Simply enjoying myself.

[Paul.J]

Excellent Chas
I bet you cringe when you see all the shavings on the floor

 

[TEP]

Thanks Chas, go on rub it in. :evil:

 

[PowerTool]

Yep,both fantastic looking pieces,with a lovely warmth to them

Andrew

 

[duncanh]

Very nice Chas. It looks as though the bowl (which is my favourite of the 2) has some lovely grain inside

 

[Jenx]

Wow, Chas ... I love the one with the lid there,.... I think its the 'coming to the sharp angle' at the centre which does it for me... almost like the classic 'flying saucer / UFO' shape... I think its a stunner !
Its got that " oooh let me pick that up " look to it , - that 'Wow thats unusual and pleasing to the eye' factor.
Its Great ! 8)

 

[CHJ]

Thanks for the comments folks, the pleasure of working this Elm is all down to the generosity of a forum member, one thing that has surprised me is that this very dry (in dry storage for 20+yrs) timber moves so much on cutting, inside/outside shaping has to be completed in one session, even then there is no going back over previously worked areas.
It continues to move several mm's during the couple of days taken to oil it.

 

[boysie39]

Thanks Chas, for an insight into what can be done,I have 3 planks of Elm which I believe have been drying for the past 12 yrs. They are 6'x22"x3" Ishould be able to get something out of them I hope. This is a problem for me I have some lovely spalted Beech 36"x10"x6" and am half afraib to work on them but I'll try small for a start and see how it goes. I also have a piece of Bog Oak 5'x12"x6" bone dry which calls out for you or some of the lads on the forum to work on. So plenty of materials but a little lacking in nerve. Love your work Regards Boysie.

 

[Bodrighy]

Boysie:

You can get 3 6" blanks + 2 4" blank from the elm. The thickness on the other 2 could be used for almost anything.

Did you really mean that you have a piece of bog oak 5' long or is it a typo? I've never tried turning it but I understand it's really hard wood.

Pete

 

[boysie39]

Pete, The bog oak is the real thing I dont know how long its out of the ground, but the bloke that gave it to me said its been in his shed for over 20 yrs . It looks as if the outside is just crumbling away until you try to break a piece off it wont move. It weights over a 1cwt. I've never seen bog oak before but one end has a split with a gap of about 2" and about 6" long so I'm going to saw it off square which will give me two pieces about 3" dia. when turned Then I'll probley turn into a quivering mess wondering what to do. Will keep you posted. Regards Boysie.

 

[CHJ]

Boysie, as the Oak is shall we say 'well seasoned' I would in the first instance just take things easy and go for simple form such as a Tea Light holder with the small pieces.

If you drill out the bulk of the hole and develope a shape that gives a gentle curve or cuts diagonally across the grain forming a cone you should get a good feel for how it handles without having a prolonged fight, the knowledge gained will give you a far better understanding of how to tackle bigger pieces.

 

[CHJ]

__________
__________Not exactly sylph like proportions but had to leave something to support the holes.
__________ Finished in Chestnut Melamine__________click on images for larger view

_________ ___ ___
_________ ___


_________________Elm___________________(275mm)

 

[Paul.J]

Chas i thought i was looking at Year 2 for a second then :lol: :lol:
Very nice.
Looks to me as though you have just pulled it out the ground with the bottom half rotted away.
Great piece of Elm again,love the colour

 

[Bodrighy]

I don't suppose I need to say what I think of it do I? I do wonder what a certain little lady thought when you tok it in the houde. At least the dust would fall out of the bottom :lol:

Really lovely piece of wood and well used

Pete

 

[CHJ]

.......I do wonder what a certain little lady thought when you took it in the house. At least the dust would fall out of the bottom .....

:lol: :lol:

Pete, it has been certified as tolerable because it can perform a useful function as well as the occasional centre piece duty, the comments when viewed on the lathe part processed and still in a somewhat more chunky form did indicate that despite the beauty of the wood it was not meeting the grade though.

 

[CHJ]

__________
__________Don't know how it will dry, seems to have natural radial cracks in its structure.
__________Have added it to theTree Bark list for reference.__________click on images for larger view


_________
_________ ___ ___
_____________Ivy 125-140mm dia.

 

[Bodrighy]

I tried some of this a few months ago. The bit I had was a bit thinner than yours and I shoukld have probably left it to dry for longer as it was very fibrous and wouldn't really turn at all. Bits flew off it like straw and in the end I gave up. I did wonder what it would be like when really dry as mine had all sorts of marks in the wood.

Pete

 

[CHJ]

Yes gives that impression Pete, Having seen how hard Ivy cut and left on the tree goes over time I think it may be best just to store and forget it for a while, very sappy at the moment.

 

[hairytoes]

That Burr piece is absolutely stunning!! :shock: :shock:

 

[CHJ]

__________
__________Just as an experiment I have turned up a small piece of the Green Ivy
__________to check on 'turnability' and see how well it dries.
__________Quite frankly I am expecting it to split significantly as the sap level was almost at 'tap full on level'.
__________It turned very well as may be seen by the tooled finish and shavings.
__________Just like a piece of butter straight out of the fridge,


__________click on images for larger view

_________ ___

_______________Green (wet) Ivy__________________(100mm)

 

[Paul.J]

That'll be interesting to see what happens Chas.
You should have turned one thin to see how that would go.
Did those cracks disapear :?:
Must have been an old Ivy :shock: