Black Gum Natural Edge

[Raymond Overman]

Papa and I found a slightly burled black gum a couple of weekends ago. I had roughed a piece out while I was there then worked on it some more this past weekend. I finished it up this evening.

This thing had pockets in it kind of like swiss cheese. Made it very interesting to turn.

Black Gum Natural Edge Bowl with inclusions
7" diameter by 6 1/4" tall
Lacquer

[Mark Cothren]

Raymond, that is one sweet NE... a great piece of wood... my FIL's place is loaded with Black Gum - some HUGE ones... but I've yet to see one with a burl of any sort.

[Dario Octaviano]

Nice...not sure I have the courage to try turning a piece with that much of inclusion yet (much as I love the included pieces).

You did good!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Raymond that is a beauty. I like the form and finish. Nice job.

[Jonathon Spafford]

Beautiful... you sure did a nice job on that piece!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful NE Raymond! With all of the holes in it - reminds me of a woven basket! Nicely Done!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Raymond......You nailed another one! Simply gorgeous!

[Barry Stratton]

Thats a beauty Raymond. Those inclusions really give it character and...I'm sure they made it interesting to turn!

[John Hart]

Sure is pretty Raymond! The Black Gum is what the amish around here call Pepperidge. I've found all the pieces to be loaded with figure....but this stuff seems to like to move ALOT while drying. How thick was your rough turning, and how much did it move? Any little cracks you had to deal with?
Sorry for all the questions. I'd really like to get a heads up on how to deal with this wood. It's everywhere and it's really pretty stuff.

[Raymond Overman]

Thanks for all the comments guys. All I can say about the inclusions is click, click, click, click... They're really not that bad. You just have to have patience and take small bites instead of hogging off the big curlies.

John,

I've done two of these gum NEs and I haven't had a problem with cracking so far. I turned the first one to less than a 1/4" throughout using a light behind it to tell how thick I was. It was green. So green in fact it was less than 4 hours off the stump. It moved some but didn't crack.

My philosophy on natural edge bowls is that I don't care if they move some. You're looking for chaos in the bark edge. If it's a little oval or has smooth even wrinkles down one side, does it really matter?

This piece is about 1/4" thick throughout. Since I turned it with the pith in one side (the blank was partially hollow through the pith on one side) I fully expected to get a crack. So far so good but time may prove otherwise.

Turn it thin throughout and you should have good luck with the gum. It turns and sands beautifully and the light colored sap wood and contrasting heart is very interesting.

[John Hart]

Thanks Raymond. I'll give "thin" a try. Got a pile of pieces just dying to be NEs.:)

[Ed Scolforo]

Now, that's a keeper, Raymond!

[Bob Hallowell]

Raymond That is very nice. I need to do some more ne!




Got a pile of pieces just dying to be NEs.:)

And John, By your other post Me thinks you got a pile of wood for anything!:D

Bob

[Dennis Peacock]

Awsome piece Raymond!!!!! I really like it a lot. Beautiful. :cool:

[William Bachtel]

Put it on the top shelf

[Mark Pruitt]

Beautiful piece, Raymond! You did it "just right"!

[Neal Addy]

Beautiful NE, Raymond! Love it.

[Travis Stinson]

Fantastic NE Raymond, great job! :cool:

[Glenn Hodges]

What a beautiful natural edge. Blackgum is the only burl I ever see down here, and many of these are hollow. I agree with you let it move and amaze people.

[Jim Ketron]

Nice Piece Raymond!
Love the voids!