"Leo Van Der Loo" wrote in message
.. .
If I was in your place I would go with Darrell's suggestion, and yes
boiling the wood is a good idea after you have have turned the vase, the
only thing that I might change is the choice of wood if any, (I don't know
the wishes of your client of course) but some woods like Elm or even
Willow are less likely to split or crack, and you could dye the color to
your/his liking.

Aspen or cottonwood, more common willow cousins, would be good candidates.
Bulletproof in drying, and able to take up the color of any dye you use.
Elm would be prettier unstained.

If you go with one of these interlocked types of wood, you can be less fussy
about the pith, perhaps even using it centered up. Failure rate is real low
in my experience, but keep the thing elevated into open air as it dries, so
the bottom outside dries at the rate of the bottom inside, to keep from
cracking.