Busy Weekend

[Ken Vonk]

Here is another piece I finished this weekend. This bowl / platter is 13 1/2" across and 2 1/2" deep and is made from spalted maple that I helped to cut off of some people house here in Mena last year after the tornado. The accent ring is crushed turquoise. The platter is about 3/16" thick and finished with several coats of wipe on poly. Your comments are requested.

Thanks, Ken

[John Keeton]

Absolutely beautiful wood!! I like the form and the rim treatment is great. Neat warpage, too!

[Wayne Spence]

Yes, I also like the warpage on that platter.

[bob svoboda]

I really like the form and the wood. I am particularly fond of nice wood with holes in it.

[Steve Schlumpf]

That's quite the showpiece! Very nice/simple form, beautiful wood with lots of color variations and your rim treatment with stone really adds a touch of life to the piece!

Very well done! Thanks for sharing!

[Roland Martin]

That is a great looking piece of maple. The form, edge treatment and finish are equally great.

[Steve Bigelow]

Nice work, Ken.

Did you have trouble with the spalted maple being too soft? Did you do anything to stabilize it?

I love the look of spalted maple, but it does tend to be hard to turn. Case in point is
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bVGGTY5HGmY/SgOEQFrzF5I/AAAAAAAAD7M/ehrtC6Svwoc/s720/IMG_0555.JPG
where it was ready to fly apart on me. :)

[John Hart]

The whole piece screams of character. I like every part of it.

[Ken Vonk]

Thanks for the kind words. Once again my photo skills and equipment didn't do this piece of wood justice. I started with an 18" diameter piece of maple to try out my new lathe. I had problems with cracks but no punky spots. Once I got past the big cracks it held together just fine. I did have more tear out than I like.

Ken

[David E Keller]

Gorgeous stuff. Nice embellishments.