Mallee Hollow form

[neil mackay]

Mallee hollow form around 10x5" sprayed this time with a polyurethane finish. First time I have used this one it seemed to come out OK.

[Nate Davey]

That is spectacular, Neil. Bet getting the chips out was pretty easy

[Curt Fuller]

Neil, you could not possibly have done a nicer job of exploiting the beauty of a natural edge burl. That's just fantastic!

[Roger Chandler]

My guess would be there was some significant pucker factor with this one..........I also would think you had to do a wrap of some sort to keep it from flying apart.............very nice indeed!!!

[Jim Burr]

Glad you are in one piece Hughie!!! Spectacular!!

[Mark Hubl]

Beauty Neal. A very nice looking wood, and great job keeping it together. I really like the little bridge I see in the piece. Lovely work.

[Michelle Rich]

pucker factor indeed..great job!

[Tim Rinehart]

Neil, that came out very nicely. That you were able to maintain the bridge piece is a testament to your steely edge turning nerves! Wonderful work!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful Neil. You must have nevers of steel because it looks like the pucker factor was quite high.

[Richard Jones]

Yikes!! That's not one to put at the front of the display table, for sure............

Gorgeous.

I'd name it "A Bridge Too Far"............

Thanks for sharing.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Absolutely stunning! Beautiful work Neil! Congrats on being able to keep it all together!

[Ryan Baker]

That's one brave hollow form! Keeping that together had to have been a serious challenge. Very nicely done! Beautiful work!

[Eric Gourieux]

Did you have to turn off the burl spikes (Not sure what they're called) from the top, or is this the way the piece came to you? You did a great job keeping this one together. It's definitely a keeper.

[neil mackay]

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. Actually the most difficult part was getting the inside sanded, My hand fits in but not much room left for movement. Eric it came much like a standard burl as it was sliced off the tree.
By mounting the the cut face on your face plate you can then cut a tenon on the spikey side reverse it and finish the cut face as the bottom complete with a foot, reverse it again and complete the top and inside.

I had a bit of a hiccup as it went along. The outside was tough and bone dry and inside was very wet add to that I couldn't finish it in one hit. So over the coarse of three days or so it moved some as it dried out even with a plastic bag over it. The end result was I lost control of the wall thickness, so it varies from about 3/32 to 1/4".

[Ryan Baker]

That plastic cling-wrap stuff used to wrap pallets and bind packages can be really useful to re-inforce pieces like this and help hold them together. Turn the outside. Then wrap it tightly with the plastic wrap (you could probably also use something like package tape, etc.). Now you can turn the inside with the wrap helping to hold it together. It also helps prevent it from drying out too fast.

[francesco dibari]

great work Neil .. :)

[neil mackay]

That plastic cling-wrap stuff used to wrap pallets and bind packages can be really useful to re-inforce pieces like this and help hold them together. Turn the outside. Then wrap it tightly with the plastic wrap (you could probably also use something like package tape, etc.). Now you can turn the inside with the wrap helping to hold it together. It also helps prevent it from drying out too fast.


Ryan, Thanks for the tips. I had heard of the shrink wrap, but it was awhile ago, must have forgotten all about it. I used gaffer tape and the darn stuff left glue lines that took me awhile to get rid of. So I wont be using it again in a hurry.