Candlesticks

[Dennis Ford]

These were commissioned last spring to be made from a tree that was special to the owner. They are Post Oak, the tallest is ~ 16 inches high. I roughed out the parts (with several extras) and boiled them. I had not boiled any blanks before but Post Oak is difficult to dry and I did not think they would work out otherwise. The boiling seemed to help the pieces dry with reduced cracking, had plenty of distortion though. I delivered these a couple of days ago and the customer was happy.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Those are greating looking candle holders. Well done Dennis.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice work Dennis! Nothing better for business than happy customers!

[Richard Madison]

Looking good Dennis. Any chance you will boil some oak bowl rough-outs? Would be very interested to see/hear/read the results.

[Dennis Ford]

Thanks for the kind words, I thought the candlesticks were only fair, but have had good responses.

Richard;
If I make bowls from Post Oak, I will boil the blanks. I have had poor luck drying the wood previously but the boiling seemed to accelerate the drying and reduce cracking. It make do the same for other woods but most of the wood I have access to has not been that big of a problem and I prefer to KEEP IT SIMPLE whenever possible. Post Oak is one of my least favorite turning woods so I tend to use it for firewood unless it is special for some reason. If I had access to Apple or Madrone, I would boil those based on what I have read about them.

[Richard Madison]

Dennis, Thanks for your response. I love the oak, especially the end grain, but it's often a PITA to get dried without cracking/splitting. And it is mostly what we have available in this immediate area (besides ash-juniper). Could you show a picture of your boiling set-up. Would like to try it but may lack the resources to do it properly.

[Dennis Ford]

I used a turkey frier, for the boiling. Boiling green wood will stain your pot, so plan on using different pots for cooking vs boiling wood. Steven Russel's web site has a lot of information on boiling wood.

[Richard Madison]

Thanks Dennis. 'Fraid the Minister of Finance would not approve any new stuff for boiling wood, but am convinced it would be a good technique for oak.

[Craig Powers]

Beautiful candlesticks. What did you do for dust collection?
Post oak dust is a big problem for me.