Mesquite thin stem

[David E Keller]

I've seen a number of this type of turning posted over time, but I'd never had the gumption to try one myself. Lupe Duncan was kind enough to send me some mesquite a little while back, and one of the pieces just seemed right for giving it a try. This was my first attempt at this form and my first time turning mesquite.

I made the mistake of having the pith roughly centered in the piece which makes turning the stem a little hairy. I had to use the tailstock for a little support while doing the stem... Otherwise, this thing would have amputated itself. You can see the pith near the top and bottom of the stem in the photos.

It's about 10 inches tall, and it's finished with shellac and WOP. If you haven't tried one of these, I'd highly recommend it. It was great practice for proper tool technique.
If you haven't turned mesquite, I recommend it too... Great stuff!

Comments, criticism, and suggestions appreciated.
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[Roger Chandler]

Nice form David..................I can see why that was a bit hairy with the pith where it is. I like the sapwood ring around the rim............good stuff!

[Dennis Ford]

Very nice shape to this goblet, you did a good job on it.

[Lupe Duncan]

Wow that turned out Great David.

Looks very delicate compared to the way it did when I cut it down.

Nice work.

I got a question, Why would the PITH being centered make it a hard turn?

[Jeff Myroup]

Looks nice David. I saw a demo with Alan Carter, and he uses the tail stock the whole time while turning thin stems. The one thing he mentioned, is that as you get thinner, loosen the tail stock to take pressure off the stem. When I go thin on a stem, i use CA sometimes to help stabilize it and what ever pith might be there

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great job David. Really nice form and thin stem.

[Jim Burr]

I have some olive that may work well for that. Single chunk huh??? Wow..not fancy but it sure looks cool!

[John Keeton]

Pretty neat, David!! The sapwood really adds interest to this piece. I have a limb of Buckthorn that Baxter sent me some while back - might make a good candidate for this type of turning.

[Tim Thiebaut]

That is very nice David I like this piece a lot. Is this one solid piece of wood top to bottom?

[Doug W Swanson]

That turned out great! One of these days I'll attempt something like that....

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Doc,
Jimmy Clewes turned one of those at a demo here two weeks ago. Yours has every quality his has. That can't be easy to do. Making that stem an inch at a time makes forming the taper evenly kind of hard. Sweet job.
faust

[David E Keller]

...I got a question, Why would the PITH being centered make it a hard turn?

The pith is the weakest part of the log, and there are always little cracks there. When you get to the stem portion, weak and cracked wood at small diameters makes things a little dicey. Thanks again for the wood. I'm still staring at that root ball trying to figure out what to do with it.


That is very nice David I like this piece a lot. Is this one solid piece of wood top to bottom?

Yep, it was turned from a log section about 5" in diamter and 10" long.


Doc,
Jimmy Clewes turned one of those at a demo here two weeks ago. Yours has every quality his has. That can't be easy to do. Making that stem an inch at a time makes forming the taper evenly kind of hard. Sweet job.
faust

Thanks, Faust. I'm planning to take another course with Jimmy at some point, and I think I may have him coach me up on this form. I did cheat a few times by going back to where I wasn't supposed to go to blend the curve. With a softer wood, I probably would have broken it.

[David DeCristoforo]

Very nice goblet, David. I love the sapwood rim. Turning with the heart at the center may be "a little hairy" but it allows that beautiful "concentric ring" figure to shine. I have been wanting to try a one piece goblet like this for some time now. Maybe this will inspire me...

[Darren Jamieson]

Nice goblet David. I haven't attempted one of these yet but sometime in the near future I will have to give it a try.

[Brian Effinger]

Very nice. I think you made the right choice on keeping the pith somewhat centered because it gave you the great, even yellow sap ring all the way around.

[Baxter Smith]

Great job David. I love the rim!

[Dan Forman]

Very nice indeed. Have to put a goblet on my to do list.

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice David! In fact I like it so much I grabbed a branch from the acacia pile (which must have had some mesquite mixed in because the branch sure looks alot like mesquite) and had at it. Around 11pm I finally decided it was time to quit, so I'll finish turning it tomorrow.
Thanks for the inspiration and I hope mine turns out half as nice as yours!

[Michelle Rich]

I'm impressed with the centered pith & one piece ...nifty turning, David

[Russell Eaton]

David you knocked that out of the park. The sap makes the piece IMHO, the thin pith helps a little as well.

[Richard Madden]

I love it. Why? All of the above. Saves me a bunch of typing.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice work! Great form, proportions and orientation. Really like the understated detail work! Hope you have this displayed somewhere to show it off!

[Hayes Rutherford]

Very nice and as others have said, the sap wood is the icing on the cake.

[steven carter]

Really nice, I like the simpleness of the stem, lets the focus be on the cup.