Woodturning Projects.

I purchased a small inexpensive wood lathe a few months back from Harbor Freight and started toying with it.  As it "turns" out wood turning is a quite enjoyable hobby.  I have spent hours on the lathe letting my creativity be my guide.  It is also relatively inexpensive.  So far I have made several canisters a few wooden toy tops, a bowl, a honey dipper, a spindle for a loom and a mug.  The best part is I have not paid for a single piece of wood.  All of the articles have been turned from tree branches and pieces of wood I have found along the side of the road or in brush piles.  All of my expenses have came from tools and the lathe.  I'll post a few pictures of what I have done so far as well as lessons learned.  I'm sure there will be more to follow.  Many of the pieces are not quite finished yet, and if you look close, you will see that the toy top on the left is split.  Nonetheless it is becoming a nice creative outlet and a hobby that I will continue.


Lessons:
#1  Wear eye protection and preferably full face protection:  I always follow this rule when wood-working but it is especially important when you are cutting into a piece of wood turning at up to 2400 RPMs.  Wood tends to splinter and sometimes doesn't appreciate staying on the lathe while you are gouging into it.  I have had entire projects come flying off of the lathe at high rates of speed not to mention splinters of wood.  After many hours I still have not seriously injured myself and will strive to keep it that way.

#2  Keep your tools sharp:  This is challenging for me as I have not quite mastered sharpening lathe tools on my bench grinder.  I just bought a finer stone and hope that works.

#3  Not all wood is created equal, especially green wood:  I have had wood from what I think is a hackberry be quite wet and heavy as well as quite difficult to cut into.  I have had wood that will develop cracks all the way through overnight completely ruining my hard work. I have had wood that the experts on-line say will crack and split, but seems to have completely dried out without doing so.

#4  There is a lot of sawdust:  This itself is not a problem.  The problem is that I tend to be completely covered in sawdust when I am at the lathe.  There is some minor discussion between the adults in the house when sawdust finds its way into the kitchen, living room or bed....