Woven Maple

[Scott Hackler]

Here is one of my recently completed pieces. I am back into full turning mode (trying to prep for SWAT and a pending HF trade) and so I have 6-8 pieces in varying states of completion. This one was turned from some silver maple blanks I had left after a demo I gave at the local turning club. I had actually forgot that I had a couple of these blanks left and recently discovered them again! Cool thing is that they were green when I sealed them the night before the demo and they have long since dried so I was able to turn to finish without worrying about warpage.

This silver maple is about as boring as can be, so..... I broke out the Burnmaster and got to work.

About 6 1/2" tall and 3 1/4" wide. Black dye on the outside and satin lacquer to seal it up. African blackwood finial.

Comments and critiques are encouraged. Thanks!

237032

[Harry Robinette]

Scott
I love it, very nicely balanced. I think you have another winner.

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice Scott! The texturing looks great and the black really highlites it! I would guess that one's making the trip to SWAT!
Do you have a tip with the pattern or did you burn each line individually?

[charlie knighton]

very nice, Scott

a black piece shows every defect, great piece

[Eric Holmquist]

Very nice design, and great execution on the weave pattern!

[Marc Himes]

Form, texture, finial and the black dye all work together to make a great piece. Well done!

[Michelle Rich]

this is so great I'm commenting on 2 forums..splendid! ( make a perfect copy & bleach it!! )

[Roger Chandler]

Nice basket weave you have done, and your "signature" finial.........."Hackler-esque" all the way. Have you been studying a bit with Jim Adkins?......a great one to learn the basket techniques from. Nice work on this Scott, and I like the dark finish.........that will make a fine display piece!

[Bob Rotche]

Really like this one, Scott! The texture is interesting and well done and the black on black is just classy!

[Scott Hackler]

Very nice Scott! The texturing looks great and the black really highlites it! I would guess that one's making the trip to SWAT!
Do you have a tip with the pattern or did you burn each line individually?

Kathy, it is indeed headed to SWAT! I burned the lines in one at a time. I have a tip that is the width of the middle pattern ring (I think it was intended as a square shading tip). Started with 5-6 lines branded in, in one direction and then rotate 90 degrees! Thanks


Nice basket weave you have done, and your "signature" finial.........."Hackler-esque" all the way. Have you been studying a bit with Jim Adkins?......a great one to learn the basket techniques from. Nice work on this Scott, and I like the dark finish.........that will make a fine display piece!

Roger, it's funny you bring up Jim Adkins. I hadn't used my Burnmaster since last year and Jim must have smelled the wood burning from the next state, because he called me while I was burning! Kinda funny how that happened. And no, I haven't learned this crude branding/ basket weave from Jim. His work looks REAL, mine looks like a branded vessel!

Thanks everyone for your comments.

[Russell Eaton]

That is a classy turning Scott. Well done sir.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Great job Scott. Your pieces just keep getting more and more eye catching. Keep them coming. I'm enjoying each one.

[Steve bellinger]

Scott you did a great job on that. love how you did the black weave with the black finial. Like Bob said that's just one classy piece.

[Jim Burr]

Great visual Scott!! Did you pattern out the burning or just have at it?

[Jon Nuckles]

Scott, Good to see that you didn't lose your touch during your inactivity. Really like the texturing and color, and it all goes well with the trademark finial. Way to go.

[Scott Hackler]

Great visual Scott!! Did you pattern out the burning or just have at it?

Jim, while it was still on the lathe I marked out dividing lines (about 1/4" apart) as a guide while I went. Funny thing is that that helped maintain a straight pattern, but on the piece I just finished burning...I forgot to mark the lines before I parted it off the lathe! So, I had to hand mark the one I am working on right now. That proved to be even more difficult because that one has a sencondary pattern spiraling around the form. I will post pictures of it after finishing. Live and learn.

[Tim Rinehart]

Great job on this piece Scott. I too like it enough I commented twice! :)
You did the right thing to a bland piece of wood...but it won't really stir things up with the natives till you take a curly burly piece of wood and start adding texture/color/fill...you know...sacrilege! :p

Keep up the fine work, I like that you've retained this unique finial design as a signature finial for you. It's a simple sweet shape that seems to work all the times I've seen you use it.

[David DeCristoforo]

Sweet! My personal preference would be for a smaller footprint and a "softer" stance as on your "Snow Covered Sissoo" piece. I also agree that the transition between the "lid" and finial could be sweetened up a bit. How much of that has to do with achieving a "properly flowing form" and how much is personal preference is open to discussion. But neither is a "major issue" and both are offset by the apparent "moonshot trajectory" precision of the decoration and the black finish which is perfect for this piece. The only "problem" with black is that it eliminates any value the wood itself might add to the overall "gestalt" of the piece, leaving the form on it's own to carry the day. With the "exception" of the slightly "flatfooted" stance, this form is as good as it gets. I'm holding up a 9.5 on this one.