Hi guys. Got myself a new hobby, Bought a cheap wood turning lathe and am having a go at making some bowls and whatever I can turn from scrap bits of wood I have laying around the place. Starting off with just basic things like egg cups pen and pencil holders and anything that comes to mind. I have a bit of wood laying around as I don't use the combustion heater these days, and have heaps of 3x2 hardwood which makes great little egg cups. As I get better I might even have a go at making a chess set. I made a chess set from alloy on my metal lathe and they turned out OK so have the basics down pat.



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Looking great so far Frank, This should kill some of your spare time, Have Fun
You could even make some Blackfish floats

George. Blackfish floats are part of my fishing hobby and I have been making them for years. This is a hobby completely separated from fishing.
Might have a go at turning up some spools for a couple of my alveys and a few wooden hand spools, some nice looking examples on line . not that I would use them it's just something to make fishing related.

Frank! Alvey spools would look good turned up out of Burls or Walnut roots

Nice Hobbie,

If your looking for top Timber for Turning try
Trend Timber at Mulgrave ask for Adrian and tell him George from old Simmonds sent you.
They really specialize on Burls and butts for that type of industry.
phone 4577 5277 15 Railway Rd N, Mulgrave NSW 2756

Thanks George, was thinking where I could get some good timber like roots and bulbs etc. My mate down Cobargo is a tree lopper timber cutter but all his stock was destroyed in the recent fires down there, he usually only kept rounds anyway and didn't have on or under ground timber.
I have a stack of rounds in Camphor Laurel and heaps of old 3x2 hardwood which will keep me busy for a while.
By the time I get through what I have ( very OLD timber, been cut for years and all dried out ) I should be starting to know what I am doing and may venture into more exotic bowls etc . At this stage I am just learning what tools to use etc .
Here is a rough bowl from split timber, will have to try and get stuff that's not split/cracked but then again the cracks adds character ?.

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Good work Frank. Good to keep your mind and body active. I walked down to Era and the figure eight pools on Friday. Left the carpark as a spry 69 yr old and then on the return journey back up the hill, I was a struggling, breathless 99 yr old. Saw a whopping Eastern Brown about 2ft from my toes and that made me feel 105yrs old.
I have started making a 3d cutting board and the other one was made by a mate.

Wow mate that 3d cutting board is amazing, beautiful work, I can only dream of doing something that beautiful. Those slimy things give you a bit of a startle but keep your distance and stay away and they will usually go the other way, but Browns are known for being an aggressive snake so be extra careful around them. I used to go bush and catch all sorts of snakes and lizards in my youth.

Can't find my 4 1/2 " Alveys ( must be down Cobargo with my other fishing gear ) so decided to make a spool for my SeaMartin reel.
Turned out OK and drag works fine and reel is a smooth as silk. Just need to put some line on it and go catch a fish, but the amount I go fishing these days the reel will probably just sit in a rack with another 20 or so unused reels.

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out of focus sorry

Gee Frank If I ever need a new spool for my Sea Martin I will get you to make one for me. It looks good in Wood

George I have a couple of spare Bakelite spools here. I could send you one just in case if you would like a spare ?. Would be handy to have 2 spools with different size line for different applications. I have 12lb, 20lb and 30lb spools I used them for deep sea fishing mainly and the deeper I go I change up to heavier line.
Well that is what I used to do when I went fishing outside. These days I hardly ever wet a line let alone go outside the heads.

Frank I only use my Sea Martin for outside fishing,, If you have a spare Spool I would love to have one as a second alternative line.

George. I will post one up to you tomorrow.

Thanks Frank that would be appreciated, and if you come up this way any time I will take you out and cut a few Burls off some trees.

Thank You Frank I Received the Sea Martin Spool ! I Owe you one Don't hesitate to let me know if I can help you out with anything

OK George. They are a bloody good reel and a spare spool with different line will come in handy for you. I have 3 spools with different line on each. I prefer to use the SeaMartin off the beach rather than Alveys not that I do much beach fishing these days.

Frank, I wrote this in 2013. I also make my own floats. Been using hard balsa lately. In FR, under kkw