17 inch Curly Maple cauldren

[Thomas Bennett]

I turned this large “cauldron” on Sunday. My curly maple supplier brought me a side slab with the rest of the lumber from the log. The slab was too short for another board but too good to throw away.
The blank started out right at 20 inches. After I turned it round I discovered a crack and returned it down to 17 ¾. This blank has it all, or at least, a lot, going on: curl, Ambrosia worm, spalt and powder post beetle holes. It was partially dry as it sat in my driveway all summer. I still consider it “green.” As always, the soft maple turns really well. I consider it to be a "text book" wood. Wood that reacts to the tools and techniques exactly as expected. I roughed it out with my new Thompson "Bill Grumbine" long handled gouge. It works great! I tried the "Easy rougher" and found it works well after the blank is already round, but is not as fast as the "Bill Grumbine." I was able to core a small (14" or so) piece.
After turning a wider rim on the inside, I re-turned the opposite profile on the outside to create the "cauldren" shape. I coated it with Penetrol and intend to let it completely dry for a month or two before applying a proper finish. I have three more smaller blanks from the slab that I want to turn soon.
Please comment!

[Greg Muller]

That is GORGEOUS!:eek:

Your supplier should get some credit, please PM me his name so I can steal pieces from you. :rolleyes:

.

[Tim Rinehart]

You're correct on that statement...beautiful piece, nice shape and rim detail.

[gary Zimmel]

Wow, now that is one big chunk of wood that does have a lot going on in it. Beautiful piece Thomas.

[Michael E. Thompson]

Great looking. Love the curl, beautiful shape. I like the rim details.

[David E Keller]

Nicely done. I really like the shape of the piece, and you're right about the wood.

[Mike Cruz]

Very cool turn. Beautiful wood, too. And thanks for the other pics, too...not just the finished project. ;)

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Thomas, this is a nice size and beautiful wood. I really like what you've done. By the way Cool Turning Outfit as well!!:eek:

[charlie knighton]

very nice, what lathe???? i like your tool rest, any comments on how well you like the tool rest compared to a normal one???

[Roger Chandler]

Great turning, and love that mustard, uh, err, uuhmm, blue :eek: monster :confused::D

[John Keeton]

Neat cauldron, and drop dead gorgeous wood!! I sure can see the advantage of turning left handed - so much better than the face full of stuff I get with a pull cut like that! I may switch!:D

[John Hart]

The shape of this bowl is very appealing...and so is the wood. All in all a very nice piece. Great job!!:)

[Thomas Bennett]

QUOTE=charlie knighton;1502755]very nice, what lathe???? i like your tool rest, any comments on how well you like the tool rest compared to a normal one???[/QUOTE]
Charlie, the lathe is the only Powermatic 3520"C" in existence. Soon they will all look like this.
The tool rest sitting on the floor works really well when roughing a big blank.
Someone noticed I changed shirts in the photos. Here's what happened. I waited most of the summer to turn this blank (and the others). I finally got the chance last weekend. It took me a couple of hours to cut the blanks out of the slab with a chain saw (needed sharpening, tuned up, etcc..) then I had to clean out the lathe area of the shop, sharpen the tools and attach face plates to the blanks. As soon as I started turning I was informed by my wife that our 20 year old college kid daughter had a flat tire down at our church. Seems like that should be easy enough….well it took several hours to repair.
Thanks again for the comments. I'll post some more bowls I made earlier in the summer soon.

[Jeff Nicol]

Tom, Looks like a dandy of a bowl! Like you said it has a bit of everything in it ! I wish we had more ambrosia around here in WI. I have tons of red maple and once in a while it will have a line or two of ambrosia in it. But I get some fantastic spalting after a month or so out in the yard waiting for the lathe.

Great piece,

Jeff

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful bowl! Interesting foot design! Love all the curl! I can see this as a centerpiece on a dining table! Very nice work!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nice form and wood is beautiful.

[David DeCristoforo]

It ain't that easy to turn this big. And that's a screamer chunk of maple!