Oak Burl Hollow Form

[Steve Schlumpf]

This burl was given to me by Tony Greenway and is the other half of this piece that Tony turned a year ago: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=120131

This was my first time turning an Oak burl and it was some pretty hard wood that really generated the dust! Pretty stuff though and this piece is full of bark, inclusions, checks and voids – a little bit of something for everyone – including some really wild grain!

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The hollow form is 6” diameter x 3.75” high and it is thin. Sanded to 320 grit and finished with wipe-on gloss poly.

As always, your comments, opinions and critiques are welcomed!

Thanks for looking!

[David DeCristoforo]

That's nice Steve. I love oak burl. I have a piece of it in waiting but it's not that tall or that narley. I love the matte finish on this.

[Jon Lanier]

Sweet! What else can I say? :)

[Mike Davis NC]

How did you keep that from blowing apart on the lathe?!

Nice form and finish.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, that is really nice! I think you picked the perfect orientation for the wood too. I really like the void that's part of the opening. Very nice Steve!

[Jack Mincey]

Really nice one Steve. With the holes in this one I bet it was easy to check wall thickness and most of the shavings ejected through the holes as well. Sanding the inside had to be a beast with the hook of a hole around the top.
Jack

[bob svoboda]

Steve, I am very fond of wood with checks, inclusions and crazy grain. This piece qualifies in all areas. I like your use of a classic form and nice job keeping it all in one piece!

[John Keeton]

Steve, this one turned out looking great!! And, I think Tony and Curt are getting their oak from the same stump!!!:D:D

A challenging piece for sure - but well worth it!

[Ken Glass]

Steve,
I have a lot of Oak Burl and I hope some of mine turn out half as nice as this one did. The wood has lots of character and the form is classic. Very well Done.

[Rob Cunningham]

Great form Steve, especially at the mouth of the opening. That wood has a lot of character.
How did you keep it together on the lathe?
Did you power sand on the lathe or sand off the lathe?

[Mike Stephens]

Very well done Steve.

An outstanding piece of Oak. Great form and I love the voids.

[Roger Chandler]

All I can say Steve, is that you must really have steady hands and a delicate touch!

Real skill required to keep this one from coming apart. The grain is quite a twisting/turning/swirling configuration.

Overall, a really pretty turning that demonstrates your masterful skill level.

[David E Keller]

It's beautiful. I love these gnarly, barky, defective pieces, and you've done a really nice job with this one.

[Michael James]

I'm afraid I'm running out of adjectives to describe most of you guys' work. I just look at this stuff in awe and hopefully am soaking it in.
I'm totally ruined for flatwork and cannot look at a board the same way.... don't have the finesse or the imagination to do a piece like this.... hmmmmm...sort of leaves me somehwere in the Creek, eh?:eek:
Michael

[Tony De Masi]

Real nice piece there Steve. That sure would have given me some pucker factor getting it as thin as you did though. Gotta love that wipe on poly too.

[Tony Greenway]

Steve, you sure did a fine job on that old chunk of wood. It looks awesome!!:D:D:D

[charlie knighton]

very nice, voids...inclusions.....

[Tom Sherman]

Steve I keep coming back to look at this one, and I picture in my minds eye working in a very slow pace and with a very very light touch. Great job on this one.

[Rich Aldrich]

Really nice, Steve. It amazes me that a chunk of wood with holes can be turned without exploding apart. It must take a light touch, especially to get the finish cuts.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty Steve. I really like the form and love that wood.

[gary Zimmel]

Beautiful piece Steve. You really have a steady hand...

[James Roberts]

Another winner Steve! First word I thought of when looking at it was "Jurassic", it has a very old, fossil kind of look to it. Very nice.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for the kind words everyone - I really appreciate it!

Sorry for taking so long to get back to everyone but we had quite the wind storm come through here last night and we managed to lose power. :eek:

For those interesting in turning forms with voids - the only real advice I can offer is to make sure every cutter you use is sharp! As mentioned - very light cuts when you start getting things thin! And, probably the best advice is to take your time! If you have to walk away for 20 minutes to rest - just do it - the turning will wait for you!

The form was sanded 100% on the lathe - light touch at a very slow speed!

For those always trying to figure out which hollowing system - the captured system or articulated - this was done using the captured system - only. To me - the quality of the Monster tools makes all the difference in the world! :D