Experimenting With Norfolk Island Pine, 1 of 3

[BILL DONAHUE]

This is a vase in Norfolk Island Pine (NIP) that's 12" X 7 1/2". It was an experiment in that I had never turned NIP and had decided to forego the thought that "form is everything" and concentrate on translucence and finish. Have never really tried to turn anything very thin before and should have tried it on something smaller. The first mistake I made was to accept a piece of wood that some guys from south Florida couldn't swap for other wood. The more experienced turners could tell that it was way too dry and spaulted to be any good. Turning it was like turning cement - it came off in chunks so I tossed it in the garbage. Then spent the evening on Ron Kent's website, he's the master of NIP, reading about using a mixture of concentrated dishwashing detergent. Took the NIP out of the garbage, got the detergent, soaked it overnight and it then turned smoothly. Had to do this twice to get it down to turnable portions. Decided to put a concave section at the top to make the spaulted area look like flames. Got several gallons of boiled linseed oil, mixed it with mineral spirits, 50/50, and started a 24 hour in the mixture, 24 hour out/drying process that went on for about a month. Once the dunking stopped I let it dry out and had to do so for over two months before the seeping of oil stopped. Must be the humidity in Pensacola. Tried using diluted shellac, then satin WOP and finally settled on glossy WOP because it improved the values (lights versus darks) though I normally don't like a glossy finish. The cost of the BLO, mineral spirits and detergent was almost $100 and the cost of NIP if you must buy it, is high. Therefore, I decided to experiment with three pieces and the other two will be posted soon.

[Kathy Marshall]

I'd call that a successful experiment! I think the form looks great and it looks like you got it plenty thin, and the wood is just Wow! Really cool effect with the flame look.

[charlie knighton]

i have not seen the translucent nip before, very nice

thanks for the tip about detergent, i'm wet behind the ears regarding nip myself, maybe i will try another piece

[Dennis Ford]

I agree, this experiment was a success!

[John Keeton]

WOW!!!! Bill, this one was worth the effort!! WOW!!!!

[Brian Palmer]

I don't think I could ever create something that beautiful let alone as a experiment WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

I like it Bill. Simple but elegant. Well worth the time.

[Baxter Smith]

That is quite the experiment! Awesome results Bill!

[David E Keller]

This is a timely post for me... I've got three hunks of this stuff that I'm planning to turn into fairly similar shapes for pendant light covers. I think you've achieved a fantastic effect with these... I'm looking forward to seeing two and three!

Ive read Ron Kent's site a time or two, but any other tips you have for working with this stuff would be greatly appreciated.

[Tim Rinehart]

That's a beautiful piece, you really got the translucence to shine...I will have to review that site you mention, before doing another one. Sure looks like you couldn't have done much better on this that what you did.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Bill,
If your $100 worth of supplies last you through the other two pieces your costs will be down to 33 bucks a vase. That's cheap for such a stunning piece. It looks alive.
faust

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very impressive work Bill! Well worth the extended efforts and cost! I look forward to seeing the other two!

[Brian Palmer]

Ill give ya 100$ for it with out a 2nd thought!:D

[Dan Forman]

Now that's really dramatic!!! Well worth the effort.

Dan

[Joe Watson]

wow, that really is beautiful - all the hard work definitely paid off.

[Rob Price]

That last pic really looks like flames, I wonder how it would look with a flickering light source inside. Amazing.

[Norm Zax]

Agree with the rest - a well executed piece! Would like to see one without the interior lighting (as it would look most of the time).

[Michelle Rich]

WOW WOW WOW looks super

[Jim Burr]

When the post opened, I was knocked back! Just an amazing piece of wood, form shows it off well and the lighting does a great "Bang!"

[John W Dixon]

The time and effort that was expended on this "experiment" sure resulted in a tremendous piece! Stunning!

[Jamie Donaldson]

Nice job, but the missing ingrediant in your home brew finish is a varnish, mixed in about equal 1/3rd proportions with BLO and mineral spirits. This is a very commonly used finish, especially for many turners of larger objects. You should be able to find many such finish variations, and another turner of excellent translucent forms is found at kellydunnwoodturner.com

[Rich Greinert]

Truly... an exceptional piece of work!

[Brian Effinger]

Wow! That is one of the coolest turnings I've seen. Very well done, and I'm looking forward to the other NIP pieces.

[Thomas Canfield]

Bill,

It looks like you had fairly good success after all the trials. You should Google and check out Kelly Dunn for NIP as he is great with his NIP and is signature work. His translucense is super. It is hard to tell how translucent your piece is and how much is color, but it is striking. I will be looking for the later 2. Normally NIP is turned fairly wet and then soaked with the oil/MS mix and I have not heard much about soaking with soap. I have a piece of dead NIP to turn and may try a detergent soak before turning when I get my shop and lathe going in a few months - thanks for the suggestion.

[Bill Wyko]

It's posts like this that remind me how important it is to look farther that the first page here at SMC. It would have been a shame to have missed this work of art. Absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me of Cooks Pine from Hawaii Very similar in grain as well as the knots circling the piece. Very well done, glad you didn't toss it and glad I didn't miss it.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Thanks you all for the kind words.
Norm, this is what it looks like without the interior light. This was taken in sunlight and the top of the back of the vase is almost visible through the front. This picture isn't very sharp.

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[BILL DONAHUE]

Still another without the interior light.
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[Hayes Rutherford]

Bill, your end result looks as good as any I have seen. Hows the fishing?