Cedar Sunflower

[Mark Cothren]

Decided to try something I've never done before - a piece to hang on a wall. A friend said it made him think of a sunflower, so I'm stickin' with it.

I had several Cedars in my yard that got some type of disease and they all died. This is the base of the stump from one of those trees.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/markfromark/woodturning/CedarWallHanger01-1.jpg

[Brian Effinger]

Very cool, Mark. :cool:

I bet that was fun to turn. Did you turn it green?

[David E Keller]

Very cool... Been thinking about something like this once I get a new lathe. Great size to the piece.

[Mark Cothren]

Brian, the tree was dead when I cut it so it was already pretty dry. Then this slab has been sitting in my shop for several months.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mark that is beautiful. Have to agree with the sunflower.

[alex carey]

BEAUTIFUL piece, love it, very impressive.

[Norm Zax]

Looks great. I'd just tell people I got me a nice cedar ball (or small box) and dropped an anvil on it. Looks like a splash!

[charlie knighton]

very nice...

[Bill Bolen]

Beautiful piece Mark. I've taken down a bunch of Cedar from my acerage here. Think I better go give those stumps a second look. I'd sure like to do something like that. Thanks for the inspiration...Bill..

[Richard Madison]

Mark, Cool piece! How thick was the slab you started with? Must keep it in mind for some of our ash-juniper (often called cedar). May have to borrow Norm's title ("Splash").

[Mark Cothren]

Yeah, I like "splash" a lot, too... good idea!

I didn't measure it, but the thickness was probably around 2-1/2" to 3" when I started. It took a few tries to get the faceplate centered. I turned it inboard and only had about 1/8" to play with on my 20" swing. I've got some bigger pieces that will have to be turned outboard, so I'm studyin' on an outboard toolrest. Just gotta convince the wife that I need it....:D

[Richard Madison]

Thanks Mark.

[Cliff Towle]

Why did you turn that stump? Why not just sand it down & finish it? Thanks.

Oh, btw - it is a real beauty. :)

[Mark Cothren]

Why did you turn that stump? Why not just sand it down & finish it?

The rest of the stump is being used on another project that is in progress... I cut it in half and am using it for legs on a bench I'm making for my wife. One of these days I may actually have some pictures of the finished piece.

I had to shorten up my legs by a couple of inches, so I sliced off this piece. I turned it because I wanted to thin it up and dish it out a little.

[Steve Mawson]

Like it a lot, Splash works for me.

[Jarrod McGehee]

That's really cool. I just don't like the very center as it gets deeper and the rest is like an overly large lip. had it been a slightly smoother curve it would be cool.

[Mark Cothren]

Jarrod, the center is actually slightly raised... hard to tell in the picture, so you'll just have to take my word on that. The edges of the groove are sloped/rounded.

[Aaron Wingert]

That is stunning. Heck of a challenge turning air, and there's a lot of air between that sunflower's "petals"! Nice work.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Mark - that's cool!

Love the colors! Great job on keeping it all together! I like Norm's name of Splash or better yet - reminds me of a paintball 'Splat' - if that makes any sense!

No matter the name - very nice work on something really unexpected and different! Thanks for sharing!

[Jeff Nicol]

Mark, I started one of those a while ago, but never got it finished. Mine had a big crack in it so I had to fill it with some contrasting wood and never have got it back on the lathe! Yours turned out very nice, the cream color in the wood is spread through it so nicely! Mother nature does most of it and you add the last touches for added class! Great job and fun to do the odd stuff.

Jeff