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G Ross G Ross is offline
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Default Been awhile, and it shows

Dr. Deb wrote:
I had had a piece of dogwood laying around the shop for about five years. Its not a big piece, but then dogwood does not get all that big. It was about 5 1/2-6" in diameter and about 32" long, and had a crack running along it, lengthwise, that reached almost to the center.

Knowing that turning anything out of this (down log) would be "interesting" at best, I decided to fill the crack with epoxy and bright copper flakes. The result was a dark mahogany colored streak with copper flecks in it.

I divided the log into two 5 1/2 x 16 blanks and turned two vases. The first vase was 4 1/2 x 12. The second was 4 1/2 x 14.

As I said, its been awhile since I have been at the lathe, for anything of consequence, and it showed. Catches redefined the shape of both vases, but the second one was more like what I had in mind when I started.

I might add, turning end grain on very dry dogwood is a "tad" different than turning side grain on wet wood, of any kind. ;-)

Two lessons learned:
1) I need to move the lathe (all 560lb of it) to give room for the longer boring bar to be used.
2) Practice, practice, practice. Put another way, "If you do not use it, you lose it."

I have been neglecting my lathe because of shoulder surgery but am
getting back into it. Currently working on two kitchen utensil
holders made from Bradford Pear. Lots of end grain hollowing.
Last fall someone dropped off a section of log about 24 inch
diameter and 4 ft. long. It was white wood and I immediately thought
it was tupelo. The bowl blanks have dried and I finished a couple. I
instantly knew it was not tupelo, but magnolia, from the white and
grey coloring of the dried wood.

--
GW Ross