Beach Bowls

Flagler Beach has one of the nicest beaches around with coquina sand that feels wonderful on your tired bare feet.  I thought it only appropriate to make some "Beach Bowls" with the coquina sand.  This one is red oak with a coarse coquina starfish inlaid with epoxy in the bottom.  You can see more on my website.

Red Oak "Beach Bowl" with Coquina Starfish

http://www.RickUrbanWoodturner.com

http://www.UrbanWoodworks.com

      

Small Boxes 101 (part 1)

Let's get started making some small boxes!

These will be boxes suitable for toothpicks, matches, or whatever of similar size.  I'll be using blanks 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" because I happened to have a lot of blanks that size on hand.

I start by drilling as many tops and bottoms as I need.  I like 7/8" for the bottoms and 1" for the tops.  That allows me to cut the bottoms with a tenon or shoulder to fit snugly into the 1" top while leaving the wall 1/16" thick.











Next I mount one of my 7/8" jamb chuck fixtures and a drilled bottom blank using the tailstock for safety.  (See more about the fixtures in my earlier post at  http://www.rickurbanwoodturner.blogspot.com/2012/01/tools-for-small-boxes.html ).


Then I shape the bottom, cut to mark where the waste block will be parted (cut) from the top, and cut a tenon so the bottom can be held in the chuck jaws.  I repeat this for the rest of the bottom blanks.






Next time we'll do the tops and almost finish the boxes.

Check for Nails!

 I was leading a charmed life!  I never found any nails in the wood I rescued.  I never needed a metal detector until...

... a magnolia tree had nails and screws (33 of them) buried deep (6") below the bark from decades passed.

I ruined 2 chain saw chains before getting them all.  (I was determined to win the battle.)

I'm older and (sometimes) smarter now.  I have a metal detector, and I'm more alert for the tell tale "tick" "tick" "tick" that says I've encountered something different in what I'm turning.

Tools for Small Boxes

For these particular small boxes I use a drill press and forstner bits to drill the inside of top and bottom blanks.  In this case I am using some 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" blanks, so my preferred sizes are 7/8" for the bottom and 1" for the top.  That allows me a little wiggle room for the outside diameter, and I just have to size the bottom for a nice fit to the predrilled top.  If I were only doing a small number it would be easier to drill them on the lathe, but the drill press is more efficient when doing a larger batch.

I have also made some fixtures for mounting the predrilled blanks.  These have a morse taper for the headstock and are also held by the jaws of the chuck seen in the picture.  That makes it possible to make small adjustments in the mounting so they run true.

I use a lot of different tools from time to time, but these work well for me for this project.  The 1" spindle roughing gouge lets me round the blank and form the general shape quickly while the 3/8" bedan tool is great for peeling away the small sections of waste very quickly.  There isn't a better tool than a skew chisel for leaving a clean final surface on this kind of object.  This one is a 1" skew.  The 1/16" parting tool separates the project from the waste without loosing too much of the stock.

Come back soon,

Rick

http://www.RickUrbanWoodturner.com

Turned Boxes

I make small boxes for gifts and for sale.  I was surprised to learn just how many other people have a fascination for well made boxes.  Some are for treasures, some for toothpicks, and some just hold wishes.  I'll go through the process I use to make them.