todays work poplar post 1 critque please

[curtis rosche]

here is some of the poplar that i got from the old beams.
this is my first "hollow form" i used my thompson gouge for it, i couldnt sand the inside it kept taking the paper from my hand.

the other 2 are the poplar that i roughed out they just need to be sanded.

[curtis rosche]

here are the little "squiggles" that are on the end grain, they didnt show up to well in the pictures

[Bill Bolen]

Nice job Curtis...especially using a bowl gouge to get the interior!...Bill...

[charlie knighton]

very nice...

[curtis rosche]

any idea what would cause the "squiggleys?

[Toney Robertson]

Nice job.

I would think bugs are what gave your piece it's "squiggleys".

Toney

[David Christopher]

Curtis, that is a very nice HF. the poplar has alot of character

for sanding inside I take a old glove and glue velcro on the fingers and put velcro backed sandpaper on it and when it wears out you can change it just like your sander

[Alan Trout]

Curtis, I love poplar and I really like your HF. GOOD WORK!

Alan

[John Shuk]

I'm rarely a fan of poplars looks but that is really nice looking wood. It looks warm.
The form is very nice.

[curtis rosche]

so the "squiggleys" are from where the tree grew over the worm holes?

[charlie knighton]

your squiggleys are most likely in the heartwood

outside to inside

bark, sapwood, heartwood/pith

the sapwood is on the outside of the trunk and are the channels where moisture and nutrients go from the roots to the rest of the tree, i am not sure if the heartwood/pith is dead or just not growing, but the sapwood grows outward and becomes heartwood on the inside

your squiggleys are attacking the heartwood and leaving tunnels

if you look at ambrosire maple the figure is in the center, its a beetle
box elder the red is in the center or pith not hardly any in outside of the wood

i would guess the squiggleys must come thru a wound on the tree to the heartwood

anybody else have a better explanation

[Randy Hoch]

Curtis,
I think your squiggleys are worm tracks which are likely full of sanding dust that may be removed with a concentrated blast of compressed air. If so, you might like the dark voids better than these lighter colored lines. Nice piece. The wood is warm and mellow, kinda like an aged wine I guess. Nice form too. I think its time for a lidded box from this wood :) Keep up the good work.

Randy

[curtis rosche]

no, they are not full of anything, i know the difference between worm holes and these things. they are not worm holes. yes there are worm holes around the edges of this peice. but almost none in the heart wood. click on the first and third picture of the second post. there is one that stands out to the right of the flash and down a little, it is kind of "W" shaped. i did blow this whole thing out before finishing.

[charlie knighton]

yes most of them are in the sapwood... to add a guess, you got this wood from a renovation. the worm trials? may be something that attacked the wood while it was in the church and not before the wood was cut down. if that is the case you may want to use co2 to kill whatever is still attacking the wood

[Steve Schlumpf]

Curtis - very nice work! You did a great job hollowing with just a bowl gouge - not sure I could have done as well!

As far as squiggles - hard to say just by the photos but makes me ask how you sanded the piece? I have had strange markings left by not taking my time working through all the grits when sanding. Problem is they never show up until you put the finish on. Little late to correct things at that point unless you let things dry and then sand everything all over again.

Anyway - that would be my guess.

You can remove all the gunk from the worm holes and it does add to the effect but is a lot more time consuming than you would expect.

Good luck with it and keep up the good work!

[curtis rosche]

almost all the worm holes are empty. the marks where there before i did anything to the wood

[charlie knighton]

it may be on a level the naked eye cannot see, a house will eventully fall down without care

[Randy Hoch]

no, they are not full of anything, i know the difference between worm holes and these things. they are not worm holes. yes there are worm holes around the edges of this peice. but almost none in the heart wood. click on the first and third picture of the second post. there is one that stands out to the right of the flash and down a little, it is kind of "W" shaped. i did blow this whole thing out before finishing.
Curtis,
Ok, I see what you mean now. The second post photos are really good. I have no idea what this is. Pretty cool though.
Randy

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good job especially with a bowl gouge.

[curtis rosche]

wait till you see the peice of poplar that i cut today. amazing, flame patern between thesap and heartwood

[Jack Mincey]

Curtis, You will probably never know what caused the squiggles for sure, but they do make the wood very interesting and you did a great job on the HF's. The fact that you hollowed them with a bowl gouge makes them that much more interesting. I am looking forward to seeing you next one.
Jack

[curtis rosche]

the board i just cut today has the same markings, im not sure if it is a part that got cut to make it shorter but it looks cool