elm burl step by step

[David E Keller]

I had a little free time today, so I was out puttering in the shop. My wife picked up a piece I turned a few months ago and said, "How do you make something like this?" That statement led me to grab a chunk of something and give her the play-by-play. I figured I might as well take a few photos along the way in case somebody else might be interested in how I do stuff.

Here's my victim... It's a piece of elm burl, and it's pretty much dry.
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Here I've mounted it between centers using a drive center made by Jerry Mercantel... Thanks, Jerry. I like that I can adjust the piece of wood to obtain figure where I want it. On this piece, I just tried to balance the burl surface perpendicular to the bed of the lathe.
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Here's a photo after I've started roughing in the shape of the bottom, and I've formed my tenon.
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In the photo below, I've more or less accomplished the shape for the bottom and cleaned up the tenon. I've also sanded the exterior to 400 and applied a thin coat of super blonde shellac.
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Now I've got the piece reversed in my chuck, and I've checked to see that it's running true... By some miracle, it's good.
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Here's a shot after starting the curve on the top of the piece. My original intention was for a hollow form with a pretty small opening, but after seeing the figure along the margins, I decided for more of a closed bowl form. In order to accomplish my original plan, the form would have been much smaller, and I would have lost much of the figure that I just found.
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My wife has lost interest by this point, so here's a shot of one handed hollowing with the monster system... It really is that easy to hollow with an articulated system. Tool in one hand and camera in the other. I basically work the form down in stages getting my 'finished surface' on each level before proceeding deeper. I removed most of the waste with the straight cutter shown here and also the 45 degree cutter. I've got a few homemade bars that were used to get at the shoulder area.
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[James Combs]

Very nice presentation David. Add a few more shots and descriptions for removing the tenon and final finishing and it will make a great tutorial.
I particularly want to see that vessel in its finished form.

Edit: Ahha, I should have waited a few minutes before commenting, I should have realized there would be more. Sorry to interrupt your posting.

[David E Keller]

Here's a shot of the swan neck bar with scraper attachment. I use this for each level to smooth out ridges and blend one area to another.
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Time to finish the bottom. I use a scrap of wood in another chuck with a sanding disc stuck to the surface with a bit of wax. I use dental wax, but I suppose ear wax would do in a pinch.:eek:
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Here's the bowl between centers again using the homemade jam chuck. I use the center point from the initial mounting to place the tail center drive accurately. This is the way I finish the bottom of almost everything I turn. I've got a pile of these drive chucks in all shapes and sizes... If I can't find one that fits, I turn another.
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Here's the bottom after turning everything but a small nub away. I wet sanded the entire piece at this point with 600 grit and boiled linseed oil.
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I use a dremel with a small sanding drum to remove the nub, and then hand sand and sign the piece. It was a pretty day today, so I took a couple of shots out in the sun. It's not the best thing I've ever turned, but I had fun spinning it.
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Comments, criticism, questions, and suggestions appreciated.

[John Keeton]

David, nice tutorial, and a very nice looking result! Love the voids you have been getting in these pieces.

[Roger Chandler]

Nicely figured burl, David, and your process pictures are a nice thing for you to do and share. That blank looks like it had some pucker factor with it..............did you have to wrap the outside while hollowing........you did not show any of that, so I was wondering...........good work!

[David DeCristoforo]

Very nice "start to finish". And a sweet result. Now i propose a contest between you and Baxter. The idea would be to turn a piece that has the least amount of wood left in the finished piece and still suggest an actual shape. I guess anyone could participate but I'm afraid few would qualify. You guys are becoming the undisputed masters of "air turning"!

[Richard Madden]

Thanks for showing the process, the end result looks great!

[Michael James]

Beautiful chunk of wood and very nice piece as always. Thanks for taking and upping the pics, too! My wife's attention span in my little pursuits is around 5 mins tops: "That's nice, dear!" BUT and it's a big but... she has never discouraged me from following my muse, and for that I am grateful!

[Curt Fuller]

You make it look so easy. Are their any shots of the little beads of sweat on your forehead? Or maybe a shot from an angle that might show a little of the pucker factor? (just a little though, don't get carried away). You're doing some incredible work Keller. This is another beauty!

[dan carter]

Nice job on your presentation. Even though we all have seen it dozens of times, it still is intriguing to see the transformation from a chunk of wood to a masterpiece. Nice shape on the bowl. Very nice end product.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a really nice piece David. Love the wood color and the voids. Well done.

[Baxter Smith]

Great shape and color at the end! Nice job on taking pictures along the way. Thanks for taking the time. It was fun to watch the transformation!

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice David! Great looking piece!

[Bob Wolfe]

David, That was a very informative tutorial indeed. Thanks so much for taking the time and sharing it with us. I never thought of turning and sanding the outside between centers and then mounting it in the chuck for the hollowing. I will have to test that out. Do you sometimes have issues with the piece being true when you turn it around in your chuck? Your comment "I've checked to see that it's running true... By some miracle, it's good" gives me the feeling that you've had troubles in the past with it. I also want to add that the the piece looks fantastic !!

[John Hart]

Fun step-by-step, and a cool looking piece. So, since your wife started all this....did she like the piece?

[Michelle Rich]

thanks for sharing this process. I have dial-up and it took the better part of the morning :-) to see it all, but it was worth it.

[Jim Burr]

All the popcorn is going to fall out!

[Russell Eaton]

David you have done it again. That is another great looking piece. I love the voids, inclusions or what ever you want to call it.

[Darren Jamieson]

I'm thinking that your wife getting you started and then walking away half way through was actually her nice way af saying "don't you have something you would rather be doing then annoying me?" Thanks for taking the pics along the way they are a good reference for a beginner like me. I also like the little gloat with the bowl sitting on another burl waiting to have something done to it. Oh ya, very nice bowl!!!!!

[David Reed]

Lovely form revealed from a lovely chunk of burl. I have occasionally tried to take pics along the way but have yet to get it done on anything I have turned. Great tutorial and great execution.

[cal thelen]

Great looking piece. I really want to do something like that. thanks for the tutorial

[Hayes Rutherford]

Nice job on the tutorial and the finished piece. How about YouTube video next?

[David E Keller]

Thanks everybody! I always feel guilty when I see a post like Baxter's because I hadn't ever taken the time to do one.


...did you have to wrap the outside while hollowing........you did not show any of that, so I was wondering...

No wrapping, Roger. I rarely, if ever, use any kind of wrap for the exterior of these pieces.


...Now i propose a contest between you and Baxter. The idea would be to turn a piece that has the least amount of wood left in the finished piece and still suggest an actual shape. I guess anyone could participate but I'm afraid few would qualify. You guys are becoming the undisputed masters of "air turning"!

Sounds like fun! I really like turning air, and it's better for your lungs than wood.


...Do you sometimes have issues with the piece being true when you turn it around in your chuck? Your comment "I've checked to see that it's running true... By some miracle, it's good" gives me the feeling that you've had troubles in the past with it...

I haven't had any major issues, but there's generally a little bit of runout when putting the piece in the chuck. I think the majority of that is related to the compression of the wood fibers in the tenon when tightening the chuck. For most pieces, it doesn't matter... With thinner walls and voids, the runout can cause varying wall thickness which may look funny. For whatever reason, this piece was dead true after tightening the chuck.


Fun step-by-step, and a cool looking piece. So, since your wife started all this....did she like the piece?

Not particularly... I think that may explain her departure. They say we are our own worst critics, but I think my wife may be tougher on me than I am.


Nice job on the tutorial and the finished piece. How about YouTube video next?

That's an interesting idea, Hayes... We've got a video camera someplace that we use sparingly. Bob Hamilton has set the bar pretty high on Youtube videos, so I might be better off leaving the fame and fortune part of turning to him.

[Mike Cruz]

David, thanks a million for doing this. I've asked people to do it in the past. We've gotten some really good ones. This one is no exception. Again, thanks for the play by play. Oh, and I love the piece. Turned out beautifully.

[Dale Bright]

David,

You have done a great job on the Step by Step and the piece, well done!

Dale

[Donny Lawson]

David, That is an AWSOME tutorial and an outstanding piece of workmanship. Thanks for sharing it with us. I think I have learned something here.

[Jerry Marcantel]

David, great presentation, and nice finished piece... I got a kick out of the first sentence on picture 7. Some women just don't need to see how it's done. I'm also impressed that you were using a chuck plate. Good going. .......... Jerry (in Tucson)