Vase with lid

[Adam Petersen]

My wife recently got a new job and she has a new office to decorate so I thought I'd make her a little vase. I am very happy with how this turned out. It's a cottonwood bottom with a nice feather in the grain. The lid is Ipe. This one was hollowed free hand to about 3/16" and I was able to get it pretty uniform throughout. The lid fits well, the finish turned out nice, and I even like the form of it. All these coming together for me is rare, so this one made me quite happy. All critiques are welcome.

Thanks,

Adam.

[Tim Passmore]

Very nice Adam. What are the dimensions?

[daryl moses]

Beautiful, love the feather!!

[Adam Petersen]

Thanks guys. Tim, the vase (minus the finial) is 6" tall and 4" wide at its widest point.

[John K Jordan]

Nice job, and size! With the wide mouth it would be perfect for candy or something. Pretty wood. I've never turned Ipe although I have a little. Is it challenging? I've never turned cottonwood either, I'm not sure if it grows around here.

JKJ

[Brian Kent]

I'll chime in, that Ipe is a joy to turn. I estimate it takes me 4x longer to turn than dry oak. There is a whole lot of powder that comes off with the tiny shavings. But with patience and good breathing protection, you can just keep on getting it smoother and smoother. As a friend said, "The more you polish it gets."

[Adam Petersen]

351372Thanks folks. When I showed my wife she decided we'd use it as an urn for our two cats who have been siting in a tin box for far too long. So it is now on the entertainment center. As far as Ipe, it is a tough wood. It turns like a lot of exotics, you have to keep the tools sharp. If you have a catch it is prone to explosion, it's very chippy. The splinters are miserable. All that being said, it takes really nice detail and turns a beautiful color with finish. There's more dust and chips than shavings, at least for me, and I wear a mask from the moment I walk into the garage with that stuff to the moment I finish cleaning up and leave. It smells nice but it is irritating to me. As for Cottonwood, that stuff grows anywhere there is water. It's just another species of a soft maple as I understand. It turns fairly nice but smells like a barn. It often has nice figure in it. It's also known as box elder in some circles I think. "I have many names."

[robert baccus]

Adam, you might try(incoming) using a scary sharp round nose scraper on very hard woods--quite often works better. Also Cottonwood(several species in the genus Populus) are not kin to any Maples.

[Thomas Canfield]

The vase looked very good in the original photo and the large base was not noticeable. The later photo on the shelf made the base diameter look large and a smaller base might have a better look and still be stable, or possibly make a bead form or other design at bottom. Guess you will have to turn another for her office.

[Adam Petersen]

The vase looked very good in the original photo and the large base was not noticeable. The later photo on the shelf made the base diameter look large and a smaller base might have a better look and still be stable, or possibly make a bead form or other design at bottom. Guess you will have to turn another for her office.

Made me look again and I see what you are saying. I think given that it now has the contents of two dead cats I'm happy with the stability the wide base offers, but when I do another I agree, a little thinning down may add to the visual appeal. Thank you Thomas.