Preparing from the log
Wood turning blanks for spindles
| I tend to do a lot of spindle turning, especially for craft shows, so I have decided to cut the other half the log into 3/4" thick boards for spatulas. To start with, I cut the half log down the center with the chain saw. |
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| I am going to quarter saw the slices from the log, so I mark from the sides of the log a series of 3/4" lines. |
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| Then I go to the band saw and cut the slices. First I cut from one side, flip and cut from the other. Because the chain saw cut is seldom right on 90 degrees the first cuts are usually not right on the money, but the band saw surfaces are fine from then on. I could do the first cut with the band saw but the chain saw is easier. By the way, I am using a 20 year old Rockwell Beaver band saw with a Tufftooth 3/8" 3 point hook tooth blade which I resharpened myself. It cuts through 4 or 5 inches of wet maple with no problem. |
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| Here we have the finished boards, ready for drying. Those two on the left are the first two side cuts. They are somewhat uneven in thickness but will make some turnings. The ones on the far right should make a couple of spurtles. Middle ones will be stacked for drying and eventually cut for spatulas. I will likely get 13 to 15 spatulas from the pieces. To dry them I just stack them in the shop with popsicle sticks between them for air spacers. The ends are already sealed because the log was sealed on both ends before I started to cut. |
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I hope this helps so let me know how it turned out.
wood pile, prepare the log, bowl blank, boards (spindle stock)
bowls: overview, roughing, finish turning, sanding, wood turning home
© 2015 copyright Darrell Feltmate, Around the Woods