All I can say is well done and glad you are doing turning at your age. I am not to far behind you but have been turing for 15 years now after the bombing in the middle east
Mr Nichols. I so enjoyed watching your process of box turning and frankly you taught me a clever lesson. Using the hole cutter saves so much time in the process. Now you have allowed me a way to make many more boxes faster which allows me to give to many more people. I very seldom have sold my works and reap the reward of gifting to people who have friended me or helped me in my day to day life. Thank you sir. Keep turning ! Ps, I did subscribe to your site.
Mr. Benson: Thanks for your positive comments. Like you, I give my boxes to friends and family and that gives me a satisfaction beyond money. May god bless you and your family.
Thanks!! Most small boxes I've seen on videos have the grain oriented long ways instead of cross grained. I think the cross grain features the wood better.
When I initially clicked on this I doubted that making a turned box from dimensioned lumber would interest me. It seemed counter intuitive from a turner's standpoint. After all, one of the big benefits to being a turner is the availability of free oddball & exotic timber that's to small to be marketable in the production of furniture. Wild grain, knots, spalting, crotches etc are our draw, not a deterrent. Hell, some of us even go after Roots! Amazingly enough, you managed to take a small chunk of common Rock Maple and turn it into something remarkable. The texturing tool wood really dressed up that box! On a side note, those close up shots showing those (senior) blood blisters on your wrist and arm makes me feel a kinship with you! Lately, I find myself spending much needed time softening just about any threatening edge found in my shop. Unfortunately sharp edges are common in shops. Wakodahatchee Chris
Thanks for your kind comments! My hands and arms look rough and it's hard to show my work without showing these old rough hands. You are correct about the sharp edges. I don't like sharp edges on anything. The years seem to make my skin easy to damage and I, too, have spent a lot of time softening sharp edges in my shop. I certainly like figured wood on my stuff, but often I am forced to use what I have on hand. I don't claim to be a good turner, but I really enjoy it. Thanks again! Ronnie Nichols
Hi Ronnie. I like the box and the presentation. Nothing too fancy but looks good. I think I'll borrow the idea and make some for Christmas. Thanks for the idea.
Hi Ronnie, I like your video for its honesty and the finished product is quite beautiful in that it's nice and straightforward. Keep up the excellent work!
Those look great I'm new to woodturning I've made several bowls the small boxes and the detail think I'm gonna try it see how it turns out love the craftsman ship keep up the great work thanks for the video
That is a cute little box. The texturing and grooves really dress it up. I have some pieces of cherry and hard maple that would be suitable for these. Leaving the texturing natural rather than coloring them looks better to me.
I never thought about this chunk of wood being from a bowling alley, but you may be right. I got is from my brother-in-law's estate and I thought it was a table or bar top. Thanks for the info!
That gear wheel that you use so well reminds me of an embossing wheel that my daddy used to use to make leather belts. Is that where it came from? Beautiful work by the way. I think that the simplest designs are often the best.
Thanks for the kind words!! This wheel is sold for texturing wood on a lathe, but it is similar to the tool you mentioned for leather. I agree with your comment on the simple designs. God bless you and your family.
Ronnie -- Thank you for making the video. I have an old workbench top that was made from laminated hard maple. I think I just found a use for it. Please allow some safety related comments: First, using paste wax as your final finish is fine. But, please, use a paper towel when buffing it off. If the cloth you have been using were to get caught by the chuck, and if the cloth were to snag one of your fingers, the lathe would try to wrap your arm around the spinning spindle. Such accidents happen rarely, but when it does, the injuries can be brutal. Our bones just cannot compete against the power of even a small lathe like yours. The same goes for using steel wool, except more so. Steel wool is made from long strands of very thin wire. If one of those strands were to snag on the spinning blank, the lathe will try to jerk the pad of steel wool out of your hand. It will happen very fast. If it happens, some of the strands of steel wool can be jerked through the flesh of your fingers, leaving your hand a bloody mess. I wish none of this were so. I own a lot of steel wool and I like using it. When I do, the lathe is off. You may have been using these techniques for years without any issues. That may lead you to think that the practices are safe. They aren't. I managed a crew at a furniture mill. Part of my job was teaching my crew members how to use our power machinery. Using cloths or steel wool around a spinning spindle is one of the things I was required to cover. These accidents may be rare, but they happen in real life. When they do, they'll definitely ruin your day. I do not want to come off like a member of the safety police. It's your shop. You make the rules. I'm fine with that. However, a lot of people are new to woodturning and get most of their information about their new hobby from videos like yours. As of right now, your video has over 17,000 views. Don't you feel some obligation to demonstrate safe practices?
David: I appreciate your advice. I don't feel an obligation to try to keep everyone in the world safe by demonstrating my technique. There is no technique or operation that is foolproof. I know where the chuck is located and I choose to take the risk with a rag and steel wool. If you want to negate any dangers on a lathe, you would be better off sitting in your recliner watching tv. Thanks for watching my video. If you are trying to illustrate that you are smarter than I am, you made your point and I won't challenge that.
Nice work sir - I'm new to the craft wondering how you secure the turned box without marring the surface when it is held in the jaws. The little boxes I've made I've had to part off because I'm not sure how to reverse it besides using a jam chuck.
Thanks for your comments and question. I use some thin plastic (about .040 inch) cut into about a half inch strip and put it between the jaws and the box. This seems to help, although, sometimes it still leaves a small mark. Sometimes I put the decoration over the place where the jaws were, too.
Nice design, these kind of boxes are my favorite thing to make. Just simple utilitarian boxes with a little decorations. I'd really love to sell them, where are you having luck with sales? I think I have vastly underpriced my work, seeing the 99.95$ on the bin. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for the kind comments. The price shown on the plastic tub was really my attempt at humor about the price of things nowdays. Actually, I don't sell these boxes to the public. I've given a whole lot of them away to friends and family. I'm retired and they are just a hobby to me. Good luck with selling yours.
Garry Not Linda. Ronnie, I just found out this week that Johnson's Paste Wax was discontinued in December of 2021. Cans of it are being sold on Ebay and Amazon for $49.95!!!
Garry: I've had this can of Johnson's Wax for years. I think it is made of beeswax and several other substances, but I'm not sure. I've never tried it as a finish before. I know there are other similar substances on the market these days, but I didn't know it was discontinued. Thanks for the information!
@@JLang-bn3hs yeah, the finishing wax. There's one issue with using the natural wax, it can turn white in the hollows of coarse grained wood like oak. An alternative would be the dark version. A test should be done to make sure it doesn't add unwanted color to the work piece.
It was meant as a joke to illustrate how high things are. I've given all of them away and haven't sold a one. I don't do woodturning for money, but for fun. Thanks for the kind words!!
Since I made my threading jig, I really don't know what they cost. I approach woodworking mostly from a hobbyist standpoint. I don't make boxes for a living, so I'm really not qualified to say if it's worth the time and money. For me, just building a threading jig and making some boxes with it was worth the effort. I guess I'm just one who likes to make something for myself that everyone else doesn't have. Thanks for watching my videos.
@harrisongrass I'll have to research how to make a jig. I just make pens, bowls, boxes for gifts and can't justify spending $500 for a sphere/threading jig.
I understand. I have a video somewhere on my channel showing my homemade threading jig. Like you, I wouldn't spend the money for one of the storebought jigs. I made mine from some things I had around my shop. It was fun working out all the details and getting it to the pount where it worked. I used a large clamp for the main working mechanism and a router with a homemade cutter all mounted on a plywood base. you could probably look at the video and get the idea for making one.@@jackwagon4313
Sally: These boxes aren't for sale currently. The amount of work involved makes it hard to price them at a point that most people would pay for them. I'd hurt some folks feelings if I priced them according to the time involved. I've given away quite a few to friends and family. Thanks for asking!!
Nice quick project that came out well. You are courting disaster using cloth though. Shop/paper towels rip, cloth just winds around and maybe takes you with it.
Love you boxes …but please NEVER use rag or cloth anywhere near a revolving Chuck , or work…..it can catch in an instant , and tear a finger off or worse…always use kitchen towels , please….
I don't recall offering these boxes for sale here. This video only shows the process I use to make them. If I were offering them for sale, I'd surely have said so. How can you complain about the price when they are not for sale to the public?
Good to hear a fellow Tennessean RUclipsr without an accent!
Thanks to my fellow Tennesseean!!
Great project and excellent use of small pieces of lumber.
Thanks for your positive comments!
Thanks Ronnie. I really enjoyed the video and your style.
Thank you for the positive coments!!
All I can say is well done and glad you are doing turning at your age. I am not to far behind you but have been turing for 15 years now after the bombing in the middle east
Thanks for your positive comments! Keep on turning! God Bless.
Mr Nichols. I so enjoyed watching your process of box turning and frankly you taught me a clever lesson. Using the hole cutter saves so much time in the process. Now you have allowed me a way to make many more boxes faster which allows me to give to many more people. I very seldom have sold my works and reap the reward of gifting to people who have friended me or helped me in my day to day life. Thank you sir. Keep turning ! Ps, I did subscribe to your site.
Mr. Benson: Thanks for your positive comments. Like you, I give my boxes to friends and family and that gives me a satisfaction beyond money. May god bless you and your family.
Hello from France, very beautiful box👍👏👏
Thank you for the positive comments!!
Nice job Ronnie! I like it that you used old wood from your brother in law and repurposed it to the beautiful little boxes.
Thanks for the positive comments, Pam. I'm sure he would be happy that it is being repurposed.
These are great videos to watch
Thanks for the kind words!!!
Nice skew work. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the positive comments!!
It's a nice little box. I like the texturing. Nice detail. Nice finish. 👍Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe. 🙂🙂
Thanks for your kind comments!
Excellent video sir and the finish you achieved with the paste was is gorgeous
Thanks for the kind words!! I've never been a fan of wax type finishes, but on this hard maple, it looks pretty good.
They’re are fabulous.. i like the idea that you drilled out the blanks, save a heap of time.
Thanks!! Most small boxes I've seen on videos have the grain oriented long ways instead of cross grained. I think the cross grain features the wood better.
@@harrisongrass yes.. thats how I tend to do mine, however i like your system to get consistency with them, be nice as a set of 3 or so.
When I initially clicked on this I doubted that making a turned box from dimensioned lumber would interest me. It seemed counter intuitive from a turner's standpoint. After all, one of the big benefits to being a turner is the availability of free oddball & exotic timber that's to small to be marketable in the production of furniture. Wild grain, knots, spalting, crotches etc are our draw, not a deterrent. Hell, some of us even go after Roots! Amazingly enough, you managed to take a small chunk of common Rock Maple and turn it into something remarkable. The texturing tool wood really dressed up that box!
On a side note, those close up shots showing those (senior) blood blisters on your wrist and arm makes me feel a kinship with you! Lately, I find myself spending much needed time softening just about any threatening edge found in my shop. Unfortunately sharp edges are common in shops.
Wakodahatchee Chris
Thanks for your kind comments! My hands and arms look rough and it's hard to show my work without showing these old rough hands. You are correct about the sharp edges. I don't like sharp edges on anything. The years seem to make my skin easy to damage and I, too, have spent a lot of time softening sharp edges in my shop. I certainly like figured wood on my stuff, but often I am forced to use what I have on hand. I don't claim to be a good turner, but I really enjoy it. Thanks again! Ronnie Nichols
@@harrisongrass i like to think of my blood blisters and NewSkin band aids as battle ribbons! 🤣
Beautiful work!
Thanks for the positive comments!.
Hi Ronnie. I like the box and the presentation. Nothing too fancy but looks good. I think I'll borrow the idea and make some for Christmas. Thanks for the idea.
I'm glad you like it. They will make a nice present. Thanks, Ronnie
Those are great little boxes. I like the details you put on the box and the wax really brought out those details.
Thanks for your kind comments! Ronnie
These lidded boxes are beautiful! I especially like the details you put on the lids and sides! A lot of work and skill goes into each one!
Thank you for the kind words!!
Nicely done, thanks!
Thank you for the positive comments.
Hi Ronnie, I like your video for its honesty and the finished product is quite beautiful in that it's nice and straightforward. Keep up the excellent work!
Thanks for the kind words! Ronnie
Very nice details make them unique
Thanks for the positive comments!
First of your videos I have seen but I really enjoyed it! Beautiful box.
Thanks for watching and your positive comments! Ronnie
Very nice. Good job.😊
Thanks for the positive remarks!
Those look great I'm new to woodturning I've made several bowls the small boxes and the detail think I'm gonna try it see how it turns out love the craftsman ship keep up the great work thanks for the video
Tom: Thanks for watching. I hope you get as much enjoyment as I do from your time at the lathe.
Greatly enjoyed your video!!
I'm glad you watched it. Thanks! Ronnie
Mr Nichols wish I lived closer to you, I’d like to have you teach me your technique. I like your style
I wish you did, too. Thanks for your kind remarks. May God bless you and your family.
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your positive comments!
That is a cute little box. The texturing and grooves really dress it up. I have some pieces of cherry and hard maple that would be suitable for these. Leaving the texturing natural rather than coloring them looks better to me.
Thanks for the positive comments! I agree that leaving the texturing looks better than coloring it.
Bravo beau travail et bien réalisé 👍👍🎺
Thanks for your positive comments!
Looks like you have slabs of bowling alley hard maple flooring there. Nice work.
I never thought about this chunk of wood being from a bowling alley, but you may be right. I got is from my brother-in-law's estate and I thought it was a table or bar top. Thanks for the info!
Bravo... Nice box👍
Thanks!!! Ronnie
Just adorable
Thanks for the positive comments!!
You're OK man. I like your style.
Thanks for the positive comments!!
Well done sir.
Thanks for your positive comments!
Muy bonito trabajo amigo,veo que eres muy productivo,felicidades
Great looking boxes nicely done sir well worth 👍and sub,
Kind regards
From
Will. 😊
Thanks for your kind words!!
Your very welcome 👍
Brilliant 👍🙏
Thanks for your positive comments!!
That gear wheel that you use so well reminds me of an embossing wheel that my daddy used to use to make leather belts. Is that where it came from? Beautiful work by the way. I think that the simplest designs are often the best.
Thanks for the kind words!! This wheel is sold for texturing wood on a lathe, but it is similar to the tool you mentioned for leather. I agree with your comment on the simple designs. God bless you and your family.
Ronnie -- Thank you for making the video. I have an old workbench top that was made from laminated hard maple. I think I just found a use for it.
Please allow some safety related comments: First, using paste wax as your final finish is fine. But, please, use a paper towel when buffing it off. If the cloth you have been using were to get caught by the chuck, and if the cloth were to snag one of your fingers, the lathe would try to wrap your arm around the spinning spindle. Such accidents happen rarely, but when it does, the injuries can be brutal. Our bones just cannot compete against the power of even a small lathe like yours.
The same goes for using steel wool, except more so. Steel wool is made from long strands of very thin wire. If one of those strands were to snag on the spinning blank, the lathe will try to jerk the pad of steel wool out of your hand. It will happen very fast. If it happens, some of the strands of steel wool can be jerked through the flesh of your fingers, leaving your hand a bloody mess. I wish none of this were so. I own a lot of steel wool and I like using it. When I do, the lathe is off.
You may have been using these techniques for years without any issues. That may lead you to think that the practices are safe. They aren't. I managed a crew at a furniture mill. Part of my job was teaching my crew members how to use our power machinery. Using cloths or steel wool around a spinning spindle is one of the things I was required to cover. These accidents may be rare, but they happen in real life. When they do, they'll definitely ruin your day.
I do not want to come off like a member of the safety police. It's your shop. You make the rules. I'm fine with that. However, a lot of people are new to woodturning and get most of their information about their new hobby from videos like yours. As of right now, your video has over 17,000 views. Don't you feel some obligation to demonstrate safe practices?
David: I appreciate your advice. I don't feel an obligation to try to keep everyone in the world safe by demonstrating my technique. There is no technique or operation that is foolproof. I know where the chuck is located and I choose to take the risk with a rag and steel wool. If you want to negate any dangers on a lathe, you would be better off sitting in your recliner watching tv. Thanks for watching my video. If you are trying to illustrate that you are smarter than I am, you made your point and I won't challenge that.
Nice work sir - I'm new to the craft wondering how you secure the turned box without marring the surface when it is held in the jaws. The little boxes I've made I've had to part off because I'm not sure how to reverse it besides using a jam chuck.
Thanks for your comments and question. I use some thin plastic (about .040 inch) cut into about a half inch strip and put it between the jaws and the box. This seems to help, although, sometimes it still leaves a small mark. Sometimes I put the decoration over the place where the jaws were, too.
@@harrisongrass that's great!
I’ve got bowl reversing jaws, or Cole jaws, which come in really handy. A lot easier than a jam chuck.
Thanks for the tip! @@leftmono1016
Simple yet very effective.
Thanks for the positive comments!
Nice design, these kind of boxes are my favorite thing to make. Just simple utilitarian boxes with a little decorations. I'd really love to sell them, where are you having luck with sales? I think I have vastly underpriced my work, seeing the 99.95$ on the bin. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for the kind comments. The price shown on the plastic tub was really my attempt at humor about the price of things nowdays. Actually, I don't sell these boxes to the public. I've given a whole lot of them away to friends and family. I'm retired and they are just a hobby to me. Good luck with selling yours.
This would make an excellent salt box. Need to do a food safe finish though. Not sure if Johnson's Paste Wax is food safe.
It probably is not food safe. These weren't designed with food products in mind.
Bee’s wax would work for a food safe box.
Newly subscribed btw
Thanks!!!
Garry Not Linda. Ronnie, I just found out this week that Johnson's Paste Wax was discontinued in December of 2021. Cans of it are being sold on Ebay and Amazon for $49.95!!!
Garry: I've had this can of Johnson's Wax for years. I think it is made of beeswax and several other substances, but I'm not sure. I've never tried it as a finish before. I know there are other similar substances on the market these days, but I didn't know it was discontinued. Thanks for the information!
Minwax makes a paste wax that I use. It’s almost as good as Johnson’s. Lowes carries it.
@@JLang-bn3hs Thanks for the info.
@@JLang-bn3hs yeah, the finishing wax. There's one issue with using the natural wax, it can turn white in the hollows of coarse grained wood like oak. An alternative would be the dark version. A test should be done to make sure it doesn't add unwanted color to the work piece.
Yep. Everything has a “cause and effect” problem. We just have to decide if we can live with the effect.
Nice box, I'm going to ake some and flock the inside as well. Are you getting $99 for each one?
It was meant as a joke to illustrate how high things are. I've given all of them away and haven't sold a one. I don't do woodturning for money, but for fun. Thanks for the kind words!!
In your experience... do you think a threading jig is worth the time and money?
Since I made my threading jig, I really don't know what they cost. I approach woodworking mostly from a hobbyist standpoint. I don't make boxes for a living, so I'm really not qualified to say if it's worth the time and money. For me, just building a threading jig and making some boxes with it was worth the effort. I guess I'm just one who likes to make something for myself that everyone else doesn't have. Thanks for watching my videos.
@harrisongrass I'll have to research how to make a jig. I just make pens, bowls, boxes for gifts and can't justify spending $500 for a sphere/threading jig.
I understand. I have a video somewhere on my channel showing my homemade threading jig. Like you, I wouldn't spend the money for one of the storebought jigs. I made mine from some things I had around my shop. It was fun working out all the details and getting it to the pount where it worked. I used a large clamp for the main working mechanism and a router with a homemade cutter all mounted on a plywood base. you could probably look at the video and get the idea for making one.@@jackwagon4313
A nice , simple trinket box
Thanks for your positive comments!
What's the purpose of the green scotch bright?
The green scotch brite is just another way of sanding or polishing. I think it is around the same as 320 sandpaper. It just smoothes the wood.
Good to know, thanks for the info
Did Ronnie go to the Arts & Craft show in St. Louis County at Oakville Senior High School?
No. I have never entered a craft show. Thanks for your interest.
Where can I buy your creations ?
Sally: These boxes aren't for sale currently. The amount of work involved makes it hard to price them at a point that most people would pay for them. I'd hurt some folks feelings if I priced them according to the time involved. I've given away quite a few to friends and family. Thanks for asking!!
First time viewer. Liked the video till the end. Political statement on your box lid is not appropriate for a turning video.
I didn't realize that there was a political statement on this video. What does politics have to do with wood turning?
Nice quick project that came out well. You are courting disaster using cloth though. Shop/paper towels rip, cloth just winds around and maybe takes you with it.
Thanks for the advice. I'm very careful.
Love you boxes …but please NEVER use rag or cloth anywhere near a revolving Chuck , or work…..it can catch in an instant , and tear a finger off or worse…always use kitchen towels , please….
Thanks for the positive comments. My methods are not recommended for other folks. Thanks for your concern about my fingers.
Better ration out your Johnson's wax they have quit making it. Nice boxes.
Thanks for the information. I probably have a lifetime supply since I'm 74 years old. It doesn't take much for a lifetime supply at my age.
Biden dollars?
Are you kidding ? $99.00 each !
I don't recall offering these boxes for sale here. This video only shows the process I use to make them. If I were offering them for sale, I'd surely have said so. How can you complain about the price when they are not for sale to the public?
I think he's referring to the writing on the lid of the plastic box near the end of the video.
@@drgruber57 That was just a box that I stored them in and a veiled (supposedly humorous) comment on the price of things nowadays. Ronnie
Great video. Beautiful work.
@@michaelmorris5525 Thanks for the positive comments!! Ronnie
Had to mute because your voice was annoying but good job 👍
Thanks for watching anyhow. May God bless you.
@@harrisongrass God bless 🙌 have a good day
Wow! Gotta say, what a rude comment!
Love your style and work. Very smooth with your tools.
@@kenashton32 If you can't be honest, what can you be?