Richard Raffan turns a pencil pot

This demo didn't go as planned, but is typical of what can happen when the wood isn't what you think it is. For in-depth explanations of the tools and techniques you need to refer to Richard Raffan’s woodturning books and videos. www.richardraf...

[@KodyKimani]

Just fab instruction as always love it!

[@tallerpinocho]

what a last scene. Two half pencil pot. This man is a genius. 😄 Thanks, very usefull video, a lot of concepts to review. Richard explain very well the battle with the issues than appear in a speed demo.

[@Knobstock]

I love the surprise ending.

[@selinawilliams3232]

Great instruction - thanks for the extra at the end where we could see what was happening earlier, much appreciated.

[@johnhoogenhout7796]

I was learning from your videos 30+ years ago... and still am! Thank you Richard.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I like to think we're all always learning.... Glad ot help.

[@MrDancampbell60]

Richard Raffin is in my opinion, a great woodturner and an even greater teacher. He uses real turning experiences that occur for all serious students. I have been turning for over 30 years and I still enjoy watching and listening to Richard do his magic!

[@shonnyNOR]

Splendid videos! Nothing like showing that things don't always go as one would wish for. You are a delight to listen to, down to earth and show a quirky sense of humour. Also good to see that own way of doing things are not way off.

[@peterbucy1846]

One of the things that makes Richard's videos so informative is that they are the unedited reality of wood turning. Not long after watching this video for the first time, I was given four large end table legs from an Asian coffee table. I could not identify the wood, but it was as bad, or worse, than what Richard was turning for his pencil cup. Even with razor sharp bowl and spindle gouges, I could not get a good finish. Trying for a rounded bottom, the end grain cuts were horrible. A scraper just made it worse. The wood sanded with dust that reminded me of MDF. Where Richard persevered to the bitter end, I just toss all four legs in the trash. There isn't much that you can do with bad wood.

[@jtbrock9067]

I’d never heard of a spurtle until I got my first of many RR books. Thanks Richard I’ve made and sold hundreds of them!

[@johnmitchell1614]

for porridge?😀

[@timparry5028]

Hi Richard and welcome to You Tube. I've waited a long time for your own channel. I took up woodturning in the 80's and your books were and still are an inspiration to me. They were the only resource at that time that gave me a true insight into the techniques required and helped me develop my own skills. So now after all this time I can say THANK YOU. Happy New Year

[@victoryak86]

Hey Tim, was just wondering which of his books you found the most helpful. I’m sure they’re all great but I’m just getting started with this. Thx!

[@timparry5028]

@@victoryak86 Hi. The two most useful books by Richard for me were Turning Projects and Turning Boxes. Both excellent. Good luck with your turning endeavors

[@joallawestervelt6918]

I know my mouth was hanging open when you broke that pretty little pot apart. But what a darling idea to now use TWO pretty little half pots on a wall. So clever. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year to you and yours. ❤😊❤🇺🇸 I subscribed, liked and notify all.

[@DiemenDesign]

When something like that cracks, it's always a good opportunity to look at parts that normally wouldn't get close inspection, and a great way to help improve techniques.

[@victoryak86]

@@DiemenDesign so true, especially just examining that cross section and sort of analyzing the profile, wall thickness etc.

[@DanaOredson]

Wow, I never knew you could use a square-end scraper for hollowing! This is so cool!

[@davidsoudek]

Grind a slight bevel on the top side.. allows the tool to cut with a neg rake. Less catchy

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

@@davidsoudek I never see the point of ruining a good scraper by making it a negative rake scraper, especially when hollowing endgrain when an upper bevel prevents the tool getting right into a corner.

[@tomislavtomasicwoodturning]

Love the end part when you show a split and basicly show what can be done even with that.

[@jbrinkman8671]

Always a treat to watch Richard.

[@nopelosi2012]

Thank you for another great video. It was amazing to see you carving by touch. Absolutely remarkable! Cheers. Pete from Montana.

[@tricolorturners]

Didn't realize you did a more vertical side on the second half of the bowl scrapers. Learning something new each time...

[@victoryak86]

I love your videos. I got a kick out of how you ripped the pot apart due to the split using it as an instructional tool. With you I feel like the wood turning field is more accessible somehow. Some videos I’ve seen are a bit technical (which I know is crucial as well) but in yours the sort of intuitive artistic element is also in play. Overall I just like your teaching methods. So a big thanks as I’m still in the process of looking for a good lathe to get going with. Been doing general carpentry for years but looking to move into finer woodworking in general and lathe work as well.

[@michaelsmith8380]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge again Richard

[@tricolorturners]

Takeaways--it is a feelie thing and not a lookie thing. Sausage making is rarely pretty, but stay the course and it usually works out for the useful;) Love the reality of the vids, RR!

[@glennconstable3789]

Thank you very much for the video. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

[@simonbarnard1861]

Great video - many thanks. Amazed at the life you get from a scraper - I’d always been coached 90 secs and the edge is spent, clearly not.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

A lot depends on the timber, but generally an edge should last several minutes before it needs honing.

[@Jams848484]

Seeing Richard break the pot apart at the end reminded me of those Buddhist monks who spend hours making beautiful pictures out of sand and then rub it all away when they're done.

[@markb8954]

Great little tutorial. Sometimes, it really is a crappy piece of timber…. 👍

[@davidshaper5146]

I was just saying I could use a couple pencil boxes on the wall. Thanks!

[@jamesklove9629]

Wow great teacher

[@DiemenDesign]

Thanks for sharing Richard, always a good learning experience from you. Miss 12 (11 at the time) made a pencil pot as a gift for one of her friends birthday, only we made it from Tasmanian Blackwood, and made it look like the end of a pencil. My idea was to give her some hands on tool learning. While I turned and hollowed the pot, and put in some stylised sections to indicate the ferule that would hold an eraser, and the eraser part with a corner cut at an angle to make it look like it had been used, she did the pyrography to put the lines in, and coloured it so it looked like a real pencil. We should make some more, and record it. Wish we had of taken photo's as it turned out great.

[@victoryak86]

That’s cool. Love to see a photo of it. Seems like a clever gift idea that might sell as well.

[@DiemenDesign]

@@victoryak86 I'm currently in the process of upgrading my workshop electrical, as we moved since my original comment, and the electrical in the new workshop wasn't any good. Making a video of the pencil pot process could be the first video after the move, lol.

[@BigAlNaAlba]

"It's a feely thing rather than a lookie thing!" is what I tell my wife.

[@chrishooker1137]

Richard, thank you again for your videos. Could you please advise as to the best angle for end scrapers?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Most of my tools have a 45° bevel. The 'square end' ¾-in scraper I use for hollowing into endgrain is slightly skewed to the right and slightly radiused so it's difficult to get both corners into the wood at once. The left corner is about 88°-89°.

[@chrishooker1137]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thank you Richard. Chris

[@johnmitchell1614]

Hello Richard. I've been watching some of your back catalogue this evening and saw you raising the burr on a scraper with a honing stone, rather than using a grinder. Do you favour any certain grit size for this job? Best regards.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Generally I go for fine as it's less grabby on very hard endgrain. I'll usually hone when scraping, rather than going to the grinder as it save quite a bit of expensive steel over the years. That applies to shear scraping with gouges or skew chisels too.

[@Amybaumgart]

What brand of sandpaper do you use that has the color coding? Thanks so much for these videos!!!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Colour Coded Grit. www.veneerinlay.com.au/product-category/sandpaper/emery/

[@3DOption]

Thank you sharing this nice videos. But i wonder this, someone says it needs to make the sanding on low speed but someone does high speed like this. I'm confused which one should i choose :) But if Richard makes this high speed i can make it like this too. But i just wonder the difference?

[@GeraldJensen]

Thank you ... very good instructional video. Am I correct to assume that your spindle gouge is a 1/2" shaft with a 3/8" flute?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

11mm flute - I've no idea what that is in inches.

[@GeraldJensen]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thanks for getting back to me. 11mm is about 7/16 of an inch ... oh, how I wish we had adopted the metric system in the U.S.!

[@CrimeVid]

Nice to see you Richard, I learnt what little turning I know from your books !

[@mtabai8623]

👌

[@ScottKershawRX]

Good day, Richard! Is the scraper hollowing any different with a negative rake square end tool? If so, how? I’ll certainly practice, with clinched bum muscles, the feely part and attempt to avoid the looky part. Cheers!

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I've yet to find anything for which a negative rake scraper is superior to a standard rectangular-section scraper, whereas there are many occasions when a square section scraper is manifestly better, particularly when boring internal cylinders, as here, when a sharp left corner on a aquare section tool is best for the job. It's a matter of geometry: the dropped edge on a negative rake scraper slides towards centre as it cuts unless you drop the handle and have the upper bevel horizontal - at which point the edge will catch on a flat surface.

[@markb8954]

Just watching - again - and really, why are these “holders” called pots? Really..a pencil pot? But…be that as it may…..always a good watch & tutorial.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm sure they're called pots because that describes the form, whereas a pencil holder might simply be a hole or series of holes in a block, or a wire spiral into which you poke the pencil or pen. Against that smaller pencil pots are often called toothpick holders... Isn't English a wonderful language.

[@johnreed1876]

Hi Richard, thank you for your very informative videos. Would you use the same technique for hollowing hard wood such as red gum?

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Redgum would be much easier ot turn and sand than this desert ash. I use the same techniques when turning boxes from mulga, gidgee, cocobolo, or African balckwood. The only difference is that I'd back-hollow using a gouge to remove the waste faster. I'll explain back-hollowing in another video.

[@johnmitchell1614]

You never make a song and a dance about sanding dust on your turnings. Do you work the sanding dust into the final finish with the bees wax and boiled linseed oil? Best regards.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Never really thought it through I suppose. I always removed the dust, applied the oil, then the wax, and mixed it all together as the wood spun. I suppose some fine dust might what grain there is to fill. Never thought about it as it didn't seem to be a problem until working burl full of fissures. Then I'd blow the dust out of the holes, and use just boiled linseed oil because wax would build up in the holes and fissures and look terrible. Using a drying oil is essential with open burls otherwise it remains sticky in the holes where it's difficult to get at.

[@HarmonicGrunt]

Hi Richard, can i use a rounded scraper for removing the middle of the pot? I have a Bowl scraper on order.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

If a tool fits and you can get the edge where you need it, you can use a rounded scraper. My round-nose scrapers have a longer left edge as you'll see in the scoop video. It'll help to drill a depth hole before using a scraper.

[@HarmonicGrunt]

@@RichardRaffanwoodturning Thank's Richard. I am new to wood Turning and love videos. thank you Sir.

[@123hermdagerm]

Richard, I find it hard to believe you would consider this a finished piece with all that torn grain. I know the wood is being difficult, but there are many ways to eliminate that tear out on the inside bottom. I love your work, but this one disappoints.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

I'm sorry to disappoint, but at 15:55 I do say I'll be painting this pot, mostly because the endgrain could have been cleaner, although as a pencil pot that's more than adequate - it was not as bad as it looks on camera. I'd love to know some other of the many other ways I could have got the endgrain smoother. I'm always keen to learn. If you don't want to go public you can email me via www.richardraffan.com.au/contact/.

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

If you emailed me I missed it. I went about turning the bottom as best as I know how, so I'm keen to hear about the other ways you'd go about it. Please make the effort to make contact so we can all benefit.

[@kennethcaine3402]

All you do is small stuff that any novice could turn

[@RichardRaffanwoodturning]

Working small scale generally requires greater accuracy, but no need to alert novices to that.... And hollowing deep into endgrain isn't anything like as easy as turning a bowl. No need to tell them that either.