spalted maple from Jeff Nicol

[David E Keller]

Jeff was nice enough to send this chunk of spalted hard maple as packing material with my steady rest. It's been hidden on the 'wood hoarding rack' for about a year now, but I found it when I was looking for something else... I'm so glad I did!

The form is about 8 inches across, and the finial is made from one of the corners I cut off on the band saw. I've had this finial shape floating around in my head for a while, and this seemed like a good time to try it. I'm sure it's been done before and done better, but I can't recall seeing one like it. The collar and finial base are red mallee burl with threads... I think red mallee threads even better than African blackwood. Finished with shellac and BLO at this point.

Comments, criticism, and suggestions always appreciated.

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[Ted Calver]

It's a beauty!! That finial is just begging for some color though.

[Nate Davey]

Once again a great job Doc. I really like the unique finials you've come up with on the last two offering. Out of the box, but not ridiculous....hope that came out the right way.

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful! Great wood, great form and I really like the unique finial. I can almost see it waving.

[John Keeton]

Very nice piece, David! Great piece of wood, too. Did you do the collar inset, then do the female threads? I have been giving some thought to giving this threading thing a try - glad you are posting these!

[Ed Morgano]

David,
I'm glad several of you have ventured out into new areas with the finials. Frankly, I have sort of grown tired of seeing the same old thing stuck on top of a form. This is a refreshing change.

[charlie knighton]

David, nice form and pretty wood, like your final, that shape brings up the shape of 150% genoa you might look at

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a great piece David. The form is great and love the finial.

[Curt Fuller]

I like that! Pic #4 looks like a flame, pic #2 looks like smoke. Beautiful piece of wood and a very creative finial.

[Russell Eaton]

+1 on the sweet looking finial. A quick question. Are you hand chasing threads or something different? Another beauty, thanks for showing.

[David E Keller]

Thanks folks!


Very nice piece, David! Great piece of wood, too. Did you do the collar inset, then do the female threads? I have been giving some thought to giving this threading thing a try - glad you are posting these!

That's exactly what I did. I inset the collar and made it flush with the form then chased the female threads. The male threads were then done, and the fit confirmed. I part the male threads off and attach them to the actual finial. I find by keeping the male portion short, I reduce the number of turns needed to seat the lid. A lower TPI chaser would be helpful here as well.


+1 on the sweet looking finial. A quick question. Are you hand chasing threads or something different? Another beauty, thanks for showing.

These are done by hand. I bought the Sorby 20tpi set used from the IAP classifieds. It seems that most recommend starting with the higher tpi chasers since they're supposed to be easier than the lower tpi sets... I've never used anything else, so I can't confirm that one is easier or harder than another. I'd love to have one of those fancy thread cutting gizmos, but there's a bunch of stuff on the wishlist ahead that item.

[Scott Hackler]

Real nice work Dave. I like your recent experimentations with different finials.