A new WIP - Desert Ironwood - Finished

[Kathy Marshall]

I haven't had much shop time lately, but tonight after work I made some time. Instead of grabbing a smaller chunk of wood for a quick turning fix, I grabbed the big Desert Ironwood blank I got from Barry Richardson that I've been holding on to for probably close to 2 years (thanks Barry!).
I've had thoughts of coring the blank, but I think I've talked myself out of it, this wood is hard! As it was, it took me almost 2 hours to turn the outside. The blank was a little out of balance so I had to start out pretty slow, and there wasn't much hogging off of material going on. Once I had the outside shape where I wanted it, I went over it with my scraper. The scraper left a really nice surface, and if my movements were a little smoother I probably could forgo sanding, but I did have a couple hesitation marks so it will need a little sanding.
I've got it chucked up and even though the wood seems very dry, I've got it wrapped up in plastic until I can start hollowing it. The blank was about 11" - 12" or so and I think the color will really pop with an oil finish. It has it's share of cracks and inclusions, but I've decided to go for the rustic look and not fill them although I may add some CA if the cracks go deeper than they appear.
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More to come.....

[Brian Kent]

That color is tremendous. Looking forward to every step of this one, Kathy.

[Reed Gray]

I have cored Mountain Mahogany which is the same hardness. It can be done, and you have to go slow. Shouldn't take you 2 hours though. Sharpen frequently. If you have the Woodcut coring system, it might be easier than the McNaughton, but it will chatter.

robo hippy

[charlie knighton]

i have heard of desert ironwood, interesting looking stuff, nice outside Kathy, i have seen cracks like that in cherry, be careful

[Michael Stafford]

That is a beautiful yet scary looking piece of wood. Those cracks may be a problem when you reverse the bowl and start hollowing. I think I might install some decorative yet structurally reinforcing butterflies before I reversed it. I would never trust CA for structural strength as it has no gap filling ability or strength.

Be careful out there, another turner was just hospitalized when a platter blank flew apart and crushed his eye socket and cheek bone.

[Doug Herzberg]

Kathy, it's beautiful, but as others have said, it's a scary piece of wood. The tenon would worry me too. I hope you can span that bark or sapwood or whatever it is with one of your jaws.

[Brian Brown]

Kathy,

That is a really nice piece of DI wood, and will make a nice bowl. Like everybody else, that large crack scares me. Because the wood is so hard and dense, it would be worse than usual if the piece suddenly decided it wanted to be 2 (or more) pieces. If you don't want to do butterflies, I would at least put a few wraps of glass filament tape around the bowl in three places, and/or palette wrap around the entire outside. That way if one side decided to divorce the other while you are hollowing the inside, the tape/wrap would catch the worst of it, instead of your body. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is going to be a nice bowl and the wood is beautiful. I definitely would wrap that thing with several layers of like saran wrap.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful wood! You are the only one that can judge if the wood is sound enough to turn. Be careful...

[Michelle Rich]

it's gonna be gorgeous..

[Baxter Smith]

It must be an interesting/memorable piece of wood to turn. Will be very pretty when done. Good luck with it!

[Roger Chandler]

I am one also concerned about the structural integrity of this.........that largest crack that goes through the tenon is one that I feel can cause this thing to come flying apart.........we want Kathy Marshall safe and sound as our moderator in a few weeks from now! At minimum, wrap this thing with some strapping tape and saran wrap type stuff, before you try to hollow. Also use some glue.

Pretty wood.........it will be good with oil as a finish as you say, but please think carefully about how you proceed!

[Kathy Marshall]

I hollowed out the inside today after work. I took my time and left the tailstock up for support as long as I could, hollowing in steps and finishing each section before moving deeper. I also wrapped it up well with pallet wrap. I got the inside sanded and just need to reverse it, sand the outside and finish the bottom. Then I'll apply some oil.
I meant to measure it but forgot, I'll get to that once it's finished.

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[Brian Kent]

Lookin' gorgeous!

[Eric Gourieux]

Nice one, Kathy. Rustic look was a good choice with this wood.

[Fred Belknap]

Kathy it looks nice, don't know what desert ironwood is but it sure sounds tough.

[Kathy Marshall]

I finished it up tonight after work. Sanded to 400 then wet sanded with Danish oil.
The pics aren't great, I'll have to try for some better ones later.
Just a very simple form. It's 10" x 3 3/4" and the walls are just a tad over 3/8".

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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.