Recently, I went into my shop with the intention of turning a bowl. Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about how messy my shop is, but for some reason I could not find the 2-3/4″ diameter Forstner bit that I use to bore a mounting hole for my scroll chuck. Even after a significant amount of cleaning, with a good deal of muttering under my breath, I could not find the bit. Rats!
I almost let this obstacle drive me back into my house to watch TV (I was certain that I could find a dandy Brady Bunch rerun …), but then I rebelled. I grabbed a turning blank, stepped to my table saw and raised a stub tenon on one face. Moving to the lathe, I snugged the tenon into my scroll chuck and proceeded to turn one of my best-looking bowls ever. (You can see a picture of it on the Woodworker’s Journal Facebook page.)
So, what I took away from that little event is this (no, it has nothing to do with a cleaning schedule for my shop!): skin your woodworking cat however it is presented to you. The most important thing is to keep on making sawdust.
Rob Johnstone, Woodworker’s Journal
