Russian Olive pedestal box

[Curt Fuller]

This is some more of the Russian Olive burl wood. It's bigger than any of these pedestal things I've ever done before, 13" tall by 6.5" across. The pedestal and finial are just some kind of mystery wood dyed black. I tried to replicate some of the shapes in the box in the finial and pedestal. The base of the pedestal and finial is similar to the box lid and then the flared out sections are similar to the body of the box. I kind of like the way the pedestal turned out but I'm still not sure about the finial. But after 3 tries on a finial I glued the sucker in and it's done. I thank the consulting firm of S & K Design ;) for their excellent mentoring. All comments welcomed.

[Pete Jordan]

Spectacular Curt!
I really like this piece!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful work Curt! I like how you modified the finial! Works for me! Really like the wood - both in color and grain! Very interesting piece - especially with the reverse features in the pedestal and finial! Nice imagination! Thanks for sharing!

[Roland Martin]

That is a beautiful box, Curt. Spot On!! From the proportions to the awesome olive, there would be absolutely nothing I would change. Great piece of art!:)

[Nate Davey]

That is a beautiful piece of wood and a spectacular box. I really like this style of box and the pedestal/finial combo is very well done. IMHO

[dan carter]

Very nice box. Nice pedestal, the finial is a little different but works fine. Is an attractive piece.

[David Reed]

Very nice Curt. I love the execution of the ogee form. The finials with the mirror image are also very well done. I think with the recessed lid, the top finial could be a skosh taller but that is minor and certainly only IMHO.

[Jim Burr]

Wow!!! The first thing I notice was the box replication in the stem and finial...great touch!! Art gallery piece Curt...bravo!!!!

[John Keeton]

Curt, you pulled it off beautifully!!! Very well done, with great color combination, excellent proportions, and detailed replication of elements. I think the finial works, and works very well. Love the pedestal. The whole package came together as planned!

That Russian Olive is some fantastic wood. I know it is an invasive species in many states, and I was of the impression we had the tree/shrub in KY, but the maps do not show it as invasive here. Maybe if all the woodturners will start harvesting and turning it, we can help control it!!:D;)

[Pierce Davidson]

I'm consistantly amazed at the talent I see here. What a beautiful piece!

[Tim Thiebaut]

That is amazingly beautiful!

[Roger Chandler]

Curt,

This is a fabulous work! The individual parts are all proportional, the wood is beautiful, and your turning skills are all on display! A fine example of true wood turned art, and beautifully done. Good job on replication of pedestal details in the finial. I really like the figure in the lid and the body.

[David E Keller]

Very cool. I think the whole thing works. I love the natural edge and the coloring in that burl. The finial is a little non-traditional, and I think that adds to the overall uniqueness of the piece. Very nicely done!

[Allan Ferguson]

Agreed all the way!

[Baxter Smith]

Very beautiful piece. I will agree on the finial being a little different from the norm at first glance, but I think it fits the piece very well! I have done a couple of these NE hollowforms with finials but never a boxed one. When looking at the picture going down in, it suddenly occured to me:) that perhaps you could cut the top out of the HF then use it as a lid further down in. Is that what you did with this one? Great wood and great form!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a beautiful piece Curt. I really like the pedestal and the finial.

[Kieran Kammerer]

Incredible piece Curt. Once again, more inspiration! Kieran

[Bob Bergstrom]

Curt, that is a beauty. If I didn't read about the size I would have guess it was a very nice small pedestal box. The proportions are so good there is no hint of it size. The pedestal is awesome and the rest is right there with it.

[Josh Bowman]

Curt, that's absolutely beautiful.

[Ron Stadler]

Gonna go what the football game, but that looks really nice Curt, nice job there.

[gary Zimmel]

One very sweet piece Curt..

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Wonderful work as usual Curt. This is a real prize.:)

[Curt Fuller]

Thanks for all the nice comments. I really appreciate them.

When looking at the picture going down in, it suddenly occured to me:) that perhaps you could cut the top out of the HF then use it as a lid further down in. Is that what you did with this one?
Baxter, one of the things that I think detracts from this piece is that the lid is from a different piece of wood than the rest of the box. It's still russian olive but not burl. I wish I knew a way to core a piece out for the lid and still have it be big enough for a lid. Any ideas?

[David E Keller]

I wish I knew a way to core a piece out for the lid and still have it be big enough for a lid. Any ideas?

Curt, I've only done it a time or two, but I've just used a parting tool to take a cone shaped 'core' from the top of the burl. I then reversed the core to form the lid. IIRC, JK posted a photo tutorial of the process for one of his pieces a while back.

Here's one I posted here that was done that way:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?147563-Keetonish-brown-mallee-form&highlight=

[Richard Madden]

One of the very best I've seen! Love it.

[brian watts]

beautiful piece of wood..really like it

[Curt Fuller]

Curt, I've only done it a time or two, but I've just used a parting tool to take a cone shaped 'core' from the top of the burl. I then reversed the core to form the lid. IIRC, JK posted a photo tutorial of the process for one of his pieces a while back.

Here's one I posted here that was done that way:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?147563-Keetonish-brown-mallee-form&highlight=

David, that's exactly what I wish I could have done! I've never used a parting tool to get that deep into the wood though. I think the longest parting tool I have is only about 3" from the handle to the cutting tip. Also, with you experience coring like that, do you think a tool with a slight curve, something similar to a McNaughton type cutter but hand held, would work?

[David E Keller]

David, that's exactly what I wish I could have done! I've never used a parting tool to get that deep into the wood though. I think the longest parting tool I have is only about 3" from the handle to the cutting tip. Also, with you experience coring like that, do you think a tool with a slight curve, something similar to a McNaughton type cutter but hand held, would work?

You can use an old planer/jointer blade to make a little longer tool if you need one. As for the curved blade, I'd worry a bit about the torque and potential for binding if you were holding it by hand. I gave it a little practice on a couple of bowls just to get the feel for it. Also, the mallee burl I did was a fairly open, flat form, so it was probably a bit easier to access.

[Ken Glass]

Curt,
That is a beautiful piece. It has great proportion and form and all parts accent the overall appearance very well. You should be very proud of this piece. Extremely good work.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Curt.....I just saw this for the first time and am glad I did. Very, very nice. The wood is stupendous ....the form and finiss are spectacular. I do like the way you repeated the pattern from the pedestal to the finial. Very, very nice!

[Baxter Smith]

Curt, reading Davids second post last night reminded me of a thought I had had but then never gotten back to writing. Like David, I have parted off a section to use as a lid but the angle was much more shallow and there wasn't a natural edge to contend with.

My random thought was as follows:
After the dome is shaped on the top of the hollowform, make a groove at the transition area where the dome meets the inside edge of the cup/vase with a thin parting tool. 1/4 inch deep would be enough. Begin hollowing the vessel. With a swan neck or something similar, cut over and into the groove thereby having the top come off. Easier imagined than done I am sure.
Since the top is round, hold it in cole jaws or soft jaws and slightly flatten the top of the lid around the opening. Glue on a block that you could then turn round and grab with a chuck. Reverse to finish the inside bottom of the lid. Reverse again holding it in the cole jaws to remove the glue block. The lid would sit on a small lip at a lower depth and narrower width. Not much but for what its worth...:)