Woodturners Resource

Spalted Maple Platter

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 23:58:52 +0000

by: BNeddow

Description}: I got this piece of spalted Maple from another wood turner who has had to give up his country place and move into an apartment. I looked at it, sitting in my shop, for about three months, before tackling it. The problem was that if I made a round platter out of it, I would lose most of the beautiful spalting. Also, it was slightly less that 3/4" thick, so therewas not a lot to play with. I finally decided to make a very shallow bowl]/platter. The wings are cut down only enough to give me the wood to make the ring. Inside the ring, there is a very shallow bowl (about 3/8") just enough to keep fruit rolling to the center. the bowl/platter is quite big ( 16" x 18") and when it tried it on our dining room table, it was a little overwhelming. I moved it to the coffee table. But there, it begged for something to be put in it. I made the spheres, one from Box Elder, one from Black Walnut, and the final one from Cocobolo. The smaller ones are about the size of a tennis ball. The results were quite startling. The spheres transformed it from an overly large platter to an interactive piece of art. People who see it can't resist exploring and picking up the spheres. The edge of the board is natural on one side and undercut with a router on the other sides so it will be easy to pick up. It can be flipped over and used as a serving board for cheese or pate. I did not want to darken the Maple, so I finished it with several coats of satin water-based Varathane.

Beech Burl

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 01:58:49 +0000

by: BNeddow

Description}: I have never had much success with Beech -- it almost always cracks. But when a chap brought me this Beech burl, it was too much of a temptation. I rough turned it over a year ago. It was beautiful. Then I let it dry for a year. It cracked and opened up like an over-the-hill rose! I decided to patch the cracks and see what I could do. first I filled them all with fiberglass resin and sawdust. When I made the first cut, there were still lots of cracks the resin had not gone into. This resulted in a lengthy proces of crack filling with bark, coffee (followed by CA glue) and a lot of turning at 200 rpm to keep it from flying apart. It became a real challenge to make sure it did not beat me. I was not very happy about it at the time, but I could see there was great potential in the wood. Now that it has been done a few months, I am glad I stuck with it.

4 comments

Silver Maple platter

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 16:09:51 +0000

by: BNeddow

Description}: This blank must be two or three years old and showed no pattern in the rough blank due to wax and dust. I knew it was Silver Maple from the weight -- but was I surprised when I put it on the lathe and got below the old surface. Size is 17 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep. I called it "Shallow Waters" because it reminded me of the little ripples left in the sand by the waves on our beach.

1 comment

Raindrop Maple

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 15:55:15 +0000

by: BNeddow

Description}: I have only seen one Sugar Maple log with this pattern -- and most of it is gone now. Part of it look like leopard spots, and part like this -- a pattern like rain drops sheeting down a windowpane. The shape is dead simple to show off the grain. But the shape (like the end of an egg) is not easy to do. If you are off 1/16 of an inch, it shows. Guess that is because it is a mild ellipse and our eye is trained to expect certain things. Size is 11.5 inches wide and 4 inches deep.

3 comments

Black Walnut bowl

Sun, 14 Nov 2004 14:11:33 +0000

by: BNeddow

Description}: I have been experimenting with egg-shaped bowls (shallow ellipse shape). But this blank had a flair on the top, which I kept in the final turning. I think it helps "lift" the bowl off the table -- so, more experimenting needed. It never seems to stop (which is why it is fun to turn). The bowl is 16" wide by 5.5" deep.

4 comments

Black Walnut bowl

Sun, 14 Nov 2004 13:50:37 +0000

by: BNeddow

Description}: I have been experimenting with egg-shaped bowls but decided to leave a flair on the top of this one. Seems to help lift the bowl off the table -- guess I have to experiment some more with this shape!