Mr. Happy

No, I don't mean the hairy guy on the right, although he was pretty cheerful! This is Eli (smooth shaven) and Mike Javidi, they were my hosts, along with Mike's lovely wife Karin, for my weekend trip to Boston. Mike is about to graduate from the North Bennet Street school. While normally I am drawn to the canine and caprine, this little fellow got quite a hold on me.
Thanks for the gracious hospitality.


The students at NBSS are of the highest caliber and their motivation is impressive to say the least. I think that the seminar went well, although I underestimated the effect that 8 hours of talking can have on my throat. It felt as though I had swallowed a rasp.
Below is a photo of us playing in the dark. Each time that I did any carving, we turned out the lights and used a raking light. I know that overhead flourescents work well for machining, but I couldn't see the surface at all with them on.


My steady rest, which was meant to protect me from the embarrassment of screwing up a turning in front of 40 eyeballs, worked marginally well. I still got a bit of vibration and it got me rethinking the design. When I got home, I flipped the V block so that the long side was down and it seemed to work well, although it does interfere with cutting directly across the contact point when the piece gets small. I think that the reason that it might be a better way for smaller pieces is that it more directly opposed the ability for the piece to jump up and over the top of the tool.

Then I had an idea. As long as I am not cutting across the actual contact point, why not use a spring clamp to lock in the V block, Wow, what a difference. Who knows, maybe my prejudice against turning spindles for chairs will even change...probably not.


And finally, here's a photo that I couldn't pass up of the initial carving on one of the fan back crest's ears. Too fun.


Now it's up to Curtis to go up in January and show them how to put it all together. Lately, he's been trying to stick around home, but the call to North Bennet Street is just too strong to resist.