MauBow Turnings
Jeff is a self-confessed turning addict. And his work reflects his passion. He makes handmade wooden forms on his antique homemade lathe. Each piece is unique and one of a kind.
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Hilton Handcraft of the Ozarks
November 21, 2008
Ned Bulken, of Ned's Woodshop fame, pointed me to this site full of articles, videos and much more this morning on Familywoodworking.org. It doesn't look like there has been much updating to the site recently, but loads of info for sure.Take some time and check it out......Hilton Handcraft of the Ozarks.Have a great weekend! Read More →
My Favorite Websites
November 19, 2008
When I first started this blog I made a post "Tips & Techniques". Recently I thought about updating that post to include some more up to date sites....the problem is that I don't have anything to add to the list. The same sites still have the best info for the beginner to a seasoned woodturner. I'd like to highlight a couple of them:Darrell Feltmate has taken lots of time and energy to show everyone projects for the beginner to advanced, how to make tools, tips and techniques, maintenance and...
Walnut Wedding Present
November 17, 2008
One of the people that introduced me to LOML over 16 years ago got hitched himself this summer in a family only ceremony. Another friend had a party this past weekend to celebrate the nuptials with friends and this bowl was our gift for the new couple. Their house which they have been redoing has beautiful dark woodwork so I thought a walnut bowl would be a good fit.It's 11" X 5" with a Danish oil finish that was buffed. A couple of small cracks add some character along with some great figure....anyone...
Great Time, Good Experience….
November 10, 2008
...but little in the way of sales.This past friday evening was the artist reception for my trunk show at Sticks West Glen. Lots of friends and family stopped by and I met some wonderful people as well. The other artists, Brad and Sundie Ruppert of Vintage Sculpture were wonderful and related their past experiences that gave me insight on where I want to be in the future. I can't say enough great things about the staff at Sticks either.Below are some shots of my display at Sticks West Glen. I have...
Sticks Trunk Show is only 1 month away!
October 3, 2008
I've not turned in almost 3 weeks as I was preparing for my first show last weekend. Today I saw for the first time the marketing flyer that will be going out to the general public very soon for my next show at Sticks West Glen Gallery on Nov. 7th and 8th. Pics of the flyer can bee seen below. I will be getting back into production mode this coming week to get some needed pieces turned and finished. Read More →
Lincoln Highway Art Festival - My first show!
September 29, 2008
This past Saturday morning my wife, Paige, and I heard the alarm at 4:30am. Our daughter decided to wake up at 5am and my mother in law arrived at 5:30. A quick and dark 2hrs later we were checking into my first art show in Mt. Vernon, IA. After setting up the tent and tables, Paige started cutting the fabric for the table clothes. (probably should have done this before,) As I took out my bowls and other turned items, she set up what I think was a great display. (see pics below). The show started...
Cleaning and Rearranging
September 18, 2008
Over the past couple of days and weeks I have been cleaning out the studio/garage in order to get my wife's car out of the upcoming winter weather. This is what I started with.....I've rotated the lathe back to the east wall, it's original location, and moved plus added to the tool storage. I also added some new storage to the wall above the lathe. The salvaged cabinets along the north wall have also been rearranged to make everything more efficient. An old dirty tarp is being utilized for chip control...
A New Show!
August 29, 2008
About a month ago my wife called a local furniture/art store and asked if they put pieces from local artist in there studios. They said yes so I emailed the retail manager and she asked for some pics and wholesale prices....then nothing happened, I thought nothing would come from it, but she called yesterday to tell me the owner liked my pieces wants me to be part of a trunk show at one of their galleries on Nov. 8th. There is a reception the night before. I'm very excited about this....I think I...
Oak Ensemble
August 20, 2008
It's been awhile since my last update...I've been busy prepping for the upcoming show in Sept. I have lots of work to show, I hope the shows attendees like what I have to offer.My good friend is the head grass cutter (superintendent) at Wakonda Club here in town and they lost quite a few oaks this spring to a bad wind storm. He told me to come get as much as I want. They had 6 semi trailers hauled out eventually, but I only loaded my car once. His wife gave him a bowl made from the score for their...
3rd Annual Lincoln Highway Art Festival
July 22, 2008
Last week I was selected to join 49 other Iowa artists and display my pieces at the 3rd Annual Lincoln Highway Art Festival in Mt. Vernon, IA. I will need to come up with a booth display of some sort and also greatly increase the number of available pieces I have. That means more time at the lathe!! I plan on having a good number of large, medium and smaller bowls ready as well as quite a few twig pots and possibly some Christmas ornaments. I will upload lots of pics after the show and report on...
Thicker is Better
July 11, 2008
I've been spending quite a bit of time looking at European turner's websites lately. Many tend to turn thick sided bowls and vases. Because of all the pictures I've looked at I've grown to like the look and decided to try it myself. Many turners believe the thinner the walls the better and more skilled the turner is. In my opinion, a thicker wall makes the piece look more natural. Below are a few of the thicker bowls I made recently.After posting this, I saw a discussion about the thickness of wood...
A Toolmaker In the Family
June 30, 2008
My dad, Wayne Bower, has been making turning tools since he started turning in 2006, but recently he finished up what I think is his crowning achievement. (next to his wooden homemade mini lathe) He made a snake hollower, also know as an elbow hollowing tool. A great discussion about it can be seen on Family Woodworking here. Previously he had also made a D-handled capturing rig as well. I've had the pleasure of using it before and can't wait to use the new snake tool. Here are some pictures of the...
Happy Father’s Day! Cherry Score!
June 4, 2008
While on a walk last night with my wife and daughter, we were discussing what kind of plants to plant to finish of a bed we just took around a ton of crushed brick out of. Out of no where, my wife says, "Wow, look at all that free wood!" Just after that she said, "Why did I say that!" To be honest, I wouldn't have even noticed it. She is getting tired of the amount of wood I have in the garage, along with all the curlies and dust and dirt and...well you get the picture. She followed up asking me...
Away from the lathe….
June 3, 2008
For the past few weeks I haven't had much time at the lathe. My wife and I have been removing a large amount of landscaping rock from a bed in front of our house. We planned to do it the first winter we lived there...that was almost 4 years ago. It has taken many evenings and a few weekends to do it, but almost all of the rock is gone now and last night we planted 20+ plants in the bed. We need to purchase a few plants to add some color and height, but so far all of the plants are from our back yard...
Hollowing in KS
May 29, 2008
This past weekend I was in KS visiting my parents. My dad is also an avid woodturner and he has made a number of hollowing tools. His latest is a capture rig based loosely off Lyle Jamieson's design. I tried it out while I was there on some red elm. Works very well. Hollowing can be very hard on the wrists, elbows and shoulders. Not with a rig like this. The hollowing goes much quicker as well. Below are a few pics of the form before finishing. Read More →
Oak NE Vase
May 28, 2008
When I first started turning bowls, I happened upon a large pile of oak logs. All of them were at least 15" in diameter and 10" high. I struggled with them, but was able to load 5 of them into the back of my car. I turned my first bowl with a chunk of it and a few weeks ago I turned this natrual edge vase with another of the logs. It had been sitting out in the back yard for over a year and had some spalting show up and the wood darkened quite a bit as well. It stands 9" high and 5" wide at the rim....
Motor is up and running!
May 28, 2008
Last night I installed my new motor. I was quite excited to get it up and running so I was going fast and made a few mistakes. First I forgot to run the wires through the acess holes of the motor and the switch so I had to disconnect everything and redo it. Then I wired it for clockwise rotation only to find out I needed counter clockwise. After about an hour I had it fired up and made some curlies fly! It has lots of torque so my dreams of turning side tables out of logs and large sculpture pieces...
New Motor, More Power!
May 21, 2008
The garage sale find $5, 1/4HP motor that I have been abusing on my lathe for the past few months has finally bit the dust....or smoked out to be honest. The timing of the motor stopping isn't that bad though. My family will be traveling back to KS this holiday weekend and a traveling through Lincoln, NE. The Burden Surplus Center is just off the highway and they have a great looking 3/4HP TECF 1750RPM motor for just under $120. My "made money" from the government's generous stimulus check will just...
Lathe puts on a few pounds
May 12, 2008
The Heritage Maytag recently put on about 160lbs of weight. I added two 80lb. tubes of sand in the base of the lathe making it much less likely to walk around when I'm trying to rough out an unbalanced blank. I haven't put a large blank on it yet, but will do so very soon. Sorry, no photos (sand tubes are kinda boring) but with that task done my last project for the lathe is to rework the steady rest.In its current state, the steady rest uses roll bearings that are old an don't work that great. I...
Cleaning Time!!
April 22, 2008
The boss, also known as my wife Paige, told me the garage/shop was an "embarrassment" so no turning until I get things cleaned up. I have to find the lawnmower anyway since spring is finally here. This clean up also gives me the opportunity to once again rearrange the shop a little. In order to cut down on future "messes" I plan on hanging tarps to section off my part of the garage. I will post pics once it is done...hopefully soon, so I can get back to spinning wood. Read More →
Fine Curlies - 2008-04-18 19:35:00
April 18, 2008
This hunk of walnut, along with some more too, was given to me by someone that I sold some lathe accessories to at the Woodsmith Store (see more about that here). He will be getting a bowl from some of the rest of it. Size is 7" H X 5" W and finish is watco danish oil. My wife's office neighbor and favorite co-worker is retiring in about a month and this will be her retirement gift. Read More →
Jack Shaft Redo FINISHED!
April 18, 2008
I buttoned up the new jack shaft setup for the lathe last night. It works better than ever...much harder to stall the turning and seems to have more power as well. Simple set up using plywood and some old door hinges. The pulleys line up perftectly and changing belts is very easy too. Below are some pics of the setup. Read More →
Jackshaft Redo Update
April 15, 2008
Well I started the redo last night...all was going well, but then while I was screwing a couple of plywood pieces together the drill jumped off the screw and embedded itself into me finger! OUCH!! I tried to continue, but the "red stuff" was dripping and I didn't want my lathe to look like a crime scene. Won't be back out in the garage/studio for a few days but will get some pics posted once finished. Read More →
Jack Shaft Redo
April 11, 2008
Now that I've recovered from the Jayhawks winning the championship...back to making some curlies!My home brew jack shaft (see Turning Once Again) for my lathe has served its purpose, but it's not lined up very well and is need of some tweaking. This weekend I plan on scrapping what I have done and take a little time to get it worked out right. I will have more details and photos as I do it.Another note to all you Fine Curlies fan's out there ;)...My dad turned me on to these videos on YouTube showing...
ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!
April 8, 2008
This has nothing to do with woodturning, but my beloved Kansas Jayhawks won the most exciting game in national championship history last night 75-68 over the Memphis Tigers. 40,000 KU fans joined each other in celebration on Mass. St. in Lawrence. Wish I could have been there. Read More →
Website now listed at Woodturning Online!
March 25, 2008
I submitted my website to Woodturningonline.com a few days ago and today I got confirmation that it is now listed! You can see the listing here. Read More →
Baldor Motor no good!
March 24, 2008
The 1HP Baldor motor I bought for $25 thru Craigslist (more info here) is shot for sure. There is/was a short in the wound wire and I left it at the repair shop for junk. I'm only out $30, but I need to find an "affordable" 3/4-1HP motor so I can do some larger pieces I have wood ready for. The $5 1/4HP motor I'm using now is doing just fine, but I can stall it with even very light cuts. The quest will continue...... Read More →
Free Online Turning Videos
March 17, 2008
I read about this site on a woodworking forum quite awhile ago, but just had time to check out The Woodworking Channel. The site has about a dozen videos on different turning techniques listed as well as many other woodworking related videos. Sam Maloof is featured in a 13 part series as well. I plan on spending some time this week watching all of them. Hope you can enjoy as well. Read More →
New Website launched.
March 12, 2008
I have been busy the last few days creating a new website. It's a free site through Weebly. Their online site builder is very easy to use and it really didn't take that much time. Please take a few minutes and check it out.MauBow TurningsI also uploaded a few new pics to the online gallery. Here is a sneak peak at one of them. Read More →
A suprise wood gift!
March 10, 2008
I met a couple from southern IA a few weekends ago while working a Saturday at the Woodsmith Store. They had just started woodturning making pens and pencils. They showed me some of the pens and they were quite good. I mentioned that I turn bowls, vases and other forms and they started asking questions. They mentioned they have an acreage and have a pile of crotch pieces left over from a sawmill taking down about a dozen trees on there property recently. I told them crotches have some very desirable...
