Author Topic: Do you have weekends like this as well?  (Read 5063 times)

Offline Dave Atkinson

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Do you have weekends like this as well?
« on: March 28, 2011, 09:33:44 AM »
It all started on Friday when I had a morning off.  Lovely day and I thought I must weed the top border before escaping into the shed.  it's called the top border because it's just short of 5 feet above the patio and the retaining wall has some nice coping stones.

As I'm up there digging I though "I must be careful or I could fall off", 20 seconds later I put my foot on the coping stone which was loose and down I went! :o

Battered and a bit shaken I was able to reassure Joan next door I was OK as stuck her head over the fence to see what had caused the double expletives  :-[ and enquire after my welfare.

When my wife returned home she commented that I had "trashed the forsythia as well"  :(

Undeterred I finished the weeding and managed enough time in the shed to tidy it up before I had to go to work.

Saturday dawned and after doing the normal weekend jobs I got into the shed full of enthusiasm to make the competition entry for this Friday - a mushroom box.  I decided to turn a threaded box similar to John B's Zulu Box from some yew.  It had a few shakes in it but a bit of superglue and all went well until the final polishing - lapse in concentration (presumably delayed concussion ;)) and i caught the box in the buffing wheel and it broke the flange as it bounced off the shed wall.  I normally put a mat behind the lathe for such an eventuality but forgot this time (that concussion again).

So much for Saturday!
 
Sunday is a brand new day, bigger piece of yew, no shakes and off I go again.  Threads OK, box OK, bit of a rush to get it finished as i am leaving for work in the afternoon and I promised we'd look at garden furniture before I went.  Jam chuck not brilliant fit, chanced it (that concussion again  ::)) got small catch and broke the flange again  :'(

Hey ho, two pieces of decorative firewood and as I'm not home again until Friday night, with just enough time to dump my stuff and leave for the club I shall have to be a non entrant this month!  We did get to look at furniture though so I got a brownie point  8)

Next weekend can only be better!

Cheers Atco


Offline Roger Groom

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Re: Do you have weekends like this as well?
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2011, 10:30:59 AM »
Hi Dave.
The short answer is Yes. Cant you texture around the broken bit and claim it is animal damage!!
Roger G

Offline Katchin

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Re: Do you have weekends like this as well?
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2011, 11:23:49 AM »
Glad to see it is not just me that fires wood off the lathe, I almost killed the cat yesterday!
John Simon Lawrenson

Screwples

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Re: Do you have weekends like this as well?
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2011, 12:05:48 PM »
Hi Dave,
The moral is - leave the garden in its natural state. I shall learn by your lesson!!!
Cheers, John.


Andy Coates

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Re: Do you have weekends like this as well?
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2011, 04:44:59 PM »
No. It must just be you few.

I never have accidents. Never fall off walls. Never destroy the forsythia (wouldn't know one if I did trip over it and damage it!). Never damage flanges. And never, ever lose things off the lathe. And I certainly never cut the neck clean off a hollow form during a demo. :o

parishpete

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Re: Do you have weekends like this as well?
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2011, 11:44:40 PM »
Such things aren't confined to weekends.  the self dismounting workpiece is available 365 days a year.

I keep a box just for those items which leave the lathe earlier than planned.  The latest addition is perfect Yew candlestick, well perfect apart from the foot!  The point where the upper surface met the chuck recess was considerably thinner than my estimate.  Thus I have a Yew ring which fits slightly less than neatly round the foot.

In the fullness of time I shall find a way to rechuck the stick and seamlessly spigot it it into a new foot.  Unless we get another long cold winter that is...

Pete ;D