Box Elder Hollow Form Rough Out

[Steve Schlumpf]

Like a lot of folks, I haven’t had a lot of lathe time lately. Yesterday I finally had some free time and managed to rough out the exterior of the last piece of green Box Elder that I had. Was real pleased to see what was under the bark!!! Today I got about 90% of the hollowing done and plan to finish it tomorrow. Just wanted to share some photos of the rough out so that folks know that I still have a lathe and use it!

This piece is about 9” deep x 8.5” wide and, at this point, most of it is ¾” thick. Plan on soaking it in DNA for a while and finish turn it sometime in the spring.
169058 169059 169060 169061

As always – comments, critiques and opinions are welcome!

Thanks for looking!

[John Keeton]

Wow, I bet you were pleased!!! And, surprised! I know the other piece you had of this was nice, but you were not expecting this kind of figure at all from this piece. Exceptionally nice!

Really sweet form, too, BTW. This will make a nice one, Steve.

[Tim Rinehart]

Can't wait to see finished piece in the Spring. How long will you soak that in DNA? And do you wrap outside after drip drying, to just allow opening to 'breath'?

[bob svoboda]

Nice surprise! That is going to make a knock-out HF. Bet you are enjoying every moment of the process.

[Jim Burr]

You have your hands full dude!! And I can think of few that would better serve that chunk!!

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Steve, as usual Beautiful work. That opening is getting smaller and smaller. Beautiful wood.:)

[Sean Hughto]

Wow, great wood. I love when the reveal is such a pleasant surprise.

[charlie knighton]

Steve,

very nice, i like your choice of turning it end grain with the eyes on top

[Mark Hubl]

Nice work Steve. Glad to see you get some lathe time. That piece will be lovely when finished. Hey, where are the lights???

[Ray Bell]

Beautiful work Steve.

[Michael James]

WoW! Speechless here..... that's gonna be a knockout!

[David E Keller]

That's a nice looking piece of wood, and the shape is going to show it well. Glad you got in a little turning, and I'll be looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Roland Martin]

My God, that is an awesome chunk of wood!!! Like everybody else, I can't wait to see some finish on it. What is that, a 3/4" +/- hole?? I really need to get me some hollowing tools, (OH,THE VORTEX, I'M WEAK)
Great HF, Steve.

[Harvey Ghesser]

Real nice work, Steve! Real nice...:D

[George Guadiane]

That will be an outstanding finished piece!
Do you REALLY need the steadyrest for a piece of that size?

[Josh Bowman]

Steve, that looks nice. Can't wait to see it finished. I really like the flame in box elder.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Do you REALLY need the steadyrest for a piece of that size?

Probably not George but that is some really heavy wood and I am using about a 2 1/4" diameter tenon. When first roughing out - I do tend to get a little aggressive - so I always figure it won't hurt.

[Rich Aldrich]

Looks real nice so far. Great piece of wood.

[Curt Fuller]

I agree with everyone else, that will be a beauty! I have a couple questions about using the steady rest. I'm in the process of building one. How much pressure do you put on the wheels as they ride along the form? Do they just make contact or do you want them to actually compress the wheels a little? And do you continue to use the rest when you re-turn (once the outside is round again)?

Oh, and one more question, do you have any trouble with the Christmas lights getting tangled in the steady rest?;)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Curt - I just bring the wheels up so they are touching - firm but not so much that the are compressing the wood. Plus the wheels that I am using are not super hard to begin with - have a little give to them.

Thing is with green wood - once it starts to dry it will go out-around and your steady will start to shake quite a bit. I keep a spray bottle full of water on the lathe when roughing out and when things look like they are starting to dry out - I spray it down good and wipe off the excess. Works great!

When finish turning - you don't have to worry about the piece going out of round on you - so I don't use the spray bottle. ;)

Maybe next year I'll take a photo with the hollowing system in use - lights and all! Then again... maybe not. :D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve that has the beginnings of a beautiful piece. I love the form and the wood looks really nice. Can't wait to see it finished.

[David Reed]

Yes Steve, you picked up a lovely piece and as usual, are turning it (catch the double meaning) into a beautiful piece of art. I haven't worked with box elder - is it true that the lovely red will fade?
Ditto re the steady - is the foot soft or weak or merely added insurance?

[Baxter Smith]

Great looking piece of wood. Even has a few Christmas colors!

[Bill Bolen]

Love the form Steve! Now I'm reallllly looking forward to spring...Billl...