'Mini Revolution' Video

This is the latest video that I have produced of me demonstrating the 'Mini Revolution' hollowing tool from Crown Hand Tools Ltd, Sheffield, England. 

It is a great tool for those wanting a low cost hollower for smaller projects. Efficient cutting on both end grain and cross grain seasoned and un-seasoned woods as well as Burrs. 

It can be purchased here and via any other Crown Hand Tool stockist worldwide. 

More videos will be coming soon. 

'All That Jazz'

Hi all

busy here making pure work for re-stocking will post some pics soon, in the mean time this is the latest picture I have created titled 'All That Jazz' available for sale soon via my web site along with others. But how soon I am not sure, as always with me I seem to be chasing my tail. :-)

Have a great day.

Update

It has been a while since I have posted any woodturning due mainly to being busy making and delivering to galleries. Currently most of my work is bread and butter bowls, hollow forms etc so nothing which make me want to get my camera out.

Recently however I did attend a Rolly Munro demonstration at Burnham-on-Sea woodturning club which was great day out, pictures and write up can be seen here.

Could not resist getting a picture with Rolly after the demo, a great day was had by all.

As an update during this day I was asked by several people how my next book is going, some do actually read my blog which is refreshing :-). The answer to this is that my book is in various piles around my desk gathering dust and I think it will be for some time, currently I am enjoying making and starting new projects and sculptural work with this being the second point in that no one has seen any of my new sculptural pieces. !!. There are various reasons for this including that I now tend to keep things close to my chest until they are finished,  I have again just not had the time to dedicate to taking pictures at all. Summer holiday means I have to juggle looking after my two daughters and getting work done so anything which is not profitable is left on the sidelines and this includes taking pictures of new work. 

That is about it for now, nothing exciting going on other than making larger forms, one of which is shown at the top of the page being an oak vase turned from wet wood 450 mm high x 200 dia, being (18 inches high x 8 inches dia) in old money. 

A fathers love - The worlds strongest dad

This has absolutely nothing to do with wood turning, it is however one of the most inspiring stories I have ever watched, sent to me by a friend I just had to share it with you.

At the moment the world seems to be tearing itself apart, the human race seems to have lost its way with every news bulletin showing wars that never seem to be resolved and that will never achieve anything but more hate and sadness.

This story shows that despite all the bad, there are great people, doing great stuff and whom won't let life get them down no matter what, instead they take it head on and show us all how we can be better people.

Make sure you have the sound on.

Inspiring

 This video link was sent to me by a friend and I just have to share it with you. The video while showing ceramic masters at work just has to be seen by any one working in wood on the lathe. Techniques seen here such as incising the clay is where we woodturners obviously got the idea for piercing from, Sgraffito the process of cutting through various layers of colour for differing effects is also a technique often adopted by cutting through layers contrasting woods etc. Anyway enough of me talking about it, just watch, relax and be inspired. Such a privilege to see such masters at work.

Busy

Well  this month has been busy with work for galleries and other outlets,  added to which some DIY work around the home was needed, not the most fun of things to do in the current weather but I guess it is better than working in the rain. It is a change to get some good weather especially after the floods we had through the winter and hopefully it will continue.

During down time I have been working on fractal designs, this gives me a mental break from the work shop and helps me look at new ideas, develop old ideas and forms further as well as think about new ways of working. Using fractals is an excellent way to come up with new ideas as is looking within our local environments to see what is around that can be used for inspiration.

Nature and architecture can all be used as a source and looking in detail at plants, insects, buildings we often find all that is needed with a wealth of , shape, form, texture and colour to work,  below are some fractal pictures recently produced and photos I have taken while out and about, so many possibilities and sources of exploration for new works. Now I just have to find time to get into making some new pieces.

Book Review

Received a copy of British Woodworking today and found a great review of my book, great to read and it means all the hard work was worth it.

The magazine is full of great useful information and projects, well worth a read.

Using up scraps

After processing the wood I source for my work the waste checked and processed further into small box and spindle blanks. Although I don't do a lot of spindle work as such I hate to throw away wood. As a result my wood store has become over stocked so after some head scratching I came up with this project for the galleries I supply to help use up some of the hundreds of small blanks in my store. 

This piece stands around 300 mm high and holds a battery powered 'T' light within the black pierced section and looks great in the evenings flickering on the sideboard. It was inspired by the Buddhist Stupa which is a building/structure of stone or wood that is used used to store religious relics, as well as being a place for worship. What grabbed me was forms and shapes of these buildings and how I could produce a project based on them with the added bonus of using up some wood stock. There are hundreds of variations to the form of the stupa so it is large resource for turning projects and one I will certainly re-visit for further exploration. 

Mallorca

A short while ago I returned from a family holiday in Alcudia, Mallorca, this being my second trip to Spain in a relatively short time. It is a country I enjoy very much and we all had a great time.

Needless to say I took loads of picture for reference, textures, colours shapes etc which can be used for inspiration. Many are just for interest but I will post some of the ones I snapped once I have finished the current article I am writing.

Finished and delivered

The sculpture commission that I have been working on has finally been completed and delivered to the customer who I am glad to say is very pleased with the end result.  The Swan stands just over half a meter  and was commissioned to have a high black gloss finish set on the aged base. The finish was an interesting and lengthy process requiring a huge amount of patience and attention to the smallest of detail, this however paid off i and I was very pleased with the tactile feel and finish up close. The picture below shows it delivered in its final place at the customers home, so it is time to start the next sculpture which has been designed and is ready to go.