| Project by mike | posted 323 days ago | 293 views | 1 time favorited | 10 comments |  |
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I recently obtained a a few limbs from a maple tree that was being trimmed in the local area. Not quite large enough for a bowl I decide to try an end grain vessel with a natural edge. Even managed to keep some small pieces of the lichen that was growing on the bark.
The piece was turned green to a rough wall thickness of about 1/2” and then dried using paper grocery bags. For my basement shop I use 3 bags to start – rotated every other day for the first week, then 2 bags for one week and then one week air drying in the shop. This brought the rough turning from 30% moisture content to around 12%. The vase was returned to the lathe and returned to a wall thickness of around 1/4” and sanded to 400 grit.
Finish is 5 coats of Waterlox Tung Oil satin finish – took 4 coats before the maple stopped absorbing all the oil. After curing for 3 days the vase was buffed using the Beal buffing system.
Thanks for looking
-- Mike, Maryland, www.thewoodenquill.com
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10 comments so far
MsDebbieP
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11918 posts in 645 days
posted 323 days ago
stunning!!
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Kerux
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308 posts in 368 days
posted 322 days ago
Nice form and pretty grain. Good job.
-- http://www.LanierandSons.com
Dorje
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1745 posts in 481 days
posted 322 days ago
I like the natural edge vase form you have made here!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
jockmike2
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4136 posts in 731 days
posted 322 days ago
Beautiful bowl Mike, I love maple too, my favorite wood along with walnut. I also like waterlox for a finish it really seems to accent the grain naturally. My lathe is down right now but soon I’ll be back at it I hope. mike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
rikkor
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7632 posts in 359 days
posted 321 days ago
Very impressive. Good job.
-- Maplewood, MN
Douglas Bordner
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2553 posts in 548 days
posted 320 days ago
Nice form and finish. Did you use something to stabilize the bark edge?
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
mike
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44 posts in 794 days
posted 320 days ago
Thanks for the comments!
Doug – the original limb was green enough that the bark was still firmly attached. When I put the vase back on the lathe after drying a small piec of the cambium layer started to separate. CA glue to the rescue. For the most part I at times use a sanding sealer to stabilize the cambium layer or in extreme cases CA glue.
Cheer
Mike
-- Mike, Maryland, www.thewoodenquill.com
TreeBones
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1409 posts in 508 days
posted 320 days ago
Wow, this is really nice. Some day I will try my hand at turning (need a lathe first).
-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3
Karson
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12901 posts in 885 days
posted 320 days ago
Great looking vase. A nice form and color.
Great job.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
Blake
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2016 posts in 359 days
posted 319 days ago
Gorgeous! A lot of natural edge turnings this week on LJ’s, my favorite kind! This is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com