My First Lathe Project

It all started a couple of months back...I was ready for
a new challenge to my woodworking ability.

We went to a coffee shop where several artisans weredemonstrating lathe work, and i became "highly interested".

The next thing to happen in the sequence was that the

KDOT cut down several cedar trees across form my wife's

workplace. I saw the beautiful color of the cedar and the

nicely cut logs, so I "procured" several.

After watching several videos on youtube about working

on a lathe, I decided that I should pursue this further. So

I watched how to mount up a sacrificial block on the back

of the piece and did so, also cutting down the block in preparation for turning.

I called a buddy of mine that has a Shopsmith and asked if

he'd be willing to give me some instruction and let me use

his lathe to make a piece...to see if this truly was something

I wanted to pursue. So, last nite I went to his house and

after some very helpful hints and instruction...

...I was able to turn out this beautiful cedar bowl!

I realize that is is "green" wood and will crack as it dries, but it looks great right now. It also helped me decide that yes, I do want to buy a lathe and test my skills. So I've got some Christmas cash in my pocket and I'm off to find a good used lathe. More details to come...