Take axe to your hand, walk outside, there is probably some usable tree nearby that one can chop down

Ash = Saarni in finnish, bit rare here, but should be few in garden or park, also at southern part of country they may grow as wild, pine would be of course a lot easier to find, I think over there those should be growing rather freely.

Birch is hard material too, it is rather white, but it is not difficult to tone it to darker colour, it is used in stairs and floors etc. any place that need to whitstand some use. Pine is then lot softer wood, it is easy to make dents and scratches to it, so it is often used for things that need to look nice, but don't need to whitstand heavy use. However often our wood houses are made from pine as birch has nasty habit of bending when it dries.

Ash is again hard wood, bit harder than Birch, about 1/6th harder, so it is very good for making items for usage, would be interesting to make some bows out from it, I have made bows (longbows of european style) from Alder and Willow as those have been proper size and shape, also I have one in making from Pine, but it probably will not be too good, Pine is not very good for bending, Juniper would be very good for that, but Juniper is protected by law, it is illegal to cut it down.

I was thinking that Ash, might do some fine arrows, for those lathe is rather good tool, quite difficult to make those as they need to be so thin and long (around 2 feet), anyway Ash as hard material would be more rigid, like arrow made from alloy and it would fly better than those of mine that wobble quite badly when flying.

a laburnum natural edge bowl, gorgeous patterning and lines in the wood!
for grandmas birthday yesterday!

and...

an oak bowl/platter






also for grandmas birthday!

Ben

You have one happy grandma

You get wood pattern shown very well, I spot also that you can more and more 'read the wood', don't know proper term, but I guess you understand what I try to say

I know exactly what you mean!

let the wood decide how it will be cut or somthing like that!

cheers, that was the first time id picked up a chisel in a month or so! given that i no longer have a job

Ben

Been busy dude?

Pretty sweet ride.

not me buddy, but looks pretty slick!

i have been busy though! had swine flu (no really, actual DR confirmed swine flu) so been really rough for 2 weeks or so.

managed to get most things done for christmas though except my sisters thingymajig


cheese knife, wich hazel handle (i think!)

ash candle holder

everything! a bowl on there not mentioned anywhere else the one that is upside down in this one is made of ash.

and again, other bowl right way up this time

cheese board (to go with knife)

and again

ornamental birdhouse made of sycamore.

i can do requests, commissions if anyone wants somthing for a friend, loved one, unloved one etc etc....

merry christmas people!

Ben

Sorry, no words, jaw dropped too much

I believe that woodturning makes living for you some day

pyro wrote: i can do requests, commissions if anyone wants somthing for a friend, loved one, unloved one etc etc....

merry christmas people!

Ben

All looks very slick dude. Should be very proud of yourself.

Im still willing to pay for:

VND wrote:Got any Ash lying around?
about 3 ft?

Fancy knocking me up a Burda?
Sans iron bands.

The Burda Club is wedge-shaped, widening near the tip, with an oval cross-section. Two feet long and weighing around six pounds, it was constructed from ash, which was then fire-hardened and sealed in beeswax.

Ballance point unimportant, fire hardening and iron bands not necisary as long at its nice and heavy, maybe a gnurled grip if youre feeling fancy.

If you want to have a crack, PM me a price.

id completly forgotten about that, and the 340/60 gearknob!
Ill see what i can find for ya, i can make that design no problem, just need to find some bits to make it!

thanksjtbo, i suprised my self with how some of the pieces turned out, if i had a little bit more time id have been happier!
the shine on the bowl and candle holder is unreal, really nice shine on them!
all made to be used and be practical aswell!

hope everyone is keeping well!

Ben

Cool... I've become a bit interested in wooden stuff myself, as I'm nearing the handle making part of a knife I've been making.

I've chosen Hawthorne for my handle, it's superfuckinghard, and grows everywhere.. I learnt the hard way about the end waxing cracking issue though, the first bit I found was nice and I decided to use it only for it to split spectacularly while drying. I know better now though eh!

Gearknob would be a cool idea by the way... Anyone know how it's attached? I've never had need to remove it.

I'm hoping it's an M12 thread as it's teh only large tap I have:D

Jonofdoom wrote:Gearknob would be a cool idea by the way... Anyone know how it's attached? I've never had need to remove it.

I'm hoping it's an M12 thread as it's teh only large tap I have:D

Good news dude.
Push fit.

17mm apature I think. Splined but wood will press on tight enough.

volvosneverdie wrote:

Jonofdoom wrote:Gearknob would be a cool idea by the way... Anyone know how it's attached? I've never had need to remove it.

I'm hoping it's an M12 thread as it's teh only large tap I have:D

Good news dude.
Push fit.

17mm apature I think. Splined but wood will press on tight enough.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet:D

couple more here today for other grandmas christmas present as weve only just got to see her, blooming pensioners being so busy!!

the candle holder made of sycamore, and the bowl made of spalted beech.

Im still looking for a stuitable lump of ash for your beating stick VND!

Ben

made this last night for my sisters christmas present








think its tulip wood, but not entirely sure!

definatly a nice figure

Ben