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Kathy Marshall
12-26-2010, 1:45 AM
Got my new photo tent on Christmas eve :D and wanted to try it out. I still need to rig something to hold the lights (they're the clamp on type) but pleased with the results anyway.

The bowl is bloodwood and so far this is the only type of wood I've tried that didn't like my easy wood tools, so went to my gouges freshly sharpened and touched up at least 10 times. Sanding was another experience, took alot of sanding but finally got a nice smooth finish. Love the look and feel of the wood. 6"w x 3"t wet sanded with BLO and just has a couple coats of WOP so far.
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The HF is cottonwood. It was dripping wet when I started roughing it and turned ok on the outside, when I started to hollow out the inside it didn't go so well. Even with freshly sharpened tools it was tearing more than cutting and what I was pulling out of it was more like mud than shavings. So I left the walls thick 1+" and tossed it into my DNA bucket, then remembered it about 7 days later, pulled it out, let it dry for a day and finished turning it. Things went much better! No cracking and no movement so far. Finished with DO and has a couple coats of WOP (more coats to come, I think I'll go glossy with this one). The lid was an afterthought and probably wont stay. I just happened to have a scarp of walnut left from turning an ornament and the tenon just happened to be the perfect size for a lid. So I just turned it to match the curve of the neck as best I could and turned the nob.
5"t x 4"w
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These are secret compartment key chains. The wood came from Woodworkers Resource $1 misc bin which contains pieces approx 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 by 8". The wood came from Mexico but none of it is labeled and they didn't know what type any of it was.
The dark one looks and turns very much like wenge and although in the pic it looks black, it's really just a very dark brown with black rings. The lighter one has open pores like oak and the color varies from goldish to orangish, turned and sanded nicely.
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Thanks for looking! C&C welcome!

Michelle Rich
12-26-2010, 5:27 AM
Good morning Kathy. You did well on the very dense bloodwood. Good sanding job. That red dust will permeate everything. I think you did well with stringy fluffy cottonwood. It sure looks very nice. Now just to nit-pick..the bottom third of the lidded vase could have been turned a tad differently to continue the lower curve. But again I nitpick. If I had turned this I wouod be proud of it too. Your finishing on all pieces is real, real good. Regards, Michelle

Roger Chandler
12-26-2010, 6:17 AM
Mornin' Kathy,

That bloodwood bowl is nearly a perfect example of form for a bowl............you nailed it! Very nice finish as well. I think what you accomplished with the cottonwood HF is amazing. From what I hear, cottonwood is one of the most stringy and difficult woods to get turned without a LOT of tearout, just the nature of the wood. Your drying in DNA must have done the trick and your key rings have a nice form as well.

Your post really helps, because I have not tried the DNA drying method as of yet, but I do plan on it when the springtime rolls around, and I can get some serious turning time in. Thanks for sharing these.......they are really nice!

John Keeton
12-26-2010, 8:21 AM
Nice work, Kathy, and congrats on the photo tent!!

Terry Beadle
12-26-2010, 8:43 AM
That bloodwood bowl shows elegance. Simple but with grace. Great job 4 sure !

charlie knighton
12-26-2010, 9:43 AM
very nice....

Kathy Marshall
12-26-2010, 10:53 AM
Good morning Kathy. You did well on the very dense bloodwood. Good sanding job. That red dust will permeate everything. I think you did well with stringy fluffy cottonwood. It sure looks very nice. Now just to nit-pick..the bottom third of the lidded vase could have been turned a tad differently to continue the lower curve. But again I nitpick. If I had turned this I wouod be proud of it too. Your finishing on all pieces is real, real good. Regards, Michelle

Michelle, Thanks! and I agree. It's a comment I forgot to add. When it was still in the chuck with a substantial amount of waste at the bottom, it appeared narrower although it did seem just a bit straight. Once I parted it off and turned it upright, I knew right away I hadn't continued the curve very well and with the jam chuck I used to finish the bottom, it wasn't perfectly true and I knew I'd probably make a mess of things if I tried to do much, so left well enough alone.


Mornin' Kathy,

That bloodwood bowl is nearly a perfect example of form for a bowl............you nailed it! Very nice finish as well. I think what you accomplished with the cottonwood HF is amazing. From what I hear, cottonwood is one of the most stringy and difficult woods to get turned without a LOT of tearout, just the nature of the wood. Your drying in DNA must have done the trick and your key rings have a nice form as well.

Your post really helps, because I have not tried the DNA drying method as of yet, but I do plan on it when the springtime rolls around, and I can get some serious turning time in. Thanks for sharing these.......they are really nice!

Thanks Roger! I think the key with the cottonwood was the long DNA soak. While the wood was still green for the finish turning, ALOT of the moisture had been removed and hollowing was like night and day compared to roughing it.


Nice work, Kathy, and congrats on the photo tent!!

Thanks John! Love getting new stuff!


That bloodwood bowl shows elegance. Simple but with grace. Great job 4 sure !

Thanks Terry!


very nice....

Thanks Charlie!

Bernie Weishapl
12-26-2010, 10:58 AM
Kathy those are some nice turnings. I like the bowl but the HF out of cottonwood caught my eye. Knowing how it can be a difficult wood to work with, it really is a nice piece.

Don Alexander
12-26-2010, 1:23 PM
really nice work ..... the bowl is really nice , but i like the cottonwood hf best though the lid doesn't do anything for me

cottonwood is some nice stuff . i got a rather small (1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 9) piece of cottonwood burl awhile back that i sliced into pen blanks and soaked in DNA right away when it dried out it twisted and shriveled up like a dried out sponge which made drilling for the tubes a bit of a challenge made absolutley gorgeous pens though and they sold immediately when people saw them looked a bit like creamy marble when finished i have been trying to find more for months with zero success

anyway i really like your HF well done