Honduran Rosewood Burl

[David E Keller]

I was lucky enough to come into a little of this gorgeous wood, so I thought I'd have a go with a piece of it. I didn't really have anything in mind when I started on it, but this is what I ended up with. I continue to be drawn to pieces like this with voids and inclusions.

It's about 4 inches tall and just under 3" at the widest point. Finished with shellac, BLO, and WOP.

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Comments and criticism welcome.

[Dennis Ford]

No criticism here, it is very nice wood and the shape does it justice.

[Curt Fuller]

For my eyes they just don't get any better than this! There is so much natural beauty in a piece of wood like that and then the simple form that exposes it all is just perfect. Man that's pretty!

[Michael James]

Spectacular and I can't imagine a better finish on that piece! Ya done good.
mj

[Jim Burr]

I'd love to see a shot of the bottom, but that is over the top David!! And a great new shape to think about. Really...very big Wow factor!!!!

[dan carter]

Very nice, you did well. Can't imagine anyone not liking this one, nice shape, nice wood, unbelievable wood.

[Roger Chandler]

Nice wood, great form, David!

[David E Keller]

I'd love to see a shot of the bottom...

Too lazy for the photo tent, so here are a few quickies using different pieces of furniture for background.

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It doesn't show well, but there's an area a little smaller than a dime that is slightly concave... It's not the most stable form, but I like the effect that it gives.

[Ron Stadler]

Really like this David, kinda reminds me of a dinosaur egg or something, you did a fine job on it and finish looks really good as well. I have yet to try anything with voids in it or burl for that matter, but I hear its quite a chore.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece David out of some really nice wood. Form and finish look great.

[Mark Hubl]

Quite nice David. Lovely chunk of wood!

[Harry Robinette]

David
You hit this one head on.The shape is perfect as far as I'm concerned,the wood is beautiful but what you did with it made unbelievable.Keep up the magnificent work.

[Dick Mahany]

David,

Incredible beauty in this piece. The voids, the patterns, the contrast in the wood all work to make it work. I am really wanting to expand my skills to turn pieces like this, but have a loooong way to go.

Regards,

[Cathy Schaewe]

Wow, that is beautiful. Gives me some ideas. Can you give me a measurement of the diameter at the widest point, for reference?

[David E Keller]

Wow, that is beautiful. Gives me some ideas. Can you give me a measurement of the diameter at the widest point, for reference?

Absolutely! I mean I could refuse, but then you'd issue a court order, or I'd end up on jury duty for the rest of my life.

It turns out that I'm terrible at estimating size(please hold all jokes related to that statement)... It's just a hair over 4" tall and about 2 7/8" at the widest point. I'll edit the original post to reflect that.

[Cathy Schaewe]

Absolutely! I mean I could refuse, but then you'd issue a court order, or I'd end up on jury duty for the rest of my life.

It turns out that I'm terrible at estimating size(please hold all jokes related to that statement)... It's just a hair over 4" tall and about 2 7/8" at the widest point. I'll edit the original post to reflect that.
Hmmm. So many ideas come to mind -

Thanks !

[Steve Schlumpf]

WOW - I'm impressed! Beautiful wood, natural/organic form and just enough finish to highlight the wood! This one's a winner in my book! Seriously - outstanding work on this!

What's next? You have really been sharing some great work lately!

[David DeCristoforo]

Now that's just excellent! I was going to say "eggselent" but I'm not in a joking mood tonight. I like this much better than my first outing with the rosewood burl! I hope my next go turns out half this nice...

[Scott Hackler]

Great job David. That is a winner and the wood is fantastic.

[Michelle Rich]

sometimes , no plan is the best plan!

[Kathy Marshall]

Stunning piece! and the simple form really lets the wood speak. I really like this one!

[Frank Van Atta]

Excellent shape; the small foot lets it stand up, but it still looks like a teardrop with no foot at all.

[John Keeton]

David, we were out with friends last nite, and I missed this! Fantastic piece - the color and figure of the Rosewood is wonderfully showcased by this simple form. The NE and inclusions really add to the mix. Excellent choice on the use of this wood, and great choice on finish! I am still eyeing the couple of pieces I have.

[Tony Pridmore]

David, great execution on a beautiful piece of Rosewood. I haven't used WOP very much. How did it do in the inclusions and on the natural edge?

[Tony Pridmore]

David, we were out with friends last nite, and I missed this!

John, you're a moderator now. There's no time for family and friends.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Ditto, ditto, ditto . . .

[Dan Cannon]

These types of pieces always leave me in awe, and this one is just beautiful. It's hard for me to imagine what it takes to make one of these, particularly without it falling apart half way through. Thanks for sharing, truly amazing.
Dan

[bob svoboda]

I hesitate to say it's one of your best, because all of your work is so nice, but this one holds special appeal to me. Thanks for sharing.

[Baxter Smith]

That is a really neat piece! The wood is beautiful but the shape with the voids & NE is what gets to me. They just seem to go together. Very different and exceptional!

[David E Keller]

Thanks to all who've viewed and especially commented... Compliments from this group really mean a lot considering some of the gorgeous stuff that gets posted here.


David, great execution on a beautiful piece of Rosewood. I haven't used WOP very much. How did it do in the inclusions and on the natural edge?

Tony, WOP is pretty easy to use. In fact, it's about the same as an oil finish in ease of application. I prefer multiple very thin coats, so this piece got about 6 or 8 applied over a week or so. If I get dust nibs in a layer, I just buff it with 0000 steel wool and apply another coat. I didn''t have any trouble with the natural edges, but I generally don't make an effort to apply finish to them... I prefer to leave them natural I suppose.

[Mark Hubl]

David, Congrats on the WOW cover! Well deserved on this beauty!!

[Roland Martin]

Stunning wood & form, David, and the finish is excellent. Absolutely beautiful!!!

[Carol Kinney]

Great job David it's beautiful! Trying to work around all the missing wood had to be a huge challenge. Congratulations on the WOW cover . . . very deserving for a great piece and a nice guy :)!

[Tim Thiebaut]

This piece really is beautiful. Just curious here, on a piece like this I am assumeing that you cant reverse it when finished with the front and mount onto a vac chuck because of the odd shaped NE, how do you finish off the foot of the piece? Or do you have a very narrow tube shape for the vacume chuck that grips it inside the bottom for reverse turning?

[David E Keller]

THanks to everyone for commenting.


This piece really is beautiful. Just curious here, on a piece like this I am assumeing that you cant reverse it when finished with the front and mount onto a vac chuck because of the odd shaped NE, how do you finish off the foot of the piece? Or do you have a very narrow tube shape for the vacume chuck that grips it inside the bottom for reverse turning?

Sadly, I don't own a vacuum chuck... yet! I reverse these using a scrap piece of wood turned into a spindle shape that fits inside against the bottom and allows me to use the tailstock. I guess it's a modified jam chuck of sorts. One of the reasons I've delayed getting a vacuum chuck is that I so enjoy pieces with voids and inclusions.

[Joe Aliperti]

Just saw this thread. What a great piece, David!

[Tim Thiebaut]

That makes perfect sense, thank you for letting me know.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Simple clean form and more than gorgeous wood, a real beauty David, well done :-))