Briar wood root and epoxy resin coaster - Woodturning

 

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Chuck kit

Vacuum chamber kit

Buffing kit

 Micro mesh sanding pads

Caliper set

I made this coaster out a scrap piece of briar root and clear epoxy resin. I think it came out too nice to use it as a coaster though. I really want to thank my friend and awesome craftsman and turner Fotis Kalovedouris for sending this amazing piece to me. 

You can check Fotis's work here.

I used a plastic cheese container as a mould. I added the wood and some weight on top of it to keep it from floating in the resin.

I then mixed some resin and I poured it into the mould. I de-gassed the resin in the vacuum chamber.I let it sit for a few days. 

I then cut the piece round on the bandsaw. 

Using my divider I drew a few circles to help me centre the piece easier on the glue chuck.

I then used 5 minute epoxy to keep the piece on the glue chuck.

Using a round nose scraper I turned the piece true. I also rounded over the edges.

I then used a flat carbide scraper to flatten it’s back. 

I started sanding at 100grit. I moved on to 220. At 320 I started wet sanding with mineral oil. I moved on to 400, 500, 600, 800 to 1000grit. 

I then used my micro mesh sanding pads which go from 1500 to 12000.

I parted the piece off the lathe.

I reversed the piece using my bowl bottom cleaning chuck jaws. 

I completed the back side as well. 

Finally I mounted my buffing wheel on the lathe. I used a super fine abrasive paste and I started buffing the piece to remove any left over scratches. For this job I set my lathe at it’s lowest speed. You don’t want your resin to overheat because it gets blurry. 

Finally I cleaned the piece with a microfiber cleaning rag.

I like the result so much that I kind of don’t want to use it as a coaster. Some rest dust was left in the mould so now the piece looks like a martian landscape which is something I really like.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this project because that was it. See you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Making a beautiful briar root wood sphere - Woodturning

 

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Chuck kit

Vacuum chamber kit

Stabilizing resin

Buffing kit

Foredom Woodcarving Kit

Micro mesh sanding pads

This is the most beautiful piece of wood I have ever worked with. It's a piece of briar root. I think the shape of a sphere really makes it's beauty pop out. I really want to thank my friend and awesome craftsman and turner Fotis Kalovedouris for sending this amazing piece to me. 

You can check Fotis's work here: https://www.instagram.com/fotis_kalovedouris

I begun by holding the piece between centres on my sphere making caps. I set  my lathe at it’s slowest speed. I used a round scraper to cut with really light passes.

This was two heavy for my small lathe, so I had a lot of vibrations. I managed to turn the piece with one hand although this is not safe at all.

I kept rotating and turning the sphere until it finally was balanced.  It is important to watch the ghosting effect and turn slowly until it disappears. 

Once my sphere was roughly ready, I put it in the vacuum chamber with stabilising resin. I then put it in the oven to cure the resin. 

I kept turning the ball. I started sanding at 100 and then moved my way up to 220, 320, 400, 600, 800. I polished the ball with fine and super fine polishing paste. I buffed it on the buffing wheels.

To remove the paste from the cracks I used air from my air compressor. 

To make a base I used a relatively neutral wood. I used a piece of oak which I turned into a bowl shape on the lathe. 

I then used my divider to divide the bowl into 4 parts. I used my rotary tool to shape it’s feet. 

I ebonized the oak. I first added a coat of black tea solution. Then I applied the steel wool and vinegar solution. The two solutions interact with certain properties in the wood and make it black. 

I polished the piece with my micro mesh sanding pads and mineral oil. Finally I added a coat of bronze wax paste. 

And that was it. My sphere was ready. Thanks again Fotis for the wood. See you soon with a new project video.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a simple DIY bottleneck slide

 

Tools and materials I propose:

Rotary tool

Micro mesh sanding pads

Diamond Cutting Wheel

Mask Respirator

In this video I make a bottleneck slide using my rotary tool and sand paper. 

To cut the lowest part of the slide I used a piece of tape as a guide so I could cut straight. 

I then used a diamond cutting wheel on my rotary tool to cut the glass. 

I set the speed of my rotary tool at it’s lowest and I used water to keep things cool. You don’t want glass to overheat and then cool it, because it will break. 

Also use a respirator because inhaling glass dust is pretty bad for your health. 

Once my cuts were finished, I used a piece of plexiglass as a flat surface and I wet sanded from 100 to 320grit.

To round over the edges I used sanding blocks which I made out of wood and carpet tape. 

You can stop right here, but if you want to polish the glass you can use micro mesh sanding pads which go from 1500 to 12000grit.

And my slide was ready. You can use almost any glass bottle to make it. Although flat straight necks are the most suitable in my opinion. 

I am really happy with the way it came out but that was it. See you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Wood carving the Cretan mountain man on basswood

 

Tools and materials I propose:

PFEIL Carving Set

Flexcut starter carving set

Foredom Woodcarving Kit

In this video I finish a project I started back in 2016. Its's a woodcarving of a mountain man from Crete. 

Once I had my design ready, I created a canvas on my wood so I could easily transfer it on it’s surface. 

Using the V tool I cut outside the line. Then I used my gouges to roughly remove the material needed.

The sculpture is divided into three sections of deepness. 

Then it was just a matter of following the grain and trying to match the curves of the gouges with the design.

Once I was done with the hand carving I used my rotary tool to even things up. I used several bits depending on the situation I had. 

I then sanded the piece and added some texture on the rocks, hair  and a  couple of other parts of the piece.

I finished the piece with three coats of clear water based varnish. I lightly sanded with 400grit between coats. 

Finally my Cretan is ready. But that was it, see you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.