Natural Edge Redwood Burl Vase

Vaughn McMillan

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This is a piece of redwood burl I picked up on eBay a while back. It's about 6 1/4" x 3 3/4", finished with buffed Antique Oil. This piece was pretty dry, so I turned it from start to finish in a single session. The wood's real pretty, but the form is just what I ended up with after working around a couple bad spots on the blank. Haven't decided if I like the form or not.

Bowl 054 - 01 800.jpg Bowl 054 - 02 800.jpg

Comments of all shapes and sizes appreciated -
 
Sure is a nice looking piece of wood.

The form sort of looks like a beer glass that has been hacked off :huh:

I'm sure this is one piece that when seen in person begs to be picked up and admired.

Cheers!
 
...The form sort of looks like a beer glass that has been hacked off :huh:...
I kinda get the same impression....thinkin' Coca-Cola glass. :rolleyes:

This was an odd blank, so my hands were a bit tied on the form. I thought of slimming the base down a bit, but I also wanted it to be stable enough to actually hold dried flowers or such.
 
Vaughn,

What a great piece of wood. While the shape may not be 100% to you liking, I find it intriguing. I'm not sure I'd change the form. Looks kinda cool to me.

For what it's worth,
 
I like it. With nice figure like that, smooth and flowing feels good in hand while ones eye can appreciate what you brought out of a hunk of wood.
 
Shape is what emerges while we are working. Looks fine to me. :thumb:
Dry redwood, was it soft and powdery to work with?
Only downside I can find is you actually bought wood. Wood should be scrounged, received as gifts, etc. Isn't paying for wood a sin or something? ;)
 
I will make a prediction: Vaughn, since you are not happy with the form I predict that this will be one of the first 3 pieces you sell at your next show and that it will sell for more than you might expect. People are strange animals.
 
I will make a prediction: Vaughn, since you are not happy with the form I predict that this will be one of the first 3 pieces you sell at your next show and that it will sell for more than you might expect. People are strange animals.

I'll second that. :)

Great looking wood Vaughn.:thumb: As you suggested, I think the base is a little to wide, but stability is important too. If you do reshape the base maybe you could add some kind of weight to the base to make it more stable.
 
Vaughn that is a very nice piece. Wood is beautiful. I agree with Rennie that since you aren't quite happy with it that will probably be sold quickly. Funny how that works.
 
Man, that wood is spectacular. Great job on the turning and the pic really displays it well.

Now, that form doesn't really excite me but it appears you were limited in options. No matter. Someone will like it and as already noted, probably pay more than you expect for it.
 
Thanks for the comments, guys. I agree with the comments that it might just sell quickly...here's hopin'.
S...Isn't paying for wood a sin or something? ;)
I see fancy figured wood as more of an investment. :D
...If you do reshape the base maybe you could add some kind of weight to the base to make it more stable.
I considered reshaping it, but since the wall thickness it pretty consistent all the way to the bottom, there isn't enough wood left to slim it down much. I think slimming it a little could make it look worse. If I could slim it down a lot, and really change the profile, then maybe yes, but since that would make the outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter, I'm thinkin' no. :p
 
To my uneducated eye, I assume (yeah,I know) that the piece is endgrain, with the pith,if any, running the length of the piece. Being dry, as you already mentionned, can I get away with endgrain with pith, or is it a piece just waiting to split? Bye the way, I like a form that begs to be picked up and held...kinda why I do this turning thing...but thats just me. Nice form, and really nice wood....maybe one day...
 
Well, thanks alot. Now I'm suppose to try to duplicate that for my wife. She said that is what she wants for a pen/pencil holder for her work station. Great day where am I going to find wood like that?
 
Well, thanks alot. Now I'm suppose to try to duplicate that for my wife. She said that is what she wants for a pen/pencil holder for her work station. Great day where am I going to find wood like that?
Just tryin' to help, Jon. :rofl: I stumbled onto the blank one night on eBay.

Ron, I guess to a large extent this was turned end grain. Being a burl, the grain is going all sorts of directions. There really wasn't any pith in this piece...I don't believe you'll find any in most burls. As far as I know, if you have a dry piece with pith in it, it's probably a pretty safe bet that it won't be a big problem. I know some guys have also turned wet wood with the pith in it, and by centering the pith on the bottom of the piece, they minimized the cracking problems. (I did that on a piece I'm just not finishing up.) Also, I've turned wet pieces with knots (and as a result, pith) on the sides. I just let them crack and filled them if necessary before finish turning them. Sometimes it ends up being one of the best features of a piece.

Thanks again for all the nice comments, folks.
 
Vaughn,

Being newish to the turning, I appreciate the info in your last post about turning wet pieces with knots and just letting them crack. I'm curious how you determine when the piece is dry enough to fill and if you use epoxy to fill the cracks. All you skilled guys/gals help us newer folks tremendously. We just have to pay attention.

Thanks,
 
...I'm curious how you determine when the piece is dry enough to fill and if you use epoxy to fill the cracks...
I don't really have a scientific method. I dry nearly all my pieces with the DNA bath method, and after they've been drying for 3 or 4 weeks, they don't feel cool (or slightly damp) to the touch anymore. Once they feel dry, I go ahead and finish turn them. I haven't had a problem so far (knock on phenolic) with pieces continuing to move on me.

For wide cracks, I've used epoxy mixed with either crushed charcoal or crushed instant coffee crystals. For the narrower ones, I'll fill the crack with dry charcoal or coffee powder, and soak it with CA glue. Here's one piece that got the charcoal and epoxy treatment...

HF030 - 01 800.jpg HF030 - 07 800.jpg

Or other times, when you don't want to fill the cracks at all ;)...

HF4aT 800.jpg HF4eT 800.jpg
 
Vaughn I agree that the turning looks like a beer glass. I would not touch it. If I had a pub in my basement I would really want to buy it for its similarity to a beer glass. I think this will sell like a hotcake. Cheers:thumb:
 
we are our own worst critic vaughn and you of all know that.. the wood didnt lend itself to the form that you thought would emerge but something that did emerge shows all that was there to begin with. the figure the shape, we arent in control the wood is in most cases.. fine looking hollow form. i know you cant keep them all but that one would be on the list to hang on to..redwood burl isnt readily availble right?
 
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