Cherry Burl HF

[Steve Schlumpf]

Believe it or not, this Cherry Burl HF was on the lathe for 2 weeks!! With the temps warming up and the fishing season open, guess I was in no rush to finish it!!

Cherry burl, 11.25” diameter x 7.25” high, finished with several coats of wipe-on-poly (WOP) and 0000 steel wool to create a matte finish. Decided later that I wanted a slight sheen, so added a coat of Renaissance wax.

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As always, your opinions, comments and critiques are welcome!

Thanks for looking!

[David DeCristoforo]

"Believe it or not, this...was on the lathe for 2 weeks..."

I believe it. I feel lucky if I can get in enough time at the lathe to finish anything in two weeks! This is nice! I really like the lower half of this. The curve is sweet. And the "hard line" at the shoulder is great. The upper part, I'm not too sure about. It seems like is might need a bit more curve. But, then again, from the looks of it, you are lucky it's still in one piece!

[John Keeton]

Steve, you certainly were patient with this one! I have been looking forward to seeing it - great piece of wood!! I think the burl deserved the low sheen - matte would not have been as complimentary of the figure. I tend to agree with David on the top shoulder, but that is such a matter of personal preference. Great proportions, and the bark inclusions really make this piece special!

[Steve Brannick]

Beautiful piece! The burl with the bark inclusion really sets it off. As to the fishing enjoy it, I live on the water and have not wet a line or started my boat in over a year!

[Jim Burr]

The size of this really is a monster!!! Sometimes, I'd rather fish to! Could be me, the picture or a smudge on the spectales, but I see a flat between the mouth and shoulder...or it could be a gentle curve! Who cares about that...great form and the finish could not be better! Go fishing more often!

[charlie knighton]

great piece, those wider pieces are difficult to keep the tool from bouncing, what are you hollowing with Steve?

[Steve Vaughan]

That is a giant! But boy, it's a purdy one for sure! I like that shape and the sheen too.

[francesco dibari]

beautiful work ... :) ...

[Roger Chandler]

Nice work Steve.........I like everything but the bark inclusions :rolleyes: you know me.........after my bad experience with a cherry burl called "Gnarly Sophisticate" I just find myself hard pressed to like a lot of bark inclusions.

That in no way takes away from your usual excellent work. Looks like the thing wanted to crack on you while it was on the lathe, or were those cracks there before you started turning?

Fine work!

[Eric Holmquist]

Great piece, very impressive to see such a big piece with all those inclusions hold together.

[Ken Glass]

Steve,
A very nice large piece of burl with very nice form too. The finish seems to complement the piece very well. Now, talk about the fishing you did while this one waited patiently on the lathe to be finished. What's been biting up there next to you on the the big Gitche Gumee.

[Curt Fuller]

Absolutely beautiful! And it will probably get even better as the cherry darkens with time.

BTW, how's the fishing?

[Baxter Smith]

Thats a big one Steve! The color seems to be a bit lighter than the local cherry burl I have turned. The cracks look very familiar though! Very impressive piece!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty Steve. Really like the finish on it as it doesn't steal from the piece. How does the fishing go?

[Bill Bolen]

A great form to showcase all that beautiful burl figure. Pretty piece.

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice Steve! I like the bark inclusions, especially in the pics that show the the voids all the way through. Nice job keeping it all together too!

[Rich Aldrich]

Beautiful wood and really nice work.

[Tim Chase]

Steve
Great job on a difficult / beautiful piece of wood. Did you take any special precautions to keep it together while turnning, tape, shrink wrap etc? I's also like to see the set up you used to reverse and remove the tennon or was it a shallow mortise?
Thanks
Tim

[Gary Herrmann]

That is gigantical. Very nice job, Steve. I harvested a cherry burl a couple weeks ago. I hope I can do mine the same justice as you did yours.

[Bill Wyko]

A true test of ones skills, you get an A+Steve. That is just stunning! I have to day, you & I joined around the same time here, it has been a real pleasure to watch your skills develope to what you are today, well done my friend.

[Michelle Rich]

I love it! low sheen..great inclusions(well balanced) and a rather unique shape..I think I like the graceful curve to the sharp shoulder.. and the not so defined uppper to the neck...I find the combo refreshing. fishing here has been spotty, but I have gotten quite a few meals in the freezer. Good luck with yours & enjoy your time in the boat

[Alan Trout]

Steve,

That looks like a really challenging piece or wood and you did a great job with it.

Alan

[Steve Schlumpf]

Sorry for the delay... we had a storm and high winds come roaring through here last night and lost cable/internet until this morning.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment - I do appreciate it! I realize that the form of the HF will not meet with everyone's approval but I have turned a few of these and find that they can showcase the grain quite well. If I had turned a regular SW style, I would have turned a lot of the bark inclusions away and I wanted to keep as much of the bark as possible.

I was given this burl a couple of years ago by my neighbor, Bob Hainstock. Thanks Bob! I started turning it the very next day but it started checking badly and I figured I was wasting my time. So, with the outside roughed out but not hollowed yet, I removed the burl from the lathe. I mixed up some clear epoxy, thinned it with DNA (denatured alcohol) and saturated the outside of the blank. Took 3 days for the outside to dry. By that time I had started in on another turning, so just threw the burl on top of a shelf and forgot about it. Two weeks ago I was looking for something different to finish turn and rediscovered the Cherry burl. Figured it was worth a shot...

For those interested, I used a Monster captured system to hollow the form and a homemade donut chuck when removing the tenon.

On the fishing thing... Colleen and I are just lucky enough to have a river run through our property. It is known for Brookies, Rainbows, German Brown and even Steelhead... but so far I have only been catching Brookies.... my personal favorite!! It is the West Branch of the Whitefish River and here is a snapshot of just a portion that runs through our land.

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[Doug W Swanson]

Beautiful work, Steve! I like the bark inclusions. They really add some character!

I'm jealous of your stream. I'd be out there every day with my kids catching dinner!