Turning again!

I am able to turn again as my lathe now is running off a 3 phase motor and variable frequency drive. What a pleasure - it's been a while.

A Jacaranda vessel in process - I got the wood from a fellow turner at Saturday's meeting.

At Smit at the lathe on Saturday's meeting along with other members - he did a demo on a thin walled natural edge goblet while I attempted to do a demo on a thin walled hollow form. My demo did not go too well!:)

I make progress on the lathe

This week was not a week for turning but of fitting of the 3 phase motor and controller. This involved fitting the motor to a new flange and welding (not a strength) a bracket for mounting the controller. This coming week I will wire the motor and controller - the first phase being able to control the motor speed from the controller itself.

After that I would like to connect a remote control box with Start/stop, reverse and a potentiometer to conjtrol the speed wherever I am around the lathe.

The finished piece - Licorice Hollow form

It's finally completed and I call it a licorice hollow form due to the black strips that remind me of the sweets available to us as kids. Made from River Bush Willow with lots of carving and branding to create the dimples.

Some burning this week

Some pyrography this week - it does take some time. Done with a spoon tip. Apon closer inspection you'll see a multitude of dimples branded into the pattern. What do you think? Let me know.