masur birch- critique

[cornucopia]

hello all- a bit of a new thing for me today, this was the first time i'd used masur birch and the log was badly curved which meant wasting allot to get it into the round so i decided to cut it in half and do two pieces.

piece one

piece two

piece two has better markings- so i left it alone.
piece one was a little bland so i did a bit of carving.

I am undecided wether to add some little feet to raise it up of the table by 1/4" or leave it be. :-k

 

[wizer]

I love that timber! Never seen it before. Is it widely available?

I do like your carved design, not sure I'm keen on the natural edge tho.

 

[cornucopia]

you don't see it allot but when you do find it -its normally expensive.
i'm not sure about the natraul edge but to get rid of it would have been just as wastefull as turning it into the round.

 

[wizer]

Thanks, I'm going to keep my eye out for some of that. Not only do I love it, but the missus is impressed too.

 

[CHJ]

Go with the maximising of the figure detail but am unsure about leaving the rustic edges as they are.

To my eyes in its present form the pieces look unfinished.
Thoughts on alternate finish skirted around some form of carving similar to the top face to blend the sides in, colour wise;
Or, finish sand in current rustic form and stain/finish Matt Black as a definite contrast.

 

[PowerTool]

Lovely timber - personally,I prefer the first piece;the extra lines on it just add a nice shadow,and stop the dished area seeming so offset.

Andrew

 

[cornucopia]

Go with the maximising of the figure detail but am unsure about leaving the rustic edges as they are.

To my eyes in its present form the pieces look unfinished.
Thoughts on alternate finish skirted around some form of carving similar to the top face to blend the sides in, colour wise;
Or, finish sand in current rustic form and stain/finish Matt Black as a definite contrast.

hmmm- i thought about painting the edge black, i hadnt thought about carving the edge, and i do enjoy carving but i was aware of having a highly fiqured timber and overdoing it if i carved allot.
i could take a drum sander and simply round over the edge following the natraul shape but getting rid of the bark roughness?

 

[Paul.J]

Lovely looking timber George,and two nice looking pieces.
Not too sure either about the natural edge finish.
Just an idea :shock:
Could you have made the two pieces into two seperate matching halves by putting the two matching ends together,which would have created a curve,and doing an half circle on each,then repeating the rays on each piece.Then it could be wall mounted as one piece,but slightly seperated.
If you see what i mean :?

 

[cornucopia]

Lovely looking timber George,and two nice looking pieces.
Not too sure either about the natural edge finish.
Just an idea :shock:
Could you have made the two pieces into two seperate matching halves by putting the two matching ends together,which would have created a curve,and doing an half circle on each,then repeating the rays on each piece.Then it could be wall mounted as one piece,but slightly seperated.
If you see what i mean :?

:roll: now you tell me ](*,) thats a brillant idea paul , i will do it on a similar project soon.

 

[wizer]

George, can I ask how your carved the star bursts?

 

[cornucopia]

George, can I ask how your carved the star bursts?

yes of course you can

i used a proxon power carver with a v bit and just sanded over the edges to create the radius. it carves really easily which suprised me as it didnt turn easily :-k what i mean by that is it wouldint cut cleanly it remined me of poplar as it left a fluffy bit over any figured areas which came good with sanding.

 

[CHJ]

i could take a drum sander and simply round over the edge following the natraul shape but getting rid of the bark roughness?

That sounds like a solution, it would certainly blend and match in with the form of the top surface and look more like an intentionally controlled form.

 

[wizer]

Thanks for the info, I suspected it was a powered method. I might look into that proxxon carver. It seems a little less scarey than an arortech :shock:

 

[Bodrighy]

I am a big fan of the rustic look but have to go with Chas on this one. Don't exactly know why bot the rustic edges seem to detract from the beauty of the grain and figuring.. Sorry, no suggestion on how to remedy.

Pete

 

[boysie39]

My way of thinking, some or most of the stuff you boys talk about is way over my head .To me natural edge dosent mean bark inclusion, I would put a wire brush in a drill and just clean the bark away.It leaves a nice clean natural edge which wil take whatever finish the wood takes. Just my thoughts, on some pieces I like the bark to be left on only if it's firm and solid. Maybe you are not talking about the bark at all??
REgards Boysie.

 

[Bodrighy]

Boysie, natural edge can include bark but not always. Basically it is the outside of the log / trunk with or without the bark. Untouched by tools

This bowl for example has no bark but is natural edge




HTH Pete

 

[Finial]

I think the formal shape of the bowl with a flat top is very strong and could well have the sides sawn at 90 degrees to make a slab, a regular curve following the log would avoid the 'plank' look. I think that would be better than a drum sanded edge. On the other hand the natural edge is good as it is in my opinion. It leaves an impression of the bowl having been 'revealed'.

But i don't think your carving is appropriate. If the rays are a sunburst they should be in all directions. Possibly you could have a crescent with the same centre as the bowl, but any carving would detract from the formality of the shape, and the wood is so highly figured it stands alone.

Very small feet, inset so not seen and just lifting the slab say 5mm would be worth considering.

Can i suggest that you find a better background for the photos, the piece is worth the trouble.

 

[cornucopia]

the bowl being revealed is the idea i wanted but the edge does look kinda unfinished.

the carving isnt supposed to be sunrays- that has just what other people have called it.but iam not completley happy with it- i feel it just doesnt suit the piece.

as for background i agree with you but being as these are possibly pieces which arent finished i do it like this until i'm happy with a batch of my work then i go to the trouble of setting up the tripod lights etc- as its not easy to do in my house, have to pick my time when i get the house to my self.

 

[johnny.t.]

I like the first of the two very much To me it looks like like a comet or shooting star. I think the carving makes the piece but maybe should finish in more of a narrow tip(like the bottom 'ray' does). As said above two matching(well mirrored) halves displayed side by side would have been great ,giving it the look of a split open stone revealing a fossil,which the natural edge would have added to greatly. Still what do I know

johnny.t.

 

[cornucopia]

i think thats a great idea johnny and as i said to young master paul :roll: i will be using it on another project soon.
thanks for all your comments
george