Mesquite Root HF

[Kathy Marshall]

This was todays project, well I roughed the outside and drilled the center last night, did the hollowing, finished the outside, turned the lid and finial and applied finish today.
This is from a piece of mesquite root, it's 7" tall w/finial 4" without and 4 1/2" wide. Finish is BLO and General Finishes WTF, still needs buff and wax.
It went through a couple design changes along the way. Originally I turned it with a neck, but the neck seemed to tall. So little by little I took it down, but it just never looked right so I turned it off and reshaped the top. Then when I was hollowing, I got a little vibration going and the chuck came loose from the spindle just as I was exiting the hole and the cutter caught on the rim. I turned away the damage and the hole ended up a little bit bigger than I intended. So I decided to turn a lid and finial. The lid will not be glued in so I made the finial big enough to handle being used as a handle.
The lid is walnut and the finial is a dunno pen blank.
The pics don't do the color justice. There are reds, browns, blacks and greys, just a really nice piece of wood!
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[Marty Eargle]

I dig it. Shame about the trouble with the rim but I think the lid is a very good fit. I'm not sure if it's the angle but the finial looks like it could stand to be a bit smaller.

But enough about that...the color in that grain is awesome. The reds and browns are just awesome and you represented them well! :)

[Michelle Rich]

this is a very appealing vessel. Lovely shape, gorgeous wood. I think the lid/finial fits it very well.

[charlie knighton]

love that mesquite

[John Keeton]

Kathy, I would say the "design opportunities" worked to your benefit! Not sure what the original plan was, but this one came together very well.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really nicely done. The redesign worked out beautifully.

[Dennis Ford]

I like it a lot, the form is perfect and the wood is beautiful.

[Doug W Swanson]

Very pretty piece, Kathy! The wood has some very interesting patterns going on...

[jeff vanek]

beautiful!!

[George Morris]

Very nice work,well done!

[Steve Schlumpf]

I really like the form on this! Sure is some pretty wood!

[Allan Ferguson]

If I had the room, it would be very nice to have and display.

[Norm Zax]

Beautiful form and wood. Might be an optical illusion but finial could have narrowed quicker (a bit thick a third way from bottom).

[Dave Ogren]

Very Nice!

Dave

[Jamie Donaldson]

Kathy- the twin "headlight" highlights in your photo hide some of the appearance of depth, which would be improved by moving either of the side lights lower and further away outside your enclosure. This will unbalance the light distribution and shadows, which are necessary to enhance the appearance of 3D in an image. Good photography is about painting a surface with light, not about attempting to drown it!

[Scott Hackler]

Nice Kathy. If that piece of wood is like the piece you sent me, I am sure that in person its fantastic. That reminds me, I need to finish my "big" mesquite bowl!

[Rick Markham]

It's perfect Kathy! The form is a very pleasing shape, I really like the proportions. The mesquite, as always, is very beautiful. I think the other half of the chunk you sent me, will be on the lathe soon :) I'm looking forward to it!