| Project by mike | posted 730 days ago | 471 views | 2 times 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
10 comments so far
MsDebbieP
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14159 posts in 1052 days
posted 730 days ago
stunning!!
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Kerux
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511 posts in 776 days
posted 730 days ago
Nice form and pretty grain. Good job.
-- http://inhisgrip1.blogspot.com/
Dorje
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1768 posts in 889 days
posted 730 days ago
I like the natural edge vase form you have made here!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
jockmike2
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7297 posts in 1138 days
posted 730 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. mwurm13@yahoo.com
rikkor
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11338 posts in 766 days
posted 729 days ago
Very impressive. Good job.
Douglas Bordner
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3424 posts in 956 days
posted 727 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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46 posts in 1202 days
posted 727 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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1559 posts in 915 days
posted 727 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 http://www.portablesawmill.biz/concrete/
Karson
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25794 posts in 1292 days
posted 727 days ago
Great looking vase. A nice form and color.
Great job.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Blake
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2755 posts in 766 days
posted 727 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.blakeweberwoodworking.com