I love the smell of Madrone in the morning

[Scott Hackler]

I picked up a couple pieces of madrone from Mike Smith's booth in Waco and just turned the first one, last night. Wow does that stuff turn great and I like the smell as well. I kept watering it down because I was affraid of it moving or cracking before I got it done. I turned a SW style necked pot and only went to a hair under 1/4" wall. I was afraid of what thinner walls would do during drying and also I didn't want to cut through my $25 piece of wood!

Well this morning the turning is still wet BUT its already starting to crinkle up! Wahoo this thing is going to look cool when it fully dried. I will post the pictures after a week of so of drying.

After the first try at this wood, I am now trying to figure out if I had some shipped in an insulated box with dry ice....if it would make it to Kansas intact! :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

I believe this qualifies as a tease.... looking forward to seeing the finished piece!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ok Scott stop fooling with us and produce.:D;)

[David E Keller]

Did you hold it up to your ear? Sounds like a bowl of rice crispies cereal! Looking forward to seeing it finished up... I hope it doesn't crack on you!

[Scott Hackler]

I will show the finished vessel once its dry and stops contracting upon itself. Its kinda cool. All of the striations marks are sinking into the surface and there is a noticable lean / shift to the side! It still smells plenty wet, so I cant wait to see what it looks like in the morning.

I forgot about the rice crispy deal, so I just held the opening up to my ear and ......well that is a weird deal! Little popping sounds going off like crazy.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Scott,
I will look forward to seeing the final results. I enjoy all your turnings and this one sounds like another beauty.
faust

[Russell Neyman]

I've turned tons of madrone (pronounced either Mah-DRONE or Mah-dron-AH, by the way) and love it too. You'll find sample turning on my other threads, but you might try drying it in a microwave oven. It allows you to carefully watch for cracks and fix them as you go. The trick is to heat/dry it for only a minute (or two) at a time, allowing it to return to room temp between blasts. The results are stunning.

I've also had good success rough turning it and boiling it in water for several hours, setting it aside to dry for several months, and then putting it back in the lathe.

Microwaving will result in a light colored bowl; boiling will give you a red or pink piece.