(01-20-2018, 12:44 PM)hankgillette Wrote: Sorry for the quality of the picture; I was in a hurry to turn it and wrap it as a Christmas gift. This is a bud vase, inspired by a vase that Arlin posted a year or two ago. I say inspired, because I am not that good at copying. I really liked the feature at the top. I don’t know if you would call it the neck or throat or what. Of course, a couple of weeks after I turned this, I saw an episode of The American Woodshop where Scott Phillips said that to get evenly spaced burn marks, use a pair of dividers to lay them out. Kind of obvious after someone points it out.

I believe the wood is cocobolo. As I said, I was in a hurry, so I looked at my turning blanks, said “This looks nice,” and grabbed it. I drilled the hole big enough for the test tube and then put it on the lathe. I used a chuck holding a dowel of the right diameter so that the hole would be aligned perpendicular to the vase when it is standing. I kind of messed of the bottom, so I ended up gluing a piece of felt to it to cover the ugliness. 

Anyway, I wanted to thank Arlin for his original post and picture. I think I still like his better, but I wasn’t unhappy with the way mine came out.

(01-21-2018, 02:52 AM)Arlin Eastman Wrote: I think it looks nice.



I never use dividers at all.  I just make the two outside and then fill the inside in by looking at the middle area which might be a 1/16 off.  If you really want it accurate then just put a 6" rule next to the wood and make the marks and then finish the marks when you spin the headstock and then I but the groves in it by the skew and then burning and sanding the burn after to take off the rough stuff.

So congrats on the turning.  I can not really see but how thick is the rim on it?

O and also last when I drill the hole I eject the bit out and clean off all the shavings about 1.5" from the bottom of the vase.  I then finish drilling the last 1.5" and leave the bit and chuck in the hole and remount it to the headstock and that way it makes itself a jam chuck.  I then bring up the tail stock to the center and tighten it down a little bit and finish off the bottom until there is just the little left and then I move the tail stock back and finish the bottom and sand it.  All it takes is small cuts with a freshly sharpened tool.


I also use MT2 drill bits so I no longer have to use a drill chuck.

(01-22-2018, 03:22 AM)hankgillette Wrote: What if you want to make four burn lines?


I thought the dividers were a good way to do it, because you only have to measure once (assuming you want the lines equal distances apart).

If I understand your question correctly, the rim, as best as can remember was about 1/2 inch. I was pretty much eyeballing everything. I do remember that my blank was smaller in diameter than yours, so I had to modify the design somewhat because of that.

There are various ways to do the hole, I guess. You could turn a tenon on one end of the blank, mount it with a chuck, and then drill the hole while on the lathe (I have a drill chuck with an MT2 taper). Of course then you would have to figure out how to get rid of the tenon.