It felt good to be making saw dust and shavings again on Friday.

September 16, 2017 - Saturday morning

66 degrees/clear skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

.... and that's exactly what happened for the majority of Friday. I made saw dust and shavings. 

Whoa, not so fast, Tommy P. 

First, came the homework. I opened a new store on Etsy, Wood Media Creations.

The actual link is:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/544416392/hand-cut-and-carved-custom-made-names?ref=shop_home_active_1

The online outlet took some time to set up, but as of now, I'm advertising and taking orders for names. Next will come bowls, puzzles, and scroll saw pieces. It's going to take a while to get things going, but for now, it's a start. I have no idea if it will be boom or bust and neither would surprise me. Only time will tell.

I felt so good to walk into the shop, flick the light switch, turn on the music, and stand at the lathe.

I practiced for quite a while turning various types of snowmen on the lathe. 

I hate to admit it, but I'm sorely out of practice when it comes to spindle turning. In fact, I discarded several before coming up with one that I liked.

I experimented with several types of wood, everything from dimensional pine and raw birch to maple, cherry, and popple.

The most difficult part of the process was making a hat for the snowman. The rim bends down and if you notice, there's a band around the hat. It took me a while and quite a bit of experimenting to get what I really wanted.

That's what I love about turning wood. I'm a mere novice and I learn something new each time I turn on the lathe.

This little guy is ready for Sargie's paint brush. I'll fix a small wire eyelet to the top of the hat after and it will be ready to adorn someone's Christmas tree when the time arrives.

It was hot Friday afternoon, just the right temperature to work a bit more on the drive. 

I lay boards over the new patch and drove back and forth on it several times. It's much better than it was, but I'm still not satisfied. Back to the drawing board.

Finally, it was time to do what I have been waiting for all summer, to make a bowl. Since I'm out of practice, I wanted to keep it simple, something on which I could practice some basic turning techniques. 

The first stop was at the red woodshed where the some of the firewood is kept. Most is several years old and very aged.

A piece of maple that had no cracks or serious issues was selected.

It was time to get serious.

I concentrated on forming a bowl with a base. Eventually, it will also have a lid.

The inside was hollowed out along with some basic shaping.

Hopefully it will be finished later today along with the lid. If not, there's always tomorrow, and worse case scenario, it could end up as kindling in the wood stove. 

Sargie arrived home early last evening. Since she has today off, we enjoyed a stay-at-home date night where we munched popcorn, sipped Cokes, and watched a movie. 

Who knows what today will bring? It's to be our last hot day, possibly for the year. Difficult to believe that we registered 26 degrees a week ago and today's high is forecast to be 84. Thunderstorms are forecast for tonight before temperatures retreat to normal levels.

Sargie wants to sleep in this morning. With the hours she's been working, I'd do the same. I'm going to get this uploaded, take a quick tour of the garden, then head to the shop. I'm anxious to get working on the bowl.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

One of the many places where I find wood to turn. This happens to be our hard wood shed.