December 2024 Turning Challenge: Tree

[Michael Anderson]

Hi everyone,

This month's forum challenge is to turn a tree. It could be a Christmas tree, but it doesn't have to be. It could be lathe-only, but it doesn't have to be. You get the picture. It's the holiday season, and this is a challenge that can be as simple or a complex as you want. Whatever you choose to do, have fun with it!

Here's a little bit of inspiration. Wood-centric trees by Dave Richards, colorful trees by Jay Hostetler, and lighted trees by Colin Spencer:





There are many ways to interpret this challenge, so the sky is the limit! Here are the rules for this month's challenge, as determined by AAW Forum legal counsel Dewey, Cheatum, and Howe:

• Trees can be made of any material, but must have some lathe-turned component (even if it's not obvious in the end).
• Entries must be posted in this thread by 11:59 pm Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on December 26, 2024.
• As always, this is a turning contest, not a "moldy oldie" photo contest, so in fairness to everybody, make sure your work is something you have made since this challenge was issued on December 8, 2024.
• You may not post any photos of your entry in this month’s challenge in any other thread or in the gallery until the voting has ended and a winner has been declared.
• Voting will take place from December 28, 2024, through 11:59 pm UTC on December 31, 2024.
• Solicitation of votes will result in disqualification.
• The winner might have to pass a lie detector test before collecting the grand prize of a dogleg high-carbon continental gouge. Good luck, have fun, make shavings, and let the chips fall where they may!!

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

I grabbed this piece of sugarberry to use for a prototype. Then I got lazy and decided to make it the real thing. I made some more trees add to the scene, but the challenge said "a tree" so just one tree. No finish.

 

[Phil Hamel]

Live edge Christmas tree.

Scoured my yard with a set of calipers grabbing branches as I went! Each section was turned on the lathe after being sliced on the bandsaw. The bottom and top of the tree are glued. The rest of them are free to rotate on a central shaft giving the tree numerous views.
I made the base out of walnut, with the rest random species picked off the ground or woodpile. Finished with 2 coats of shellac.

 

[Mike Novak]

Here is my entry. I’m making these for friends and family. There is a variety of woods and styles. If I have to choose just one to be my entry, it would be the first one on the right. It’s from an ancient yew tree that was planted at the Springfield Armory when it was still in operation. Finish is linseed oil.

 

[Alex Bradley]

My first big set of trees. Great canvas to learn how to do milk paint! These are all maple, maple/milk paint, or maple/acrylic.

 

[John Leinemann]

Smallish trees made from black walnut, cherry and locust. Finished with spray on varnish.

 

[Boyd Black]

This piece of apple branch has been hanging around my shop from before I started wood turning and finally found its project. Last weekend I decided to try my hand at multi-access turning to have something to show at the local wood turners meeting and am very pleased with how it turned out. I like turning live edge work and this piece worked well. Filling a deep crack with epoxy was also something new for me. I like how the crack follows the boughs up the tree. The tree is 7 1/2" tall and finished with linseed oil and a light coat of clear spray lacquer. Thanks to Tom, one of my wood turning friends, for sending me a link to this forum.

 

[R Henrickson]

I've taken a different approach to a tree. I haven’t done much of this sort of spindle work for a while, after making a great many more geometric pieces during the depths of covid. The nineteen interlocking pieces form a rigid structure which requires no glue. Depending on how you count, 21 or perhaps 22 trees in one. Hard maple finished with lacquer 12½" x 11"

 

[Thomas Wentzel]

 

[Ethan Hoff]

Here is my entry for the Christmas tree challenge. The picture above shows three "families" of trees. The grouping of trees on the far left is made of cherry. The largest cherry tree is embellished with a wood burned star that is drawn with a small writing tip. The small tree is decorated with two different sizes of woodburning ball tips, and the smallest tree is simply decorated with 2 pairs of burn lines on top and bottom with another line in the middle. The grouping of trees in the middle are made of maple and turned off-center, with each turned on three-axes. A teardrop point tool is used to create the grooves. The medium and large tree have turned maple balls that are hand painted. The star on the largest tree started as a blank with a small tenon cut on it and then the star shape cut on the scroll saw and then painted yellow. The grouping of trees on the far right are all different woods. The largest tree is maple with 3 coves to make a tree shape, and painted on the top and bottom segment. The middle tree is made of cherry and has white milk paint applied and then sanded back. The smallest tree is made of walnut with no embellishment.

 

[Rick Moreton]

A tagua nut tree. Too hard to get a good picture given the size and shine.

 

[Isaac Litster]

This is my submission. It is an old-growth yellow cedar Christmas tree with ornaments made from the same wood. It is also a box, and inside is another tree made from the root of the US Capitol Christmas named "Spruce Wayne" apparently. The miniature Sitka spruce root Christmas tree inside the Yellow Cedar tree box is about 1.25" in diameter and has one single growth ring going through it. The yellow cedar has about 100-150 growth rings per inch. The main yellow cedar tree box has 30 miniature ornaments, some Spheres, and some orbs with finials. It was all turned on the lathe, with only one quick touch to a sander to make the cross at the top.

 

[Michael Anderson]

Thank you all for your submissions! Wow, this is going to be a challenging decision. I will put together a new voting thread ASAP. Stay tuned!

 

[Tom Albrecht]

It’s time to vote!

 

[Michael Anderson]

It’s time to vote!

Working on it, haha. I’m at my wife’s family in a poor service area, so it’s taking me a bit longer than it normally would. Stay tuned 😀

 

[hockenbery]

I don’t have a clue how to narrow it down. They are all great

in a poor service area, so it’s taking me a bit longer than it normally would

“À mauvais ouvrier point de bons outils”

“It takes as long as it takes” is something Clay Foster told me.

Thank you for all you do!
Happy new year!

 

[Michael Anderson]

Thanks Al! Happy New Year to you as well!