What’s on your lathe?

[Michael Anderson]

Michael, I have worked canary wood a couple of times, though it has been a while. That would be last guess for what you are showing. Colors just look wrong. Some thing else?

robo hippy

Hey Reed, it’s definitely Canarywood. Strange piece though. I cut this blank from some dimensional 8/4 stock I got a while ago. Mostly sapwood, and there was some sort of blue fungal decay. Once oiled it should look a bit more vibrant. I’ll post a photo of another section when I get back to the shop so you can see more of the blue.

 

[Michael Anderson]

@robo hippy here a couple shots of the other roughout. I put a light coat of oil on so it looks a bit more like Canarywood. But you can see it’s still mostly sapwood. Chatoyance is pretty high, even considering this isn’t sanded at all.

 

[John K Jordan]

Spectraply shavings are fun.



I understand Spectraply is made of layers of Birch.
Turns cleanly, even oriented as a face turning, cutting across end grain as with a typical bowl.

JKJ

 

[John K Jordan]

@robo hippy here a couple shots of the other roughout. I put a light coat of oil on so it looks a bit more like Canarywood. But you can see it’s still mostly sapwood. Chatoyance is pretty high, even considering this isn’t sanded at all.

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I have two slabs of Canary wood (one quite small now) and some looks a lot like yours. Lots of variation, of course There are multiple species of Canary Wood, all under the genus Centrolobium. Hobbithouseinc says maybe 10 species. Scroll down the page to get an idea of the variation in color.

canary

What they use it for in South America may surprise us as woodturners. From the Wood Database:
Common Uses: Construction lumber, railroad crossties, flooring, veneers, boatbuilding, furniture, cabinetry, and turned items.
Imagine a 100 miles of railroad crossties of canary wood.

At very least everyone should agree it's wood.


JKJ

 

[James McCall]

I agree John. Yours does not look like a plain mortise and with all of the detail added the normal person would never know. I ran across one of my first pieces in the house. I turned it over and saw just a plain mortise and could only stand there a cringe.

Perhaps my sense of style is not well developed, but I'm not sure I prefer the more ornate bowl bottoms over something simpler. They appear very well done but I think I have simpler tastes (or lower level of skill)

 

[Dave Landers]

Perhaps my sense of style is not well developed, but I'm not sure I prefer the more ornate bowl bottoms over something simpler. They appear very well done but I think I have simpler tastes (or lower level of skill)

The important thing (to me) is that the bottom of a piece looks intentional - not necessarily ornate or fancy, but appears like some thought and attention was given to it. The bottom is part of the whole, and I prefer to see the whole piece completed.
This does not necessarily mean ornamentation. It also doesn't necessarily require removing the chucking point.

For my work, I usually prefer to remove the chucking point and leave a just simple foot.

 

[James McCall]

The important thing (to me) is that the bottom of a piece looks intentional - not necessarily ornate or fancy, but appears like some thought and attention was given to it. The bottom is part of the whole, and I prefer to see the whole piece completed.
This does not necessarily mean ornamentation. It also doesn't necessarily require removing the chucking point.

For my work, I usually prefer to remove the chucking point and leave a just simple foot.
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Dave, I think we may be of the same mind on this. I am working on incorporating a little more detail on my work, mostly focusing on having a small amount of intentional detail on the foot.

I think some people prefer much more detail on the bottom but it can feel incongruous to the rest of the bowl to me. Great thing about this is there's a lot of different ways to go to suite each individuals preferences.

 

[Alan Weinberg]

A 9 inch ash HF, one of the biggest I’ve hollowed.

 

[Ted Pelfrey]

A 9 inch ash HF, one of the biggest I’ve hollowed.

Very nice!

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

Second turning walnut. 12 x 3.

 

[John K Jordan]

Something small from Eastern Red Cedar.

This about wore me out! Held on the drive end by my usual short turned #2 morse taper. Used the left-handed steady method as always.

I picked a horrible blank, full of dense knots and some hidden internal cracks. Dealing with the extra vibration when cutting through hard knots was challenging! I almost broke it twice but refused to give up. I did have to make some compromises on diameters and detail. And when shaping the final detail at the drive end the wood fell apart from a spiderweb network of invisible cracks - gave me a design opportunity!

This one loosely follows the design of another I made a long time ago.
First picture: on the lathe, shaped, sanded, starting on the texturing.
Second picture: turning, distressed texturing, and friction wire-burned accent lines completed.


With several coats of "danish" oil and a touch of Renaissance wax. Ready for delivery!


I made this to give to a genuine medical wizard. He needs no magic wand but I thought it might be fun. I told some about the recent series of unfortunate events involving a huge storm-downed oak tree and a dog, resulting in a nice ride in an ambulance and a weekend in the ER. There I met the wizard facial reconstruction surgeon who performed miracles with the magic in his hands. Thank Heaven above for doctors, medical staff, and facilities!

Anyone nearby who could use some big red oak, come visit. I might put some of it on the sawmill and see what it's like inside.

BTW, in the first picture above you may notice something on the lathe spindle This little collar screws onto the lathe spindle and lets me comfortably turn the piece by hand, helpful with sanding, carving, or texturing. I made it long ago from Dogwood, threaded with a 1.25x8 tap, and textured with a Wagner knurling tool. When sanding by hand or working on detail this makes it easier than reaching around to rotate the lathe with the hand wheel or turning the the lathe spindle threads with my fingers!


JKJ