Spalted Maple NE

[Baxter Smith]

Cut the blank for this out of a maple crotch from my wood pile a month ago then put some anchorseal on it. I flattened it with the chainsaw a little bit on the bark side. Can’t remember why now. Maybe to get it through the bandsaw. Didn’t know what I was going to make with it at the time. Wished I hadn’t now as a couple of spots are flat as you can see in the first picture and shouldn’t be.
142618142619142620142621142622

Seems like a silly question but with what and when do you sign your pieces? Tried my jr high woodburner for the first few, a permanent marker, and a pencil. The AO seems to dissolve all but the burnings if write before I put on the finish.

Spalted Red Maple 11 x 4 x 5/16 finished with 5 coats of AO - so far:)

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

[Gary Conklin]

Baxter, that is an awsome piece. Looks great flat spots and all! I just started signing "Cindy Drozda" style, using a vibrating engraver and colored wax, looks great. Found from another creekers post.

http://www.distinctiveturnings.com/tutorials/SigningYourWoodturnings.pdf

[alex carey]

beautiful, nice job.

[Joe Adams]

Baxter - Great work!

Gary - Thanks for the link!

[Richard Madison]

Great looking piece and beautiful wood Baxter. Well done.

[Mark Burge]

Really nice piece Baxter. I was hoping some more would pipe up about the signing issue. I usually get in too much of a rush to get a finish on a piece and I forget to sign it. I would like to find something that works after the finish. Maybe the engraver might work.

[Gary Conklin]

Mark it works better after the finish is applied as the wax buffs right off.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I sign mine with archival ink before the finish is put on. I let it sit a few minutes and then apply finish. I use AO all the time, wipe on poly and lacquer doesn't seem to bother it. I bought a archival pen and ink at the hobby store.

[Jon Lanier]

That is one really pretty piece. One of my favorites is Spalted Maple.

[Gary Chester]

OK Baxter... you're startin' to piss me off :mad: :D:D

Most of your posts start off with "I wandered out to my wood pile" and then you come up with this piece...

Great chunk of wood and great job of turning. Nice job!!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Cut the blank for this out of a maple crotch from my wood pile a month ago then put some anchorseal on it. I flattened it with the chainsaw a little bit on the bark side. Can’t remember why now. Maybe to get it through the bandsaw. Didn’t know what I was going to make with it at the time. Wished I hadn’t now as a couple of spots are flat as you can see in the first picture and shouldn’t be.
142618142619142620142621142622

Seems like a silly question but with what and when do you sign your pieces? Tried my jr high woodburner for the first few, a permanent marker, and a pencil. The AO seems to dissolve all but the burnings if write before I put on the finish.

Spalted Red Maple 11 x 4 x 5/16 finished with 5 coats of AO - so far:)

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Pretty piece Baxter, the flat parts you can shape a bit with knife and sandpaper, and then touch with a burner for a second.
I have settled on burning my name etc on my turnings, can do it before or after finishing and never a problem with it disappearing :)

[gary Zimmel]

Nice job Baxter.

[charlie knighton]

very nice....

[Eric Kosanovich]

!!!WOW!!! Baxter you go man.

[Robert McGowen]

Very nice. I honestly would not have thought anything about the flat spots except for you pointing it out. Even then, it really did not matter at all.

[Roland Martin]

This is a fantastic piece Baxter. The color & spalting is gorgeous. Very nice work.

[John Keeton]

Baxter, wow does that wood have some character!! Extremely nice piece. I would consider Leo's suggestion on the NE treatment, and blend it in with the rest.

This one is really well done!

[Tony De Masi]

Very nice piece Baxter. I'm with Robert in that if you hadn't said anything about the flat spots I wouldn't have noticed them. I also use the archival pen before I apply a finish.

Tony

[Donny Lawson]

Very nice.Got more of that stuff?
Donny

[Steve Schlumpf]

Baxter - really nice! Sure is some pretty wood! Really like the natural edge form!

I've done the same thing with my chainsaw - having cut a blank long before I knew what I was going to turn. No big deal - but you can do as Leo suggests if it bothers you.

I have a series of archival pens (India ink) that I picked up at Michael's Craft store. I sign the wood while still bare and can apply finish within a few seconds. I have also signed after the finish had been applied but made sure to apply a couple of additional coats of finish to protect the signature.

[Curt Fuller]

That's really a nice looking bowl. The wood is amazing and it looks as good from the bottom as the top. As Leo suggested, you could darken the edge by burning it a little so it all matched. Or you could sand the entire edge down past the natural dark edge, removing the flat surfaces as you go, until it looked consistent. For signing, I've used everything from a fine tip Sharpie to burning with a cheapo woodburner ground to a fine tip to a dremel engraver. I like the dremel engraver best but it's hard to write very small.

[Toney Robertson]

Baxter that piece of wood is amazing and you did a great job with it.

It is unfortunate about the flat spots but it is not immediately noticeable.

Sweet piece.

Toney

[Sean Hughto]

Very cool, Baxter! It's realy unique and wonderful.

[Michael Jasani]

Love the piece Baxter! Great wood too!

[Ken Glass]

Baxter,
Great looking spalted wood, and I always like N.E. bowls. Great work. It is hard to see the flat spots, but if you are not happy with it, then as Leo and Steve suggested should work fine.
I have tried all sorts of ways to sign my name from Archival pens and of late have purchased a very fine tip for my Cub Writer and it seems to work OK, but I might try the Cindy Drozda method. It seems the most personal to me having ones actual signature on the piece.

[bobby lynn]

I use a archival pen (Wal-mark) same as Bernie & Steve before AO & buffing.

[David E Keller]

Great looking piece... I like the way the edge flows up and down. I agree with the suggestions to modify the flat areas if they bother you. I didn't notice them at first.

I usually sign with a fine tipped sharpie.

[Jeff Fagen]

I have been using metal stamps,signing my work JF 10
Not very artistic but it gets the job done.
I like that maple bowl,I just got some new spalted maple today.

[Baxter Smith]

Baxter, that is an awsome piece. Looks great flat spots and all! I just started signing "Cindy Drozda" style, using a vibrating engraver and colored wax, looks great. Found from another creekers post.

http://www.distinctiveturnings.com/tutorials/SigningYourWoodturnings.pdf
Thanks for the suggestion and link Gary. Looks like a definite possibility!

I sign mine with archival ink before the finish is put on. I let it sit a few minutes and then apply finish. I use AO all the time, wipe on poly and lacquer doesn't seem to bother it. I bought a archival pen and ink at the hobby store.
Bernie, never even considered archival ink.


Pretty piece Baxter, the flat parts you can shape a bit with knife and sandpaper, and then touch with a burner for a second.
I have settled on burning my name etc on my turnings, can do it before or after finishing and never a problem with it disappearing :)
Thanks Leo for the suggestion about flattening, sanding, and burning. I like the woodburned look signings that I have done the best. They are just slow and not always real smooth when I hit some grain. Probably if I had a different tip it might make things a little smoother. Never even considered I might still be using a piece from a Christmas craft set 45 years later.

Very nice. I honestly would not have thought anything about the flat spots except for you pointing it out. Even then, it really did not matter at all.
The flat spots don't bother me and with the spalting in them they are hardly noticeable. I just know they are there! Even if I carved, sanded and burned well, I would still know they weren't quite right!:)


Great looking piece... I like the way the edge flows up and down. I agree with the suggestions to modify the flat areas if they bother you. I didn't notice them at first.

I usually sign with a fine tipped sharpie.

Tried the sharpie David and the AO just about made it vanish.

Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions. They are greatly appreciated!

[Peter Lamb]

Beautiful!! Couldn't be better!!

[Brian Effinger]

Wow, Baxter, that is a beautiful bowl. You did a great job, and you shouldn't be worried about the flat spots. If you hadn't pointed them out they wouldn't have been noticed. And even now that they are more visible, they seem fine to me.

One other comment, not related to the bowl or signature, though. Clean your camera lens, man! :p Your breath and a microfiber cloth will go a long way to eliminating the dust spots in your photos.