First Box, spalted (ash?)

[Jeremy Leasure]

I roughed this out green a few months ago from a piece of scrap. Yesterday I broke it out to practice with one of my arch nemesi, the hand held hollowing tool. With some advice from Joe Landon I think I finally may be getting the hang of it.

Maybe.

I think there must be something more suited to hollowing this particular form out though, especially if I wanted a square transition at the bottom.

http://i.imgur.com/s56Vx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OByQE.jpg

[Steve Vaughan]

I like that! Really beautiful grain/spalting. Nice job.

[Chris Studley]

Very Cool, Well executed. Simple shape, but one that would really show any mistakes, and I can't see any.

I had thought about making a pepper mill with a piece of spalted Maple I had and intended to go for the straight cylinder look you achieved here. I wasn't sure spalting and food were the best combo, so I didn't go that route.

It is nice to see the thought put to wood. (likely better than my execution would have been)

I really do like this piece.

[Roger Chandler]

Now, that is pretty, Jeremy!!! A really nice piece of wood and a fine form you put on it! I would like to see a bit thinner walls on this one........would have been about perfect then, but this is a fine piece!

[Robert Henrickson]

very nice. perhaps hackberry?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jeremy - looks pretty good to me! Nice job on keeping the grain aligned! I agree with the observation that it could have been a little thinner - but that is more of a personal taste! To get the bottom cut cleaner and also create a 90* corner... try using a square edge scraper. Works for me!

[Jim Burr]

I pity you Jeremy!!! That has the look of punky, tear-out prone stuff. You really got a great box out of it!

[John Keeton]

Nice work, Jeremy, and I would say you turned that wood in the nick of time!

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice job Jeremy! Nice spalting in the wood too!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice box. Love the spalting. I agree with a little thinner.

[Jeremy Leasure]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'll try to thin out the walls for box #2. My regret is I didn't rough out a bunch of these in various woods, sizes and shapes a few months ago when I did this one. Just wasn't having a great time with the hollowing tool.

With a square ended scraper, what angle are those typically ground at for hollowing? I have a scraper I could grind the radius off of to try it out. It seems like plunging a square ended scraper into end grain would end in tragedy for me but I'll give it a shot.