Cherry Burl Vase

[Baxter Smith]

My helpers like to go for “tractor rides” so one afternoon we went for a ride to check out a cherry burl. Although it was on nothing but a rotten stub, it looked promising. We came back, hooked up the yard cart and went on a burl retrieval expedition.

187756
The burl had grown most of the way around the tree so lined up the centers on the pith in hopes of making a vase of some sort.
187759187762
Roughed out a general shape that night.
The next day my helpers returned (they also like shoveling) to assist in cleanup.
187758187760187757
Spent the day hollowing but ended up stuck at a depth of about 11 ½ with a couple more inches to go . Thought about what plan B was going to be that night.
Here is plan B.
187755
The opening wasn’t quite large enough to go straight in and remain cutting on center but it got the job done.

187761
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/misc/pencil.png

[Baxter Smith]

187768
The next day, I used a combination donut chuck and tailstock support to finish the bottom.
14 x 12 finished with AO
187766187765187767187764187770187769
This one pushed me over the edge on adding a ballast box and remote switch. It only adds a little over 300 pounds but hopefully it will make a bit of difference. The only 6 conductor wire I could come up with was 18 gauge. The wires coming off the variable speed knob were marked 18 gauge though the others seemed larger.
187763
Thoughts and comments welcome.

[Doug W Swanson]

Pretty nice piece, Baxter. Is that black part rotten or was it just part of the bark on the tree? Either way it looks nice!

[Jon Prouty]

Baxter - these are the best types of threads! I love the start to finish and all that goes in betweeen. Really love the vase - form is really cool. I'm not big on having voids or bark inclusions - but this one makes me doubt that position. Really great.

Jon

[Johnny Taylor]

Baxter, thats a really nice vase and a good size too. with the inclusions it looks really old, kinda like if it was just dug up in an ancient greek archeological dig. Its good to see your helpers giving you a hand :)

[Brian Libby]

Baxter, I like the piece alot.
Is the remote switch magnetic?
Also nice looking tool rests - Robust?

[Richard Kennedy UK]

Great piece Baxter and a fab set of pics I love these start to finish threads too they are always interesting! great to see your home made deep hollowing rest great idea. As the nearly received owner of a 3520B (its in the country but not with me yet!) its wonderful to see the lathe dealing with a lump of wood that size! I am so looking forward to getting mine!

Thanks for sharing

[David DeCristoforo]

That's a honkin' big cherry burl and a beautiful vase. This is one of those times when I find the inclusion distracting. It's just so overpowering. But (and it's a "big but") the form is great and in the second pic from the side that does not have a huge black hole in it, it's awesome. Also, a very creative "helper" for the boring bar.

[Michael James]

Extraordinary chunk of wood there, well done! The form looks sort of Grecian and the inclusions make it look very ancient. I would call that a keeper! Congragts on getting the helpers to help. :)
mj

[Jim Burr]

Nice to see the Baxter clones getting some shop time in!! One super chunk of cherry there and a great form to show it off!! I wasn't crazy about the mouth for about 15 seconds. As MJ pointed out it has the Greek similarity and then it all fit and it really adds some additional class!

[Tony De Masi]

Great piece Baxter. Glad you were able to get good use out of it. One never knows with burls.

[Dick Wilson]

Baxter, I have never turned Cherry burl, but have turned a lot of Maple burl. If Cherry is like Maple there are little spikes under the bark. When possible I clean the bark off maple and let the spikes show. It is pretty dramatic. If those are bark inclusions and not voids you might think about removing the bark. I tend to agree with David. Overall it is a marvelous vase, great form, and you sure can't beat the wood figuration at all. Nice job.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, what a beauty Baxter! And a big one too.

[David E Keller]

I think it looks fantastic, Baxter! I can see the point about the remaining bark, but I tend to like inclusions and such. My only 'complaint' is that I wish you'd have cropped the photos a little tighter, so I could see even more detail in the burl. I love the form, and the coloring is wonderful. Nice solution to the depth issue while hollowing as well. Thanks for sharing.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Baxter - great series of photos! Love all the photos showing your helpers and all that energy!

Beautiful vase! Love the form, the size and the color! I can go either way on the bark issue - but halfway feel if the bark were removed, the resulting clean edged void would be even more appealing. No matter... very nice work! You should be very happy with this!

[John Keeton]

Baxter, I would call this one a winner!! Love the wood, and the bark inclusions. This is a form that is a little out of the ordinary, but seems to show the wood very well.

[Tim Thiebaut]

That came out very nice Baxter, and looks like your helpers had a great time as well!

[charlie knighton]

very nice.....

[Rich Aldrich]

Beautiful piece. I love Cherry, especially Cherry burl.

It is really cool how you get the young helpers involved.

[Jon Lanier]

WOW! That is a series piece of work. Beautiful work... and great looking kids.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Really like that piece. Very dramatic and something that can be studied. In fact, the photography in it's entirety is really outstanding.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Baxter that is one hugh burl. The vase is a beauty. I really like the wood and form.

[Roger Chandler]

Great form on some very special wood. My personal tastes are want to have wood shine out over bark...........bark inclusions do work on some pieces, and some people think that heartwood lacks any pizzaz, but in my own personal tastes, I like the wood with figured grain.

This piece you have done is stunning to say the least. I am not sure if I would like it better with no bark inclusions............I guess the only way to know for sure would be if it were possible to do an identical piece that had none...........not possible! So I say ............great work here, Baxter!

[alex carey]

im loving it baxter, nicely done.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Went back out to the shop and took a few more pictures(had taken down the photo tent) but maybe it is just as well.:)

Pretty nice piece, Baxter. Is that black part rotten or was it just part of the bark on the tree? Either way it looks nice!
Thanks Doug. Most of the black part isn't bark or rotten. Brought back two burls that day but had unloaded this one before I took the picture of the other one in the wagon.
187839
Its a little more weathered than the one I turned but might help explain. The part of the burl on the left still has some bark on it. On the right side, the bark is gone and the burl surface is weathered. A lot of what you see in the pictures as dark is the side that was more weathered/burl wasn't as big. I kind of liked the textured surface when I started so wanted to retain some of it. Maybe in my quest to keep the diameter over 12" I saved too much!:)
187838

Baxter, I like the piece alot.
Is the remote switch magnetic?
Also nice looking tool rests - Robust?
Brian, I hope to add some magnets to the back of that switch but need to order them. I am hoping they will be strong enough to hold it. The switch pulls pretty hard. I have read they can do that when they become worn. The tool rests are homemade ones. Copied from a Robust picture though.;)

Great piece Baxter and a fab set of pics I love these start to finish threads too they are always interesting! great to see your home made deep hollowing rest great idea. As the nearly received owner of a 3520B (its in the country but not with me yet!) its wonderful to see the lathe dealing with a lump of wood that size! I am so looking forward to getting mine!

Thanks for sharing
Thanks Richard. I am sure you are going to like your lathe! Although it handled that size piece of wood, I couldn't turn up the speed as much as I would have liked. It was just too unbalanced. Finished the outside adequately but I would have liked to have hollowed at a higher speed. First time I have used anything other than hand hollowing tools.

That's a honkin' big cherry burl and a beautiful vase. This is one of those times when I find the inclusion distracting. It's just so overpowering. But (and it's a "big but") the form is great and in the second pic from the side that does not have a huge black hole in it, it's awesome. Also, a very creative "helper" for the boring bar.
Thanks David. I know what you mean about the overpowering distraction part. The oil really darkened it up and made it stand out. I could have turned away most of it if I had gone down to an 11 inch diameter. 11 1/2 probably would have been best. I will just put it to the back!:D

I think it looks fantastic, Baxter! I can see the point about the remaining bark, but I tend to like inclusions and such. My only 'complaint' is that I wish you'd have cropped the photos a little tighter, so I could see even more detail in the burl. I love the form, and the coloring is wonderful. Nice solution to the depth issue while hollowing as well. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks David. Here are a few closer up. Glare and all! Sorry there aren't any ants left.:DI found it interesting how the mouth and foot(not being burl) didn't gloss up with the oil nearly as quickly(or not at all).
187840187837187841187842

[Eugene Wigley]

Baxter that is a good looking vase. It shows the wood very well. I also like the start to finish photos.

[Jon McElwain]

Wow, that is a really sweet piece. The size is impressive, but the composition is what attracts me the most. The first pictures of the finished piece are very beautiful and graceful, then as the piece is rotated, it shows the inclusion. The two sides are really contrary to each other. The one side is really pretty and attractive, the other is almost grotesque or cancerous (in a good way!). I would call it "Beauty and the Beast."

Again, I really like this piece form form to finish, but especially it's contradictory nature!

[Don Alexander]

if you lose the bark you lose the piece and the piece is AWESOME!!!!! just flat out AWESOME!!!!

[Mark Hubl]

Baxter,
Wish I had a keyboard. Great piece and post. Extraordinary.

[Cathy Schaewe]

An absolutely gorgeous piece. I love the form tremendously. Could go either way on the inclusion - but this is definitely one to be proud of!

[Fred Belknap]

Baxter that is a remarkable piece of wood and you did a great job on it. Looks like it would be a lot of work but worth it. BTW what do you do with something like that, can you sell them?:) I think your helpers should be given a lot of credit for this success, I don't see how you could get that all done without them.:D

[Tim Rinehart]

You did it again with a great photo series and story along with a fine turned piece. I personally am quite fond of inclusions and go to lengths for fixturing to be able to hold and chuck items that would otherwise be cleaned of their voids for sake of fixturing.

Nice shape, as some have said, looks kinda Grecian perhaps...but I'm no expert on Grecian style.

We done!!:)

[Bill Bolen]

Gorgeous pieces Baxter and an outstanding photo series. I really enjoyed your progress shots and of course the helpers brought a smile to my face..Bill..

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for all the nice comments. They are appreciated!


Wow, that is a really sweet piece. The size is impressive, but the composition is what attracts me the most. The first pictures of the finished piece are very beautiful and graceful, then as the piece is rotated, it shows the inclusion. The two sides are really contrary to each other. The one side is really pretty and attractive, the other is almost grotesque or cancerous (in a good way!). I would call it "Beauty and the Beast."

Again, I really like this piece form form to finish, but especially it's contradictory nature!

Thanks Jon, I think you have given it a fitting name!:) I was on the fence about centering the piece on the pith to start with given the blank was not round. I thought it might end up being more stable this way and it might be neat to save a little bit of the woods history.
BTW what do you do with something like that, can you sell them?:) I think your helpers should be given a lot of credit for this success, I don't see how you could get that all done without them.:D
Since the wife asked me "where are we displaying this?" in what I thought were positive tones,;):), I guess it will go somewhere in the house for now. My helpers are getting pretty good at getting a scoop full, not always so good at where it ends up.;)

......Nice shape, as some have said, looks kinda Grecian perhaps...but I'm no expert on Grecian style.

We done!!:)
Thanks Tim. I am no style expert to say the least. Looking "kinda like...."something is all I could hope for!

[Brian Effinger]

Those are some good little helpers you have there, and I bet they were excited to help out. :)

I really like the vase - the form, color and even the bark. It is a beauty.

[Russell Eaton]

Baxter that is a smokin' piece of wood. You did QUITE well by it also.

[Harry Robinette]

Baxter
I think about everything that can be said has been said, Very nice piece of wood and I like the shape,as usual your work is outstanding.

[Jeff Myroup]

Great piece and pictures. Love the shop elves! I really miss mine at times.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for the nice comments. The wood was a hidden gem. Kind of hard to imagine that a couple weeks ago it was just a rotting burl in the woods. If it wasn't for a couple little kids wanting a tractor ride, it still would be.;) The helpers/shop elves do make me smile every time they come in. (Though its nice to have a shop to get away to as well at times!;):))