Sunday 25 November 2012

The Behemoth....

 After driving by my own house today I decided that the mushrooms I have for sale outside(see the last post) were not really noticeable enough  to people driving past. So I thought I would make one that would be seen even by those not trying to look......
Large Log On Lathe
 This is by far the heaviest thing I have turned on my lathe to date, the log was both big and heavy (it is very wet having been left outside to spalt). As it spun very much out of balance I felt very aware of how this thing could easily break my legs or worse if it came off, even at the modest speed it was spinning, something that heavy stores a lot of energy!!!                                                                  
Turning Large Mushroom
 Thankfully it stayed on and after getting the basic shape, most of the out of balance stuff was laying on the floor as shavings allowing me to breath a bit easier as I refined the final shape, undercut the cap and made the base slightly concave.
It was then just a case of reducing the size of the areas around the centres as much as I dared and a spot of sanding before removing the last bits with a good old fashioned mallet and wood chisel and a bit more sanding to tidy the chiselled bits  up.

Large Wooden Mushroom
 Just to give an idea of the size of this, I brought it in for inspection by my kids, Daisy was very impressed with Daddy's handy work!!

Large Turned Mushroom
Finally I took it back out to the shed for an oil finish to protect it from the elements and bring the colour out.
 And yes, the shavings are about a foot deep in there! 15 large and one huge garden mushrooms  make a lot of shavings!

2 comments:

  1. Thats a monster! I know what you mean about putting big stuff on the lathe, it's bad enough when you've got an unbalanced bowl flighing accross the workshop!
    Trouble is you know what will happen now - You'll sell the big one straight away then be in the same situation as before!

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  2. Kev, I hadn't thought of that, it's bound to happen!! LOL. If these do sell well I will invest in some heavier duty mounting stuff, like face plate rings or at least steb centres........

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