Skillbuilders

I turned a few little bits at the weekend from odds & ends of what was pretty much scrap. I hade a lovely bit of yew that cracked during drying.This was despite carefully removing the pith and sealing the end grain. Just goes to show wood will do whatever it wants.I turned an egg cup, and an egg from the same piece of timber.

The crack has been filled with CA glue and sanding dust. Finish is paste wax over shellac.

The crack can be seen continuing into the egg.
Next up was a bird feeder. This is from the ash-leaf maple I collected a few weeks ago and was turned green. This piece was from an end where the cut was not straight. I straightened the log ends and sealed the end grain, but this was left aside.

This will be hung from a tree in the garden and filled with wild bird seed in the winter. Hopefully it will stay in one piece and not move too much. This is straight off the lathe with no finish.
Lastly is a small bowl in yew. This started life as something completely different, but a “design feature” meant a change of plan…….

The grain pattern is lovely. Finish again is paste wax over shellac.
One day I will return to the original design, and finish what I started.
All of these though are aimed at improving my skill with various tools. I did turn another piece of yew, but went through the bottom. I will attempt to rescue that particular piece, but need to decide first what timber to use. Should I stick with yew, or should I use a contrasting colour. Only time will tell.
I also continued a silver birch bowl I rough turned in February, but I didn’t like the way it was going, so it will be left until I can decide where to go with it.