terry richards
01-30-2014, 6:44 PM
281201281202
This vase is from spalted birch. The log, off the stump in March, 2013, was turned spitting wet, starting in November, 2013. It is turned dead center on the pith, and stands 23.5" tall, 5.5" major diameter, turned through both the top and bottom. The walls were turned about 1/4" wet, but now average about 3/16". To prevent cracking, it was dried from the inside out by wrapping the outside with plastic and drying the inside with oil-dry, changed every 2 days for about a month. At that point, I finished the outside only to seal off moisture loss from the outer surface. The finish is satin lacquer - 9 coats. So far, there is no finish down deep inside where you can't see - only on the trumpet part. It is losing very little weight nowadays, less than an ounce every three weeks, so it's nearly dried to equilibrium. When the weight fully stabilizes, I will seal the inside of the globe section and add a couple more coats of finish on the outside.
This vase is from spalted birch. The log, off the stump in March, 2013, was turned spitting wet, starting in November, 2013. It is turned dead center on the pith, and stands 23.5" tall, 5.5" major diameter, turned through both the top and bottom. The walls were turned about 1/4" wet, but now average about 3/16". To prevent cracking, it was dried from the inside out by wrapping the outside with plastic and drying the inside with oil-dry, changed every 2 days for about a month. At that point, I finished the outside only to seal off moisture loss from the outer surface. The finish is satin lacquer - 9 coats. So far, there is no finish down deep inside where you can't see - only on the trumpet part. It is losing very little weight nowadays, less than an ounce every three weeks, so it's nearly dried to equilibrium. When the weight fully stabilizes, I will seal the inside of the globe section and add a couple more coats of finish on the outside.