Ash Round

   I turned 4 legs on my mini lathe for the end table.  I split the ends of the legs, hammered them  into the top and drove in wedges. Everything is firmly connected without glue.

  The next part of the project is the part I like least.  Sanding, sanding, sanding. To sand the legs I will use my finishing sander instead of my random orbital, I find the non-orbital movement of the finishing sander easier to control on rounded surfaces.  The legs are elm. Elm is tough, has an interesting grain and is a bit stringy.  Finishing the legs will involve several coat of shellac to raise the grain, with lots of sanding between each coat.  I really like the final result but it does take time to get the grain under control and smooth. 

  

  You can see from my lathe set up that I really need to develop some type of dust collection system and a much better way to deal with my tools as I work.  My lathe is on a rolling cabinet that is great for moving it around the shop but not a very good work station.   I am thinking/planning what to build to make wood turning more efficient. 

don't do this at home.

  The legs were almost too long to fit my lathe.  Honestly,  the legs were too long, and I should never have run the tail stock out so far.  I was more by good luck than superior technique that the spindle didn't come loose while I was turning the legs.

  These legs are rounded off squares, not totally round spindles.  That means that there are four narrow flats as well as four rounded corners on each leg.  When it came time to sand the legs I was only able to sand the top shoulder and the round feet with the lathe running. The middle of the leg had to be sanded after it came off the lathe.  It would have been quicker to make the legs round and finish them on the lathe, it is easier to get a glossy finish that way. However, the rounded squares make for a more interesting and less expected leg.

  This small table a first try. I know a couple of things that I will do differently when I make my next small table.  I also think I am still going to make a little three legged stool.

cheers, ianw