Last piece for 2011

[Kathy Marshall]

The last day of the year and I started off the day by giving my chainsaw a little tune up, then I cut up some logs to send out on Monday, and then it was time to cut up some blanks for me :D. I got some Chinese Elm logs a couple weeks ago which I've been wanting to try, and this was the first chance I've had to cut off a blank since I got them.
I had just the project to try it out on, one of the girls from work asked me to turn her a yarn bowl, actually she asked me to make her 5 of them :eek:. She showed me a picture of one she'd seen that she liked. It was a calabash type form with a natural edge but no bark (bark and yarn don't play well together).

So I thought I would turn a prototype and see how it went. I started off by cutting off a 7" section from about a 7" diameter log. I rounded off the corners then mounted it between centers. Then I turned a tenon on the bottom and shaped the outside. Then I mounted it in the chuck and hollowed the inside with my Jamieson system.
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I turned out to be about 6" x 6" and just has a coat of DO. I'm happy with the shape but on the next one I think I'll bring the upper half in a little more and I'm glad I decided to do a test piece 1st. Everything went well until I went to cut out the slot for the yarn. I should have used a smaller cutter. The one I used was a little too big and it got away from me a couple of times resulting in an even bigger slot. I'm thinking next time I might just use a coping saw to cut the slot and then use one of the smaller cutters to widen it a little. The kerf from the coping saw should give me a better line to follow and help to keep the cutter on track.
As far as the chinese elm, it cut really nice and sanded up easily even green. It must not be like the elm most people turn, because I didn't notice any smell to it at all (good or bad).
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I think I'll see if my mom wants this one, the real ones need to be a little bigger, about 8" diameter.

Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[Brian Libby]

I like this piece - especially the grain and color, plus I really like the calabash shape. My wife bought one from a potter and suggested I make one. I will have to give it a try!

[John Keeton]

Interesting concept! My wife is a knitter - may have to try this. Nice looking piece of wood, too.

[Russell Eaton]

Nice job Kathy, I like to make functional pieces. Thanks for showing.

[Donny Lawson]

Good looking piece Kathy.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good looking last piece.

[Dick Wilson]

Now this is the way to start the new year. Excellent piece.

[Doug W Swanson]

Great looking piece, Kathy! I like making functional pieces, too!

[Steve Schlumpf]

I think this one turned out really nice! The wood looks pretty good and has a soft look to it - so, nice job on the finishing! Looking forward to seeing the set of 5!!

[Dan Forman]

Nice going Kathy, looks good, kind of has that baby bird open mouth thing going. What did you use to cut the slot? The bark looks really different from the Siberian elm that I'm used to, and with elm, no smell is good smell. :) I've never seen a yarn bowl, looks like a really good idea for a functional piece - wouldn't be surprised at all to see others popping up here.

Dan

[Roger Chandler]

You know........if any turner has had a very good year in 2011, it would have to be Kathy M.! She has been a turning machine, and look at the advance in her skills.........it just shows up with every turning.

Kathy, I hope your 2012 sees you make as much progress as you did in 2011............look out world, here she comes! ;)

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Artsy! Nicely done.

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!
Now I just need to go through the woodpile to find some pieces big enough that I can turn the others without the pith. I know I have some mesquite and ash big enough, and I may have a big enough piece of elm and I think some african sumac would be cool too.


Nice going Kathy, looks good, kind of has that baby bird open mouth thing going. What did you use to cut the slot? The bark looks really different from the Siberian elm that I'm used to, and with elm, no smell is good smell. :) I've never seen a yarn bowl, looks like a really good idea for a functional piece - wouldn't be surprised at all to see others popping up here.

Dan
Dan, I used a cylindrical carving burr on my dremell tool. I've got some other burrs I haven't used yet laying around (or burried) somewhere on the workbench which i think would be a better size. The slot doesn't need to be very big, just enough for the yarn to slide through to get to the hole. I googled siberian and chinese elm and while the leaves look pretty much identical, the bark is way different. The chinese elm has a gray bark that sheds off leaving brown and yellows.


You know........if any turner has had a very good year in 2011, it would have to be Kathy M.! She has been a turning machine, and look at the advance in her skills.........it just shows up with every turning.

Kathy, I hope your 2012 sees you make as much progress as you did in 2011............look out world, here she comes! ;)
Thanks Roger!
Last night I was looking through the pics of what I've turned in the last 1 year and 5 months, and I counted 279 not including pens, it also doesn't include pieces that I never took pics of :eek:.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice work Kathy. Having several knitters in the family should get me motivated to try one of these someday.

[Joe Watson]

nice way to end the year, looks like your "test run" came out sweet.

[Rob Price]

Very cool, can't wait to see the rest.

[Norm Zax]

Well done Kathy! One of the things I enjoy in this forum is that Ive been following it for quite some time and once in a while a completely new idea pops up, and not just a new design but a new use for our turning!
an idea: make the same cutting on the other side, as an excuse to get rid of the pith.

[Michelle Rich]

luv the shape..great yarn holder..can hold used smaller balls of yarn