Thanks, Dave (and others), for all the suggestions. I might just stop by
Laura Secord on the way to Lee Valley Tools this week.

- Owen -

"Dave in Fairfax" wrote in message
...
snippage with interspersed commentary

Owen Lawrence wrote:
Seems like all I had to seal the ends was paraffin, so I dripped some on
the
biggest piece using a blowtorch and heated it until the wood looked wet.
The whole "log" is wrapped inside a heavy duty garbage bag and standing
on
end. I hope it helps because I'm out of time this weekend.
Go to woodcraft and buy a gallon of endsealer or get some Anchorseal off
the net. I haven't found wax melting or latex painting to work as
well. YMMV

We committed what I hope is a common newbie mistake: We cut one blank
across the middle of the log, as though I were about to turn a really
short,
fat spindle. I don't have a chainsaw myself, so I was making on the spot
decisions. Now I know better. This particular piece isn't turning so
nicely. But I did manage to make a small mountain of shavings in very
little time and almost no heating of the tool. Very fun, and I had to
stop
myself from turning down the whole piece to nothing. The workshop smells
nice now.
Try splitting the "short log" along the grain adn you'll have bowl
blanks. Better yet, buy Bill Gumbine's video at
http://www.wonderfulwood.com/ and see how to make logs into bowls.
Standard disclaimer, no monetary, happy customer, etc.

When I first put it on my little Sears lathe it hopped and walked all
over
the place. The lowest speed is 875 RPM, so I had to pulse it using the
foot
switch. Eventually I got it round enough that I could turn a foot and
chuck
it in the scroll chuck. That's as far as I got tonight. I took it and
the
other chunk of wood and immersed them in water, as someone here
suggested.
I'm hoping that wasn't a bad idea, because I saw quite a few bubbles
coming
out. They float pretty well now, but once they're water logged (no pun
intended) things could get messy.
You WILL get wet. If you use a LDD mix, the wood will turn out better
and you'll be able to shower off just about everthing w/o any problems.
Get a BS to help make the peices closer to the right shape before you
start spinning them up.

Still looking for advice; I feel kind of idiotic right now, even if I am
having a lot of fun.
Try posting tuning questions over at news:rec.crafts.woodturning. Join
the American Association of Woodturners, and your local chapter. You'll
find lots of local people to help you. someone next to you trumps all
the books and movies you can afford. See my sig line.

SWMBO has already heard that my lathe is too small.
Flowers and chocolate.

Dave in Fairfax
--
reply-to doesn't work
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