Primitive Maple Vase

[Steve Schlumpf]

This turning is part of my ‘Primitive’ series where the emphasis is on form and the final finish is matte.

Maple, 15” high x 11” diameter x 5/16” thick. Finish is gloss poly, then using 0000 steel wool to cut back the gloss to get a matte look. There is one crack in the piece… which does not go to through to the inside of the form. A branch had grown through that area and once turned, only the area closest to the original pith cracked. This piece was too large to fit in my photo tent… so one additional photo has been provided to show that the piece was hollowed!
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As always, your comments, opinions and critiques are welcomed!

Thanks for looking!

[John Keeton]

Yep, it turned out great - just as expected, Steve!! Great form - really nice. Man, it must be nice to have a big ol' Beauty!

[Nate Davey]

Great vase, Steve. I see you and the big lathe are getting along just fine. Did you hollow the whole log leaving the pith in?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nate... hollowed it right down the center. Minimal cracking around the pith... which surprised me! Expected a lot worse.

[charlie knighton]

beautiful piece Steve, is there some type of figure in the wood at the base, seems to be a shadow, form is very good

[Steve Schlumpf]

Charlie.. that is the heartwood... which is much darker.

[Rich Aldrich]

Nice work Steve. That is a big piece. Some hard maple trees have large heart and some have small heart. Hard maple with small heart is worth much more as veneer and logs than hard maple with large heart. The production manager of our saw mill thought one of my bowls was made of soft maple because it has such a large heart. I told him it is hard maple, but I am not sure he beleives me yet.

I have a few questions. Was this a two step turning with an alcohol soak and bag dried in between turnings? I read somewhere to apply glue (CA or Epoxy) on the pith area before drying - have you ever tried it?

Sounds like you need a larger photo tent.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Rich - this piece was roughed out first, then DNA soaked for about a month. Doesn't take that long... I just had other things to do at the time. I know you can CA the pith areas or knots to help keep them from cracking and I did put some CA on the very bottom of the form after it was roughed out. The crack on the side only came around once I started turning it. Was weird... just a surface crack and did not go all the way through the wood but was deep enough I did not want to try and turn it out.

[Mike Golka]

Looks like you nailed the shape Steve, well done.

[Dick Mahany]

Man , that is a BIG piece, and nicely done. I really like the matte finish. I'm curious, how finely do you finish the interior? It looks like such a large form would invite people to want to explore the inside, but it looks like it might be a tad dangerous to finish by hand. Anyway, I like it !

[Tim Rinehart]

Wonderful piece Steve, I'm sure you too are pleased with the results. And yep...I bet it sure doesn't hurt having your Beauty for a piece that size!

[Jim Burr]

Pottery cracks too! So it looks like it fits right in. I like your finish idea and the form selection. Great size...Big lathes are fun!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty Steve. I like the finish and form is spot on.

[Fred Belknap]

Steve that is a very impressive vase. I was wondering what you used to hollow it out with? As always your work is great.

[Doug W Swanson]

I love it! I think it's just beautiful....

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for all the comments everyone - I do appreciate them!

The vase is my variation of a pueblo/acoma style water jar. Seems everything I do has a slight Southwest flavor but I never tire of it. The outside of the form was sanded to 320 grit and then steel wooled. The inside was sanded to 180 grit at the 2/3 mark down to the bottom and up close to the top it was sanded to 320 to match the exterior. The inside is far from perfect... some tearout... but I left things as is because to me that just shows it was hand-turned and not something created by a machine. Well, that is my story and I'm sticking with it!

This piece was hollowed using my Monster captured system. I attached one of Vince Welsh's sandpaper holders to the boring bar and used the hollowing system to sand the interior. With the wide mouth - it was tempting to sand by hand... but I didn't.

[Greg Just]

Very nice Steve. I wouldn't want to hand sand the inside either.

[Scott Hackler]

Nice piece Steve. I love the soft lustre and it is one of those pieces that screams to be picked up and held.

[francesco dibari]

it's beautiful piece Steve ... many compliments .. :)

[David DeCristoforo]

Excellent! I really like the little "run" in the figure there at the rim.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice work Steve. I would like to try something large but haven't come up with a big enough piece of wood lately that is crack free to start.

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful piece Steve and it's a biggy! Nice form and the finish looks great too!

[Mark Hubl]

Nice piece of work Steve. Glad to see that big ole lathe getting a workout. I think you are hitting the mark on the feel and form of your primitive pieces. In looking at it I immediately think of museum pieces I have studied.