Demo Blanks

[breya]

I am starting to turn on my 510. What kind of wood did shopsmith use for demo's ? Or what kind of cheap turning wood can I use?

Thanks
Brad

[a1gutterman]

Hi Brad,
I might be mistaken, but it sure seems like it was pine that the fair demonstrators used. If it were me, I wood start with a very inexpensive wood and if that gave you unsatisfactory results, move on to something a little more pricey. You might even try some "free" fire wood that you might have laying around. :)

[wlhayesmfs]

I still have the wood that SS used at the Demo when I bought mine in 1994 and it is pine.
Just got me a DC 3300 yesterday. Was slightly used and was let in a divorce. Was in great shape and had extra bags and some MKV parts. This is my first DC. Cannot see how I did without one all these years. Set up two of my MKV's and connected them to the DC and went from set up to set up this morning making me some Attachment mounts for my shop. No sawdust on the floor just in a bag. Now the fine dust extractor for the ceiling and I will be ready for winter. Anyone have a preference on the ceilling mounted fine dust remover?
Thanks for this group, I read it several times a day but not post much.
:D

[bettyt44720]

besides my dc3300 i use a jet afs-1000 air filter/cleaner.

[grouser]

I sugest if your new to turning I would use GREEN wood. The greener the easier it is to turn in most cases. Just make chips, don't plan on keeping your new treasure cuz it will just warp when it dries but your goal here is to learn tool control. It's liable to get messy, with green wood the moisture can sometimes fly off the work like it it's raining. Just wipe off the tools when your done, keep your tools sharp and be safe,,,good luck,,,Mike

[ricknwood]

Breya,
In the Traveling Academy I used Calif Sugar Pine for the spindle pieces and our bowls were turned with a variety of hardwoods ranging from ash to walnut. Shopsmith does sell both of these items. For the Bowl blanks, go to this site.
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/itemfind.htm?item=522253&Submit=Find+Item

For the spindle blanks, go to this one,
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/itemfind.htm?item=555957&Submit=Find+Item
Good luck and many happy hours turning,
Rick Davis

[charlese]

I am starting to turn on my 510. What kind of wood did shopsmith use for demo's ? Or what kind of cheap turning wood can I use?

Thanks
Brad
Hi Brad! In my opinion pine is definitely the cheapest wood you can by, regardless of the source (store) purchased from. It is soft and most species of pine turn easily, in that they will yield to lathe tools so that shaping is not a problem. You didn't say what part of the World you live in. Your location will determine which species of pine you can get locally.

The quality of wood for working may be determined by where you find it. If you had southern pine, it will not turn as well as white pine, ponderosa, sugar or lodgepole pine. The heavy bands of late wood in southern pines will present resistance to turning and sanding more than the early wood. In any case, pine is very suitable for a wood for turning. The only problem you may find with pine is the resins in the wood. If you like the smell of pine and don't mind a little of it building up on your tools, you are in good shape. In any case get some pine blocks, or glue up some blocks from the smoothest, most creamy colored wood you can find and put tool to wood. You really can't go wrong. After you get the feel of it, go to other woods and enjoy!!:D

[charlese]

Now the fine dust extractor for the ceiling and I will be ready for winter. Anyone have a preference on the ceilling mounted fine dust remover?
Thanks for this group, I read it several times a day but not post much.
:D

We are out of context here, but I recommend doing a search for the word collection and read those threads. Here is a short paragraph from one of my postings:

As far as air cleaners - one of the woodworking magazines in the past year or so, tested (compared) commercially available shop air cleaners. They also compared one of those square floor fans in a wood box with a HEPA furnace filter on the intake side. Surprisingly, the home made filter proved to be just as effective in cleaning the air as the commercially built ones.