April 2021 - Dave Dowding
The piece is based upon a project in “Woodturning Magazine” which shows an Urchin suspended from a
brass stand. Dave’s comprehensive notes are as follows:
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Base and finial are Sycamore.
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Finial top and base are joined with dowelling so that the Urchin is free to rotate/move
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Brass is 3mm x 1.6mm bent to a pattern draw out on the back of a Corn flake box. Half the base was drawn on the box and
the Finial laid in position to sketch the shape I required.
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Brass is secured by the boss with a 4mm stud thread which is epoxied into the base. Homemade female nut secure the
Brass spring. (all made on my Myford lathe)
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Finish -: 4 coats of Chestnut Spirit stain Yellow Blue and Purple
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Ist coat distinct bands of Yellow Blue Yellow Purple.
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2nd coat Same sequence but now gradually overlapping to produce a Green between the Yellow and Blue and Yellow and
Purple
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3rd coat as 2nd coat but with more overlap
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4th coat quick wipe over with Yellow to blend everything together.
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After 24hrs a light rub over with a White Chestnut pad to denib and then 3 coats of Chestnut Acrylic Gloss finish
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Light burnish with Burnishing cream and finally one coat of Mycroystalline wax
Mistake made, Spirit stain shows bad wood finishing and does not show up until you have two coats on. After contacting
Chestnut products because I was sanding to 600 grit and could not see sanding lines iin the bare wood I was advised to wipe
over the bare wood with Cellulose thinners. When wet this showed up any flaws.
When opening up the holes in an Urchin on a homemade sanding cone to make them round, do not squeeze too hard as you
end up with a handful of Calcium?
Dont buy sheared brass from a sheet, it takes a lot of work to take out the shearing marks and the burr. I could not find bar from
a model shop due to the Pandemic. Just for interest the Brass acts like a bimetallic strip and moves with the temperature so
Finial is hardly over dead centre of the Brass boss.
The idea came from Woodturning Magazine and Colouring from Stewart Furini video.
If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to Dave direct.
“Sea Urchin Lamp”
We kick off the new Showcase section of the website with some beautiful pieces by Dave “Trunk” Dowling.
First of all, a creation entitled
“Suspended Sea Urchin”
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Wood is Ash.
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Colour of wood does not match as that is what he wanted.
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Base is concave as he wants to keep keys in it. Space is at a premium
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Finish Microcryasilline over Sanding sealer
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120mm Sea Urchin Shell
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System 12v for my sons Narrow boat
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Finial not fitted as he wants to see the light pattern on the ceiling.
“Cotton Reel Holder”
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Wood is an old board I was given I think it is Sapele
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Stems are Sycamore
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Finish is Microcrystalline over Sanding sealer
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Design was in Wood turning Magazine
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Straight forward turning exercise, the only thing I would change in the future
is. The dowels are 4mm diameter with one end turned down to 3.5mm to fit 3.5mm
holes in the bases if I remember correctly. It seemed rather fiddly to get 0.5mm lands
to make the dowels sit square when a 4mm dowel in a 4mm hole accurately drilled
would do the same job.
“Spalted Beech Vase/Bowl”
Not much I can say about the vase/bowl.
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Spallted Beech
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Usual finish of sanding sealer and Microcrystalline wax.
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While being turned suffered a lot of tearout at the bottom due to wood getting past its sell by date.
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Wood was saved from being split and sold for Firewood for wood burners at the Drews pond project where I volunteer.
I put two more aside and another keen volunteer picked them up and split them when I turned my back.
Dave (Trunk) Dowding - June 2022
- Tractor & Trailer made for his Great Grandson who will be two in July
Scooting Along Tractor by Ian Wilkie
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Featured in Wood Worker and Wood Turner January 2015 page 50
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Overall dimensions including trailer. Length 1060mm Width 270mm Seat height 250mm
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Designed for 2 to 4yrs old
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Designed for indoor use
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I made the first one during the first lockdown so all parts were sourced from the left over bits we all keep in our sheds
because all shops were shut down
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Nearly everything was made in 18mm Birch faced Ply. Wheels should have been in Ash. I just glued two thicknesses of
18mm Ply together.
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Added a trailer to my own design made from 18mm ply 3mm ply and 15mm x 10mm Pine strip.
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Completed a second one for my Great Grandson who will be two in July
Modification to original drawing
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Added hubs to cover the exposed 10mm Nyloc nuts that hold the wheels on.
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The original steering wheel is made from 30mm thick ply the quadrants were difficult to cut and clean up for small
hands. Modified.steering wheel was made in two pieces. outside rim was made in Ply and the steering hub made from Sapele.
The spokes were made from 12mm dowelling, all holes indexed off chuck jaws using a simple jig knocked up in 5 minutes
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Finish is Sanding sealer as my Granddaughter wants to paint it with her son
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Added 6mm Brass rod for tow hook
Things to watch out for
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Care should be taken on drilling and glueing 12mm nut in the front axle beam. If the 12mm steering rod which screwed
into the glued nut is not at 90 degrees, one of the front wheels may not sit on a hard surface.
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When setting up the new steering wheel design and concentrating on keeping the rim and hub concentric I forgot to
align the grain in the dowelling with the rim. To me it sticks out like a sore thumb
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For balance the wheels on the trailer could have been made to the same size as the front wheels of the tractor (140mm
diam) not 100 diam, this would have caused problems with tow hitch height
Showcase 2
