Maple Burl Vase
Bill Grumbine, Kutztown PA
>Good evening all
I have been busy of late, and even a little bit in the shop! I just finished up a piece tonight that gave me some fits earlier on when trying to turn it.
This is a piece of maple burl given to me by one of the men in our turning club. It has been sitting around for close to three years now waiting to be made into something. Last Saturday I finally got it on the lathe. It was bone dry, which did not help matters much, and things got very exciting.
This is a tall shape with a narrow bottom. It is 8 1/4" high, and the bottom is just about 2" in diameter. That wouldn't be bad for a regular piece of wood, but this one had the beginnings of spalting taking place, plus plenty of bark inclusions. Anyway, I had it shaped on the outside to my satisfaction, and was happily coring it out with my KM tool. I had my big honking steady rest in place so as not to snap the tenon from the stresses on the outer rim of the piece. It didn't matter. All at once, the core broke loose prematurely, the thing bound up, and the tenon sheared right off!
I was able to glue the tenon back on with CA glue, and got it close enough that I was able to retrue the piece with very little removal of extra wood. Once I got it retrued and started hollowing with the bowl gouge, things were pretty much straightforward.
This piece is 8 1/4" high, approximately 8" in diameter, and the walls are 1/2" thick, which gives it a very pleasing weight, as well as showing off the natural edge to advantage. It is finished with Watco Danish oil, and buffed with a Beall system.
Thanks for taking a look.
Bill
