Adorable!!!

JOAT said:

'Don't know if you could buy a lathe that would handle a project like that or not. The ones I know of are large, heavy, and normally homemade (to make them affordable).

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And your point.....? They aren't that big, and I could make smaller ones with a smaller lathe as decorations... go troll someone else, please.

Sorry, thought you were serious.

Those are cute Barb. If you made small ones out of small sticks they would work great in Fairy gardens.

I bought a small lathe from Harbor Freight, And I am very happy with it. It came with a faceplate and a drive center and live tailstock center. Extras are a face shield, a 1/2" chuck (for drilling) and of course tool chisels. I then added a 4 jaw chuck to the mix. There are of course pen making kits that can be another option. You can turn mushrooms from small branches as decorations easily on a benchtop lathe. I say "go for it Barb". They are just as messy as a router is (by the way).

Those mushrooms are really nice. I could see them in our yard.

Those are actually pretty cool . I’m thinking they started with a lathe , then used a disc grinder to get those additional curves ?

Sure made a lot of chips :surprise:

RainMan 2.0 said:

Those are actually pretty cool . I’m thinking they started with a lathe , then used a disc grinder to get those additional curves ?

Sure made a lot of chips :surprise:

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If you're on FB, Rick, his page is The Woodturners. He's out of the U.K. He has a video of him turning these. He has an industrial sized lathe, doing turning for a living.

I saw a photo on Pinterest of some small turned mushrooms used as garden ornaments (maybe 8 - 10" high), showed them to my wife and was told not to put anything like that in her garden. Oh well.

Something to bear in mind though - the bark along the edges definitely sets them off, but I understand that there is a problem with the bark falling off as the wood dries out.

@tomp913 She must not be into fairy gardens, (which I am, just can't seem to get mine together *ugh* been trying for almost five years) and I can see your point about the bark. To preserve it, I would think they would have to have lacquer, or a heavy something-or-other put on them, maybe?

As @JOAT says, if you want to sit on these you're going to struggle!
But the lathes from Harbor Freight would both be good for turning good mushrooms. They're fun.

You might also enjoy turning boxes and goblets etc
Have a good Birthday!

I haven't tried turning mushrooms before (in fact never saw any until now) but I have sprayed bark on burl clocks with lacquer and they have stayed put. It takes a fair bit of lacquer to do it. Projects that size I use an air brush for. The cups on them only hold a few ounces and they don't require a lot of air to use. I was given mine by my M I L but I don't think they cost that much.

Grangur said:

if you want to sit on these you're going to struggle!
But the lathes from Harbor Freight would both be good for turning good mushrooms. They're fun.

You might also enjoy turning boxes and goblets etc
Have a good Birthday!

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As an adult, yes. My fat @$$ wouldn't be able to get down that far to sit, or raise myself to get up!! :haha: For a child, no: which the second picture shows. They would also make a nice ornament in the yard. Not sure if I'll be able to do them or get them, but I fell in love with the idea.

P.S. Thank you for the birthday wish. It was a good day.