Osage Orange Hollowform

[Curt Fuller]

This blank was originally cut for a bowl. It sat around a couple years and got some pretty good cracks. I decided to turn it today and see how bad the cracks were, maybe throw it away if they were too bad. As I was cutting away at it, I started seeing a southwestern shaped hollowform similar to the kind Steve Schlumpf does so well. So that's how it ended up. It's 9.5" x 5.5" with a little burning and grooving around the opening.

[Dewey Torres]

Well it certainly turned out nice. I am sure Steve will approve!

[Chris Rae]

Very nice, I like the shape and the embellishment around the opening. Good work!

[alex carey]

Looking good, that has some great color. Nicely done.

[Mike Svoma]

I love it when the wood just speaks to you.....and then changes it's mind.;););)

Nice piece.

Mike

[Tim Cleveland]

Very nice piece, Curt. I really like the soft finish and the bark inclusion. Beautiful wood too.

Tim

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nicely done Curt. That is a beautiful piece of wood!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow Curt!

You know I am a big fan of your work but this one really hits home for me! Beautiful wood and form! I really like the subtle burned details and may have to keep that in mind for slight enhancements! Love this one! Thanks for sharing!

[Cody Colston]

That's a beautiful piece. I'm partial to Bois d' Arc anyway and especially after it turns that golden brown color like yours has done.

How difficult was it to turn and hollow after sitting for so long? I've turned green Bois d' Arc but never any that was dried. I find it stable enough to turn to completion without twice-turning.

Did you finish with anything except a Beall buff?

[Brian McInturff]

Nice work Curt. I'm glad you added the embellishments. They really accentuate the piece.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Curt beautiful piece. I really like the rim treatment as that really sets the piece off.

[Allen Neighbors]

Outstanding work! Bois d' Arc is one of my favorite woods. Even when cured, it turns like butter - with sharp tools. The chocolate color change is awesome! You really did a good job on this one.
Did I detect a slight drool on Steve's avatar? :D

[Jeff Nicol]

Curt, Be it a bowl or a HF it is very pretty indeed! I need to get me some of that HedgeApple and give it a go! I have a friend in Nebraska who owns a big farm that has some on his fence lines. I need to take a road trip and bring some back with me!

Great job,

Jeff

[Curt Fuller]

Thanks everyone!



How difficult was it to turn and hollow after sitting for so long? I've turned green Bois d' Arc but never any that was dried. I find it stable enough to turn to completion without twice-turning.

Did you finish with anything except a Beall buff?

Cody, like Allen said, I've also found Bois d' Arc to be one of the best turning woods I've worked with. This wasn't any worse than any other wood for hollowing. I like how clean it scrapes and it left the inside really smooth and didn't need a lot of sanding.

The finish is just a wipe down with watco danish oil and then two coats of semi-gloss deft lacquer. I haven't buffed it yet but it will soften out the finish even more when waxed and buffed. The thing that was wierd was the rings. I burned the lines in the opening and cut the rings with the tip of a skew. I tried to friction burn the grooves with a couple things but the OO wouldn't burn. I ended up using a brown colored pencil in the lines.

[Bill Bolen]

Gorgeous piece! I love the rim treatment you went with...Bill...

[Steve Schlumpf]

Curt - I just keep coming back to this one! I really like the colors, the form but it is the detail work that catches my eye. It is simple, contrasting and really adds to the piece. How do you burn an area and keep the detail crisp without bleeding over? Would like to try it but would hate to ruin a nice hollow form in the process!

[Mark Burge]

Curt, Be it a bowl or a HF it is very pretty indeed! I need to get me some of that HedgeApple and give it a go! I have a friend in Nebraska who owns a big farm that has some on his fence lines. I need to take a road trip and bring some back with me!

Great job,

Jeff

Not trying to steal a thread, but Bois D'oc and Osage Orange are HedgeApple? We had a lot of those in KY where I'm from. I'll start looking for logs if it is the same thing.

I also agree with everyone else on the HF. Beautiful work, Curt.

[Curt Fuller]

Curt - I just keep coming back to this one! I really like the colors, the form but it is the detail work that catches my eye. It is simple, contrasting and really adds to the piece. How do you burn an area and keep the detail crisp without bleeding over? Would like to try it but would hate to ruin a nice hollow form in the process!

The lines that are in and around the opening are the only ones that are actually burned. What I do is leave a raised lip for the burning. I've just been using one of those little toy woodburning tools so it's not very precise. On this one I burned the lines inside the opening and up around the edge and onto the lip. Then I just use a small gouge and cut a little of the lip away so the lines are all lined up evenly. Then I sand it lightly to clean up the edges of the burned lines. Then I suppose if you didn't like the way they looked you could just turn away the entire lip, lines and all. I hope that makes sense.

Mark, Bodark, Bois d' Arc, Osage Orange, Hedgeapple, or any other name for it isn't a native tree around here in Utah so I've never seen one standing. I got this wood a couple years ago from a guy that had cut the tree down in his yard and had a sign by the pile of wood that said 'free firewood'. I took a couple nice sized logs and wished I'd taken it all.

BTW, if any of you are James McMurty fans you've probably heard him reference a Bodark fence post in the song Choctaw Bingo. If you've ever turned this or cut it with a chainsaw you know what he's talking about. ;)

Thanks again everyone for all the nice comments.