Red Mallee Burl

[Toney Robertson]

I ventured out of my comfort zone and purchased some Australian burls. Hard stuff but I enjoyed the outcome. 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" x 1 1/2" AO and buffed. The interior line does not follow the outside towards the bottom. I just wanted a shallow depression. Was that a mistake?

http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/172-72A.jpg


http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj101/iublue/172-72C.jpg

Toney

[Allen Neighbors]

I don't think there's anything near a mistake in this one. That burl should be very stable.
And you need to stay out of your comfort zone. This is really a beautiful piece... an heirloom for someone. Tremendous job!

[Kate Taylor]

I'm just learning to turn and seeing things like this makes me want to run out to my shop and practice!

Thanks for posting.

[Tony Greenway]

Toney, I can't see one thing that you should've done differently. It looks awesome!!

[Don Carter]

Toney:
What a mistake! I agree with Allen. This is no where near a mistake. This is a beautiful piece that someone is going to cherish for a long time. Great job!
But, if you think you can't use it....I know someone who can.;)

All the best.

Don

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beautiful piece.

[David Christopher]

Toney, I think you ventured in the right direction....that is beautiful

[Brian Effinger]

Beautiful piece, Toney. :)

[Jim Kountz]

No mistakes here, that is some of the funkiest wood Ive ever seen, stunning come to mind!! Kinda looks like it could have come from under the sea!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Toney.....You did that piece of wood justice! Gorgeous wood!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful piece Toney! You did an excellent job displaying this wood! Really like the way you left most of the underside natural. Love the texture it adds to the piece! Very nice work!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Going out of our comfort zone and doing/making something we like is never a mistake I think, but yes we all do second guess our selfs afterwards I think, just a natural thing of evolving, and you made a very personal piece that shows the great color and grain of the wood and preserved the natural outside largely also, I like it, well done :-))

[Jarrod McGehee]

That piece of wood is awesome Toney and you put it in or rather on its place. the lathe. and you told it who's boss. you! Nice job and keep up the good work. It gives me inspiration.

[curtis rosche]

i think if you hadnt done just a shallow depression the red pattern wouldve been different . i like it the way it is

[Dave Bureau]

that is awesome. very nice piece

[Toney Robertson]

Thank you for all of your kind comments.

Toney

[Robert McGowen]

Very nice Toney. I personally would turn off the recess on the bottom, but other than that, it looks great.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Wowser, Wowswer, Wowser. Outstanding!!!

Shame I can't get that stuff here.

Bruce

[Wyatt Holm]

Did you use a negative rake scraper?

[Jeff Nicol]

Toney, When I bought a few pieces of Red mallee and Amboyna burl I wanted to use every bit of the piece and not turn much away either. The wood is beautiful on its own and your tweaking of the piece is perfect! Comfort zones are meant to go out of and you need never come back in!!

Great work of art!!

Jeff

[Toney Robertson]

Did you use a negative rake scraper?

No, I do not have a NRS. I have thought I need to make one but it is just one more thing on my to do list.

I used a bowl gouge and I also did some shear scraping.

Toney

[Toney Robertson]

Very nice Toney. I personally would turn off the recess on the bottom, but other than that, it looks great.

Robert,

I thought about it but I was afraid that I would lose to much of the natural grooves if I turned off the recess.

Thanks for the comments.

Toney

[Jeff Luedloff]

Great looking bowl.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, that's pretty!

[Jake Helmboldt]

Robert,

I thought about it but I was afraid that I would lose to much of the natural grooves if I turned off the recess.

Thanks for the comments.

Toney

Toney, what about just softening the edge of the rebate? That way you could keep the natural "divots" on the bottom while having softer, flowing lines on the bottom. Just a thought (from someone who has yet to turn the foot/recess off of the handful of bowls I've turned). I'd be afraid of launching the whole thing after all that work.

But either way that is a beautiful piece. I think the shallow form is very nice.

[Kirk Miller]

Toney That is a beautiful piece. You have given all of us a little nudge to leave our comfort zone

[Wyatt Holm]

That stuff comes from Australia. It is the hardest wood know of. I don't know how difficult it is to turn though.

[Toney Robertson]

Wowser, Wowswer, Wowser. Outstanding!!!

Shame I can't get that stuff here.

Bruce

Bruce,

As Wyatt said it comes from Australia and you can get it. I got mine from a guy in Georgia.

Thanks for the comments.

Wyatt,

It is EXTREMELY hard and was difficult for me to get a smooth line. I found that my best weapon was a SHARP bowl gouge turned to almost 3:00. Scraping was not too bad either. Very hard on edges and sandpaper. Used a LOT of sandpaper since it seemed like each piece lasted only seconds.

Toney

[Ron Crosby]

When I first saw this pic, I thought of one thing only.

Pepperoni pizza. :cool:

[neil mackay]

Hi Toney,

Looks fine to me and looks like you did not have a great deal of thickness to start with anyway, you've got to work with what you've got.

[Toney Robertson]

Hi Toney,

Looks fine to me and looks like you did not have a great deal of thickness to start with anyway, you've got to work with what you've got.

Neil,

Good day!

Can you tell me, is the term mallee a species of tree or is it another name for tree?

On the website that I ordered this piece it stated "This tree or Mallee." So that would lead me to believe that mallee is an Australian synonum for tree.

Thanks for the comments.

Toney

[Skip Spaulding]

Toney, that turned out to be one fine venture! Very nice indeed.

[Wyatt Holm]

I watched Mike Mahoney turn some red and brown mallee burl. He said it will actually scrape better than it will cut, which is very rare. He started with a bowl gouge, then he took a negative rake scraper to it.