WIP-Why I went up on the Mountain

[Allen Neighbors]

This is the first large piece of the Bristlecone Pine that I've turned. I wanted to save some of the gnarley looking outside, and Jim Underwood suggested... naw... he said I "simply must" turn a Natural Edge piece from it. ;):p So I did. Turned end grain, the center is about 1/2" off pith.
This has been sanded to 320, then re-sanded using Danish Oil with 220 and 320.
I still have to flip it, and turn the bottom.
I left it about an inch thick, to keep the integrity of the wood, since some of the cracks go all the way through.
This wood is tough stuff. I kept the tailstock until I had it hollowed down to within about an inch of the bottom. Then I narrowed the tailstock "spindle" down to about 1/2" diameter. When I tried to snap it off, I had to hit it with a hammer to break it.
For a 'Pine', this wood has some very striking color to it. I'm amazed!
And, John Keeton, this piece did have a surprising amount of pitch still in it. I laid a handful of the shavings on my bandsaw table, and stuck a match to it. It lit like a lighter knot.:eek::) For those of you that haven't read the rest of the story, this particular wood is from an area where the forest burned in 1894, and there are many trunks still standing. This was one of them. The growth rings reveal the age of this tree was between 500 and 600 years old when it burned.
I'll post a pic of the finished product sometime tomorrow.
Comments are appreciated.

[David E Keller]

That's beautiful stuff, Allen. I love the charred, natural edge. You're right about the coloring... It's great.

[David Christopher]

WOW, that is some great looking wood....I like the shape that you came up with

[Michael James]

That is one awesome piece. Had you doctored it all up to make it look like that I would say, "hmmmmmm interesting".... but.... au natural it's a knock out, cracks and all. Are you going to fill the cracks to bind it?
Thanks for the history and the post!
mj

[Bernie Weishapl]

Allen that is a beautiful piece. I really like what you did with it.

[alex carey]

ughh thats beautiful stuff, gonna have to get me some one day.

[Allen Neighbors]

That's beautiful stuff, Allen. I love the charred, natural edge. You're right about the coloring... It's great.
Thanks, David... glad Jim forced me into this... ;)

WOW, that is some great looking wood....I like the shape that you came up with
Thank you, David... I wanted an ogee shape, but I can never seem to nail it.

That is one awesome piece. Had you doctored it all up to make it look like that I would say, "hmmmmmm interesting".... but.... au natural it's a knock out, cracks and all. Are you going to fill the cracks to bind it?
Thanks for the history and the post!
mj
Thanks James... I don't anticipate doing anything to the cracks... as yet... as strong as this wood is, and after sealing it with several soakings in DO, I don't think that it will ever do any more moving... I've got a piece that was turned by my friend in Colorado, that I've had for two years now, and it's never changed.

Allen that is a beautiful piece. I really like what you did with it.
Thanks for the comments, Bernie.

[Allen Neighbors]

ughh thats beautiful stuff, gonna have to get me some one day.
Thanks, Alex. When's your next trip to Texas? I know where you could locate a piece. :);)

[Leo Van Der Loo]

WOW Allen, that 3th picture is just out of this world, yes the side views are nice also, but the top look is just amazing, like the most beautiful flower,thank you for showing this :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[James Combs]

WOW Allen, that 3th picture is just out of this world, yes the side views are nice also, but the top look is just amazing, like the most beautiful flower,thank you for showing this :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

Got to go along with Leo on that top view. It is Awesome. :cool:

[Tom Sherman]

Good stuff Allen, that sure is some beautiful wood. You must have been awe while you turned that, great job.

[Ron Lynch]

Spectacular!

[Curt Fuller]

Allen, I've only seen a couple examples of turned Bristlecone Pine. Many places, like the Great Basin National Park that's not far from where I live, protect it. I was surprised that you can get a permit to harvest it at all even in small quantities. Most of the gnarly old trees in GBNP are hundreds, some are thousands of years old. The mountain, Wheeler Peak, where I've hiked to them makes you wonder how anything can survive at all, let alone for hundreds or thousands of years. You've done a beautiful job of displaying the beauty of the wood and maintaining the dignity of how tough those trees are.

[Baxter Smith]

I will agree with the others that thought the third photo was flower like and stunning! :)

[Patrick Doody]

That is something else!

Beautiful turning, worth climbing a mountain!

[Thomas Canfield]

That is a good looking piece. You are excused from missing SWAT after this post. Now to see the final.

[Al Wasser]

That was a pretty young tree as Brislecone pines go. I have a slice of one that is supposed to be about 3000 yrs old but I am not about to attempt to count them. It is a little amazing that you could count the rings.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Excellent work Allen! My first thought was of a flower - absolutely beautiful! Can't wait to see it finished!

[bob svoboda]

You worked that piece well. That tree will feel honored with such respectful treatment-love the whole story.

[Ken Glass]

Allen,
absolutely beautiful. It reminds me of a flower opening up in the morning sun. Just the right amount of edge on it for my taste. Very well done.

[Karl Card]

WOW Allen, that 3th picture is just out of this world, yes the side views are nice also, but the top look is just amazing, like the most beautiful flower,thank you for showing this :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:


my thoughts exactly

[Allen Neighbors]

Well, I appreciate all the kind and gracious comments. I hesitate to tell all of you, that the aforementioned "Flower" has wilted - the petals shattered.
It was a very stupid, careless mistake. When sanding with the Danish Oil, I had shifted into the slowest speed range.
After I got it reverse mounted, to finish the bottom, I was trying to burn the rings on the bottom, and realized it wouldn't burn at the slower speeds. So I changed the belt, and then turned it on... without changing the speed dial.
I remembered it and gave it a spin down, but it was too late.
Pieces of it went all over the shop. I had to hunt for a while... the last piece was found 20 feet away, beyond my shower curtain dividers, and over one bench and my bandsaw.
I took this pic.
Sorry, folks...
My wife wants to glue it together... don't know if we can... I think I need a chiropractor... threw out my hip, kicking myself in the butt...

The other pics are of another chunk... a vase... if I can keep my head screwed on straight, it should end up about 11" tall....

[David DeCristoforo]

Ahh... That's tragic. Glad you didn't eat any of it though.

[Ted Calver]

Rats!! It might glue without looking too bad. Better luck with the other two pieces and don't beat yourself up...you have plenty of company launching projectiles off the lathe :)

[James Roberts]

Wow, Allen, that is awesome. Great history there too. You've done a very fine job.

Aw crap! I replied before I finished looking at the whole thread. So very sorry for your loss, it was a beauty. I'm sure lessons have been learned and the next one will be just as good or better.

[Allen Neighbors]

Wow, Allen, that is awesome. Great history there too. You've done a very fine job.

Aw crap! I replied before I finished looking at the whole thread. So very sorry for your loss, it was a beauty. I'm sure lessons have been learned and the next one will be just as good or better.
Thanks, James. I've surely learned one lesson... Check. Check. Check.:(

Rats!! It might glue without looking too bad. Better luck with the other two pieces and don't beat yourself up...you have plenty of company launching projectiles off the lathe :)
This is the first time in about 2 years or so that I've launched one. Sure was a good one to lose... all that work, climbing around on that mountain... and then all the work, trying to get the curves right...

Ahh... That's tragic. Glad you didn't eat any of it though.
Me too, David. Came close, but close is only good in Hand Grenades 101.:o

[John Keeton]

Allen, for whatever reason, I am just now looking at this thread!:o Man, that was a beautiful piece, and I am so sorry that it blew apart on you. But......I actually think you have an even better one on the lathe right now. Hard to tell, but I think I like the shape of this one ever better - so, it was not all for naught!! Consider the first one a prototype!;)

Great history, and interesting on the pitch in the wood. As they say...the stories that wood could tell?!?!?

[Allen Neighbors]

That was a pretty young tree as Brislecone pines go. I have a slice of one that is supposed to be about 3000 yrs old but I am not about to attempt to count them. It is a little amazing that you could count the rings.
Al, I used a magnifying glass, but the way I shake, it became almost impossible to be accurate. That's why I finally gave up.:)

Allen, for whatever reason, I am just now looking at this thread!:o Man, that was a beautiful piece, and I am so sorry that it blew apart on you. But......I actually think you have an even better one on the lathe right now. Hard to tell, but I think I like the shape of this one ever better - so, it was not all for naught!! Consider the first one a prototype!;)
Great history, and interesting on the pitch in the wood. As they say...the stories that wood could tell?!?!?
John, even after the time that's passed, I'm still just sick about blowing that bowl. :(
On the vase, which I'm hollowing now, I made it to about 6" depth (or so) and decided I needed a larger boring bar, so I worked this morning on a larger one.
I bought a 1" piece of hot rolled steel, 2' long. Bored a 31/64" hole in the end, 2" deep. Then put two set screws in to hold the cutting bit. I mounted it in a 2' piece of 1" seamless black pipe for the handle. I haven't added weight to the handle, yet, but I probably will. Right now, I'm down to about 9" depth (still using the tailstock) and it's a little hard to handle. I guess this is the hardest wood that I've tried to hollow to this depth, by hand.
Just before I left the shop, I broke out the tailstock 'spindle', and installed the steady rest, so I can finish the hollowing in the morning. I've got tape around the rim, and another band around the center (where the steady rest is mounted), so maybe this one will stay together. I have finish sanded, oiled, and super-glued the cracks on the inside to the present depth. Now, if I'm careful, I won't ever have to touch that part of it again... (fingers crossed).

[Rich Aldrich]

Awesome idea! Looks real nice.

[Allen Neighbors]

Well, here it is,with the first of numerous coats of Danish Oil... (a spot of it in the second pic needs wiping)
You can see, by the number of cracks in it, the reason I left it as thick as I did. It is sitting on one of the smaller blanks from this same trunk.
I wish I could have made it a little bit thinner, by taking more off the outside, and putting some more arc in the upper curve... But after losing the other one, I was a coward about this.
It's 12" tall x about 7" at the widest part. Wet sanded to 400 w/DO. When the final coats of DO are on, and it cures, I'll buff it with EEE, WD, and clean wheel.
Comments appreciated.

[Baxter Smith]

Very pretty Alan. Glad it held together for you. I can see your point about wishing for more of a curve on the outside but it still looks nice. Do you have another piece to risk?:)

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Allen I was sorry to hear that the first one didn't survive, isn't that typical, it only happens to a brand new car or special piece of wood that it gets damaged :eek:.
This new one isn't quite as beautiful as the first one, but yes still a very good looking vase, and the wood is as stunning as the first one.
I don't know what I would do, and not to sure if you want to chance another piece of log, though I think I would be always looking at it with the sense that I should have :confused: :)
Maybe make a third one and wrap the whole piece in cling wrap after doing the outside, so you can go thinner and put a better curve on the "petals".
Whatever you do, I/We have the picture from the first one and can have a look at it anytime we like to, so thanks for that :D :cool: :)

[John Keeton]

Allen, well worth the extra effort with the new boring bar!! I do agree on the desire to have more flare, but then again, not to the point of risking another piece. I think you did great on this one. Hollowing this out endgrain must have been WORK!!

Very nice piece, with such a unique character and history!

[Allen Neighbors]

Very pretty Alan. Glad it held together for you. I can see your point about wishing for more of a curve on the outside but it still looks nice. Do you have another piece to risk?:)
Thank you, Baxter. Yes, I have more, and I'm going to keep trying. The piece this vase is sitting on in the photos is the next one I'll put on the lathe.

Allen I was sorry to hear that the first one didn't survive, isn't that typical, it only happens to a brand new car or special piece of wood that it gets damaged :eek:.
This new one isn't quite as beautiful as the first one, but yes still a very good looking vase, and the wood is as stunning as the first one.
I don't know what I would do, and not to sure if you want to chance another piece of log, though I think I would be always looking at it with the sense that I should have :confused: :)
Maybe make a third one and wrap the whole piece in cling wrap after doing the outside, so you can go thinner and put a better curve on the "petals".
Whatever you do, I/We have the picture from the first one and can have a look at it anytime we like to, so thanks for that :D :cool: :)
Leo, your comments are always so nice to read. You have a knack for encouraging the rest of us to keep on keeping on.:)
Your idea for using cling wrap is a good one. I've decided to give this other piece a try, and I think I'll take even more time after I get the first sanding done, to put thinned CA into all the exposed cracks, followed by just normal thin CA. After that sets up, I'll finish sand with DO, and then wrap the hound out of it, before I hollow it out. Maybe it'll hold together better, and look better, too.:confused::)

Allen, well worth the extra effort with the new boring bar!! I do agree on the desire to have more flare, but then again, not to the point of risking another piece. I think you did great on this one. Hollowing this out endgrain must have been WORK!!
Very nice piece, with such a unique character and history!
Thanks for the compliments, John. Coming from you they mean a lot.:)
You're right, end grain hollowing on this wood was like wrestling with a bear!!:eek::p It is only Pine wood, so I don't know why it's so infernally hard, except for the fact that it has stood erect since it died in the fire in 1894. That's the only reason I can think of, for it being so hard. I'd like to hear what others have to say about this matter. I'm not the brightest bulb in the lamp, so I may be wrong about this.:confused::confused: Actually, I wonder if I should just start another thread, asking for other opinions about this.

[Ken Glass]

Allen,
Sorry about losing the first one, which for me, always makes me hesitant on further same wood turnings. The thickness does not hurt this piece at all. The large N.E. on the top is really a great contrast to the color of the rest of the wood. The tool work is very good and your finish seems to really compliment the shape and texture of the wood. Very Well Done.

[Allen Neighbors]

Thanks, Ken, I appreciate your comments.

[Tom Sherman]

Allen one thought on the hardness perhaps the heat from the fire tempered the wood. Kind of like when sanding with to much pressure. In spite of the hardness you have done a beautiful piece here.

[Allen Neighbors]

Allen one thought on the hardness perhaps the heat from the fire tempered the wood. Kind of like when sanding with to much pressure. In spite of the hardness you have done a beautiful piece here.

I didn't know that wood could be tempered, but that does make sense to me. Thanks, Tom.