Walnut Bowl

I'd rather be outside working in the yard, but on these cold winter days the next best thing is to try new things in my shop. Several years ago one of our neighbors on the mountain had a dead walnut tree cut down and sawed into boards. I purchased one of those boards, thinking one day it would serve as a new mantel over the fireplace in a new home. We decided instead of building a new home, to just do some remodeling and stay put. The board (4" x 12" x 10') has been in storage since. I cut one end off yesterday and turned it into this bowl. About nine inches in diameter, it is the largest thing I've attempted on my little mini-lathe. The grain is special. It looks different from every angle.

Evolution of a Salt Mill

Here's some pictures of a newly completed 8 inch salt mill - from a rough block of maple from a tree recently blown down in our yard, to a round blank in the lathe, then completed on the lathe, to a finished mill.

Some More Bowls

Here's a couple more projects completed on my lathe during the winter snows - a bowl and a vase.

A Blanket of Snow

Here it is the 2d day of the new year 2008, and we are blanketed by snow - a good time for working on my little wood lathe. Here's a little "acorn" cup with lid, turned out a couple days ago.

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