New Member

[Allen Linton]

Just signed up yesterday and I am so impressed with what I see; your bowls are fabulous!

I am retired now and have taken up turning and done a dozen or so pieces. I have a ton of dead fall on my property that has been on the ground for years (I cannot cut down a tree that takes 200 years to reach any size!). Each project is a surprise because the wood has been down so long and can be in pretty bad shape, and dry as a bone. I have attached a picture of one I did with Utah Juniper (Juniperus Ostesperma). The wood was hard a rock and I could hear cracking as I worked it and was nervous about making the sides too thin. I am not in the same ball park as the lot of you and am only looking for some critique. I finished it natural, with Tung Oil.
Attached Thumbnailshttp://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=159639&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1282932943 (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=159639&d=1282932943)

[Bill Bolen]

Welcome to the creek and what a pretty introductory piece...Bill...

[steven carter]

Welcome to the Creek,

Pretty piece of juniper, nice curl to it. Looking forward to more of your work.

Steve

[Michael E. Thompson]

Welcome. That is some beautiful wood. Love that curl.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Allen - Welcome to the Creek!

Love the color of your Juniper piece! Really like all the curl!

Looking forward to seeing more of your work and getting to know you!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome to the Creek Allen!

[Roger Chandler]

Welcome to the Creek! I have never seen anything turned out of Juniper before but it is pretty wood. Looking forward to more work from you as you go along.

[Ray Bell]

Welcome Allen. I also took this up after retirement, and I am very thankful that I did. I love turning bowls just to see what the wood looks like after finishing. Besides that it keeps me busy, and out of my wife's house;)

You will learn a lot by just watching what the folks (not me:() on this forum create. There are some very accomplished artists residing here.

[David E Keller]

Welcome, Allen. Nice color and curl in that piece. Looking forward to seeing more.

[John Keeton]

Hey, Allen, welcome to the creek!! Love to have new folks come in and show their pics. Very nice work, and a beautiful piece of wood. I can see the little cracks that probably account for the noises you were hearing. The wood probably still had a good bit of moisture in it even though it had been down for a while. Takes several years in a dry environment for wood to get bone dry. Lying on the ground isn't an ideal situation.

Looking forward to more pics!

[Tony De Masi]

Welcome to the Creek Allen and thanks for posting a pic of your turning.

Very well done.

Tony

[Mike Svoma]

Welcome to the creek, Allen. The guys here call this the vortex.....if you get too close, it will suck you in. We've all been there, so, just jump right in. Oops I almost forgot, nice juniper piece.

[Michael James]

Where do you call home? Oh, and it's not against the rules to share some of your downfall with your new creek buddies!:cool:
Nice post, keep em coming. These boys and girls have a lot to teach anyone willing to listen.
mj in nm

[Tom Sherman]

That juniper is lookin pretty good Allen nice work. Welcome to the Creek.

[Cathy Schaewe]

Welcome! :)

[gary Zimmel]

Welcome to the Creek Allen!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Allen to SMC. Really a nice piece and the wood is really pretty.

[Dwight McNutt]

Allen I see you have a Shopsmith to turn on, at least i'm not the only one now. Nice wood and shape.

Dwight

[William Hutchinson]

Welcome and very nice turning. BTW they let all the cracked pots into this ballpark; -I should know.:D

[James Roberts]

Welcome to the Creek, Allen. That's a pretty piece of juniper and you've done a right fine job with form and finish. Looking forward to more of your work.

[Ken Glass]

Allen,
Welcome to a great place to hang out. You will find it a great informational source and and you will receive excellent and honest critiques and comments on your turnings, if you so chose to use the forum as a source to grow your craft.

[John Hart]

Welcome to our little spinning, sucking, whirling, never-escape, little piece of heaven. :)

Oh...and...nice juniper piece! Did it have any purple before you finished it?

[David Christopher]

welcome to the creek, and that is a beautiful turning

[George Morris]

Nice work! Welcome to the creek!!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hé Allen welcome, we have lots of Juniper over here, but it certainly not a hard wood, mostly called Eastern Red Cedar, rather than Juniper, and yes there's an other O in the name Osteosperma :o

Here are a couple of pictures, the look of our Juniper here is more a purple color at least for a while :D
159762 159763

[Allen Linton]

What a great website. I suspect I can learn a ton from you folks and plan to do so. An interesting point that comes up time after time is the confusion between cedar and juniper :rolleyes:. There are dozens of juniper species, and folks use the names interchangeably. What little cedar I have worked with (never turned it) is much softer with more predictable graining and less predictable in color--but I am really just learning. Any clarification would be appreciated.

Several asked if I have purple in my juniper pieces...Nope! The color of the bowl was only enhanced by the oil, nothing else. This piece was heart wood close to the root. I have another piece from the root and it is darker and even redder. Some of the pieces from branching higher on the tree closer to the bark have lighter browns and even creamy white. I love the smell and save the shavings. The first thing anyone coming into the shop comments on is the smell.

Thanks for having me, and your comments are appreciated. I am being sucking me into the "vortex":)...

[Jeff Nicol]

Allen, By joining this lot of turners, comics, clowns, mentors and just plain nice folks, you have become one of us that when the vortex grabs you it is the beginning of a long and wonderful road to the end of ever having any money or time for anything but turning!

Welcome and enjoy the ride,

Jeff

[James Combs]

Welcome Allen. As Jeff Nicol said, the vortex drains your pockets, your wallet and your will to resist it but it is a great ride never the less. Oh and BTW nice piece of juniper and a nice turning.

[Baxter Smith]

Welcome Allen. This is a great place to spend your nonturning time. They will help you spend your money too!:)

[David Woodruff]

Welcome to The Creek Allen, Nice Juniper, looks like it could make a beautiful curl in crotch wood. Keep working, a bunch of us have turned full time after retirement.
You live in one of my favorite states. A few years ago I picked up a beautiful 24" cottonwood burl from a cabinetmaker near Vernal. The burl had so many spikes on it you had to be careful how you picked it up. I asked the old gentlemen if it were for sale, he said "I reckin". So I said "how much?" he said "can ye stand ten dollars?" I reckin I could. Shortest transaction in my history.

[bob svoboda]

Welcome Allen and thanks for sharing you work. Have never had a chance to work with Juniper, but will surely try if I find some.

[Don Orr]

Welcome aboard Allen.