HF #18, Large Birch

Messages
687
Location
Harvey, Michigan
This is the biggest hollow form I have turned to date and it was interesting! I roughed this form back in September ’07 but because I was very new at hollow forms I did not take the time to rough it out correctly – meaning I left it thicker in some places than others. Even with the DNA soak – that translates into cracks! So, turning this became very interesting because the thinner it got the more pronounced the click-click-click became as I hit the various cracks. It was a little nerve racking for me as I really didn’t know if this form was going to make it off the lathe in one piece or not. It did.

Hollow form #18, birch (not spalted for a change), 12” diameter x 6 ¼” high. Cracks were filled with thin CA and birch powder from hollowing (that’s how you know it’s time to sharpen the cutter!!) Sanded to 400 and it has 5 thinned coats of Minwax wipe-on poly there were applied and then immediately wiped off. I'll wait for about a week for the poly to cure and then buff just to add the super slick feel of the wax.

HF #18 V1.JPG HF #18 V2.JPG HF #18 V3.JPG

As always – your comments and critiques are encouraged and appreciated!

Thanks for looking! :wave:
 
I love these things. This looks really good to me and I am impressed by the size as well. Bet it took a while to get the wood out:)

Isn't there a name for this shape? Looks like some kind of pottery if I remember correctly

Pete
 
steve, i like that form as well. are you using the monster hollowing rig?

it's interesting to see that the cracks in this birch are 90 deg to the grain. i saw the same thing in the cherry i was complaining about last week. obviously it makes sense but it just seems that wood would want to crack with the grain instead of across grain. in the future i'm going to be more consceintious in covering the outside of dna treated stuff while it dries from the inside to see if that will stop the cracking.
 
Thanks for the kind comments!

Pete - this is my interpretation of an American Southwest style of pottery. You have to allow me a little artistic license as to the actual form...

Clark - I have had this problem a few times and each time it was because I did not keep the wood a consistant thickness when roughing it before submitting it to the DNA soak. All of the forms that were of same thickness had no cracks develope. Lesson there somewhere...
 
Steve, I admire your turning skills on this really big hollow form.
I turned a lot of birch in the past, but never runs into crack problems, was I than lucky or....???)))
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