I'm known for turning tops around my close family. Each one has its own
personality, some spin fast and in one spot, others will actually spin
sideways until their inertia forces them up onto their tip. (These look
similar to bowling pins.) Some wander around, and a couple of them spin on
either end.

I tried whistles following a post on LumberJocks:
http://lumberjocks.com/LateNightOwl/blog/15578 They turned out great, with
a really clear and loud sound but aren't as much fun as tops.

Perhaps the coolest was a lidded box. I used a piece of scrap that wasn't
glued all that well (good enough to turn) and was just playing with the
(hey, maybe that's where my 1 3/8" forstner bit went!) design. I saw one
on the Internet that had non-concentric rings in the top's top, but that
didn't work out too well for me. The concentric rings look cool, though!
I had them both on the end and sides. I'll have to turn another one out of
nice wood.

Oh, and I turned a bowling pin.

What interesting things have you turned? What was interesting about it?

Puckdropper

On 10/24/2016 8:32 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
I'm known for turning tops around my close family. Each one has its own
personality, some spin fast and in one spot, others will actually spin
sideways until their inertia forces them up onto their tip. (These look
similar to bowling pins.) Some wander around, and a couple of them spin on
either end.

I tried whistles following a post on LumberJocks:
http://lumberjocks.com/LateNightOwl/blog/15578 They turned out great, with
a really clear and loud sound but aren't as much fun as tops.


The members of my local Woodturners' Guild turn many hundreds of tops
and sell them at a a major xmas craft fair, the proceeds (~$4,000) going
to the local foodbank.

Perhaps the coolest was a lidded box.

I often turn small lidded boxes. At first copying those in Ray Key's
books but now I turn other shapes. I have a chunk of ebony that I want
to use for some very special boxes but I want to turn as many as
possible in other, cheaper woods before risking it.
Graham

graham wrote in :


The members of my local Woodturners' Guild turn many hundreds of tops
and sell them at a a major xmas craft fair, the proceeds (~$4,000)
going to the local foodbank.

Sounds like a good thing! I've gotten some compliments/comments
suggesting I could sell the tops, but I've refused. It's not that I mind
exchanging a block of wood for money, it's just that I don't want to be
stuck trudging to the lathe and making another top.

Something like what you're doing, though, is totally different.

Perhaps the coolest was a lidded box.

I often turn small lidded boxes. At first copying those in Ray Key's
books but now I turn other shapes. I have a chunk of ebony that I want
to use for some very special boxes but I want to turn as many as
possible in other, cheaper woods before risking it.
Graham

I definitely understand. I've got a little bit of Apple from a tree that
was mostly rotten, and I dug the stump out myself. That wood has a story
and I'm not ready to make it in to something yet. Has anyone here ever
typed the story of a piece of wood like that and presented that along
with a piece they're parting with?

Puckdropper

On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 9:32:59 AM UTC-5, wrote:
I'm known for turning tops around my close family. Each one has its own
personality, some spin fast and in one spot, others will actually spin
sideways until their inertia forces them up onto their tip. (These look
similar to bowling pins.) Some wander around, and a couple of them spin on
either end.

I tried whistles following a post on LumberJocks:
http://lumberjocks.com/LateNightOwl/blog/15578 They turned out great, with
a really clear and loud sound but aren't as much fun as tops.

Perhaps the coolest was a lidded box. I used a piece of scrap that wasn't
glued all that well (good enough to turn) and was just playing with the
(hey, maybe that's where my 1 3/8" forstner bit went!) design. I saw one
on the Internet that had non-concentric rings in the top's top, but that
didn't work out too well for me. The concentric rings look cool, though!
I had them both on the end and sides. I'll have to turn another one out of
nice wood.

Oh, and I turned a bowling pin.

What interesting things have you turned? What was interesting about it?

Puckdropper

The Alabama Woodturners club (AWA Birmingham) turns Christmas ornaments to decorate a tree at Children's Hospital and usually puts around 350 ornaments on the tree. The tree is donated to the hospital as part of a fund raiser, in which local clubs and business donate a tree for a raffle. The AWA's is always among the most sought after. Turning ornaments for the tree, with the hollowing and finials, is one of the most rewarding things I have done.

On 10/25/2016 4:46 AM, Dr. Deb wrote:
On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 9:32:59 AM UTC-5, wrote:
I'm known for turning tops around my close family. Each one has its own
personality, some spin fast and in one spot, others will actually spin
sideways until their inertia forces them up onto their tip. (These look
similar to bowling pins.) Some wander around, and a couple of them spin on
either end.

I tried whistles following a post on LumberJocks:
http://lumberjocks.com/LateNightOwl/blog/15578 They turned out great, with
a really clear and loud sound but aren't as much fun as tops.

Perhaps the coolest was a lidded box. I used a piece of scrap that wasn't
glued all that well (good enough to turn) and was just playing with the
(hey, maybe that's where my 1 3/8" forstner bit went!) design. I saw one
on the Internet that had non-concentric rings in the top's top, but that
didn't work out too well for me. The concentric rings look cool, though!
I had them both on the end and sides. I'll have to turn another one out of
nice wood.

Oh, and I turned a bowling pin.

What interesting things have you turned? What was interesting about it?

Puckdropper

The Alabama Woodturners club (AWA Birmingham) turns Christmas ornaments to decorate a tree at Children's Hospital and usually puts around 350 ornaments on the tree. The tree is donated to the hospital as part of a fund raiser, in which local clubs and business donate a tree for a raffle. The AWA's is always among the most sought after. Turning ornaments for the tree, with the hollowing and finials, is one of the most rewarding things I have done.

I've started making larger boxes for storing beads for the Beads of
Courage charity:
http://beadsofcourage.ca/
It started in the US
http://www.beadsofcourage.org/
and if you look in the recent issue of "Woodturning" there is a photo
from the AAW convention showing boxes for this charity.
Graham