With the blank ready to work on the lathe, it's time to turn the inside. As it turns out, there isn't any magical, tiny lathe that woodturners place inside the blank after all. That would be some massive cylinder big enough to machine on the inside! For an inside out ornament at this stage, the inside is currently on the outside. You'll have to use a little imagination to understand by seeing only the negative space. What isn't there is what you'll see better when this is finished. After this all that fibre tape comes off and each of the four pieces is turned completely around and this time glued together. Whatever changes, corrections, or fixes are needed has to happen before glue-up. When the pieces are glued together you get the middle example in the photo above. It's much clearer now what I mean by what isn't there becomes more visible.
The exterior silhouette is turned, finish applied, and voila! The biggest question now is if you'll hang it with string, thread, ribbon, or a hook. Decisions, decisions. I hope this series was enjoyable for you and you learned something new. Happy holidays.
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One would think, with reasonable surety, that once the wood has been cut to short lengths, movement would no longer be an issue. One would be mistaken. It's important that the initial grouping of the four-piece bundles be gap-free. This will be important for the second turning when the seams all need to fit together neatly. The bundles are grouped with fibre tape at the ends. In short order, a gap will develop in the middle of the span between taped ends. a A couple more bindings on either side of centre, and finally(!) the bundles have been convinced to be proper squares.
I knew a roofer once who practiced Zen Buddhism. He shared with me a prayer discipline he practiced at work. He would take a piece of chalk and write a Zen prayer on the underside of each of the roof shingles. The entire house would be covered in silent prayers for the well-being of the occupants. There are opportunities to connect with the Divine in all places - even in the wood shop! If you're inclined to offer prayers such as my Zen Buddhist roofer friend, you might be inclined to write a prayer, a character or image, a love note or a kind word on the ornament at this point. No one will see it when the ornament is done, but you will have inscribed into it a blessing that will radiate through it as long as it exists. Next comes the fun part - the turning! Come back again for the next exciting episode of inside out ornament turning. |
The Maker and the MakingI'd like to say I'll let my work speak for itself. How can I do that when there's so much that can be said about it? Archives
October 2022
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