Jicama Bowl

by The Woodworker

Maybe it would be a little different to make some other kind of exotic bowl, I thought. I had been noticing two jicamas sitting on the counter top waiting to be used. We got them at a Bountiful Basket delivery some time ago and just haven't found a use for them.  We had them before but never really cared for them.  Aha! Why not see if I can put them on my lathe and make them into a bowl?

It required a little adaption to my lathe chuck to make it happen. I put some nails into a piece of wood and inserted it into the chuck, then shoved the jicama onto the nails. It seemed to hold pretty well but I butted the tail stock against it just to add a little stability.  I turned on the lathe and carefully made sure it was on the slowest speed setting. It seems to work best at about 300 RPM.

Taking my trusty mini lathe tools I carefully started in. They were sharp and with the lathe turning slowly it worked perfectly. After completing the task I took the completed bown into the kitchen and showed Mrs. Woodworker.  She was impressed. I could tell by the neat way she smiled and rolled her eyes.

Unlike wood products the waste on this one is edible.

How is that for a fine homemaker project by a backwoods Alaska Homesteader who never even knew what fruit was?  I'm going to try other fruits and vegetables. Blueberries should be interesting, however I don't expect much from bananas.

See. Some of us guys can be creative homemaker types too.

1. Jicama

2. Chuck adapter for turning Jicama

3. Jicama attached and modified tail stock to hold it in place

4. Starting to turn.

5. Hollowing out the inside of the bowl.

6. Completed bowl right off the lathe. Eating the Jicama guts was not too bad.

7. Project completed. How would some of these work as fruit bowls for a fancy party?

Baby Animal Days 2014

Baby Animal Days has become one station marking our progress through the year.  It is always the first and biggest event of the season at the American West Heritage Center.  The weather is always unpredictable, the baby animals are always cute, and everyone seems happy to be outdoors after winter.

The historical venues are open, so in addition to the baby animals, folks have a chance to learn what life was like in this area in the past by visiting the 1820s Mountain Man and Shoshone site, the 1850s Pioneer site, the woodwright shop, the millinery shop and the 1917 farm.  It is not unusual to see visitors from the past in the crowd.

We had a few new babies to look at this year in addition to the normal chicks, ducklings, bunnies, piglets, goats, and lambs.  These are the cutest little miniature horses...not ponies!  The baby is only 2 weeks old.  Even her mother is quite small.  If you look on the right at the top of the fence you can see the hands of a visitor at the top of the fence to get an idea just how small these horses are.  I am told that the mother horse here has a career appearing at "My Little Pony" and princess parties.

This little fellow was also out greeting everyone.

The baby goats are always irresistable.

In recent years the baby bears have been a very popular attraction.  When the gates open in the morning, visitors often head to the bears first before looking at the more common baby animals.
Other less common animals include toads, salamanders, turtles of all sizes and birds.

One of the animals this year was either shy, or didn't like the sunlight, so he was hiding when I went by, but maybe you can catch a glimpse of the albino porcupine there inside his carrier box.

Once in a while we heard an old engine of some kind in the distance.  It seems like they were working on one of the antique tractors there. 

The most fun of all though is interacting with the thousands of visitors who come to visit over the three day event.  Now we have a week long break before school groups start coming to visit.