Whats-It Tray

Kerry Burton

Member
Messages
1,163
Location
Orem, Utah
Hello All! Long time no visit!

Some neighbors took down a "cotton-less cottonwood" in May of last year. (Oops - I mean 2009.) I carted off a few good chunks of it, slabbed it out ... and some of it even got sealed before I was interrupted by something-or-other. :dunno:

Within a day or two I took a piece back over to my neighbors, still attached to the scroll chuck, just to show them the kind of wild grain I was seeing in the wood from their tree. I goofed with the piece a little more, then "retired" (temporarily) from woodturning at some point ... with the piece still in my chuck.

My shop didn't see much of me last year (2010), until a couple days before Christmas. While installing a new tool chest, I kept having to move various things out of my way ... including this piece-with-chuck-attached. I decided to just sand it one more time, turn the bottom, and get rid of it once and for all:

Top Side w/Flash
A590_1875_WhatsItTray_TopSide_WithFlash.jpg


Top Side, No Flash
A590_1876_WhatsItTray_TopSide_NoFlash.jpg


Bottom Side (No Flash)
A590_1877_WhatsItTray_BottomSide_NoFlash.jpg


(I just now noticed the torn grain the lower-left quadrant of that last pic. Sigh....)

Anyway -- I took it to my neighbors on Christmas Eve (unwrapped) and handed it to the husband outside. He thanked me for it, and then asked (in a nice way) "What do I do with it?"

I said that he could serve M&Ms in it, or let the kids use it for marble games, or whatever, and left it at that. (How should I know, right?)

The diameter was probably around 9 inches. There are several things I don't like about how I "turned myself into a corner" on this one, but hey - it's gone, and I have my chuck back! :thumb:

PS - I neglected to administer the "banana test" on this one ... but I'm pretty sure it would have passed. :rolleyes:
 
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Nice to see you again Kerry!

Nice piece of wood for sure, and you have more of it? Bonus! :thumb:

I think the shape of the bowl would lend itself to lots of uses, let the lady of the house get a look at it and I'm sure she will think something up :D

Cheers!
 
Lovely shape and grain figure, well done!:thumb:

Honestly if someone asks me that sort of question when I'm giving him/her a present I don't know what sort of reaction would I have.

Maybe they wanted to get rid off that tree for ever and there it was " the return of the cottonwood tree":( and now to stay at their dinning room.
 
Maybe they wanted to get rid off that tree for ever and there it was " the return of the cottonwood tree":( and now to stay at their dinning room.

Hiya Toni!

I think I painted my neighbor the wrong way. He truly seemed grateful for the piece, and impressed with it. He even mentioned how many artistic people live in our neighborhood. (The guy across the street from me paints large bronzes for a living, his next-door neighbors are professional classical musicians, the neighbor in question is himself a graphic artist who creates marketing materials, and his next-door-neighbor is a self-employed interior designer who sprouts ideas like mad.)

One possible reason for his question (about what to do with the gift) is that he's originally from Surrey in England. Even though he's lived in the States for 10+ years, he probably figures that there are still lots of cultural things that he's not aware of. :huh:

No, the "frustration" that came out in my post was mostly with myself. If I remember correctly, I originally envisioned a platter from that piece of wood. For some reason I turned the big cup part in the middle, and thought of changing it to a chips-and-dip tray like Bernie mentioned. But I hadn't left enough wood for a decent lip on the outside. :( (I may not have had enough to start with, I don't remember.) The piece sat in my chuck for so long because I couldn't decide what to do with it myself. :huh:

Oh well ... when I find out what they ended up using it for, I'll let you all know. :)
 
well done kerry,, and i never seen cotton wood look like that before.. dont let willow fool yu either, i saw a large slab of it that had excellnet quilting going on in it..so yu never know whats inside till yu cut it open to look..:D:thumb::thumb:
 
Did you say "cottonwood"? WOW, cottonwood is, ahh, trash wood around these parts! That is as pretty as any curly maple I have seen. Nice work. The piece is beautiful.

My first score from down the street last yr was cottonwood. It is plain jane bland and stinks like a, um dairy farm on a wet day!
That is a nice piece. Too bad you didnt catch the minor nick earlier, looks like it would have been an easy fix.
Greetings from NM!
mj
 
let the lady of the house get a look at it and I'm sure she will think something up :D

As a matter of fact, I approached the couple at church yesterday and asked if they had decided what to use the piece for yet. They both said No, but the "lady of the house" said she thought it looked pretty cool, and she really liked that it came from their tree.

According to her husband, the kids thought they should put a candle in the middle. :huh: Luckily, the parents didn't agree.

I asked if there was anything else they would like me to try make from their old tree. A toilet roll holder? A plate? He said that a small "salad bowl" would be great. I told him that my lathe has a 10" diameter limit, but he seemed to think that would be plenty big. I said I'd look to see if I had any suitable chunks. Hmmm ... I'd better do that before I forget.
 
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