Cedar vessels

Texture detail

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>The texturing wheel has dull points so it just compresses small dimples into the wood.

Larry

Cedar vessel #2

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>While I am turning several of these cedar pieces I am playing around with different shapes. I am trying different types of texture bands also.

Larry

Re: Cedar vessels

Rodney Jenkins

>Very nice, Larry!

Form & finish are both beautiful.

Is this end-grain hollowed, leaving the pith in?

The texturing is just enough to be attractive. I think it could easily be overdone.

I generally don't like lacquer -- too shiny and sometimes "plastic" looking for my taste, but it works well with your pieces.

Re: Cedar vessel #2

David Eaves

>Excellent pieces the form is very pleasing. Looks like a gorgeous wood, finished really well.

I like the texturing, having seen a number of pieces like this recently I think I'll have to give it a go sometime.

David

Re: Cedar vessels

Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA

>Beautiful work Larry! I might have to think about one of them thar texturing tools. I love the forms you created, and the texturing sets them off very nicely.

Bill

Re: Cedar vessels

Wally Dickerman at Green Valley, Az.

>Some very nice work Larry, as usual. Interesting texturing. Works well on these pieces.

Wally

Re: Cedar vessels

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>Rodney,

These are endgrain pieces but no pith in them. They came from an old log the had several splits in the trunk. I cut along the split lines through the pith to get the blanks. I made six cross grain pieces from the same log for Christmas.

I use lacquer a lot because I don't want to make some of the woods I use dark or have a yellow tint to them. I usually thin the lacquer in half and soak it into the wood until a surface layer has built up and then take the thinner and remove all the surface build up. I can then wax or buff the piece. These pieces I sprayed a semi gloss lacquer on and then buffed the shine back off with fine scotch brite pads and hand rubbed.

Larry

Well done (and a question)

John Trant (aka Boxes-n-Bowls)

>Very nice indeed. I would be proud to have turned either on of them but, for some reason, I am more attracted to the first vessel. I am not sure why I am drawn to the rounded bottom, but it looks more "elevated" from the table than the second. I also like the texturing of the first vessel better. To my eye, the two thin bands of texturing looks less "heavier" than the wide single band (second vessel) even though the same area of the vessels have been embellished. Just my opinion (and we all know what that is worth!).

Excellent job on both vessels. I love the finish. How long will the lacquer maintain the cedar color befor it turns brown?

John

Bill

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>You could make a texturing tool of your own. Phil Joines made one while we were turning one day from one wheel out of an old star grinding wheel dresser. The original design for the texture tool, from what I have heard, was a small sprocket on a shaft. A small chain sprocket with a bearing pressed in the center and a 3/4 shaft for a holder is basically all there is to the tool. The sprocket sides would need to be ground so there is a smaller point on the ends but that is easy to do with the sprocket spinning against the grinding wheel once mounted on a pin in a shaft. For $20 you could probably make your own from new parts. The spiral cutters and index plate for the rest of the set would be a little harder and more time consuming if you wanted to do the spirals also.

I like to use the texture tool for projects like these pieces where the customer wanted the look of the pieces I do with the feather and serpent designs but did not want to pay the price for the time they take to make. It takes about one minute to texture a band on a piece.

Larry

Wally

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>I would rather create a design by hand for the bands. This cedar is from an old family homestead place and the pieces are wanted for gifts for family members. He wanted the look of a southwest pot with a contrasting band but did not want to pay the price to have several pieces done, so I used the texture tool to add the bands quickly.

Larry

John

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>My wife picked the round bottom piece as her favorite the instant she saw them. I am trying more pieces with round bottoms lately, some like this one with a depression for a foot to steady it and some that are totally round on the bottom. I like the way they look without a foot at all. They wabble around if bumped and then stand back up straight. Where to place the largest diameter area and how to make the transition back to the opening is something I am still working on to see what works best.

I don't know for sure how long the lacquer will maintain the color. Like most any red colored wood I think over time it will turn more to a brown. How long it takes will depend some on where it is placed in its new home. If it is where sunlight can shine on it each day I expect it to turn dark quickly. My grandfather and uncle built a red cedar bedroom set before I was born and lacquered it for a finish. Thirty years later it was still a redish brown and yellow color that you easily knew was cedar. I have several rough turned cedar blanks in the shop that are over a year old with nothing on them and the color has barely changed at all, I just went and compared the old surface to a fresh turned one. I haven't tried many of the UV blocking finishes to see if there is much difference in the color change. I don't know for sure, say fifty years from now, how the wood color will hold so I concentrate more on the shape of my turnings. They may all turn nearly black but maybe the profile I turn will still be pleasing to look at.

Larry

Re: John

John Trant (aka Boxes-n-Bowls)

>Thanks for your response. I was really only looking for a gross generalization with my question about the duration of the color (weeks, months, years, decades). I am encouraged by your response.

The reason I was asking is because I have some aromatic cedar vessels (rough turned and unfinished) that turned ruddy brown within a week of being exposed to indirect sunlight through a window. This color change is much faster that what I would expect for other colored woods. I would prefer to keep the original red/purple as long as reasonable but I was concerned that oxidative effects would take their toll within a month irrespective of my efforts.

Thanks again,

John

What brand of lacquer?

Dave Smith

>Hi Larry,

Wonderful bowls. I have a difficult time with cedar. What brand of lacquer do you use? I have some dawn redwood that I cannot tame. I need to try the lacquer soak or burn it. Did you ever get the chance to turn the piece of dawn redwood I gave you a couple years ago?

It is good to see you posting pictures again.

Dave Smith

Should be working in Longview, WA.

Re: What brand of lacquer?

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>Dave,

I used Deft semi-gloss sprayed on lacquer. It took several coats to get the finish even all over. I haven't turned cedar much so I will have to try a piece and let it stay here to monitor how the finish holds up over time.

Larry

Re: What brand of lacquer for soaking.

Dave Smith

>Hi Larry,

I didn't specify what lacquer I was asking about. You stated, "I usually thin the lacquer in half and soak it into the wood until a surface layer has built up and then take the thinner and remove all the surface build up." Do you use thinned Deft semi-gloss for soaking the wood. I assume you mean flooding the piece with thinned lacquer instead of immersing the piece.

Dave Smith

Some times you have to snow harder before I get the drift in Longview, WA.

Re: What brand of lacquer for soaking.

Larry Hancock; Ardmore, OK

>Dave,

For soaking a piece in lacquer I use Sherwin-Williams 24% solids finishing lacquer and the matching thinner. I pour the lacquer in the piece until it runs out the pores to the outside and wipe extra on the outside until there are no dry spots. Let it dry and take the thinner on a rag and wipe all the surface buildup off. It will have spots ooze out for a day or two that I wipe off and then I hand rub the wood with a soft cloth alone or I wax.

Soaking in lacquer also firms up the wood well for finish cuts before sanding. Especially punky or tearout prone areas

Larry