Chris Hayes
07-26-2009, 10:28 PM
Hi All --
I appreciate the comments you all gave on the pine piece that I posted about 10days ago. After a week's vacation and almost no internet service in the DC metro area -- I thought I might share what I've done in the last couple of weeks...
The first four pictures are a bowl/bucket that has special meaning to my neighbor. This natural edged 10 in x 8in x quarter to half inch thickness apple piece was from a tree her dad planted when her parents moved into the house she grew up in. The tree died this spring and they were just going to use the wood for fire wood. As they've seen me playing in the shop since I started (and every bad thing I made when I started --and still said encouraging words), I asked if they'd cut me a few logs where they thought they could get something interesting. This section of the trunk is where a branch started, died, and never quite healed properly. The interior gave me a total run for the money on whether or not this would stay together. It's shape is fairly bucket like because I was more worried about keeping the piece together and being able to give something back -- but I like the sort of mural the wood grain did here. This is finished with several coats of BLO (the wood just soaked this up) and a matte lacquer. -- My neighbor absolutely loves this and her Mother wanted to know if I wanted to be paid for it (which would never have crossed my mind given how much help they've been with our kids since they've been born...this was a treat for me to do in return).
This second piece came from another neighbor's tree. It's Bradford Pear and is an end grain turn. I was trying to get this to be more of a hollow form than bowl, it kind of falls somewhere inbetween. I've been playing with this gumball on a pedestal for a while now and this is as close to it as I've gotten. There's something about the grain on this Bradford that almost screams 'ball' but the wood says "No -- I'm a tree and that's all I'm going to be...Here watch me dull your tools and explode when you don't expect it". I like the challenge (I know..serious DUH here) of getting this wood to do what I want...I just wish I'd figure it all out consistently! This too is finished with a few coats of BLO and a semi-gloss lacquer. The whole bowl-lo-form is about 6 inches tall by 4 inches in diameter and I'm happy to say my first at a consistent quarter inch thick (which is REALLY an achievement for me).
I appreciate the comments you all gave on the pine piece that I posted about 10days ago. After a week's vacation and almost no internet service in the DC metro area -- I thought I might share what I've done in the last couple of weeks...
The first four pictures are a bowl/bucket that has special meaning to my neighbor. This natural edged 10 in x 8in x quarter to half inch thickness apple piece was from a tree her dad planted when her parents moved into the house she grew up in. The tree died this spring and they were just going to use the wood for fire wood. As they've seen me playing in the shop since I started (and every bad thing I made when I started --and still said encouraging words), I asked if they'd cut me a few logs where they thought they could get something interesting. This section of the trunk is where a branch started, died, and never quite healed properly. The interior gave me a total run for the money on whether or not this would stay together. It's shape is fairly bucket like because I was more worried about keeping the piece together and being able to give something back -- but I like the sort of mural the wood grain did here. This is finished with several coats of BLO (the wood just soaked this up) and a matte lacquer. -- My neighbor absolutely loves this and her Mother wanted to know if I wanted to be paid for it (which would never have crossed my mind given how much help they've been with our kids since they've been born...this was a treat for me to do in return).
This second piece came from another neighbor's tree. It's Bradford Pear and is an end grain turn. I was trying to get this to be more of a hollow form than bowl, it kind of falls somewhere inbetween. I've been playing with this gumball on a pedestal for a while now and this is as close to it as I've gotten. There's something about the grain on this Bradford that almost screams 'ball' but the wood says "No -- I'm a tree and that's all I'm going to be...Here watch me dull your tools and explode when you don't expect it". I like the challenge (I know..serious DUH here) of getting this wood to do what I want...I just wish I'd figure it all out consistently! This too is finished with a few coats of BLO and a semi-gloss lacquer. The whole bowl-lo-form is about 6 inches tall by 4 inches in diameter and I'm happy to say my first at a consistent quarter inch thick (which is REALLY an achievement for me).