Speaking of inclusions!

[Jeff Nicol]

Here is a piece that I have been playing with for a few days, I had to get creative to keep it all together but so far so good! It is half of a nice burl from a sugar maple. It was kind of hollow and had little burls growing in th center when I cut it in half. The other half is more solid so it will be easier to work with. Anyway it is just under 18" in dia and a little over 8" high, I plan on removing the waste block and doing some hand work on the bottom,not sure what yet but it will come to me. It has lots of nice color and bark with some figured areas here and there. Lots of fun to turn but nerve racking too! I was waiting for a chunk to fly off at any moment, but it held on! What do you think so far?

Jeff

[David Christopher]

that looks great...what finish are you going to use

[Greg Just]

Looks great so far. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Marc Himes]

Jeff, that is one scary piece of wood. I can see how it held together so far but I would have to do something like wrap the outside while working on the inside and use a jam chuck type of frame around the rim to work on the outside. I really don't know what I would do, but its fun to think about it. How do you plan to attack it from here? It is a very interesting but challenging piece. Good Luck and be SAFE!

Marc Himes

[Mike Svoma]

I saw this piece the other day when I was in Jeff's shop. It looks even better in person. Junk everywhere. If anyone can hold this together, and finish it right without incedent, he can. I hope I didn't just put a hex on you Jeff. I can't wait to see it done.

Mike

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Keep the faith and keep your tools sharp and considering what it looks like right now: it's gonna have a BIG WOW factor. Can't wait to see it.

Bruce

[John Fricke]

Good Luck Jeff......looks like a headache waiting to happen......reminds me of turning swiss cheese.

[Ryan Baker]

That's a really cool piece of wood. I'd be seriously concerned about keeping that together while turning it. It should be really impressive when it's all done.

[Jim Kountz]

Dang Jeff maybe exclusions instead of inclusions!! Theres more missing than is there.
You must have nerves of steel and my hats off to you, outstanding so far!!

[Gary Conklin]

Man that thing has a Pucker Factor of 10+.:eek: Nice looking piece though. I believe I would wrap the entire piece in some duct or carton sealing tape if you are going to turn it any thinner.

[Tony Kahn]

Hey jeff, try saran wrap next time! BTW what them chunks hiding in back there? they look like they are gonne be nice.

[Jonathan Harvey]

Beautiful piece. I can't wait to see the final result. Turn safe ;)

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is going to be a beauty when done Jeff. Can't wait to see it.

[Eugene Wigley]

Jeff, I like it. I think it has a very high cool factor. I lack your experience and skill so I would have been afraid to turn that piece of wood. That would have made a killer video to watch how you turned this. Thanks for posting it. Be carefull.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very interesting piece so far! Looking forward to seeing the finished version! Hope it holds together for you!

[alex carey]

I think it has HUGE potential, if you can pull it off it'll be awesome.

[Dan Forman]

That's quite an unusual piece. Wouldn't recommend it for popcorn though. Looking forward to seeing it when finished.

Dan

[Rasmus Petersen]

Very nice !! how thin is it ??

[Jeff Nicol]

Thanks all for your words of praise and encouragment! The upper edge is about 5/8" and the base is right now about 1 1/4" thick. Where the big hole in the side is there is a big lobe hanging down that is pretty thin and I want to keep it there as it has lots of burly stuff going on! Once I take the glued on waste block off I will carve the rest of the bottom to add some whimsy and some of my artistic side into it. I will keep you all posted on the progress. When I turn the other half I will video it and put it up on the "TUBE". I definitly do the safe thing, it only took one whack in the head and 28 stitches for me to learn! Oh and the pucker factor was nearing jewelrey grade diamonds a few times!

Back to the shop for more fun!

Jeff

[Peter Lamb]

Jeff,
Wonderful piece! Huge "pucker factor". How about a major investment in duck tape if you are going to continue to turn the piece. Can't wait to see finished procuct! By the way your steady rest is beautifully designed and manufactured.
Peter

[Jeff Nicol]

Peter, Thanks for the kind words on the steady rest! I have a blast makeing them and hope that the people who buy them enjoy them as much as I do making them. I was out in the shop just putting the finishing touches on the steady to go out today and looking at the big burly thing and I have some Ideas that I will try and see how it goes. I will take a picture of my solutions and post them.

And for Tony who asked about the chunks in the back ground. They are some very heavily spalted and very dry sugar maple pieces. I will be listing them on e-bay and through my website in the next day or so. I need to get some time to get them photographed and then let the selling begin!

Jeff