Out of the burn pile Birch

[bob svoboda]

Spalted Birch first turned in 2011. Did not turn out well so it sat on a shelf and eventually ended up in my burn pile. Decided to take a shot at a save and remounted it last week. The original finish was BLO and it had turned a kind of ugly dark brown and was splotchy. After recutting the piece and a lot of sanding I decided to try some color and finished it with WOP. Still has some issues but I am happy with the save.
252851

[Roger Chandler]

Now that will work! Nice Save, Bob!

[mark ravensdale]

That looks really nice mate,
birch is one of my favourite woods to turn so easy but yet so rewarding and the way the light is reflected by the different layers (forgot the name for that)
Believe it or not the first woodturning book I ever got said that birch was a poor wood for turners (and willow for that matter) how wrong they/it was

[Greg Ketell]

I'd be really happy with that save too! Great looking piece!

[Brian Kent]

Bob, that is beautiful. Very glassy finish too. How many coats of WOP?

[bob svoboda]

Thanks Brian and all. I started with 4 coats of shellac and finished with 4 coats of WOP

[Brian Kent]

Thank you, Bob.

[Richard Coers]

I've gone to a random orbit sander for fine sanding before dye. Works wonders, no scratches around the piece. That is a nice blue color. It's one color that I haven't liked on my work, but the variations in intensity you have works very nicely.

[Ray Bell]

Very nice Bob, what dye did you use?

[Donny Lawson]

Beautiful piece.

[Jon Nuckles]

Nice piece/save. I really like the coloring.

[bob svoboda]

Richard. Yes, the lateral 'scratches' are one of the issues I mentioned. RAS would have been a good solution but the dang things did'nt show until the finish was applied.

[bob svoboda]

Hi Ray..Long time no see! I used Transtint blue diluted with DNA.

[Richard Coers]

I know the situation well Bob. And my aging eyes don't help me one little bit. Remember patience with these things, because the dye can be sanded back off. I've redone a few pieces when the first color goes on. I even did a catalpa piece and filled the grain with acrylic paint. A sanding line showed up in that, and the paint barely soaked in. I often wipe down the piece with mineral spirits, holding it bright light, before adding color these days. Sunlight is the best of course, but I still have this pesky day job that gets in the way of using sunlight for inspection.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice save Bob. Like the form and color.