Cholla Ornament

[Baxter Smith]

Last spring, Jerry Marcantel sent me a whole cholla cactus:eek::D and one of his chuck plates:cool:. I thought it would be neat to try and turn but with the center being hollow, it wouldn’t make for much of a bowl. Hoped at some point I would come up with some inspiration on what to do with it.
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I have been doing some endgrain hf’s lately so thought one of those would be a possibility. Cut a 6” section off this small branch and tried to figure out what to do next. Put it between Jerry’s chuck plate and a cone center inserted into the other end. Flattened one end and then found a scrap piece of poplar to glue on so I could turn a tenon to hold and hollow with. Used some med CA and I was soon back in business.

After some shaping, it still looked like I was going to end up with more or less a straight sided tube. I didn’t really care for the shape, so went to plan B. I had never tried a Christmas ornament and thought that might be a possibility for a small section of cactus. Turned off most of what was mounted on the lathe then glued on another piece of poplar to the end.

Applied some Christmas colored dye to the turned off piece and thought it looked ok.(debated leaving it natural…. but since the lady of the house hasn’t been too keen on the natural holly finials recently;))
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Found a couple pieces of holly for the icicle and hanger and I was ready for the dye.

Applied black transtint dye to all three sections then sanded the globe back. After putting some red on the globe, I used some epoxy to fasten the three together. After numerous light coats of gloss deft lacquer over several days….
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It came out about as I envisioned it, though it has a resemblance to some plastic thing you could pick up at the dollar store.:rolleyes: Be careful what you wish for.;):)
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7 ½ x 2 3/8 though the cholla makes it pretty light. Thanks again Jerry! I have enough left for a few more ornaments.:)

Merry Christmas from my lathe to yours!
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Your thoughts or suggestions are always welcome!
Even ones about my lathe looking better if the lights were off!;)

[Roger Chandler]

Way cool Baxter! Pretty ingenious!

[John Keeton]

Never thought about that!! Pretty neat, and really a nice color, too.

[dan carter]

Man, Baxter that is really nice. You've hit upon a very good combination.

[Jim Underwood]

Nice ornament. I like your finials too.

You might use some of the scraps off this thing to make pen blanks...

[Harry Robinette]

Nice Baxter never seen any like that,looks cool.

[Joe Watson]

Awesome and creative !

[Rick Markham]

Wow Baxter! I have to say this one has to be my favorite ornament I have seen so far this year. All of the parts work flawlessly together, the icicle really makes this piece flow together. I really like the design of the icicle and the continuation of the form at the very tip, in perfect delicate proportion. Super nice!!!

I disagree with your dollar store reference, it's level of precision does make it appear machine made, but there is no mistaking it's craftsman made ;) Something to be proud of for sure!

[David DeCristoforo]

Not all that excited about the cholla although it does bear an uncanny resemblance to some hollow forms posted by that alien doctor guy. What does it for me are your finials. Those are just beautiful! Combined with the color they make for a great looking ornament.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Well - that's a first for me! Never seen a cactus ornament before! Love the rich color!! Also love the icicle! Looking forward to seeing some more!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is just to cool Baxter. Love the deep color. Would've never thought of a cactus ornament.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for your positive thoughts.


....You might use some of the scraps off this thing to make pen blanks...
Casting or somehow injecting the cactus with epoxy has crossed my mind but I don't have the skills or inclination to figure out how to do it at the moment. If you would like to try some, pm me your address.

[Michelle Rich]

hey Baxter..that is one cool ornament. the cholla is very neat looking. I saw this stuff used on pens a few years ago & the person filled the holes with turquoise to hide the brass tube. It made a pretty cool pen. Might be another way to use the cholla, with a filler??? just a thought.

[Jim Burr]

Now that took some thought! Well done Baxter!

[Hayes Rutherford]

That sure came out nice. Never turned any of that before.

[Jerry Marcantel]

Hi Baxter, that's a pretty nice ornament. Thanks for posting, and looking forward to more posts on turning cholla. When that skeleton, "small" was not considered, but now with what you have, you can make hundreds with it. Lol...... With the access to all the cholla I could possibly use, I have only one that's been turned round, 6" od x 9" long, but haven't put a bottom on it yet. I'm now inspired to finish it.....
What I have done in the past is split the trunks and make 3/4"lumber out of the wood. You could get a lot of pen blanks out of it, or if you choose to do segmented, it would make a nice contrasting ring. I just couldn't figure out what adhesive to use that wouldn't show in the finish product.. . Caution: never go back to an already finish turned edge for retouch...... It'll explode quicker than an IED. haha.......... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Baxter Smith]

hey Baxter..that is one cool ornament. the cholla is very neat looking. I saw this stuff used on pens a few years ago & the person filled the holes with turquoise to hide the brass tube. It made a pretty cool pen. Might be another way to use the cholla, with a filler??? just a thought.
Thanks Michele, some type of filler is a good thought and one I have had. Ever since I got these from Jerry, I have been thinking that this would be great stuff for Alan Trout to use his pressure pot on.


Hi Baxter, that's a pretty nice ornament. Thanks for posting, and looking forward to more posts on turning cholla. When that skeleton, "small" was not considered, but now with what you have, you can make hundreds with it. Lol...... With the access to all the cholla I could possibly use, I have only one that's been turned round, 6" od x 9" long, but haven't put a bottom on it yet. I'm now inspired to finish it.....
What I have done in the past is split the trunks and make 3/4"lumber out of the wood. You could get a lot of pen blanks out of it, or if you choose to do segmented, it would make a nice contrasting ring. I just couldn't figure out what adhesive to use that wouldn't show in the finish product.. . Caution: never go back to an already finish turned edge for retouch...... It'll explode quicker than an IED. haha.......... Jerry (in Tucson)
Thanks again for the cactus Jerry. It turned pretty well. Not sure what I am going to try next with it. I will probably cut into that main trunk and try a endgrain type hollowform. I didn't want to experiment with what looked like the most solid part first. Just need to figure out what complementary wood I want for the top and bottom. The glue is a question mark. I smeared medium CA on the poplar then accelerator because I wanted something fast. There are a couple spots on the ornament it crept up the cactus and the stain didn't take.

Thanks again for your positive comments!

[James Combs]

Now that one will grab attention on any tree. A great looker Baxter.

[Baxter Smith]

Now that one will grab attention on any tree. A great looker Baxter.
Thanks JD. I have read that dark globes and icicles just disappear into a tree so they should be lighter colored. Guess I need to buy one of those artificial silver ones. :eek: (over my dead body;))
If I don't get to traipse around in the woods with my kids to find one, it just wouldn't be christmas.:)
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