As I cut the urn shape, I noticed a stream of sticky resin flying up into the air and all over my gouge and tool rest. I stopped the lathe to check out what was happening, and discovered that I had cut into a couple of pockets of resin. I stopped them up with some super glue and sawdust and while it was setting, I cleaned the tool rest and the gouge with WD40. I soon had the final shape and redid the glue bit with the finest sawdust I could find (from the band saw). I then formed a couple of "v" cuts and a long cove onto a medium sized bead (photo 9). A repeat of the urn shape and a half bead soon had the overall shape that I wanted (photo 10) .When I was sure that the balance looked OK, I sanded the whole spindle, starting with 120 grit through to 320 grit abrasive.

Tip Always hold the abrasive underneath the spinning timber and support the hand holding the abrasive with your other hand. I use a cloth-backed abrasive called Vitex, which is very flexible and lasts a long time.

After the sanding process, and with the lathe stopped, I applied a liberal coat of Danish Oil. I dried this with a soft cloth with the lathe running, and then I held a block of beeswax against the revolving spindle, melting on a good coat of wax. I used the cloth I had applied the wax with to blend the wax and Danish oil together, and then buffed it up with the soft dry cloth. [Safety Tip - Never wrap the cloth around your fingers even when buffing up small pieces as the cloth can very easily be caught in the spinning timber and pull your fingers in.] This brought the whole thing to a soft luster and showed the grain up beautifully (photo 11). All that was left to do, was part off and set aside to wait for the top and the base.

Photo 11 Click for enlarged view

In another article, I will be talking about turning beads and coves for beginners. And next month I will be reviewing the Hamlet ASP 2030 ½" Bowl Gouge and making the top and bottom of the plant stand.

Good luck,
Oskar