Recent content by Dawson Mossman

Guys, I'm working on a natural edge burl that is quite uneven. I typically use a donut chuck to mount my bowls at the end and finish the footing, but due to the very irregular rim that's not working out too well this time. I suspect I'm going to come across this problem more and more as I...

Hi, I'm turning a burl that has some very rotten spots, really soft wood that compresses and rips out easily. Any suggestions for how to deal with this or some type of resin or fill that works well? Dawson

I've created a donut chuck (my second one) and I can get by using it to finish the bottom of my bowls, but I always find that I can't get the bowl perfectly centered in the chuck. As you could tell, this can be frustrating, time consuming, and result in poor finishing of the bottom of the bowl...

Hi, a few months ago I rough turned my first two natural edge bowls from a chunk of maple. I did what I normally do and left the walls about 1" thick while it dried over a couple months. When I went to get the bowls to finish them, I noticed they had warped an extreme amount along the...

Hi Guys, I am going to be making a new donut chuck and would like to add a piece onto the back so that it can go directly into my SN2 chuck, rather than using a faceplate. My question, what would be best type of glue to use for securing the block of wood to the donut chuck? I would really...

I am thinking about getting a 14" band saw for the shop ... don't have a tonne of money to spend and I've been looking at the following 3 models. I'd like to hear thoughts on which is the best deal or which people think I should go with for one reason or another. Also, does this Grizzly band...

Hi Guys, I just turned my first natural edge bowl tonight. When doing natural edge bpwls, do you normally use the same process as any other bowl ... ie. rough them out while green, let them dry, then put them back on the lathe to finish? Or do you typically/sometimes turn them with thin...

Here's a picture of a maple platter that I made this weekend. It's got a lot of inclusions and strange grain with fungus and other unique characteristics. I really like it! It's about 13" wide. It was first time turning something end-grain and I also turned this "out board" (another first...

Hi Guys, I finally got around to taking a couple pictures of some of the bowls I've done. All of these are either cherry or maple. The lighting is not very good for these pics, but it shows the general look. Let me know what you think!

Hi Guys, here is my first post of some of the work I have done. It's a coffee table (center is stained cherry with maple around the outside). It turned out exactly like I'd hoped, although I know I will probably get raked for staining the cherry :)

Hi Guys, I am looking for a good finish that will not cause the usual amber tint to the wood (or as little as possible). I like the color combination that I have right now on a coffee table and I want it to change as little as possible during the finishing process. Some people have told me...

Generally speaking in woodworking, is it preferable to leave wood it's natural color when finishing or is it perfectly acceptable to stain / dye it? I have a piece of cherry and I have already put it in the sun for a bit to darken its colors (thanks for the tips on that guys). It is pretty...

Hi, I am looking for a good all around sander. I don't do a lot of sanding, but from time to time I make a small coffee table or glue up a few boards and need to sand. Whats a more all-around, practical, and useful sander ... orbital or belt?

I'm building a coffee table and the top will be made of cherry with a maple border. I'm wondering if I should mitre the maple border or use square cuts and butt them up. Option A or Option B in the attached picture is the question? What do you guys think?

Hey Guys, I'm looking for the absolute basic steps that I should take in finishing a coffee table (cherry and oak combination). I have never taken much time in finishing my projects previously, but I'd like to make a nice job on this one. Can someone describe the process? When to sand, when...