[dfess1]

I just picked up a new to me lathe (second hand Delta midi). I was looking to make something like this out of laminate maple:

http://fab.com/product/the-ex-red-1..._type=p&ltb=off&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=176623

With the voids in the blank that would be needed to hold the knives, is this an issue on the lathe?

 

[Dave Paine]

I cannot imagine turning that particular shape on the lathe.

Voids can be challenging. Depends on many factors, wood, grain orientation, lathe speed, type of tool, sharpness of the tool.

Sometimes void just generate vibration or chatter. Worse case a catch or tearout.

I would personally create the voids after turning.

I recently turned this bowl. I knew the indentation would be a challenge from the first bowl I made like this. I cut pieces of pine to fill in the indentations while turning, then removed when I was finished.

This bowl turned a lot easier with the pine "fillers" than my first bowl like this.

 

[dfess1]

The plan was to turn each body part separately. Take two pieces of maple, using a dado cut to hog out the slot for the knife on one piece, then glue them up. Make a couple of holes while still square to attach all of the pieces with some dowels, then turn them.

 

[john lucas]

I love it. To do a really good job you would have to carve a lot of it. You could glue up a flat blank with the knife slots. Then you can turn that between centers to get the head and an outline of the arms and legs. Then go back and carve the the arms and legs. You could turn each part seperately and then glue together but to make it look right you would need to carve around the joints, so why not carve the whole thing. I would turn the base seperately

 

[dfess1]

i've never carved anything in my life. Hell, I just got the lathe about a month ago! Until now, I've been mostly straight/square guy, building furniture, etc (from older wood mags). I was just looking for a cool chirstmas gift.

 

[john lucas]

Ya just gotta jump in. If you've been doing flat work you understand cutting with the grain. That's all there is too it. My first serious carving won a local award and all I used was a bandsaw, coping saw, cabinet makers file, jewelers saw and lots and lots of sandpaper. Took forever to carve the little toes. It's called the biological clock. Funny story. I was a physical Education major. I know muscles inside and out. What I don't know is baby fat so I figured I'd go to Walmart and check out the dolls to learn how baby fat on legs look. Well I'm in walmart lifting up the skirt of all the dolls when I realize what this must look like. I'm sure I'm on an instructional video for walmart security somewhere.

 

[JustinAhrens]

That is a cool knife holder.

Here is my brainstorming: I think if i were trying to make one with a lathe, I would laminate a block with the knife slots as John said. This block would be the Legs, Torso, and Head. I would then turn this between centers, but maybe mount it off center twice to get an oval shaped cylinder. I would turn it to the diameter of the torso. Then I would bandsaw the space between the legs out. Then I would shape the curve in the legs with a stationary belt sander, and carve the head with chisels and a rasp. The hard part would be gluing the arms to the body and getting a nice joint. If you are painting it, it wouldn't be an issue, since you could use some bondo to smooth it out, but it would be hard to get those joints nice if you want natural wood.

 

[Improv]

I would use the image of the manikin in the link below as a guide for what parts to turn and how to connect. I just googled one up, so you could probably find a better one for planning purposes.


http://www.everbuying.com/product210813.html

Regards,
Steve

 

[robhodge1]

Ya just gotta jump in. If you've been doing flat work you understand cutting with the grain. That's all there is too it. My first serious carving won a local award and all I used was a bandsaw, coping saw, cabinet makers file, jewelers saw and lots and lots of sandpaper. Took forever to carve the little toes. It's called the biological clock. Funny story. I was a physical Education major. I know muscles inside and out. What I don't know is baby fat so I figured I'd go to Walmart and check out the dolls to learn how baby fat on legs look. Well I'm in walmart lifting up the skirt of all the dolls when I realize what this must look like. I'm sure I'm on an instructional video for walmart security somewhere.

Haha, that's hilarious. Great carving! I wish I could of been at SWAT this year to see your work in person.