Turning block and how to turn a coaster

Sometimes as a woodturner it is helpful to get inspired by the things around us. In the writing community they have a condition which they call a writers block. In the woodturning community we call it a turning block. To help explain what I am talking about, I made a short video.

The project was a coaster,

At our local woodturning meeting we always have a raffle that always include some type of wood.

This past week, someone brought in some cut up pallet- it could have been Oak it Ash. It was 1” thick and about 4”x4” wide. The timing was great, because I needed a coaster.

Turning a coaster is a great beginner project, the first step is to mount the piece on the lathe between centers. Start out by turning those corners off. Take your time, just take a little at a time. I used a 1/2” spindle gouge, but if you wanted to use a roughing gouge that would be fine.
The next step is to true up or face off the tail stock side, and turn a tenon to fit your chuck. Flip the piece around and mount it in the chuck. So now all you want to do is face this side, your goal is to make it flat as possible.  Next you will want to make sure you have 2-sided tape. This is available at Woodcraft or any other woodworking  supplier place. You will also want to make yourself a wooden face plate, it will come in handy on this project as well as many others. When mounting your piece on the lathe use your tail stock to guide you, this will get more on center than trying it by eye.
Next face this side, and cut a groove into it to define the inside diameter and depth of your coaster. I like to use a 1/2” round nose scraper to remove the bulk of the material. If the scraper is sharp, you get some nose shavings and a good finish. Now the time to add your personality to the coaster. I like to use a skew to cut small grooves to the face. The next step it to sand 150 grit maybe go up to 220 if you want. To make it simple I will just apply beeswax to the surface and hold a paper towel on to melt the wax into place. Now your done, peel the part off and start using it.