Just Some Plain Ol' Maple

Vaughn McMillan

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ABQ NM
I showed a sneak preview of this one a while back. It's some wood I got from Robert Mickley's firewood pile. ;) I'm pretty sure it qualifies as "curly" maple. :D It finished up at about 18" x 14" x 3 1/4". The walls are about 1/2" thick. Finish is Antique Oil and lacquer, buffed. The pics don't really show the full depth of the grain, but it's definitely the wildest maple I've ever turned. You should have seen the smile on my face as I buffed this one out. Not much else to say other than I definitely need wider backdrop.

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Here are the higher-bandwidth versions...

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Bowl 041 - 05 1200

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Comments, critiques, and discussion about the proper use of apostrophe's are welcomed. :p
 
Hey Vaughn.............

YOU SUCK! :D

NICE wood.......... oh yeah, you REALLY need a larger backdrop......I would have thought one would have come with the piles of stuff you ordered with the Mustard.... :dunno:

:wave:
 
At first glance I thought that you'd carved it rough with a chainsaw. :D

With grain like that the biggest challenge has go to be gettng a decent photo that does the wood justice. I really envy you guys the wood that you et over there. We'd have to pay premium prices for stuff like that.:(

Is that type of grain particularly hard to turn as it seems to be all over the place?


Pete
 
...Is that type of grain particularly hard to turn as it seems to be all over the place?...
It cut pretty cleanly with sharp tools, but I did have a few isolated tearout problems that I had to sand my way out of. I have quite a few hours of sanding alone in this one, since the wild wood seems to show scratches more readily. I kept working my way through the grits, only to discover scratches I'd missed earlier, so I'd go back to about 180 or 220 and work my way back up to 600. I'm learning the big pieces take a long time to sand with a 2" random orbital sander. It may be time to move up to a 3" pad for my Grex sander. :rolleyes:

Stu, the new backdrop has been on the to-do list for a while...just need to get around to ordering it.
 
Well worth the sanding effort Vaughn, it's a beauty, nature never tires of creating a new wonder to discover.

I know the frustration of sanding scratches hiding till the last minute, as you say nothing for it but to go back to the beginning again.
 
Vaughn, I'll say just as the others...beautifull piece! Sanding can be frustrating, but I'm finally understanding it's the most important part of finishing a piece. Well Done. :thumb:
 
Well I'll be. To think I burnt some of that.

In fact I think theres more of it in the firewood rack. But to be honest whats in there is pretty punky.

If it drys up this weekend I may go get some more of that out of the woods.

Now imagine that figure in some 24 inch wide 1.5 thick with natural edges. know where theres two whole stacks of that!
 
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