Turning a big ash burl

[John M. Smith]

This is the big burl that I made the bed extension for. See previous post. Had a friend come over today to help me get started on turning this. We mounted it outboard on my Mustard Monster using a 6" Oneway face plate. Started by turning the bottom. Very slow going as turned mostly air and could only get to about 150 rpms. Talk about getting beaten up :eek:. Got the top of the wing about the shape I want and pretty smooth. Burl was kinda dry so pretty chippy. Needs a lot of sanding. Nothing seemed to cut good. Worked on the bottom of the wing, and got it to about 3/8" thick. Still need to reduce diameter of bowl about an inch or so, and the height by about the same. I'll need to return the tenon, then I can reverse it and turn the inside of the bowl. That should go much easier as there will be no air to turn. Boy am I glad I bought that 3/4" Doug Thompson bowl gouge at the Ohio Symposium. Last picture shows some mineral spirit wiped on the large wing.

Approximately 27" by 18" by 5" thick.

Any suggestions on finish?

Also any critiques or comments, good or improvements, so far, would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking.

John
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[Scott Hackler]

Thats cool John. The only part that I wouldn't like would be not being able to speed that dude up!

[John M. Smith]

Scott, I am able to get to a whopping 350 rpms now. Hopefully i can hit 450 after removing a little more of the bowl. Never thought i would see this lathe move across the floor so easily. Maybe I found a good way to move the lathe around the shop when I need too.

[Bernie Weishapl]

John that is one big old burl. That is going to be a nice turning when done. Can't wait to see it finished. If it were me I would probably finish it with either anitque oil or WOP.

[David E Keller]

Looking good so far! I'd definitely consider an oil finish to pop the grain in that piece! I'm excited to see it finished!

[Ian Jeffcock]

Nice piece of wood. I like the form alot. I bet that grain will really pop when you add a finish.

[Joe Watson]

Humm... for a second i thought i miss read the title of the thread and mistaking the 'h' as a second 's' - ether way :)
Cant wait to see this when its done - good luck.

[Paul Heely]

The grain is going to be stunning when finished. Nice form too. Can't wait to see the final product.

[John Keeton]

John, this is quite a project! Not only did you have to build the outboard rig, but now you have to fight that burl into submission. Looks like you are doing a great job on it, though. I would suggest leaving some mass to the bowl portion to assure it doesn't tip to the side with the long wing - that would be my only concern. Otherwise, it is going to be a beautiful piece!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Well you don't see that every day! Impressive piece so far! Bet that big spinning blade can be heard 3 blocks away!!

Have fun with it! I also think some type of an oil based finish would really help bring all that grain to life! Looking forward to seeing the finished turning! Be safe!

[Russell Eaton]

Nice outboard rig and WOW what a burl. I want to turn some bigger black ash, but my 1642 won't handle the weight of that beast. Great job, and smokin' bowl. How long did it take to get the outside roughed?

[Tim Rinehart]

John, this is quite a project! Not only did you have to build the outboard rig, but now you have to fight that burl into submission. Looks like you are doing a great job on it, though. I would suggest leaving some mass to the bowl portion to assure it doesn't tip to the side with the long wing - that would be my only concern. Otherwise, it is going to be a beautiful piece!
John, you bring up a great point about the tipping...that's a beautiful piece, but I suspect looking at it that it won't sit flat on the bowl bottom regardless of how big or small you leave the bottom. The amount of offset material is too much greater on that one side. You may want to be thinking about that perhaps, and whether to maybe leave the bottom of the bowl completely rounded, if possible, which would translate to 'never intended to sit flat'. Display in stand of some sort.
Beautiful piece, really nice work so far and I agree...oil finish.

[Jim Burr]

Oil that rascal up! Good luck on the rest of it John! I'm scared just look at it!!

[charlie knighton]

pretty wood, love your bed extension/width expansion, good work so far, keep us posted

[Jeff Fagen]

Looks like a natural edge sombrero.:)

[Jon McElwain]

Looks like a natural edge sombrero.:)

It does doesn't it!!

That burl looks like a tamed beast! Looking forward to seeing some off-the-lathe finished pictures when you get that bowl done!

[Dick Wilson]

John, I remember looking at that burl at symposium. Turning it in the low hundreds with your lathe tells me that it is way out of balance. I look forward to seeing it at a meeting. Looking very good so far.

[Baxter Smith]

That looks like the makings of a memorable experience! I am looking forward to the culmination!

[Jamie Donaldson]

That's a big ash burl for sure! If it doesn't want to sit flat on the bottom of the bowl, add a nice little rosewood single leg out on the wing for support!