Ring Shake Rules

I like the shape. Wasn't  there an old radio show called the blue streak.

Dave's Not Here wrote:

First thing that came to my mind when I saw that beautiful blue was Bobby Vinton's song, Blue Velvet.

The blue is homage to the original color in the tree.  The areas showing grey in the 1st image were bright blue when the tree was first cut.  I pondered  restoring the blue areas with dye but decided against it, letting the current color remain.

Wow, I remember that song.  Senior prom . . .1964?

Added later 02 min 16 s:

Ray Mtn. Home Ar. wrote:

I like the shape. Wasn't  there an old radio show called the blue streak.

Before my time (or accessible memory )

And now a comment from the other side!
First of all I like the piece very much from the perspective of the shape and wood appearance and I acknowledge the extra work and skill that goes into difficult wood to produce a great result.
What I don't like are what I see as gaudy colors typically used in a repairs. Instead of my eye looking at the piece, it is drawn to a bright blue vertical line. I would have been happier with a color that blends with the others.
Just one man's opinion.

Bill Howatt wrote:

And now a comment from the other side!
First of all I like the piece very much from the perspective of the shape and wood appearance and I acknowledge the extra work and skill that goes into difficult wood to produce a great result.
What I don't like are what I see as gaudy colors typically used in a repairs. Instead of my eye looking at the piece, it is drawn to a bright blue vertical line. I would have been happier with a color that blends with the others.
Just one man's opinion.

Thanks for your opinion, Bill; you're not alone in your view.

The brighter blue section of the crack was not planned.  The logs are all dry so the cracks (and ring shake)  are filled with epoxy before I start the turning.  The main crack varies in width but, of course, gets narrower as the diameter is reduced.  With a bit of luck, the "finished" crack becomes a design element as it tends to restate the shape of the piece.  The British sculptor Henry Moore did a series of bronzes where he would cut a line into the surface of his plaster mold.  When the mold was filled and removed, the lines became small ridges in the surface that were  very expressive of the forms.

The epoxy is usually done in a single pour after the log is debarked and the crack sealed with wax to hold the liquid.  In this instance the crack didn't get full and needed a second pour.  When this happens it can create a slightly reflective surface between the two layers of the epoxy, hence some light bounces off the first layer and we see the stronger color in what is otherwise a dark blue that is more subtle.  I chose the blue because of the original coloring in the wood when the tree was cut.  I had lumber milled that had wonderful blue streaks of color, but faded to a shade of grey when dry.

I should note that filling the cracks in a log with ring shake is also a safety measure.  Without that reinforcement the logs would be very dangerous to try to turn, with chunks flying off the spinning wood as the annular rings could release!

Thanks for the description of how you handled the crack and regardless of anything it is a well done piece.
I certainly agree with the safety issue of ring shake. I had a piece of pin cherry, which seems to be prone to ring shake, come apart on me - but it missed .