Thank goodness for the COC

Drew Watson

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2,070
Location
Salt Spring Island, BC Canada
Yea I can't really say what i want here right now but I can explain it and you can fill in the words yourselves. I recived an old chunk of burl last year. I mean gray old burl bone dry and sort of rotted a little but I put it on the back burner till last weekend. Figured that I had enough experience to give it a shot. I tried out some new easy wood tools and was having a great time and turned a perfect burl vase/ bowl. I was trying out a new finish on it and tried finishing it on the lathe. I just couldn't get the finish quite right and had to sand it a couple of times to get it just right. I worked this piece and then re worked it and then again re worked it and had it just right. It was beautiful and the grain was fantastic with a bit of worm signs in the wood and I was thinking how nice it was. This was a jewel in all my turning and i was pretty proud of how nice I had finally gotten it. I was just doing some light buffing ( while the piece was still on the lathe ) with some fine scouring pad when I went to adjust the speed of the lathe ( nova DVRXP) when I hit a pre set high speed and the bowl came saliing off the lathe hitting the floor beside me and blowing into several pieces. Oh the laungage that came out of me would make a sailor blush. My wife ran down stairs thinking that something had happened on the hockey game but she knew it was worse. well after kicking myself hard and breaking a tear I picked my self up and had another crack at it. It is not as tall as it once was and it lost some of the fantastic grains but it still came out somewhat ok I think. Can't beat myself up too much over it after all it was my first experience with a Burl and it was a free chunk. Here are the pics of before and after.
 

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Don't know what to say other than at least it's not a funnel. The piece looks very good just the way it is.
Dennis
 
Ouch! Like Dennis said, at least it wasn't a funnel. (That was my first thought when I saw the thumbnail pics.) It really bites when you've become emotionally invested in a piece, only you have something go haywire like that. I've ridden that pony more times than I'd like. :bang: I think you did a fine job of salvaging it, though. Beautiful piece of wood, and what's left looks great. :thumb:
 
Thanks for the kind words. I am happy that I was able to save some of it but I am still ticked off with myself over it happening in the first place. The reason that I didn't just buff this out at the time was due to all the cross grains and the age of the wood as it was sort of brittle and I had already had to use CA glue to seal up several cracks that had formed at the rim during the turning. I was looking at getting a gloss finish on it as it made the grains just pop right out and it was just stunning and I wanted to add some strength to it. I started with a wipe on poly but that wasn't giving the finish that I had imagined ( even after sevearl applications)so I tried a spray on laquer and it had a run on it that I was dealing with when this all happened. Any suggestions as to a better way to finish something like this in the future would greatly be appreciated.

Ok not to sound too much like a further goof but what is a funnel besides what I use to get fluids back into bottles?
 
Drew nice save on a pretty piece of wood. Been there done that. A funnel is when you turn thru the bottom of the piece you are turning. I have a couple of them sitting on the bench by the lathe to remind me not to do that again.
 
Drew nice save on a pretty piece of wood. Been there done that. A funnel is when you turn thru the bottom of the piece you are turning. I have a couple of them sitting on the bench by the lathe to remind me not to do that again.

I have a couple of close funnels then in the house. As for the save it was pretty much all that I could do with what I had left. I was trying to save as much of it as I could but it just kept chipping on me. really frustrating.
 
Final result is beautiful. Still much great figure showing.
Yes, finishing something like that is problematic. I'm considering putting one in the stable pot (if it fits) to see if I can get a better finish.
 
Funnels need love too!! Not from turners...but still ;) Great save Drew! I think "Shoot, Darn, Dang and Rats" should cover the emotional sentiment felt when created the sailing vase. What you saved has some beautiful grain, a pleasing shape and the finish is great. :thumb:
 
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