Post a photo of the last thing you made

[Stigmorgan]

Had 2 pieces of spalted silver birch that were triangular in shape rather than round, they were also extremely soft/punky so after soaking them in wood hardener and leaving them for a couple months yesterday I finally decided to mount one on the lathe and see what it wanted to be, my first thought was possibly a small vase of some sort and having recently looked through a roman history book the shape of an amphora was in the back of my mind, as it started to take shape I stupidly got carried away and forgot to leave a way to turn it round and hollow it, so now I have an amphora shaped paperweight that can be used as an egg at Easter time. I'm thinking of drilling a hole into it big enough to fit a large test tube in it and make a stand for it to sit in, sanded to 320 then Yandles abrasive paste and 2 coats of yandles diamond wax, the 2nd piece is on the lathe roughly shaped the same waiting to be finished and sanded.

 

[kinverkid]

OMGA that spalting is psychodelic. Maybe turn a dovetail tenon foot for the chuck and attach it to the base. That would most likely mean losing a bit of the bottom and with 'punky' wood it may be taking a big risk even after soaking it in hardener..

 

[Stigmorgan]

OMGA that spalting is psychodelic. Maybe turn a dovetail tenon foot for the chuck and attach it to the base. That would most likely mean losing a bit of the bottom and with 'punky' wood it may be taking a big risk even after soaking it in hardener..

I've brought it into the house and put it on my crafting table to settle and adjust to being indoors, I have it standing on its tenon in the "Easter egg" position, I really like the shape it has so plan to leave it as is, the stand will be fairly simple and made from acrylic sheet so that it doesn't take away from the wood, I really like the bark inclusion in this one too. I'll post some pics of the 2nd one tomorrow, its not exactly the same but fairly close, I'm planning to gift them as a pair to a very good friend and his wife who have always been there to help us out when we've needed.

(Ignore the pile of papercraft birds waiting to be made) Will be interesting to see if/how it moves having been out the cold garage, its always puzzled me slightly how moisture can still enter/leave I piece even when it's cover in wax finishes.

 

[Orraloon]

Thats a lovely looking bit of wood. I have never gone down the hardner path but that looks to have been worth it.
Regards
John

 

[gregmcateer]

Stig,
That is lovely. Don't worry about not being able to hollow it. It's a stunning artistic piece.

 

[Stigmorgan]

@gregmcateer @Orraloon thanks guys, the hardner definately made a difference to the amount of tear out and made it easier to to cut, not sure I would have trusted the tenon without the hardner. Definately an artistic piece, will be taking a dremel to the top and tidying it up, had to remove the tenon with a chisel so it needs some work. I'm tempted to find more spalted birch and make smaller ones and have them as a set of 3

 

[Garno]

@Stigmorgan that is beautiful

 

[Droogs]

The spalting is truly lovely on this piece and you have chosen a shape to accentuate its beauty very well. Makes me want to look at it really really closely, even if there is a risk of getting a queen face-hugger jumping out of it.

 

[Stigmorgan]

The spalting is truly lovely on this piece and you have chosen a shape to accentuate its beauty very well. Makes me want to look at it really really closely, even if there is a risk of getting a queen face-hugger jumping out of it.

Thanks Droogs that means a lot, I rarely seek validation but your comment and the attention this piece has attracted has really given me a much needed boost.

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Rather trivial compared to much of what's in the thread, but I made a little stand/holder for the insert rings for the router table. And I used the router table to do it, and it only went wrong in a couple of places and you can't see them in the photos (or in the drawer). And it used up an offcut I'd been wondering what to do with.

 

[clogs]

have to say those bits of wood Stigmorgan and kniverkid are so special....
good use thereof.....
I'd think of them fondly eveytime I picked them up.....

I have a few things gifted to me by a good friend just before he died of cancer....
I give a little nod everytime I use them....

 

[Lefley]

This one I was finishing for secret Santa. when my wife saw it,

I was forbidden to sending it to anyone. It was going in her personal collection she said.

 

[ALB]

Very mundane, but I am brand new to this so it's an achievement! Big scraper handle in ash.

 

[Lefley]

Very mundane, but I am brand new to this so it's an achievement! Big scraper handle in ash.

Very nice. You have just motivated me to get my ass in gear and get off the iPad and get making things I’ve put off for years. I have so many gouges, scrapers with no handles sitting in my collection. With a huge ash board sitting close by. Time to cut some handle blanks and start turning. Now off to hardware store to get some pipe to cut some metal ferrules. It gets a little dangerous using them with no handles in a pinch.

 

[Adam W.]

An installation of chips....

 

[Droogs]

This one I was finishing for secret Santa. when my wife saw it, View attachment 126470I was forbidden to sending it to anyone. It was going in her personal collection she said.

Tell her she is now on Santa's very naughty list

 

[WoodchipWilbur]

Adam W:

That's a very serious saw blade in the photo....

 

[Stigmorgan]

Just finished the 2nd amphora inspired piece, the pair are now complete, I've intentionally made them slightly different, next step is to design and create a pair of stands that don't take away from the pieces, I'd welcome any suggestions.

 

[Jameshow]

Squashed egg cups??

 

[Droogs]

I would suggest a pair in the style of the bottom half of globe cradles

or something like the below