Turning 'O the Week

[Jim Becker]

I started this nice burl piece last Monday...I had been going through "withdrawl" not being in the shop for over a week due to my business travel. Today, I completed the turning, decoration and stand for it after getting some finish on another (flat) project.

I aquired this burl cap at the 2002 AAW Symposium in Providence RI...for about $5 on the very last day when folks in the "show" were trying to get rid of everything they could to avoid shipping it home. I'm not sure of the species, but I suspect it's some form of "left-coast maple". It really does have outstanding character.

This piece is about 16" in the widest dimension and about 4" thick, not including the small stand that was turned out of plain hard maple and painted black. The textured decoration around the bowl-hole ( :p ) was done with an engraving tool after two rings were cut with a detail gouge. The texturing was then burnt slightly with a torch to add depth. I felt that the piece was too plain without something around the depression...so I tried this technique for the first time. It took about a half hour to do both the circular and radial lines contained within the space.

I didn't like how it looked sitting directly on the table and it was also a bit tippy if one pressed down out near the wider rim. To give it a little more height and also stablize it, I cut a shallow "bowel" out of 5/4 hard maple and then cut out circular sections to creat a three-legged stand. The curves were sanded with the OSS and then it was sprayed black.

This piece still needs to be buffed, but has two applications of BLO on it, both to pop the figure and to normalize the color between the "cut" areas and the natural burl cap surface around the outside of the object. I will say one thing...this is not a good one to have on a table around young children...those pointy things sticking out all over are sharp!!

[John Miliunas]

Gee, wonder if I could spin one 'o those on my Yorkcraft?! :( At this stage of the game, I couldn't spin one of those on a Woodfast, Poolewood or (insert brand here)! That's remarkable, Jim!!! Exceptional! Brilliant! Beautiful! Awesome! Did I mention that I think it's a pretty nice piece? :D Truly something to aspire to! As is your norm, great work. Thanks for posting (even though it makes my stuff look pretty sick.... :( ) :cool:

[Dick Parr]

Very nice Jim, that does highlight the bowl and looks good. Very different!

[Anthony Yakonick]

DUDE, stop the flat work!

[Tyler Howell]

I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced!
No matter how beautiful, spinning is evil. :o
I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced!

[Jim Becker]

I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced!
No matter how beautiful, spinning is evil. :o
I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced! I will not be seduced!

Yea, yea, yea...'just remember what it was like before you first discovered the opposite sex. They were yucky. Then things "changed"...;)

[Todd Burch]

Jim, if you were a geologist, I would say that was an agate! Pretty cool!

[Jeff Skory]

Jim, Absolutely STUNNING!!! And this isn't even buffed yet? Wow.

So tell me (I know nothing about burls or turning), is there another half to this thing? i.e. do you slice the burl in half before you start spinning and shaving?

btw - your photography is also excellent.

[Jim Becker]

So tell me (I know nothing about burls or turning), is there another half to this thing? i.e. do you slice the burl in half before you start spinning and shaving?

This particular piece was purchased in about the same size and shape you see it..."pre-improvements", obviously. It's what's called a burl cap and is a relatively thin and small slice off the end of a larger burl; probably from a piece that was cut up into square blanks. From what I've seen, caps are generally "scraps"...sheesh!

Burls come in all sizes; some are huge, espcially something like a redwood root burl. Bigger than a Volkswagen! They are generally the result of some kind of irritation that makes the wood grow wildly. Sometimes it's an insect; sometimes it's desease or some other environmental cause.

For reference, the pic below is of a small cherry burl that I got from a friend in Maryland a couple of years ago.

[Jeff Skory]

Man, that's a chunk of wood.

Can you use burls for regular woodworking. I haven't succumbed to the evil spinny thing yet. :D

[Michael Ballent]

Exemplary as usual :D Some day I'll get a lathe, for now it's spindle work on the Legacy, but that is not quite as much fun... Keep it coming, love them pics

-Michael

[Dale Thompson]

Jim,
That turning is a real pleasure to the eye. It is really great to witness a piece that shows an example of "human implemented symmetry" yet maintains the mystique of nature. I think that is what the world calls "ART". Don't ask ME for details. :o Anyway, GREAT WORK!! In addition, not only are you a great turner but you also make magic with your camera.

I think you've already heard my tirade about talented people. AARGGH - I think that I am turning into a werewolf - AGAIN!! ;)

Dale T.

ps. Jim, I visited what I thought was a "tourist trap" a few years ago. I think it was in the vicinity of Eagle River, WI. Whatever, it turned out to be "burl" heaven. The deceased owner had spent most of his life collecting "burl" of all sizes and shapes. I swear that he had some "humps" which were over 3' in diameter. As a turner - well - NOTHING was for sale. He had even made some nickel and dime games from solid burl humps. DROOL!! DROOL!! On second thought, I hope the place stays open forever.

[Bruce Page]

WOW! Now that’s ART! What a gorgeous piece of burl, simply stunning. Your photography is excellent too!

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

I woulda done myself major damage turning that...then I probably woulda dropped it on the way to the house. :eek:

It's beautful!

KC

[Bill Grumbine]

Very nice Mr. Becker! Five dollars for that, eh? You dog!! :D I'd have doubled you price for you if you had asked.

Bill

[Jim Becker]

I woulda done myself major damage turning that...then I probably woulda dropped it on the way to the house.

Yes, one must really pay attention to what's goin' round with a piece like this. You can easily get a nasty cut at a minimum and potentially break a finger or other bone in your hands and wrists.


Very nice Mr. Becker! Five dollars for that, eh? You dog!! I'd have doubled you price for you if you had asked.
Ten bucks would still have been a steal! Seriously, I bought this burl cap on "speculation" given my previous lathe was too small to spin it whole. Sometimes you have to do that when presented with an opportunity. I'm glad I had the patience to wait with it on the shelf, too, as cutting it smaller would have totally ruined it for a piece like this.

Thanks to all for your kind comments on the turning--I'm actually quite pleased with this one myself. The photography is nice, but needs a lot of work for light and color balance. I'm learning a lot about that from a bunch of pro turners/photographers at another site and hope to construct a small photo tent with proper lighting in the next few months from scraps of this and that. Lighting is the key, even if you shoot outdoors. It's hard to accomplish that on the kitchen counter...

[jim barter]

I started this nice burl piece last Monday...I had been going through "withdrawl" not being in the shop for over a week due to my business travel. Today, I completed the turning, decoration and stand for it after getting some finish on another (flat) project.

I aquired this burl cap at the 2002 AAW Symposium in Providence RI...for about $5 on the very last day when folks in the "show" were trying to get rid of everything they could to avoid shipping it home. I'm not sure of the species, but I suspect it's some form of "left-coast maple". It really does have outstanding character.

This piece is about 16" in the widest dimension and about 4" thick, not including the small stand that was turned out of plain hard maple and painted black. The textured decoration around the bowl-hole ( :p ) was done with an engraving tool after two rings were cut with a detail gouge. The texturing was then burnt slightly with a torch to add depth. I felt that the piece was too plain without something around the depression...so I tried this technique for the first time. It took about a half hour to do both the circular and radial lines contained within the space.

I didn't like how it looked sitting directly on the table and it was also a bit tippy if one pressed down out near the wider rim. To give it a little more height and also stablize it, I cut a shallow "bowel" out of 5/4 hard maple and then cut out circular sections to creat a three-legged stand. The curves were sanded with the OSS and then it was sprayed black.

This piece still needs to be buffed, but has two applications of BLO on it, both to pop the figure and to normalize the color between the "cut" areas and the natural burl cap surface around the outside of the object. I will say one thing...this is not a good one to have on a table around young children...those pointy things sticking out all over are sharp!!
Jim /What a beautiful piece.The burl appears to be what we call here in Canada a Manitoba maple burl.I had an identical piece however it was only 6 inches across.The sharp spikes and curly figure is identical to mine.Again excellent work.
Jim Barter

[Chris Padilla]

Nice dangerous stuff, Mr. Becker! :)

[Dennis Peacock]

OK....so I'm going to open my mouth here and show my udder "stupidity". Well, maybe I'm the only one "man enough" to ask:

<b>Hey Jim....How'd you turn that on a lathe with it being OFF Center?</b>

I know my little Jet 1236 would have to be strapped to a Cat DC8 dozer to hold it still enough to where I wouldn't be hopping around the shop with a foot on the lathe trying to keep it still.

OK....so I'm not so bright.....but....others ask really stupid questions too.! ;)

[Donnie Raines]

So....are you going to eat your Wheaties out of this baby???

DonnieR

[Jim Becker]

OK....so I'm going to open my mouth here and show my udder "stupidity". Well, maybe I'm the only one "man enough" to ask:

Hey Jim....How'd you turn that on a lathe with it being OFF Center?

I know my little Jet 1236 would have to be strapped to a Cat DC8 dozer to hold it still enough to where I wouldn't be hopping around the shop with a foot on the lathe trying to keep it still.

Not a stupid question at all, Dennis...and don't stop asking any kind of question 'cause they let folks learn; even those who are answering them because of the thought process involved.

Turning off center requires two things to do safely: Variable Speed (well, not required, but strongly desired) and lots of weight in or on the machine.

The first to allows you to fine tune vibration away--something that's important even on supposedly "centered" work. A few RPMs in either direction can make a huge difference. This is one of the reasons that so many folks with turning experience will always recommend a VS machine over a non-VS machine if there is a choice. And by VS, I mean "continuously variable" speed, not a pulley system that allows for some set of fixed speeds to choose from. You also want something that can slow down to a very low rpm...some machines have low-end speeds that are still too high to work safely with big or off balance hunks of wood. You "can" do this with your 1236 to a certain point as the Reeves drive can be put in between detents, although there is no guarantee it will stay at a speed setting that doesn't lock.

Secondly, the more weight you have in the machine, the better. For your Jet 1236 you can do one of two things to help there. (There is a third, but it requires a lot of money...:D ) The first is to add as much weight to the existing lathe base as you can; typically with sandbags or other similar weights on a shelf low on the legs. The more weight you add, the less the machine will shake. Keeping it low keeps the center of gravity low, too. The second is to replace the base with a shop--built base that is more solid and also holds a lot of weight. This option is actually better than the first as the sheet metal legs that are standard on a machine like the 1236 don't have a lot of stiffness. That's understandable as the machine was largely designed for spindle work which until the past 10-20 years was pretty much what most lathes were used for in the woodworking shop. Even a NOVA 3000 or NOVA DVR needs this treatment to work well with larger or off-balance turnings.

Given my Stubby weighs about 750 lbs...it isn't going to move anywhere for almost anything I'd consider turning. But you can easily walk even a 900 lb OneWay 2436 across the shop if the blank is big enough and out of balance enough...physics works that way!

[Jim Becker]

So....are you going to eat your Wheaties out of this baby???

No, chocolate...my one vice. :rolleyes: Oh, ok...LOML says I have another one, but we can't talk about it here! :D