Cottonwood Cake Stand

Dave Hoskins

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5,252
Location
Parker County, Texas
I finished this cake stand turned from a solid piece of cottonwood today. This one and two others were custom ordered for a customer out in Georgia near Atlanta. The top diameter of it is 13" with a total height of 5" and a base diameter of 8". After being roughed out while still wet and green, it spent about a total of a month in my kiln turned down to about 80 degrees. I don't like drying soft woods like this any hotter. After it was sanded down I sealed the wood with walnut oil. After it was soaked in good I finished it out with a walnut oil and shellac mixture. Hope the photos attached this time.
 
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It appears that your attachments didn't get attached. Typically this happens if it's been more than an hour before you click the post button after uploading them. :wave:
 
Thanks, Larry. That is actually what I do, and I see the photos just fine. Even when I am not logged in and just view the thread, I see them just fine. I don't know why this happens, but it does. Anyway, I redid it again. Hopefully they are there this time. If not, I'll redo it again when I get back. Thanks, Dave
 
Hi Larry. Yes, did it carefully this time. Again. But, I was holding my mouth differently. I have posted photos before and usually have to do it more than once for some reason. I put photos in the albums. Come back later and they aren't there anymore. Guess the aliens took them. Or, a troll. Anyway, I previewed the edit and they were showing. That's all I can do. Funny. I can build my computer from total scratch. I am my own webmaster. But, I can't post photos successfully the first time here. Oh, well. Practice will eventually get it done.
 
Thanks, Jim! I rarely use anything but walnut oil and shellac. I once upon a time I used Mahoney's walnut oil, buying it at Woodcraft. But, they moved too far off for me to so I switched brands. Not as good of oil and so I went back to Mahoney's buying it from him online. I keep a gasket sealed decanter jar by the lathe full of it. The shellac I use is Zinser's that I buy at Lowe's. I mix them at about 50/50 and it really gives a nice finish coat that hardens well. I don't ever use lacquers or varnishes. I do keep a spray can of shellac around for when I turn walking canes.
 
Nice piece.

I'm thinking that the cuts coming down the backside of the top would be a bit of an adventure from the looks of it :D

Also getting the top that nice and flat is no mean feat either.
 
Nice looking cake stand -- and good to see something positive coming from cottonwood! We kept some logs from a cottonwood taken down in our yard, and even after a few years, was the worst stuff I've ever tried to burn in the fireplace. Now that I'm a wood turner, it is gone ... :)
 
Thanks, guys. Ryan, roughing out green cottonwood like I do is always an adventure and be prepared to take a bath. Cottonwood retains a lot of water and it really slings out while roughing it out while green. That top was rather hard to do, for sure. Took longer than the rest of the stand. Lee, cottonwood as well as hackberry ain't no good as firewood. Too soft and fibrous. I turn as much cottonwood as I can get my hands on because it is a big seller for me.
 
Thanks, guys. Ryan, roughing out green cottonwood like I do is always an adventure and be prepared to take a bath. Cottonwood retains a lot of water and it really slings out while roughing it out while green. That top was rather hard to do, for sure. Took longer than the rest of the stand. Lee, cottonwood as well as hackberry ain't no good as firewood. Too soft and fibrous. I turn as much cottonwood as I can get my hands on because it is a big seller for me.

I can't get much cottonwood here, have had only one half log from a friend and it made two beautiful little bowls.... but I have a whole tree of hackberry out back of the shop... I don't have any place to store it under cover, so it sits in the weather and will check and spalt on me before I get it all done.... folks around here do use it as firewood, but I'm told it stinks when burned. Only time I burn it is when my burn pit gets full and I have to get rid of all the cut offs and scrap....it's an open air pit, so don't notice any smell.

I like working with Hackberry... the spalting can be pretty dramatic at times.

I forgot to comment on your cake plates... someone is going to love them... they look great.:thumb: I have one complaint though... you've just added another to-do thing to my bucket list. ;):thumb:
 
Hi Chuck! Just happened to come back here and saw your comment. I turn hackberry as well. It can surprise you with the spaulting as you said. All of my logs stay in the weather as well. The real soft stuff like cottonwood and hackberry I paint the ends with any paint that I have around to help stop the checking. I usually give each end two good heavy coats. Helps a lot. You can buy other stuff but old stray paint works just as well. Hackberry and Cottonwood are not good firewood in my opinion. I don't know about the stinking part but they just sit and smolder forever it seems. See? Now I helped you out on your bucket list. I don't have one of those. I just have around to its.
 
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