Another Small Pear Wood Box

 

Here is a Pear wood box I turned today. It measures 2.25 inches in diameter and 4 inches high. It was wet sanded with mineral oil up to a grit of 320. I used a home made texturing tool in the top of the lid, and I used a Sorby texturing tool on the sides of the lid and the canister body. That crack was not visible when I started turning this box. It was exposed as I cut away the wood to shape the sides. I decided to leave it. The lid doesn't fit as tight as I'd like. You win some, you lose some. There will more of these boxes made from this Pear wood. It's a pleasure to turn, finishes nicely. I like it a lot. 

A Small Pear Wood Box

 

This is a Pear wood box measuring 1.5 inches in diameter and 4 inches tall. It was wet sanded up to 400 grit with mineral oil, and finished off with a honey/beeswax oil rubbed in. Two different texturing tools were used on the top and sides. A Sorby texturing tool was used on the top and the knurling on the sides was done with a home made (by me) texturing tool. The top is friction fitted. I made the sides taper slightly pinched-in at the center. Pear is a real pleasure to turn and is a beautiful wood despite its lack of figured grain.

 

Thread Chasing: #4

 

Here's another Pear wood canister with a threaded lid. It measures 1.75 inches in diameter and 3.25 inches tall. This is my 4th attempt at thread chasing and the first time I got good alignment and tight-fitting threads. I still need practice though. This isn't easy, but I'm getting better at it. This canister was finished as the other recent turnings: Wet sanded using butcher block wax/oil and sanding grits up to 400. This wood feels like satin to the touch. Beautiful wood, though not much in the way of grain, it turns and finishes very nicely.

Top View

Bottom View

Side View with knurling and beads.

With cap off, showing 20 TPI threads.

Thread Chasing: 3rd Attempt

 

Side View

My 3rd attempt at thread chasing on this Pear wood canister. This started out as a 4 inch tall canister, but with each failed attempt at threading (3 of them) it kept getting shorter as I cut off the bad threads and started new ones. I finally got it to align (badly) but it does twist together and close tightly . . . but barely. So I ended up with this "stubby".  This measures about an inch and a half tall and an inch and a half in diameter.

Top View

Bottom View

 

Side View showing threads.

Learning To Chase Threads

 

I'm teaching myself how to make threaded containers on my lathe. I'm using the Sorby Thread Chasing Tools to accomplish this. That takes practice. In this case I'm making 20 TPI (Threads Per Inch) tools which are pretty small, with easy-to-break threads. You need to use hard, tight-grained woods.

So, this is my 3rd attempt. I'm getting a little better each time. This one's not bad. The thread alignment is a little off but it works, and closes tightly. I'm using Pear wood here again. I like this wood for turning. I'm also using the Sorby Texture tool here as well. I'm liking this tool, and having fun experimenting with it. 

This canister measures 1.75 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall. Wet sanded up to 400 grit using butcher block wax/oil. 

Top view

Bottom View

Knurling on cap.

Threaded Pear Wood Canister

 

Trying something new. Here's a Pear wood canister measuring 1.5 inches in diameter by 2.5 inches tall. My first attempt at a threaded lid. It's not a great result. The threads just barely match up but it screws on tight. This Pear wood is a dream to turn. It's a beautiful wood though not much grain. This has a finish on it that feels like satin, and it was only wet sanded with mineral oil. No other finish added. I'm looking forward to making more threaded boxes to get better at this. I'm using the Robert Sorby thread chasing tools to do this. 

I also got a new texturing tool; the Sorby mini-texture tool. Considering that this was the first time I touched this tool to wood, the result isn't too bad. This tool can make a wide variety of marks on wood. I'm looking forward to exploring its possibilities.

Please pardon the dusty merch. 

Making Inside-Out Christmas Tree Ornaments

 

 

 

I'm just learning this technique but getting better at it with each ornament I make. I thought I'd document the process so you can see how it's done. This is one of several ways of making the inside-out ornaments.