Dear Jenny,
When I make bobbins - I found that having my tools sharp was of
primary importance. Depending on the kind of wood that was used I
might sharpen the tools between making one bobbin and making
another. Walnut for instance will dull a chisel much quicker than
say tulipwood or kingwood which is fine grained but works up so
beautifully. I have small tools suitable for making small things on
a lathe. I found the bigger chisels too cumbersome for bobbins.
Anyway I got myself a whetstone and learned to sharpen the tools
according to their shape. Also, when you reach the point where
bobbins usually break, step back, take a deep breath and when you
step up to the lathe again, use a VERY light hand. Can't tell you
how many bobbins I broke just because I was in a hurry to get it off
the lathe. So many in fact I learned to repair many of them.
As for what I have been doing, I finished my class in Adobe
Illustrator at the local community college and turned in my final
project and in lace, today, I finished a little heart with blue bells
and stems from Bellon's latest book. I used a fine silk thread.
Very pretty when done if I do say so myself. Blue variegated, light
peach for the heart trail and of course pale green for the stems and
leaves.
Best Regards,
Carol Melton
Valley of the Sun, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
I bought a basic wood turning set of chisels and
am starting to think I should have looked around for smaller ones to
do the delicate bobbins with as I have too many bobbins snap on the
lathe with my being too heavy handed with cumbersome tools :( All
this is not counting the desire to learn how to make the spindle
effect, or the wire inlay, or the bead effect or make a mother and
babe or ... or.....
Still I am persevering and have come up with a style I tend to keep
to - thanks to Neil Keats in Australia for his double head concept -
now I just need to practice and practice getting the finished bobbin
off the lathe properly and find some more books on turning "small"
stuff.
Jenny Brandis
Brandis Computing Services
PO Box 1525
Kununurra,
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