50th Anniversary Platter

[John Keeton]

I did a bit smaller one of these previously of cherry, and was recently commissioned to do another. This one is wormy butternut (wish I had a BUNCH more of that stuff!!) and is 13" in diameter. The laser engraving was done by Woodcraft. Finish is BLO (prior to the engraving) and then three coats of brush on satin Deft lacquer thinned with acetone (wiped on). At that point, I took a mix of burnt umber with a few drops of black acrylic paint and rubbed it into the engraving, scrubbing off the excess with a wet rag. The piece was hand rubbed with 0000, and finished then with three coats of spray Deft satin.

These are relatively quick to do, and seem to make nice gift items. All comments are welcomed!!

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[Jim Burr]

Splendid!! If a PM is in order...I'd like to know what they charge for laser work. Platter speaks for it self...beautiful!

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Jim - sent you a PM.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, John

[Roland Martin]

Very nice details in this platter, John, the underside is just as beautiful as the face. The engraving also came out great, and the finish, flawless. Haven't lost a thing John!

[Curt Fuller]

That's really nice John.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Excellent! Bud and Janice are going to love it!!

[Roger Chandler]

Great platter John...........what a great commemorative!

[Allan Ferguson]

That platter is very, very nice. Good looking wood to.

[Steve bellinger]

John as said by others that is just one great looking piece.

[Bill Bolen]

What a fine platter John. A question if I may? How were you able to keep the black acrylic from bleeding into the surrounding wood. Really kept a nice crisp edge to the engraving work.

[Baxter Smith]

Very nice job on turning some very pretty wood John. The way you darkened in the lettering makes it really stand out. They will love it!

[John Keeton]

Thanks, guys!! I can highly recommend the butternut - sweet wood to turn!

What a fine platter John. A question if I may? How were you able to keep the black acrylic from bleeding into the surrounding wood. Really kept a nice crisp edge to the engraving work.Bill, that was the reason for the three coats of thinned lacquer - applied to everything, including the engraving. No chance of bleed at that point.

[David E Keller]

Pretty! I'll bet the Parks are tickled with it!

[jeff vanek]

very nice!!

[Bob Bergstrom]

Really pretty platter. Butternut is a special wood and takes on a wonderful mellow color. That plate is only going to get better with age. Hope they get a 75 year one also

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful platter John! i'm sure the Parks will love it!

[Jerry Rhoads]

Great looking platter John.
I recently aquired a slab of Butternut, about 2 feet across and 5' long. Been wanting to turn it, but have had trouble getting to all the wood I got before it. Think I will bypass other wood and turn some of it tomorrow. I do love to work with Butternut.
Also a fellow member of Central Illinois Woodturners said he will be bringing some to the meeting tonight.(hope to get some of it

Jerry

[Robert Henrickson]

Beautiful wood and form.

[Tim Rinehart]

I really like these John. Thanks for the details on how you got the lettering to show up a bit more.

[Tom Winship]

John, before or after the widowmaker? Slow down a little. Could you also PM me with the rough cost for the engraving?

[John Keeton]

Thanks for the additional comments! Tom, this platter was done this past Friday, after my heart attack. Gotta back back to life!:)

[Toney Robertson]

Wonderful platter John.

Another way to darken the engraving is after it is engraved have the engraver spray it with some flat black paint. Since they apply a self adhesive paper onto the wood before they engrave it there is no issue about overspray. That is what they have done with the ones that I have had engraved.

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Toney! However, neither of the platters I have had engraved involved adhesive backed paper. The engraving was done on bare, unfinished wood. The design was done on the computer using the various radii from the turning.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful platter John. They are going to love it. Glad to see you back at it.

[Dan Hintz]

I just engraved a platter like this for Tony De Masi a couple of weeks ago. Text top and bottom, and an image of two doves in the middle? I masked the entire thing, engraved, sprayed on a couple of coats of clear (prevents spreading of color into the grain sideways), then filled the doves with white and the text with gold. I'll see if I can find a pic...

Here it is:
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[John Keeton]

Dan, that worked out very well! I like the gold lettering against the dark wood - walnut??

[Dan Hintz]

Dan, that worked out very well! I like the gold lettering against the dark wood - walnut??
Yep, Walnut. The gold lettering looks like complete junk in the photo, it looks 10 times better in person.

I'm always nervous doing stuff like this because in many ways it's irreplaceable. Sure, a plate can be re-turned, but it's not the same plate.

[Ed Morgano]

I know this post is sort of old, but I remembered it and I'm glad. I'm attempting a Walnut crotch platter and was looking for a good form. Between this one and the one that Jack Tyree did, I have some great material to work with. Thanks for sharing.