Large walnut vessel

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Here is a walnut vessel I roughed turned in late 2008. I finished it about a year ago but never got around to posting a pic of the finished piece. I recently remembered that Steve S said he couldn't wait to see it finished when I posted a pic of the rough turning several yrs ago. So here it is ( a year later):o
It was turned from a 454 lb walnut log that was 24" in dia. The finished size is 26 1/4" tall X 14 5/8" dia. Weighing in at 7 lbs.
The wood is as near as perfect as you can get, Not a single defect that I can find. it's finished with high gloss varnish.

[Jim Burr]

Holy Rusted metal Batman!!! That thing is huge, well designed and finished to a T!!! You need to make a video!

[Roger Chandler]

Absolutely Fabulous, Joe............love that high gloss finish and your form is spot on perfect.................beautiful work........thank you for posting the finished piece!

[charlie knighton]

very nice, nice form, and i must say nice lathe, is it a AB

[John Keeton]

Joe, you have posted some nice stuff - but, this one tops them all!!! Gorgeous!!

[Marty Eargle]

Finish, form, and wood...perfect. I can't imagine what kind of an undertaking making something that large must be...excellent work.

[Nate Davey]

It's odd that you posted this when you did. I just re-watchd the Elmer Adams YouTube videos. Beautiful job on that piece. Gorgeous wood, form and finish. Any pics of your hollowing rig for this one????

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beautiful piece Joe. Form, finish and the wood is awesome.

[Scott Hackler]

Really cool Joe. I love these giant vessels.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Joe, you must have snuck into Iowa to get any walnut that nice. That is one beautiful log. I used to teach up in northeast Iowa and one of the caveats was the most beautiful dark chocolate walnut. My mother in law bought me some 100 board feet at a farm sale for all of 50 cents a board foot. It was 12" wide and full of feather. There is some great wood up there. Thanks for showing such a wonderful work. Hope to see you at SOFA. I see Steve is demoing there.

[Ian Jeffcock]

Wow ! Awesome

[Joe Watson]

Very impressive.
How many hours invested ?

[Michelle Rich]

Astounding that the vessel weighs 7 lbs.. did you get anything else for the 447 lbs? other than sawdust? Pretty vase and it does look splendid.

[Keith E Byrd]

Fantastic! Ireally like this - beautiful job all around!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Joe, you must have snuck into Iowa to get any walnut that nice. That is one beautiful log. I used to teach up in northeast Iowa and one of the caveats was the most beautiful dark chocolate walnut. My mother in law bought me some 100 board feet at a farm sale for all of 50 cents a board foot. It was 12" wide and full of feather. There is some great wood up there. Thanks for showing such a wonderful work. Hope to see you at SOFA. I see Steve is demoing there.
Thanks Bob. Actually the walnut came from ILL. but it does have that same dark color & there's no sap wood on this piece so the whole piece is really rich colored.
Unfortunately I won't made it to SOFA this year. I couldn't get time off of work to go we have several people missing right now.
I'd still like to see you come to our Nov. club meeting though.

[Rex Guinn]

Joe that is fantastic, it's one of the best I've seen at that size. How long did it take you to rough it out? Do you have any pics of the process?

[Sid Matheny]

That is a super piece! Thanks for sharing.

Sid

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Astounding that the vessel weighs 7 lbs.. did you get anything else for the 447 lbs? other than sawdust? Pretty vase and it does look splendid.
Thanks & I did get something out of the shaving too. I got a sore back & tired of sweeping them up.:(

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful work Joe!! Well worth the wait!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Beautiful work Joe!! Well worth the wait!
Thanks Steve. I couldn't have done it with out the use of a Robust American Beauty. Maybe some where down the road you'll find that special large piece of wood & put your Beauty to the test. I'd love to see the kinds of pieces you could come up with using some large logs.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Joe - first thing I have to do is start lifting weights!! With my shop being in the basement - there are certain limitations as to just how big I will be able to turn! I wouldn't mind turning something similar to what you do but that is an entirely different tool world than what I presently have! Course, figuring out how to turn some things is a lot of the fun anyway!

I am looking forward to seeing your next turning! Always a treat!

[Bill Bolen]

Beautiful piece Joe. And taking the size into consideration makes it even more impressive!!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Joe - first thing I have to do is start lifting weights!! With my shop being in the basement - there are certain limitations as to just how big I will be able to turn! I wouldn't mind turning something similar to what you do but that is an entirely different tool world than what I presently have! Course, figuring out how to turn some things is a lot of the fun anyway!

I am looking forward to seeing your next turning! Always a treat!
Steve I guess I forgot your shop is in a basement. There's no way I would want to try to man handle a piece this large down a flight of stairs. Makes my back hurt just thing about it.

[joel nucifore]

Joe, it was great talking with you last week... Now that pc is what I was talking about just ordered steves 1 1/4" bar.. and steve from the sanding glove said he would ask Steve S. about a larger one???????? So tell them that was your input for that sale....

And looking on craigs list for frezzer now -------DAM YOU--------- lol

[Paul Heely]

Beautiful piece. Love the form and finish. Thanks for sharing it.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Joe, it was great talking with you last week... Now that pc is what I was talking about just ordered steves 1 1/4" bar.. and steve from the sanding glove said he would ask Steve S. about a larger one???????? So tell them that was your input for that sale....

And looking on craigs list for frezzer now -------DAM YOU--------- lol
Thanks Joel. There's nothing better than spending someone elses money.:D

[Cathy Schaewe]

Wow. I am seriously impressed - by the size, the form, and the beauty of the wood. A real work of art!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Wow. I am seriously impressed - by the size, the form, and the beauty of the wood. A real work of art!
Thanks Cathy.
It's the wood itself that I was impressed with. There's no sap wood or knots or any flaws in the wood. It was truly a rare find. Usually the walnut around here has a lot of white sap wood & lots of large knots.

[Baxter Smith]

Great work Joe! That is a special piece of wood made into a special work of art!

[curtis rosche]

Steve I guess I forgot your shop is in a basement. There's no way I would want to try to man handle a piece this large down a flight of stairs. Makes my back hurt just thing about it.

there is no handling it, just roll it and make sure nothin in inbetween it and a solid wall at the bottom :p:D

[Tim Rinehart]

wowzer! Big log and fantastic job! Would be nice to see shots of rig you use to hollow that piece!
I now understand Steve S's desire for crane!

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Tim I use the hollowing system designed by Steve Sinner and made by him & Jerry Sargent. They market their tools under Advanced Lathe Tools LLC. He sells them through The Sanding Glove. I think you could find pictures on either of the two web sites.

[Mike Cruz]

Joe, walnut is my favorite wood and you really put this walnut on a pedistal. Great job.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Joe, walnut is my favorite wood and you really put this walnut on a pedistal. Great job.
Thanks Mike for taking time to look & comment. This was a exceptional piece of walnut . Walnut has long been my favorite wood for flat work & turning. However Hickory is fast becoming my favorite turning wood.