This is my thinking log
 |
| Charlie Dog at Wiggonholt Common |
Most mornings I walk Charlie around Wiggonholt Common for an
hour. He decides where we go,
he is looking for rabbits. As we head back to the car, I usually stop here to think.
It makes a very comfortable seat and I usually keep a pencil and notebook in my
pocket.
My art teacher used to say ‘Don’t put a mark on the paper
until you can see the whole picture in your mind’s eye’. So here I have been doodling some designs for lamp bases
until I can see exactly what I will be turning.
 |
| Sketch Book |
Sometimes I sit and imagine setting up the lathe, ‘chucking’
the wood, where I will put the tool rest, make the first cuts etc. Cutting into a lump of wood that is spinning at 2000rpm is
dangerous and I find doing a ‘dry run’ makes me think of any potential
difficulties.
Looking at your drawings and the photographs in the post below I'm imagining that your bases will be neither too fat nor too thin but nicely medium sized ie. just right!
ReplyDeleteAt the moment the lamp base part of the project has ground to a bit of a halt. I can't get suitable wood any thicker than 50mm. Anywhere that does have it in stock has a £900 minimum order. Beech may be OK - I will go and have a look.
ReplyDeleteI am looking for a dense but light weight hardwood that will take a paint finish. Softwood like pine has soft and hard bands of growing rings which is tricky to turn to a good finish because the softer bands 'tear out'. Other woods don't take acrylic paint very well. I think Winifred Gill may have used a soft wood and used a gesso type undercoat to smooth out the turning problems. Her oily type paints look a bit 'gloopy'.
It is problems like this that make you realise why the rest of the world isn't making the same product!