Two Bud Vases/Pictures

[alex carey]

1. This is Eastern White Cedar, I still have tons of this stuff.
2. I roughed it out and got two pieces ready for what I wanted to make.
3. This was the smaller piece, about 6" tall.
4. Finished and good to go.
5. I accidentally cut myself, pinched my skin between tool rest and tool. It was while I was cutting the log in half on the lathe.

[alex carey]

6. I get tons of tear out with this stuff no matter how sharp I get my tools.
7. Just me sanding.
8. Finished product.
9. A few little details to spruce up the piece.
10. Finished product with flowers inside.



Can I put water in this and not worry about it? I've read that this wood is highly resilient to water and stuff.

Critiques, Comment appreciated

Alex

[Chris Rae]

Nice vases Alex, they look good! I don't know about the water, but they would sure look good with dried or silk flowers in them. I've got silk wild flowers in the vase I made recently. What kind of finish did you use?

[alex carey]

It is a shellawax liquid friction polish. I used to have a lot of trouble with it, but after using it for a while I figured out most of the kinks.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking bud vases Alex. Well done. Watch the pinkies.

[Mark Norman]

Looks good Alex, Both shapes are apealing. Just get some test tubes from science class and yer set:p

[Jim Kountz]

Alex great looking vases, the form on both is really nice work!!
How did you turn and finish all at once. Wasnt the cedar "pitchy"??

[Wayne Leach]

Lovely vases and fun to do (if you don't pinch your skin)?
Maybe one would look good "blood red" NOT!

Wayne

[Paul Gallian]

Ouch! pretty vase!

[alex carey]

The outside has a lot of sap on it, my arm still has sap stuck in my hair. If you look at the piece before I turned it you can see that it is much larger, I turned a lot away before I got to the final product. The closer you get to the center the less sap their seems to be. I have turned plenty of this stuff by now and as long as their are not any bark inclusion no sap comes up.

[John W Dixon]

Nice job Alex. I like the looks of both of them.

John

[curtis rosche]

pinch in your finger is fun. i had one pinch my thumb on the end grain of a cup, but it sliced through the skin.

what tool were you using ?

[Reed Gray]

For that type of tear out, some times, for me, a scraper with a fresh burr, held at a 45 degree angle and taking very light cuts will get rid of most of it. You do not ride the bevel.
robo hippy

[Wally Dickerman]

Lots of torn grain is usually a result of cutting against the grain. Unsupported wood fibers will not cut cleanly. On an end grain piece such as this one, cut from large diameter to small. Shear scrape the same way to clean up the surface.

I would forget putting water into a wood vase. Use dried or silk flowers That's why it's called a weed pot.

You asked for a critique. I suggest that you turn a sweeping curve in the neck of the vase. A curved surface is more attractive than a flat surface.

Wally

[alex carey]

@ Curtis, somehow I pinched it with a parting tool, I am really unsure how it happened, my hand was on top, then all of the sudden I was bleeding.

@Reed, for the tall vase I ended with a freshly sharpened scraper, that was as close as I could get it.

@Wally, the bottle nose vase didn't really have much tear out and I think it was because I was able to go from large diameter to small diameter. The big one on the other hand just kept fooling me for some reason. As far as the shape on the little on goes, I agree with you 100%, although there is a slight curve it is not as dramatic as it should be. A bigger curve would result in a better looking vase. Thanks for the critique, I plan on doing a few more of these soon since they are so easy. Not hollowing the inside for a change is nice.

Thanks for all the comments and critiques.

Alex