Woodturning A Vase In Style Of A Roman Canteen
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For some time now, my project to do list has included a Roman canteen since I like multi-axis turning. Still, I like to be practical. A Roman canteen is not practical compared to any modern canteen. However, a Roman canteen does present a multi-axis challenge.
As I considered these issues, I thought to convert the Roman canteen to a vase. It can be useful and still challenging. Then as I planned how to turn it, I realized I could, very simply, remove the most challenging features by having a separate base and neck. This is the best of both worlds plus omitting the significant sanding task required by a Roman canteen.
So, here’s my process for the canteen.
- Mount the wood and round off the perimeter.
- Cut a mounting mortise on the face.
- Mark the exact center top for the neck plus a center line across the face.
- Use the center line to align the wood to the drilling path of the drill press and drill for the neck.
- Remount using the mortise and cut a mortise opposide to the first.
- Drill out the center from both sides leaving a small flat inside the mortise for insurance when hollowing.
- Hollow the body. Having access from both sides was a significant advantage.
- Sand and finish the body.
- Turn decorative medallions to cover both mortise holes. I used the Infinite Axis chuck to turn unique medallions.
- Turn a neck. I used hazelnut – same as the medallions.
- Add a base. I used the edge of a hazelnut branch, preserving the bark edge.
Much easier than a Roman canteen but is useful as a vase, has unique medallions and different wood for accent.
Enjoy!