Marty Tippin
12-03-2014, 7:08 PM
Seems like it's taken forever, but I've finally finished the cremation urn I started a few months ago and asked lots of questions about on SMC. This urn was a request from a high school friend, for his mother's ashes. I wasn't really sure I was up to the task of making something this "important" but I think it went pretty well overall.
This piece is from a green Silver Maple log, turned and hollowed to about 1/4" wall thickness, then dried for about 5-6 weeks, sanded and finished with lots of Danish Oil. Beall buff was used to bring out a little bit of shine. The lid is hard maple; I wanted to use wood from the same tree as the urn but gave up after 3 attempts to dry a rough-turned shape - they all split and I unfortunately didn't have time to wait for bigger pieces to dry on their own. I made a black PVC threaded insert in the top and matching PVC male threaded section on the lid for sealing.
Dimensions are ~14.5" tall with the lid, 6" at the widest point and 4" at the base.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out, though the grain orientation and overall character of the wood is somewhat less appealing than I had hoped for. As a learning vehicle, it was incredibly valuable - this is, essentially, the first, large hollow piece I ever tried to turn from start to finish and I'm pretty sure the next one will go a lot smoother.
(And I'm still "developing" my photography skills - I realize the color balance isn't quite right, but I don't have Photoshop installed at the moment to correct it...)
Comment and critique is welcome.
301483301484301485301486301487301488301490
This piece is from a green Silver Maple log, turned and hollowed to about 1/4" wall thickness, then dried for about 5-6 weeks, sanded and finished with lots of Danish Oil. Beall buff was used to bring out a little bit of shine. The lid is hard maple; I wanted to use wood from the same tree as the urn but gave up after 3 attempts to dry a rough-turned shape - they all split and I unfortunately didn't have time to wait for bigger pieces to dry on their own. I made a black PVC threaded insert in the top and matching PVC male threaded section on the lid for sealing.
Dimensions are ~14.5" tall with the lid, 6" at the widest point and 4" at the base.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it came out, though the grain orientation and overall character of the wood is somewhat less appealing than I had hoped for. As a learning vehicle, it was incredibly valuable - this is, essentially, the first, large hollow piece I ever tried to turn from start to finish and I'm pretty sure the next one will go a lot smoother.
(And I'm still "developing" my photography skills - I realize the color balance isn't quite right, but I don't have Photoshop installed at the moment to correct it...)
Comment and critique is welcome.
301483301484301485301486301487301488301490