Roughing Out

Back in August of this year when I had the pleasure of visiting Mark Sanger, we worked on quite a few projects together one of which was preparing and roughing out bowls from green wood.

It was such a pleasure to work with the wood in it's green (wet) state as the tooling is often easier and the cuts are far more efficient.  Anyway, I have been seasoning a couple of pieces that I roughed out at the time and spun them on the lathe today to true them up and trim down the thickness.

The are now sitting in the house adjusting to the warmth and finishing off the last of there drying process.

Here are a couple of photographs of the forms at this stage of the process.  Not long now before they can be turned to a finish.

Cherry - Approx. 7" x 4"

Sycamore - Approx. 5" x 4"

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Google+/Google-

For those of you who use Google+ or are considering using it:

!!DO NOT DELETE ANY PHOTO ALBUMS FROM GOOGLE+ BEFORE READING THIS!!

Recently while browsing the folders within my Google+ profile I thought I would arrange some of my photos in an album, and possibly upload some new photos too.  However, when I viewd the photo albums in my Google+ profile I noticed I had another folder with 100's of images!  Strange I thought, I haven't uploaded that many photos in Google+.  So, I opted to delete the album as I didn't agree for it to be within Google+.

And yet, there was a little screen with some small texts stating that deletion of the folder would delete images from other Google products.  But I did not upload the photos to Google+ so safely went ahead and deleted the album.

Later in the day I checked my blog only to notice that all my images have gone and been replaced by an 'missing image' icon.  Turns out that the folder in Google+ held all of my Blogger photos and I have just permamnetly deleted them!

Well, thought you may wish to know if you attempt to look through my blog archives.  I have updated the most recent posts with their respective images again but I don't have the time, patience or inclination to do them all.


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Abstract Sculpture III - Top O My World

Every so often I feel the need to exercise the more abstract part of my thinking.  In order to do this I tend to create abstract sculptures, they allow me the creative freedom to go anywhere without the restrictions we often impose on ourselves at times.

Below are some work-in-progress pictures of my recent sculpture, Top O My World.

There are some further developments as parts have to be made and constructed yet, so I don't have images of this section.  But, the final piece will be on a matching stand and there will be LED lighting involved too!

Apologies for the picture quality, I will re-post my final shots once the piece is complete.

Thanks for visiting. www.leerobertsneddon.co.uk

Contemporary Clock

This piece is a gift to my Sister and Brother-in-Law for Christmas.

The clock mechanism has been mounted into the wood and will be covered with a matching False Acacia plate, only a little smaller than the front.  But it will help to tie the front and rear design together.

The piece has taken quite a bit of time and is almost complete, just the rear cover plate to finish off and it will be ready.

 I will update with news of the completed piece with additional photos of the rear, which also has a simplified carving too.

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Digital Inspiration

No doubt we all look for inspiration in many different ways and in many different places.  I have always used my PC and associated software to crop, correct and generally enhance my original DSLR images.  Recently I have been using Picasa to mess around with my original images to create interesting alternatives, some of which lead to ideas for future projects.

So, I decided to take this a stage further and have been playing with a simple piece of 3D rendering software to create interesting organic shapes.  The software uses simple polygon wire frames that can then have texture applied.  Once rendered by the software they produce quite realistic, organic forms, many of which promote inspiration and creative thinking.

I have included a few of these images below in the hope that you may find some inspiration and possibly promote new ideas and forms for your own future work.

Thanks for visiting. www.leerobertsneddon.co.uk

Dust

For the past few months I have been researching dust in the workshop.  I came to the conclusion a while ago that I wasn't doing enough to protect myself or my workshop.  However, finances have denied me the opportunity to acquire the necessary equipment until now.

Having looked into the subject it is apparent that there are 3 main areas of dust control:

Control at the source
Personal protection
Workshop filtration

I have had an excellent dust extractor working at source from my lathe but no personal dust protection or workshop filtration.  So, I have recently purchased the following items which are soon to be delivered:

Microlene MC420 - Image courtesy of Acrol UK Ltd

Trend Air shield Pro - Image courtesy of Trend

After much research I have chosen the Microlene MC420 Air Filter.  I had the pleasure of checking this in person at the Scottish Woodcraft Show and decided it would be ideal for my purposes.  It comes highly recommended by other users I know and judging from the manufacturers website, is well built and constructed.  The design allows the filter to suck in air from 360° and from the bottom.  Statistics show the filter capable of replenishing the air 10 times within an hour for a 40 cubic meter space.

My research shows that the Trend Air shield Pro has mixed reviews.  Although most reviews are positive in terms of dust protection the majority seem to negatively review the weight, noise and design.  However, I had the chance to try it out at the Scottish Woodcraft Show and found that neither the weight, noise or design where an issue for me.

I will be installing the Microlene MC420 in the workshop and using the Trend Air shield Pro this week so will report back with my own, independent review in due course.

Thanks for visiting. www.leerobertsneddon.co.uk

Needs Must When Times Are Hard

When I dreamt of starting my own business as a self-employed woodturner/artist it was easy to imagine how it would all fall into place.  However, I, as well as many others, often underestimate the amount of hard work and determination required to turn your dream into a reality.

Since I am still in the early stages of growing my business, finances are always tight and sometimes I question if it's all worth it.  Well, gladly I think it is.  But there are times when we need to look at our situation and figure out how to improve it with limited funds.

So, I recently decided to sell my Volvo V70 SE Estate.  The newest and by far the best [arguably] car I've ever owned.  It belonged to my late Dad and was gifted to me by my Mum ( a non-driver).  To be honest, I never really enjoyed the car.  So, with my Mums good wishes, I decided to sell it and part exchange it for a lump of cash and a car I do enjoy.

So here it is, a Volvo 940 LPT Estate.  One of my all time favourite Volvos and one that will hopefully give me much pleasure for years to come (not to mention a financial boost to the business):

The Beast - In all it's glory!

A very long car - but handles like a dream!

Overall body condition is excellent for it's age.

Just a car - but I like it!

Since I am the only driver in my immediate Family I am the only one who makes driving decisions.  I am happy to have sold my previous vehicle and now have great pleasure in driving the Family wherever they want to go.  A nice, smoothe ride, built for comfort - not speed - just like me!

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Midnight Madness

We all do things in our spare time to relieve stress and have fun.  One of the things I enjoy is online gaming on my PS3.  I am a member of a really Friendly clan made up of Relatives and Friends and tonight at midnight sees the launch of the next FPS (First Person Shooter) in the Modern Warfare series.

So, at midnight I'll be heading off to pick up my pre-ordered copy and will no doubt have fun into the wee hours with friends and like minded gamers.

This is the 1st time I'll be doing this so it's really quite exciting.  We can all have new experiences if we are open to them and although this is no big deal, it's something different and fun. 

For any PS3 gamers out there, feel free to add me and we can have a game or two.  ID skeets101.

Thanks for visiting. www.leerobertsneddon.co.uk