Pucker Factor - my biggest yet

[Kathy Marshall]

I was trying to decide what to turn today and grabbed a log of Emory Oak (native tree in Arizona) that had a small burl on it. I cut out the cross section that included the burl and popped it on the lathe. Got it roughed and found lots of cracks and a nice little void (small pucker factor). Nice big crack going through the section that will be the tenon (dumped in a ton of medium CA and prayed it would hold).
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Turned a little more on the outside to start defining the shape and a nice little chunk came out of the void. Now had a nice little medium sized void (a few more points on the pucker factor).
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This is the other side showing the pith and more of the cracks (some went completely through as evidenced by the CA that ended up on the paper towel I put on the bed (lesson learned early on when filling large cracks between centers))
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Got the tenon turned and chucked it up. Taped up the outside and started hollowing. Nice little bark inclusion and more of the void (crank up the pucker).
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I used a 1" forstner bit to take out the center a little at a time. I drilled in about an inch then hollowed down, then drilled another inch and hollowed down. The bark inclusion was pretty big and the void got bigger and I wanted to leave as much support as I could while I worked my way down.

This is basically the finished product, it's about 5" tall by 3 1/2 wide give or take. I still need to turn a base and I'm going to do a lid also.
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It just has a quick coat of DO so far, will start adding WOP tomorrow and hopefully will have it completed for the weekend. I think this piece might end up in the instant gallery at the Desert Woodturning Roundup.

I'm open to suggestions for wood and form for the pedestal base, lid and finial.

[Michael James]

That looks like it was an exciting project!:eek:
No help here on base and lid, but I really like what you have here. Carry on!
mj

[Tim Thiebaut]

Wow, not having done any NE forms yet I think I would have been puckering even worse then you! Congrats on getting it turned safely, and on the outcome, it may have had you puckering, but I think the final product was very worth while!

[charlie knighton]

very nice......enjoy your roundup

[John Keeton]

Kathy, you did very well getting this one to the finish line! Nice work. Whatever you decide on the base, I would try to transition the top of the base into the lower profile of the form so as not to have an abrupt change. I see the shelf for the lid, and it appears to be fairly deep in the form - into the void. Doing a lid to look right will be challenging. I would consider doing the lid from walnut to give some contrast to the rugged look of the oak, and to pick up on the dark color. Just my thoughts.

[Michelle Rich]

OMG that is over the top pucker factor. I would have run screaming from my shop & padlocked the door!

[David E Keller]

Great job tackling a really cool piece of wood! I agree with John's sentiment about a darker color for accents, but I'd consider making the lid out of the same wood(if you've got more of it). I do like the walnut idea for the finial and base.

If you really want a challenge, you could try to match a void in the lid with the void in the side of the form so that you don't have a lid edge crossing the defect. I'm not sure how feasible vs. frustrating that might be, but it's food for thought.

I'm excited to see this piece in its finished state!

[bob svoboda]

Good job keeping it together, Kathy. That's some pretty wood.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Michelle that is a beautiful piece and I am guessing the pucker factor was pretty high. Saran wrap works on those types and it works pretty well. I do agree with John on the pedestal. Myself I probably wouldn't put a lid/finial on it but that is just me.

[Roger Chandler]

Brave lady........that Kathy Marshall! Nice work!

[Harry Robinette]

Kathy
Really nice piece can't wait to see it finished. I would use the same wood if you have any left.
Harry

[Baxter Smith]

Very cool looking piece of wood. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

I started on the pedestal tonight. I'm using walnut since I had enough in spindle blanks to do the pedestal and finial if I go with a lid. The pedestal is pretty simple, just a gradual taper to a teardrop where the pedestal will go into the base. I'm doing the base/pedestal in 2 pieces since I didn't have anything in a large enough diameter and length to do it in 1 piece.
I'm not sure what to do about a lid. I've had several comments on here and on another forum to leave out a lid, but I've already got the shelf cut for it and no way to remove that. I did have a thought about just doing a narrow collar to sit on the shelf (would be attached permanently), this would still allow light to the inside to show the void better. Or I could try making a lid and "making" a void in it to match the void in the piece, I could probably use my dremel tool to make it look as natural as possible. In either case, if I do a lid, it will also be in walnut since I don't have a big enough piece of the oak left.
I may just make up several different lid/collar pieces and just see what works best with it!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very interesting turning so far! Working with voids can be exciting!

I like the idea of using a dark wood for pedestal and top. Should bring out the color instead of contrast with it! David's idea of a void in the lid is a good one and worth considering! Hope you get it finished in time for the DWR! Have fun!

[Pete Jordan]

I used to be brave like you till I got wacked up the side of my head a couple of times!

Be very careful!!