Maple Burl Vahz (picture)

[Bill G]

Good evening all

I finally got back into the shop this evening to buff this baby up and get some pictures. This is the one I posted about on Saturday, breaking the core and shearing off the tenon. As you can see, it all turned out okay in the end. I have one small core that will make a second bowl, but even if that one doesn't turn out, I am happy with this one all by itself.

http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/mapleburlvase01.jpg

This is a piece of maple burl that was given to me by one of the men in our turning club. It is 8 1/4" high at its highest point, and it approximately 8" in diameter. The walls are 1/2" thick, which gives it a very nice weight to it as well as shows off the natural edge to advantage. It is finished with Watco Danish Oil and buffed with the Beall buffing system.

One of the things that made this such a bugger is that it was starting to spalt, and so there were some punky parts. In fact, it was one big punky part next to one of the bark inclusions where the core parted company prematurely. A little bit of help with the 80 grit gouge did wonders though.

Thanks for taking a look.

Bill

[dmaclusk]

That looks incredible Bill! Certainly sets a level of skill I want to reach some day. I love the little ripply stripes Maple often has.

[dicklaxt]

I don't think it goes very well in your region of the U.S.A. why don't you just send it to me and I'll put it on my display shelf and say it was turned by a non Texan who didn't like it,,,,,,rotflmao

dick

[DaveZ]

Very nice Bill. With the beal buffing, are you using the conventional looking buffs or the bowl buffs or both?

[Monty]

I'll echo Dave's response. Looks great. Hope some day I can turn something even close to that.

Monty

If you always do what you've always done, You'll always get what you've always got.

[WoodMangler]

Holey guacamole..... that is absolutely breathtaking!

Amazing work as always Bill....

I feel honored that there's a little bit of my CA in there somewhere }>

One day please explain your photo setup if you could... I love that black background... really shows the piece so well....

[Sonny Edmonds]

Really beautiful Vahz, Bill.
Vahz, oh my, I find my pinky extended from my coffee cup.
"A little bit of help with the 80 grit gouge did wonders though."
An 80 grit gouge?
Bill, are you power sanding? LOL!
I love burl wood. It has a story at every angle. Beautiful Vahz! :7

:D

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[Bill G]

Thanks guys, for the comments. Dick, I would be glad to send it to you. Just send me your address along with the required number of dead president pictures, and it is yours!

Dave, I have both the cloth wheels and the goblet buffs. I have not buffed the inside of this, and I do not think I will. It is narrow enough that it is not going to show to any advantage.

Mark, my photo set up is detailed in an article on my website, but I am working on improving it. I am trying to find the right diffuser material without losing too much exposure value.

Sonny, I power sand quite a bit actually.:o It does wonders for leveling out those tiny facets the tools leave behind. I used to think that maybe I was being lazy for starting out with 80 grit, but I have recently come to learn that lots of "big name" people, as well as one of my best friends, who I consider to be a better turner than I, also start with 80 grit. ;)

Bill

[Sonny Edmonds]

Bill,
Yep, me too. Probably more than most would know. My right angle often has a 36 grit disk on it. Doesn't clog at all. }>
It's probably the equivilent to opening the car door at 200 MPH and sticking the wood against the pavement. :o But a little easier to control. ;)

:D

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[Quartlow]

As usual Bill you've turned out another outstanding piece. One of these days I'm going to have to make the trek down there for a visit and maybe a lesson or two.

Keep it up, gives me something to strive for