. Stil needs to be buffed. Was not able to get a pic of the detail on the bottom. There are 3 v-grooves to set off the foot from the rest of the bowl. Really gives a nice detail in person. Questions and comments welcome.

9 comments

Cottonwood Vase

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 03:51:52 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: A small piece of cottonwood that I got in one of our wood trades. Had some real nice color in it. Can't tell you about the finish. It is one of 3 pieces that I used a product on that would not buff. About 1/8" thickness throughout. Roughly 3.5" tall and 3" wide at the base. Comments and questions welcome.

3 comments

Cherry Burl

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 03:42:24 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This wood came from Smoky. While it does show some burl figure, I still believe that this tree was hit by lightning. Many area of the bark look to have bled severly at some point. Beautiful color and really moving grain. About 1/4" thick from top to bottom. Finish is a coat of lacquer/thinner followed by a coat of tung oil finish. Still needs to be buffed. Questions and comments welcome.

2 comments

Camphor

Sat, 21 Apr 2007 03:36:33 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Roughly 8x4 from a piece that was collected on our 36 hour Florida trip about a year ago. Finish is a coat of lacquer cut 50/50 and 2 of Tung oil finish. Still needs to be buffed. Nearly got too thin in one spot. Light ring shows up when there's an imbalance of light. Otherwise it's about 3/32" top to bottom. Only weighs 3-4 ounces. Great lift, so to speak. Questions and comments welcome.

3 comments

Maple Burl bowl

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:19:17 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is the bowl that was mounted on the 1624 when I was showing off my new acquisition. Ended up looking pretty good. The finish I was experimenting with was a total failure. Had a good build but when I went to buff it, the finish pealed right off. My heart sank and I felt sick. Back on the lathe and started sanding again. Once smooth, I put another coat of Tung Oil Finish on, let dry, and buffed. Now it's smooth as my baby's bottom. Questions and comments welcome. 8)

7 comments

Plywood Bowl

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 20:10:03 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is a 7x4 bowl of cabinet grade plywood. I cut 7 pieces of identical size and alternated the face grain of each piece as I glued them up. No reason to, I just did. Glue was yellow carpenter's glue, Titebond II to be exact. Wore out my old Sorby 1/2" bowl gouge and had to replace it, but I was looking to do that soon anyway. Finish is water based lacquer and sanding sealer. Questions and/or comments requested. 8)

2 comments

Kind of a walnut mushroom

Sat, 31 Dec 2005 05:11:19 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This angle gives more of an idea of the actual piece. Still doesn't show the curve of the lower section.

Walnut w/undercut rim

Sat, 31 Dec 2005 04:50:00 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: 7 1/4" wide by 2 1/2" tall. No finish at this point. Was meant for an exchange on another board. The next pic will show you why it is in this gallery.

Spalted maple

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 06:21:45 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: About 3 1/2" tall x 4" wide. Walls about 1/8" Finished with Danish Oil, rubbed in between coats with 0000 steel wool. Feels quite nice in the hand. May send it off as a secret santa piece to another turner. What do you think?

1 comment

Spalted Buckeye

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 05:50:38 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is the same piece that I posted earlier in the summer. Then it still had a post on the bottom. It warped just a bit so it now has two peaks (foreground and back) but no cracks. Only two coats of Danish Oil so far. Several more and two coats of finishing wax to go.

5 comments

One of Three from Friday

Sat, 11 Jun 2005 16:26:56 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Heavily spalted buckeye. Thanks Smoky. Roughly 6 x 3, with no finish yet. Stuff is really wet. This piece was turned between centers. Boiled when happy with the shape and thinness. Waiting for it to dry before returning to the lathe to turn the bottom off with the donut chuck. Then I will sand and probably use DO as finish. Then again, I may include it in the water based lacquer experiment I'm about to do. More to come, same bat time, same bat channel.

9 comments

Myrtle Bowl

Wed, 25 May 2005 03:28:12 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: As memory serves me, this piece is about 5" wide x 3" tall. Finish is Waterlox (red can) and waxed. Blank came to me after being reclaimed from a bowl factory in Washington St. Center was cored out with fostner bits and was quite thick. I had a great headstart on this one, but has plenty of wood for my interpretation. Blank was dated 1947 and was bone dry. Was almost as nice to turn as the dry butternut I turned. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind having a bit more of it now.

3 comments

Small Figured Maple

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 05:13:38 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This piece is only about 3 x 3. I was trying out my Sorby multi-tip and worked it over pretty good. Unfortunately, I was also trying to do it between centers so I was not able to hollow out the inside as well as I would like. Finish is DO and wax after being sanded to 800 .

Kauri

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 05:08:06 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This is a piece that I got from New Zeland. It is said that Kauri is the oldest workable wood in the world. This piece was claimed to be 3600 years old, reclaimed from the kauri swamps of New Zeland. The blank started out as an 8" round X 4" thick. I think it ended up 7 1/4 X 3 1/2.

2 comments

Cherry Wide Rim

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 05:02:47 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This piece is about 8 1/2" wide X 3 1/2" tall. It is wild black cherry that was taken down here in KY. Log was still expremely wet when I turned it. So wet, that I was soaked and had to clean my glasses nearly as often as I sharpened my gouge. The knot in the rim have me no trouble until it started to dry. Of course, that is the spot of the most warpage. Never did crack or split though. Sorry about the blue back ground. Pic was taken before I knew better.

Cherry Potpouri

Sun, 07 Nov 2004 22:18:36 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: Cherry 3 1/4 x 3 1/4. Finished with DO and wax.

Hazzelnut

Sun, 07 Nov 2004 22:11:42 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This piece is 8 1/4"w X 3 1/2"t. The chunk out of the rim is a natural bark inclusion that came flying out. That was exciting. The dark lines are checks that were in the log before I actually got it. The fellow that sent it to me had cut the tree into billits and asked his sons to coat them for him. They forgot, so they checked pretty badly. Anyway, I kept them together during the turning process with CA and filled the remaining "splits" with coffee grounds and CA to immulate bark. Finish is my usual DO and wax.

Small Spalted Maple

Sun, 07 Nov 2004 22:05:15 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This one is 3" X 3". This piece was turned on a face plate and hollowed with a Sorby Multi-tip. Finish is 6 coats of Dainish Oil followed by 2 coats of wax.

Butternut experiment

Fri, 05 Nov 2004 05:40:40 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: This piece is 6 1/2" wide by 3 1/4" tall. It was my first attempt at undercutting the rim with a hollowing tool. I also experimented with turning it start to finish between centers. Worked pretty well, but this is about as small a piece as I could imagine doing this way. Finish is Dainish Oil and wax.

2 comments

Canary-Paduk_WinCE_

Fri, 05 Nov 2004 05:33:08 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

7 comments

Paduk/Canary

Fri, 05 Nov 2004 05:31:46 +0000

by: Rev. Doug Miller

Description}: 7 3/4" wide X 3" tall. Finish is 8 coats of Dainish Oil followed by 2 coats of wax.

1 comment