On Apr 11, 11:43 am, "Darrell Feltmate"
wrote:
Right Robert. It is all in the fun.
By the way, turning a hollow form or vase with the grain perpendicular to
the ways is the method that David Ellsworth usually uses to turn his forms.
If you use green wood and let it distort, it can make an oval form almost
like a football. Generally I like to have the grain truly perpendicular but
if you have it over, say 5 to 10 degrees, the piece will lean as it dries.
Ain't that cool?

Absolutely. There is something else I haven't tried. I would love
to see a piece self distort like that as it gives shapes only nature
can provide. And I never thought of how that would distort evenly or
unevenly if mounted a certain way. Food for thought, for sure.

I bought an old microwave at a garage sale a few years ago on the
cheap and used it to experiment with microwave drying. I managed to
make a mess... ummm... errr.... add artistic dimension to my turnings
as they distorted wildly in the microwave. Talk about rustic looking;
heck, I even set a couple on fire!

I call that my pyrography phase if anyone sees that small vase though,
so I am covered.

Robert