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[Jack Tyree]

This is a platter turned from free cherry (the best kind as far as I'm concerned).
It's about 11 1/2 inches and started out 1 inch thick. This is the first I've ever tried at anything that thin, and I pretty much surprised myself when it worked. I learned to flip it back over and get rid of most of the chucking evidence.

As with all of the others, I welcome any and all comments and critiques. Everybody have a great Fourth of July!

[John Keeton]

Jack, you certainly have the hang of this thing!! Nice photo setup, and you need to thank the wife for letting you use her old washing machine for a backdrop!!;):D

[Steve Schlumpf]

I love turning Cherry and you sure managed to create a beauty! Love the grain and color! Really nice work Jack!

[Tim Rinehart]

I like this piece Jack, you did a great job on it. Was this dry or green?
How/what is your finish?.
Again..super job.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Very Nice platter and wood Jack, well done :D

[Jack Tyree]

It was VERY dry (cut and planed) years ago by a friend of a relative and air dried. It made it very hard to turn and leave a decent finish.
It is finished with Tried & True and wax.

[David E Keller]

That is beautiful! I like the wide rim, and the coloring in that wood is fantastic.

I can see that my suspicions about Kentucky are true... Apparently the Keetons are still washing their clothes on a board. At least in Arkansas where I grew up, we have the good sense to use that wash board as a musical instrument!:D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a beauty Jack. Love the cherry.

[Roger Chandler]

It was VERY dry (cut and planed) years ago by a friend of a relative and air dried. It made it very hard to turn and leave a decent finish.
It is finished with Tried & True and wax.

Pardon my lack of knowledge on this product. Could someone post what "Tried & True" is..... I have seen 2 mentions of this as far as finishing goes, but have never heard of it until yesterday

Thanks

[Rob Cunningham]

Beautiful platter Jack. The cherry has really nice color which will only get better with age.

Roger, Tried and True is a polymerized oil finish
http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/

[Roger Chandler]

Beautiful platter Jack. The cherry has really nice color which will only get better with age.

Roger, Tried and True is a polymerized oil finish
http://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/


Thanks Rob,

That answers my question!

[Jack Tyree]

Roger, Rob is right, it is a polymerized linseed oil and beeswax finish that is 100% food and people safe. But the thing I really like about it is the ease of application, ie I sand to 600 or 800 then a light touch with 0000 steel wool and then wipe on very thin coats with one of those blue paper shop towels. It can be applied with the lathe running slow for a nice thin coat and then I just turn the towel over to the dry side and buff it back off. I usually apply three to four coats with 24 hours drying time in between, and it will build up as much gloss as you like.

There was a discussion here the other day about "chatoyance". I just finished a larger western big leaf maple bowl (pictured in the other Learnings post) that has a lot of luminance in the stripes. I put the fourth coat on tonight and took it out in the sunlight and it seems as though they glow, even though the bowl has a pretty high gloss. It does not hide any of the character of the wood at all. You can get it a Woodcraft stores and it's only about $15 for a pint can, and it goes a long way, since you put it on so thin. After it's dried for about a week I usually follow it with coat of Mahoney's beeswax. I have a walnut popcorn bowl I finished this way and have used it several years without a touch up, but I only wipe it out with a paper towel when I'm done. It's never been washed with anything.

[Wayne Hendrix]

How do you mount a platter on the lathe to turn it? I am just starting to turn some bowls I have previously turned only pens. To turn bowls I use a wormwood screw to cut a tenon and then the chuck to hollow the bowl, but that wouldnt work with that thin of a piece.

[John Hart]

...Nice photo setup, and you need to thank the wife for letting you use her old washing machine for a backdrop!!;):D

That's an old one? It looks like my new one!!:confused:

Nice Platter Jack. Simple and beautiful.:)

[Baxter Smith]

Free, simple, beautiful. That is a combination I love! :)

[John Keeton]

How do you mount a platter on the lathe to turn it? I am just starting to turn some bowls I have previously turned only pens. To turn bowls I use a wormwood screw to cut a tenon and then the chuck to hollow the bowl, but that wouldnt work with that thin of a piece.Wayne, didn't want to hijack this thread - sent you a PM.

[Jack Tyree]

Wayne, I used a 2 inch forstener bit to drill a "mortice" on one side and then mounted it on my Talon chuck to turn the inside. Then I take the chuck off of the headstock spindle and turn it around and mount it on the tailstock to keep the center, and here's where it gets hard to explain. I made a faceplate mounted, 11.5 inch dia. disc about 1.5" thick and faced with a piece of 1/4" thick cork, that's contact cemented on. Use that as a friction drive and turn off as much of the bottom as I can, the take the chuck off and just use the center in the small center dimple left by the forstner and turn off the rest down to as small nub as you feel comfortable with, and remove that with a sharp chisel and sand. That's it!