Moar cherry burl.
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What’s on your lathe?
- Thread starter Rusty Nesmith
- Start date
Catalpa(?) crotch, about 3" x 10". Whatever it is, it's soft and fuzzy. I managed to get a decent surface with a skew chisel, then proceeded to break the tenon when the hollowing began. I saved it by sawing off the tenon fragments, cutting a tight recess in a glue block and centering the natural edge mouth with a tapered tailstock extension in the 1/2" pilot hole. I like showing off crotch figure in a (very) slightly tapered vase form.
Black Limba (Terminalia superba)? I got some from a dealer in Atlanta years ago, turned a couple of things. Easy to turn but kind of soft.
Alan
That's a bowl form that is not seen so often. I like it!
It exposes more of the side grain and makes the best of that orientation in some species and pieces of wood.
I do a version of it myself, but like yours execution of it better.
Odie
Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
The Red Mallee Burl bowl was finished up around midnight last night......
=o=
=o=
Beautiful, Odie! And getting those consistent accent grooves with all those interrupted cuts must have been tricky.
From what I understand, Limba is Limba. "Black" Limba just has more dark color and figure, and is generally prettier wood. The little 4-inch square trays I make with it just fly off my table at shows (probably because they're the least expensive trays I make). And yes, it is really soft, and quite chippy in my experience, thus requiring light cuts with razor-sharp gouges.
Odie
Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Thank you Aaron.....
You're right! I was optimistic, but concerned while doing the grooves. To tell you the truth, getting a clean cut on the surface prior to doing the grooves was even more challenging. Not to mention sanding those surfaces. Sanding there was done off the lathe and completely by hand. Doing any sanding while rotating on the lathe was impossible without rounding over the leading edge after the void.
=o=
Turning some Christmas ornaments. This one is Osage orange. This wood came from a very slow growing tree here in southern Ontario. You can see the shine on the wood right off the gouge, no sanding.
Nice. Show the globe when hollowed! Or the ornament when done.
Don't see many made of osage.
Don't see many made of osage.
Wow Odie, I really like how the lines and steps of the design are seen even on the little interrupted areas especially on the right side of the piece.
Here is another small box, but a more tricky design. The Sun Hat box currently on the lathe. The chuck gives perspective on the size.
Cute. Kind of looks like a WW1 helmet
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The figure from that angle looks a bit like a face.
Either a delightfully tiny box or a MASSIVE chuck and lathe.
Maple and resin. Curing in a paper plate mold.
It is a small box, the chuck is a Vicmarc VM120 and I turn on a Robust Sweet 16. Less then 1 3/4" tall and wide.The figure from that angle looks a bit like a face.
Either a delightfully tiny box or a MASSIVE chuck and lathe.
Beautiful bowl, great form and I really like that style!
When this popped up the first thing I saw was the paper plate, I thought it was a new dessert
Thanks. Never done it or seen it to my recollection, just winged it. Looks ok.
Nice branch of camphor and drilled and glued up a cigar holder in limba. Waiting for epoxy to dry so will start on camphor.
My daughter and I had previously done a redwood burl collaboration that was quite a challenge, but turned out well. (Post #5,147) I had another piece of redwood from the same source. This piece had some voids, cracks and worm damage. My personal belief was that it would be fun, but dangerous to turn. My suggestion was whittle it down and get a small shallow bowl. My daughter, on the other hand felt we should go for the gold and turn another piece similar to our last burl. She called it "L'appel du vide" which is the French term for "the call of the void," a psychological phenomenon where people experience a sudden, often unsettling urge to jump or do something dangerous, even though they don't actually want to die.
As we started turning it only got worse. We got to a point where it started looking like it just might turn into something so we started dumping CA into the larger cracks to shore it up. However, we couldn’t fill the natural edge because it was worm hole ridden some of which were filled with goop and some that were empty.
We started hollowing the piece in-order to get some of the mass off the top so we could increase the turning speed to get rid of some of the air. We wanted to end up with a lace type natural edge assuming it did not blow apart on us. We eventually got the upper edge thin enough so we could blow out the bug goop and reinforce the surface with thin CA. My daughter said it was held together with hopes and dreams and CA.
We were having some real good luck at this point and felt confident. I set up the hollowing jig and we proceeded to push the envelope. The wall thickness is just under 1/4 inch. It is now ready to pull off the lathe and do a little finish hand sanding and apply some Watco Danish Oil. It has been a great collaborative project. Both of us pushing the other to exceed our capabilities and push the envelope.
It does. It reminds me of a Lego character or... something.
That sure is an interesting piece of wood. It's got a bit of everything.
Off the lathe, but finished with Watco Danish Oil. We are happy with how it looks.
You are right Kent. It does have a bit of everything. It is also missing a few things you would want. Like solid walls without voids and cracks.
You are right Kent. It does have a bit of everything. It is also missing a few things you would want. Like solid walls without voids and cracks.
And another one down.
11.75 x 1.75 maple (probably silver)
I was going to bead the top side but it sanded so nice I didn't want to rough it up. Oh well. There's always the next one.
**EDIT** other two pics I added are after my sister got through with it today. She seems possessed keeping ahead of me.
11.75 x 1.75 maple (probably silver)
I was going to bead the top side but it sanded so nice I didn't want to rough it up. Oh well. There's always the next one.
**EDIT** other two pics I added are after my sister got through with it today. She seems possessed keeping ahead of me.
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Hollowing an ash tripot.
I braved the 105* heat index today to turn a bowl. I was getting the jitters since it had been a couple days since I was in the shop.
This bowl was supposed to be something else entirely but since that didn’t work out I listened to the wood and it wanted to become a bowl with a slightly enclosed rim, 12” x5”.
This bowl was supposed to be something else entirely but since that didn’t work out I listened to the wood and it wanted to become a bowl with a slightly enclosed rim, 12” x5”.
Found a smaller cigar holder kit in black. Only about 5/8 hole. Completely different from the other kits. Broke the wood twice as it has to be so thin!
Used a piece of limba.
Used a piece of limba.
Looks interesting. How did you turn the outside of each pot?
Only the tops can be turned, using a scraper. Most of the rough shaping is done with grinders held in a compound vise supported by a banjo. I use an overhead mounted template and laser to mill the pots as close to identical as possible. Hollowing is done as usual, but complicated by the imbalance of the piece.
I think it’s happy it’s a bowl.
I don't know what the original plan was, but the reimagined piece is outstanding.
Oh, and the heat. It's a little unbearable right now, for sure.