Community

I have to give props to the folks on the message boards at the Woodturner's Resource. I've found it to be a great place to ask all sorts of questions. I'll announce that I'm a complete beginner, and not get one condescending remark. Everyone is friendly and helpful. I look forward to asking all of my stupid questions, and I know I'll get many great responses. Already, I learned a ton about the best ways to dry bowl blanks. (The general consensus is that Dave Smith's alcohol soaking method is the way to go. I won't get into the details, but you can find them here.)

I set up my compressor today, and I didn't realize how helpful it's going to be with blowing the sawdust out of my shop. It made my cleanup go very quickly. I also ripped (lengthwise) the other log I got from the power company (did I mention that I love my new chainsaw?), and I'm looking for help identifying the species. It has some ineresting darker streaks running through it, and the general grain pattern looks nice to. Hopefully it will turn well and produce a nice bowl.

Meanwhile, I'm cleaning the garage/shop while I wait for Jet to open tomorrow so I can order the replacement switch for my lathe. It's hard being patient.

Update: Damn, looks like the species above is eastern white pine, which is soft and prone to cracking due to wide rings from fast growth.