First NIP

[Bob Rotche]

I picked up a couple pieces of Norfolk Island Pine at the Virginia Woodturners Symposium this year and this is my first attempt. Couldn't go for the classic star figure as the branches weren't all in the same plane so ended up with this vase form. It is 8" wide by 6" tall and 1/8-3/16 thick. Soaked it in 50:50 BLO and mineral spirits for 24 hours in and 24 out for about 2 weeks. There are a few areas of translucence but not much due to the heavy spalting, though that did yield some pretty dramatic figure. C+C appreciated as always.

2nd piece was turned much thinner and was able to get the star pattern. It is in the finishing process and will be posted soon.

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[Leo Van Der Loo]

I've always liked the looks of NIP, though never turned any myself, and again here just a beautiful piece you turned from NIP, thanks for showing this piece of eye candy :D

[Allan Ferguson]

Really like this. Wow!

[Sid Matheny]

WOW says it all. Just wonderful!!!

Sid

[George Barber]

Just stunning!

[Greg Ketell]

Very pretty! Love the shape and the wood is beautiful!

[Jim Burr]

Wow!! No dye, coloring or anything? Great chunk of wood and a sweet form Bob!

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Your thin walled turning skills look really good but the dyes look amazing.
faust

[Michelle Rich]

A#1!!!!!!!

[Bob Rotche]

Thanks all for the kind comments. Faust, I only wish I could dye wood like that. It is all natural spalting.

[Marc Himes]

Fantastic piece Bob! The wood is spectacular and the form is great too. Did the soaking make it a lot darker, or was it pretty dark to begin with. It really looks nice.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Bob - beautiful work! Love the form, the variety of colors and the translucence! Was well worth the extra effort!

Also - congrats on getting today's WOW cover honors! Very well deserved!!

[Tom Winship]

Top Shelf, Bob. Beautiful.

[Tony De Masi]

Gorgeous piece Bob. Make sure you bring that to a DAMP meeting when you can make it.

[Roger Chandler]

That is a looker Bob! Nice form and one has to love that color variation! Your finish technique set it off for sure! +1 on Tony's comment to bring it to a DAMP meeting..........I want to hold this one!

[BILL DONAHUE]

Bob, that's a beauty! I like the shape and the coloring. The amount of spalting looks about right to me for a really dramatic look. Is there a finish on it after the BLO? Most of what I've read suggests that the period of time in the BLO mix should be more like two to three months. From my experience, that seems to be too long, especially for the very thin pieces. I have written an article about translucent Norfolk Island pine that will be in the April issue of "Woodturning Design." A photo of the piece made for the article is on page 73 of the current issue in an advertisement for the next issue. That piece was in the BLO mix for about three months and then finished with WOP, gloss.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece and work Bob. I love turning NIP.

[Greg Just]

Nice job with your first NIP. I have only turned one piece and it was fun. The color on this one is beautiful. Well done.

[Bob Rotche]

Thanks all for taking the time to comment. Bill, I stopped at 2 weeks partly because it didn't seem to be changing much anymore, partly because of impatience and partly because of progressive development of a coating of gummy, dried oil on the surface which I had to sand down (tedious work). Happened on my second piece too despite trying to steel wool it between soakings. Haven't read about this problem in descriptions of the process so not sure what I'm doing wrong. I wonder if you could let it soak longer with out the drying every 24 hours but Ron Kent's site says that is essential. This one is top coated with WOP. Definitely want to experiment more with this wood when I can get hold of it.

[Roger Chandler]

Congrats on the WOW cover with this piece, Bob!

[BILL DONAHUE]

Bob, just thought of one thing that may be contributing to the "gummy, dried oil on the surface." Between dunkings I have been draining the piece by placing it over the bucket of oil on two paint stirrers and after it stopped dripping, wiping it down several times with paper towels. So you may want to try drying it more between dunkings. After two months or so I notice that several hours after the paper towels were used the piece would seep oil but only in certain places. I'd then wipe it off only to have it start to seep again. The longer the 24 hour in/out process went on the more likely was the seeping and the closer the piece was to being fnished.

[Jerry Lawrence]

Gorgeous piece! I think that form fits the coloring and markings perfectly! Am I the only one who thinks that last pic looks like a very angry King Kong?

[Kathy Marshall]

Gorgeous piece Bob! Love the form and the spalting and coloring is killer! Congrats on the Wow cover!

[Bob Rotche]

Thanks for the tip, Bill. That makes sense and I will give it a try the next time I can get my hands on some of this stuff. I'm really looking forward to reading your article. Congrats on getting published!

[Chip Sutherland]

Beautiful piece of NIP. Nice job pulling the beauty out of the wood.

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, that's a beautiful bowl! Such a great combination of wood and form and a spectacular finish. i think I like all the colors created by the extra spalting even more than the usual translucense of the NIP. That's one of the nices NIP oieces I've seen.

[Eric Gourieux]

Well, all of the comments have already been made. Great form, wood, etc.

One tip on NIP: The branches are often NOT on the same plane, but you can often get close by adjusting the blank between centers. Sometimes, you can get it spot on, and sometimes you can't. I've turned a lot of NIP and can usually get close with this adjustment.

[Michael Dromey]

WOW! This piece is fantastic. I am not to familar with this wood. Where does the red spalting come from? I have never seen natural red spalting before.

[Scott Hackler]

Great piece Bob. I love the coloring.

I havent turned any NIP, but have wanted to try some ever since I received a turning in a trade from Kelly Dunn. His process is similar, but I am sure he does not use BLO. The end result is almost a plastic feel to it.

[David E Keller]

Late to the party, but I had to weigh in... Fantastic piece, Bob!


I think you'll like the thinner piece when it comes to the finishing process and the translucence... This beauty reminded me that I need to finish up some NIP light shades that I've been putting off for nearly a year(my wife has the patience of a saint but obviously questionable decision making as it relates to her choice of husbands).

[Baxter Smith]

Great colors, great shape, and great finish Bob. If that was mine I would call it a keeper!

[Rich Aldrich]

Beautiful wood, really nice form, great finish, etc. Nice work.

[Tim Rinehart]

Bob, that's as fine an ogee form as they come, and the foot fits perfect. Not surprised it made WOW cover. I have two smallish pieces left, and may need to dig into Bills technique a bit to get that finish he's so good at. Great job...as usual!