Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
On January 31st I decided to go ahead and order one of the Earlex Spray Stations. Sears (online) had them for the best price around. I also made the assumption that if I had any problems that I would be able to deal with my local Sears store. At this point, I have no idea if that assumption is correct or not, let’s just hope there are no problems! Either way, it was still $30 cheaper than anywhere else (including the woodworking show that I had just returned from). When I checked Sears online that night, I just happened to log on during a time that they were having a 10% off sale. Woohooo! Well, now, it wouldn’t be that simple, after all…..
[SinglePic not found] I’ve finished making a bottle stopper with one of the Torne Lignum kits, and I’m pleased with the kit itself. It uses the same drill bit as some off the other stoppers I have made, so no additional investment needed there. It was able to fit on my previously-purchased mandrel, as well. I believe that making stoppers would be considerably easier with a tap to thread the wood after drilling, but I prefer my current ‘screw onto the headstock’ mandrel over one that has a morse taper. (TL has a MT2 mandrel that is also a tap.) My drill chuck (which has a morse taper) tends to pop out at times with any pressure at all being exerted towards the tailstock. I don’t want to deal with that on my bottle stopper mandrel as well. It is easy enough to solve with some all thread, a washer, and a nut, but why bother? What I have works, so I’ll keep using it.
[SinglePic not found] I chose to insert a Sacagawea dollar that my daughter found in my change jar into the stopper. Whereas the design itself is rather plain this time, I believe that the figure of the red malle burl combined with the insert gives it some character.
While at the symposium, I picked up a few new bottle stoppers to try from Torne Lignum. These are stainless steel (not plated like most others), and should never pit due to the acids in wine. They are very low profile, as well — intending to show off the wood of the stopper rather than the metal. I’ll let you know what I think of them after I turn a few. They look well-made, but do not have the shine of other stoppers. I don’t guess that really matters though, since the stopper is so low profile.
The camera I had been using was a Canon Powershot S30… a PHD (Push Here, Dummy). It had a few problems… Read the rest of this entry »
Fold-up tables don’t work as lathe stands for anything larger than a pen. Out of round wood of a decent size would actually cause the table to walk across the floor, sway back and forth, or both. At one point I had to clamp a piece of wood across the table to keep the lathe itself from walking off and crashing onto the floor. None of these problems were evident with pens, bottle stoppers, and smaller pieces….
Read the rest of this entry »