Turning Van

I was watching some show the other day and they had a big article about a new van, Honda, I think, which was especially made for dogs and dog owners. Now I have a dog but she lives in the yard where dogs belong and the only time she gets in my truck is when we go to the vet together. I wonder what a dog van is like. I suppose it has special nonstaining carpets and seats and it probably has dog biscuits in the glove pocket and fresh bubbling water flowing into a doggie bowl. Videos of rabbits and quail and ducks and dogs playing with kids. Maybe a place to store the leash and a dog bed in the back. Maybe a ramp to help get up in the back of the van when you get tired and old. Probably one of those Mack truck bulldog hood ornaments. Anyway you get the idea.

I got to thinking that someone ought to create a turning van and I was trying to figure what it should have in it. I would start with a ramp just like the dog van so you could get logs in it easily and then a big storage place for the stock because you can't have just one piece to turn. You need a chain saw and some saw horses to get a piece roughed out. It must have a sharpening station so you can sharpen as often as you need and it has to have a band saw to clean up bowl blanks. A place to store the tools, and if you don't have a dust collector then the windows will get covered up on the inside and you can't see to drive. Maybe windshield wipers on the inside also. Wonder if it is legal to dump chips and dust on the highway as you drive. that way you can save the space for the dust collection bin. Then you have to have a place to sand the finished piece and after that you need a dust free place to put the finish on it. How about a display gallery to show your wares. You know you could take this thing to craft fairs and shows and let people tour it. They could walk up that ramp into the rear of the van and observe the turning process and then leave through the display gallery and sales area and if you had a little refreshment area, perhaps they would stick around and stand a better chance of buying something. We still need a lathe in this thing. Course we will need at least three people to run this thing -- one to drive and sell the wares when we stop, one to turn, and then one to sand and finish. Oh yeah, someone to keep the web site up to date and handle the internet sales, plus do the packing and shipping when someone buys something. Plus we need a place in the van for the computer.

Maybe GM or Chrysler could take this up as a project and help rehab themselves. I think they may not sell but one or two of these things, but when they do get one built and sold it will be so big and expensive it could affect their profitability. Maybe my shop in the back yard will do and I will just stay at home.

And the other thing Mahoney did...

And the other thing that Mahoney did was he practiced the motions before he made them. Or before he made the actual cut. That is, he practiced how he was going to make a cut, particularly on the outside shape, before he made the actual cut. I had never done that when I was turning.

What Mahoney did was he got the tool rest just right, got the tool just right, and then he got his feet set in a position where he was comfortable and balanced, and then he moved the tool through the complete cut he proposed to make without actually touching the wood. I can't remember whether he had the lathe running at the time or not, but then it wouldn't matter would it? He was checking to see if he could reach the full cut comfortably without moving his feet around or having to change his grip on the tool. Most of the time if you change your grip or move your feet you get a ridge or a groove in the wood. What you are looking for is a long smooth continuous cut with one motion and you can get a long smooth continuous shape on the wood. When you do it right, it is beautiful to see and do.

I have started practicing my cuts before I make them and trying to make sure I get a long smooth continuous cut. I figure if Mahoney needs to practice his cuts up on the mountaintop like that, then I can sure use every trick I can find to make my bowls better. I surely do dislike those ridges and grooves when they show up cause they take a lot of sanding to get out.

Course if I had two sanders. . . . (some people just won't let go, will they?)