I am, how are you lad?

Thank you very much.

Hi Mehmet, I have left this channel alone for too long. I keep intending to upload woodturning videos here but then accidentally load them on the baconsoda channel. However, I do intend to start uploading here again so thank you for subscribng, you will be sure to see the new videos. Best Wishes, Brendan.

@@baconsoda Thank you for the detailed explanation and information. We'll watch when you have new videos. Take care of yourself.

Thanks Huw, that's a brilliant tip o the Sharpie because I have often dropped a blank during assembly and ca't work out which end is which. i'll be doing that from now on. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Hi Seth, the sandpaper disc is self-adhesive. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thank you James.

LOL, yeah, big awkward hands.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you John, I realy appreciate your lovely comment. I am still turning but not making so many videos. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Hi Alan, thank you for this kind comment. I got that mandrel from Axminster Tools in England but I'm sure they are available everywhere. They are called 'Stub arbors' and are here, www.axminstertools.com/stub-arbor-340307, in Axminster. I hope your search is successful.

Thank you Michael, I'll nip over to Facebook and see if I can find you. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Big project this year, more will be revealed later in Spring.

@@baconsoda well document it my good man keep all those chums ya gathered happy i do worry incase you're not well enough !!

@@irishwanderer4206 I'm grand thanks, it's hard to kill a bad thing.

LOL, I really ought to be ashamed of myself but there's no shame in me!

Thanks James, I still use the disc with the router matting because, sometimes, it's hard to hold a bowl on Cole jaws if the rim is turned in or straight walled. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Hi Doug, I got that one from Axminster Tools in England (www. axminster.co.uk/ morse-taper-arbors-b16-ax821492) The face comes flat with a centre point started to help set it up for machining for whatever process it's needed. The sanding discs are 1" P120. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thanks Chris, it's almost five yers since I made that video and I am still squaring blanks this way because I haven't found anything better. Make sure your lathe is square before starting. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thank you, that would look very well and I have seen something similar done with a mid-blue resin. Just so you know, there's a woodturning playlist on the 'baconsoda' channel to save you hunting through gardening and building videos. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thanks Fest, I appreciate that very much. this channel and 'baconsoda' have been quiet this last year or so because I was dealing with illness and family stuff but I am hoping to get going in winter again. Best Wishes, Brendan.

I look forward to more of your content Brendon.

LOL, thank you Mike.

You're very welcome.

I don't make mechanical pencils but they are available as kits. I will try to get some and see how they turn out. I will do a video so that you know they are ready. I have lots of other work to do first though so it could be a couple of months.

wow thank you - that is really nice of you to do this.

You're very welcome, thanks for watching.

I should have called them 'transfer punches' - they are easily available on Ebay for a few dollars. Type in ''transfer punch set" in ebay and loads will appear.

baconsoda, thank you.

You're very welcome.

Thank you Steve, I appreciate this kind comment very much. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thank you Sean, that's quite a compliment. The stem was twice as thick until I asked my wife for advice and she said "Can you make the stem thinner?" so, I held my breath and managed. If you try this support the cup end gently because too much pressure will snap the stem. Best Wishes, Brendan.

baconsoda It can be very brittle and not reliable when turning! What I mean by that, is that one second it turns well, the next minute it's in your hand in a thousand pieces...! Can I ask where Baconsoda came from? Believe it or not it's you and a couple of others that have convinced me to get the confidence to video myself! I just don't believe that anyone would benefit from seeing a video that I'd do? And yet I watch hundreds of videos and you probably feel the same, but you just give it a go anyhow? Thanks, Sean

'baconsoda' - I signed up to put one video on KZbin and was asked for a user name so, annoyed that I had to think of yet another name I decided to use what I had for lunch... a bacon soda. That's a soda farl, a dense white bread made in N. Ireland with baking soda as the raising agent. It is lovely fried and, when paired with bacon and egg or sausage and egg or sausage, bacon and egg, it is a culinary delight that goes straight for your heart! I don't eat them often. I have had my fair share of Banksia mishaps so it wasn't without previous experience that I tried for the goblet so there was a lot of holding breath and cursing involved. I have never made another one. Please fire up videos because we all love to see how other people turn and it's reassuring to see things go wrong because we all know about that. The main thing is to show how you correct your mistake. Remember, nobody sees the video until you decide so, it's all in your control so, if you don't like what you did, just do it again. I am going to subscribe to you now to try to exert some moral pressure. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thank you.

Hi Chris, and thank you for that lovely compliment. The mandrel I am using is from Planet. They do good stuff and I've been very happy with it. The reason I bought it in particular was because I can get spare parts in the turning shop I go to. I recently replaced the bar because, over the years, it had got very slightly thinner at the end I pushed the blanks on and that was affecting the end product by giving a very slight oval effect on the blanks. A new bar made everything good again. I also use a mandrel saver in the tailstock because it's easy to bend the bar when tightening the tailstock centre. Since changing to that I've had no problems. Best Wishes, Brendan.

baconsoda Thank you Brendon for such a prompt reply. I'll look into that. Can you tell me what mandrel saver it is you use, as I've found some that I've looked at are of poor quality, in that they have loose bearings, and others are a poor fit on the mandrel itself. Thanks for the info Brendon. Chris

Hi Chris, I got mine from Timberbits in Australia, it's more expensive (AU$55) than most but I've bought 2 cheapie ones and had to replace those quite soon after buying them. I can't put a link in here or this will go to your spam box. Also, wee tip, buy your pen kit bushings from the same place you buy your kits because the same bushing can very by thousandths of an inch depending on the manufacturer. so far I have bought all my kits from Timberbits and it has been cheaper to buy them from Australia than in Ireland of UK. The Pound is weak now so that will be a factor against buying kits from Australia. Brendan.

baconsoda Thank you for all your great advice Brendon. Just been onto Timberbits website, and looked at their mandrel saver. That has Japanese bearings which are far superior to the China made mandrel savers that most companies in the U.K. seem to sell. In some cases when I've spoke to the people who sell them they don't even know where they are made!!!!! Thanks for tip about the bushings etc. Chris

Thank you Michael... that will be done.

You are very welcome. Brendan.

Hi Alan, thank you. I get blanks from all over the place. I buy in lots of 10 or 20 from Ebay and cut up hardwood flooring if I can get my hands on unusual stuff. Acacia flooring makes beautiful pens so, if there's a flooring company near you, ask if you can look in their scrap bin and make the guys some pens. They will start putting unusual or high quality offcuts aside for you. I don't buy ready cut pen blanks in woodturning stores because, say a blank is £1, well if you buy the same spindle blank that's 3" square and 5" or 6" long for £3 you will get 16 blanks from it. A blank 10" long for £5 will give you 32 blanks. That's how to build up stock. Don't waste time turning crappy wood, that just gets frustrating because when you get to pen blank size the failures increase exponentially. Another source is joinery shops, especially ones that make good quality furniture because they will have good offcuts. There is a guy on Ebay from NI called 'gortwood' (and some numbers I think). He does good quality blanks at reasonable prices. I have bought a lot of blanks from him. Just remembered, for exotic blanks, I buy from a company in England called ExoticHardwoodsUK. I can't put the link in or this will go to Spam. I have had some lovely blanks from them. Another source is swopping with other turners. If there are any clubs near you there will always be people willing to trade blanks. I was worried, one time, that I would never have enough blanks... now I've banned myself buying any more (unless they are really nice). Be careful, pen turning is a slippery slope. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thanks Brendan!! Been looking on eBay & places but wasn't sure if that was the best option!! Love making pens & small pots!! Not sure what clubs are about Portadown?

You're in Portadown!! I'm in Derrymacash. We'll get you out here and I'll sort you out with pen blanks and wood. I go to the Woodshed, in Templepatrick, every month to see demos organised by the Ulster Chapter of the Irish Woodturners' Guild. We see big names like Nick Agar last month and cindy Drozda, Jimmy Clewes, Yan Marot etc. Also, on Tuesday nights there are demos in the Woodshed by local turners that are well attended. The best part is the craic and company. Here's my email, send me an email as I can't contact you on here. [email protected].

Thank you Barry.

Thanks Daniel, I have had great luck doing this and all my turning friends do it as well now. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thanks Bram, you will save a lot more than you will lose. A lot of guys I know here are doing this for all branch wood or irregular pieces. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Thank you. There will be moe turning videos coming but I'm about to start an extension on my workshop so that will take priority.

You're welcome Ian, I hope it works as well for you as it does for us. I routinely prep branch wood like this and seal with either wax or PVA glue. If you are using wax the wax has to be hot enough to sizzle when the wood goes in, otherwise it won't adhere and seal properly. I used a slow cooker to melt wax and I ended up with a thick layer of wax that fell off when it cooled so, now, I heat the wax in a pot on my stove. Take great care.

Hi Kostas, I have never done this with Olive so I can't help you there but, did you seal the ends after you rounded the blanks to a cylinder? I find that is important with any fruit wood, like Cherry and Apple, that I get a lot of, and especially with the Yew I showed on the video. Or, maybe, your climate is just too warm and dry for this to work? That's one proble we certainly don't have in Ireland. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Oops.. wrong ID again, this is my garden channel. There is a playlist with about 30 woodturning videos on this channel , baconsoda, if you are interested.

i just subscribe to your channel !! olive wood is an oily wood isn't similar with the fruit woods !!! but i have not try it i will do and we need to wait to see what happens !!! what do you prefer linseed oil or wax ?

I use very hot wax to seal the ends. The wax has to sizzle and bubble when the wood goes in to that it sticks properly. If the wax is just melted it is too cool and just makes a thick layer that falls off when cool. The other good sealer I use is PVA glue. JUst paint in otno the ends and you're done. Thanks for the sub Kostas.

i thanks you for all those important infos !!

Thanks Dale, I will be putting up a lot more videos after I get the extension built... which could start any time soon.

That's probably correct because I've trued up Cherry branch wood and it didn't split but the stuff I got was cut about 5 minutes before I stuck iton the lathe. The only pieces that did check at the ends were Eucalyptus but it was down about a week before I got it so I was already too late but I tried anyway. I have a big piece I just painted the ends of with PVA glue recently and it is still ok so I'll try rounding it to see what happens. By the way, I am starting an extension to the workshop soon so you might be interested in that when it happens. B.

Hi Tim, don't worry, no nonsense appeared here. I learned this technique after my friend, Michael, tried it out just to see what would happen and, like him, I've never had a piece split after taking it to round. His reasoning was that if we need to keep the walls of bowls consistent to avoid splitting while drying that method might apply to branch wood. I think Michael has saved a lot of woodturners a lot of heartache. Best Wishes, Brendan.

Oops, wrong ID again. This is my main account, 'baconsoda' - there is a woodturning playlist there because I used to post all my stuff on that channel. B.