I had a very nice crotch from some Osage Orange that I was building up to turning — after I had plenty of practice. I want to tell you this is some hard wood – especially where you have 3 branches merging. I got the outside done without incident and was liking it quite a bit. The problems emerged when I started hollowing it. More Views and comments
I found these nice little pewter lids on one of my turning supply sites and had to try the potpourri pot. Maybe it was the blend I got but I don’t get a lot of fragrance out of it. I still like the look and have a couple more of the lids so I will probably try them again. This was turned from a cherry log and is about 4″ diameter x 3″ high with a secret gloss finish on it (from Capt. Eddie’s site).
This piece came from some spalted hackberry. You’re right — I’d never heard of hackberry before either but I’ll turn anything somebody gives me. I first made a bowl and had a small piece left that had to be used for something. This was one of my first jars and I was hooked immediately. It has a snap fit lid of walnut and just looks great sitting on the mantle. Despite many requests, I can’t let this one go!
Hackberry is a good landscape choice. Grows to a broad crown with arching branches, not unlike the American Elm. Well-suited to urban areas, it withstands wind and city conditions. Grows 40′-70′ with a 50′ spread.
My favorite things to turn are what some people call boxes but I have other names for them. They are basically little urns. The ones with more taper and short lids I call Apothecary Jars and the ones with the tall finials I call bud pots — you may guess why. In any case they are fun to make and consequently are piling up at my house. Can you say “gifts”?
A friend of my wife brought me a log from a cherry fruit tree. This log had just been cut and was throwing some serious moisture while I turned it. With wood this wet the bowl needs to be dried before final turning. I decided to try a new method I found on the web that turners are using with a pretty good success rate. I left the bowl thick and now have it soaking in some high concentrate dish detergent. This is supposed to replace the water in the bowl with a thicker substance to protect it from shrinking and cracking. I’ll keep you updated on how that works out. More Views and comments
This bowl started out as a regular bowl since there was some serious cracking up at the top. When I started cutting the crack away the bowl spoke to me and said “don’t take any more!” With the sloped top I started undercutting and the bowl took on a whole new look. I actually reshaped the outside to flow with the new look of the top. I will put another photo up when it is completed. I’m thinking maybe a nice top with finial to complete this project? Made from cherry log with “punky wood” exterior. Diameter approx. 9″
I have a lot of friends who do quilting and it is fun to turn out some “scrap projects” to give a way. I have given several of these and they were amazed that I had made them. This particular one is made out of some very grainy cherry which was not much good for anything else but in this piece it works out fine!More Views and comments
This was “road wood” found beside the road by my wife while walking the dog. Not sure what type of wood it is but I suspect it is some local red oak. The wood had some nice “spalting” and streaking in it. The bowl is turned pretty thick (about 3/8″ inch) with a satin finish.
This piece came out of the crotch of an apple tree a friend had cut down. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t dry when I turned it so it will most likely begin to check and warp at some point but it is damned attractive. I did have to chase down some serious cracks in the wood so it ended up being smaller than I intended. I picked through the dust to find the right color and filled some of the smaller cracks which now just look like veining. I will be keeping this bowl but do have some more of that apple left — not sure if I’ll get this kind of character out of it though.More Views and comments