Mother Nature: A++

[SteveAxelrod]

One of the founding father's of our local turning club retired to an assisted living facility and a friend and I inherited his shed of wood he's collected over the years. Talk about a windfall! Much of the wood was dated and labelled with both its latin and common name. I've included a photo of the shed after we'd already removed two trunkloads of wood. Amongst a variety of burls I chose the one below to turn first. It was only labelled "Water Burl" so I don't really know the species of wood, but I knew it was going to be spactular. The shape of the blank dictated a shallow bolw or platter. I give Mother Nature an A++ for the end result.

 

[mark james]

That is just flat-out beautiful! I love the open grain and the inclusions, wonderful.

Mother nature did well, but it also could have gone into a bonfire! You gave it an awesome end-point.

And I am sure it previous owner is also happy it say an artistic end.

Very nice turning Steve.

 

[TattooedTurner]

That's beautiful! While Mother Nature supplied the burl, it's still just a burl until someone does something with it so don't short sell yourself. You're a lucky guy to have inherited a stash of wood like that, I'm really looking forward to seeing your future projects.

 

[magpens]

Ditto to what Jay said just above !!!

 

[Mr Vic]

So that is what the surface of the Moon looks like up close. Simply beautiful...Awesome job on turning it..

 

[ajollydds]

Fabulous and stunning!

 

[SteveAxelrod]

Photos

I forgot to include the photo of the shed with the wood collection. We took a total of 5 trunkfulls of wood and we had to discard about two trunkfulls due to termites. The last photo is the burl blank that became my platter.

Our benefactor's name is Carroll G. Robbins, Jr. and he helped start the Tricounty Woodturners Club in 1988. My thanks to his children Stephen and Nancy who offered us the wood and thanked us for putting it to good use. I'm told that Mr. Robbins was "delighted to know the wood was going to be shared and used".

Be assured that I'll be posting many more projects turned from this wood.

Thanks for all the great comments!

 

[Bob in SF]

Great!

 

[campzeke]

Very nice! ... Your welcome!

 

[Bob in SF]

Steve - When I saw your fine work and sharp pictures, I instantly flashed back to the opening of the (1963-1965) show "Outer Limits", which included (per Vic's comment) a sharp close-up of the moon with this narration:

"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to – The Outer Limits."

Here it is on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCcdr4O-3gE

Maybe a few forumites will remember this reference.

Great work, Steve - Bob

 

[thewishman]

WOWIEEE! That's a beautiful thing!

 

[SteveJ]

Makes me want to turn a bowl from a few pieces of burl I've got sitting around - I can only hope that they would turn out as beautiful as this!

 

[SteveAxelrod]

I'm pretty certain that this is a black ash burl. After finishing it with a blend of bees wax and mineral oil and letting it dry, I wasn't happy with the matt finish. So at the recommendation of Phil at the local Woodcraft store I refinished it with 3 coats of glossy General Finishes Enduro-Var. Much better!

 

[PenWizard]

Looks like you have enough wood to keep you turning for quite a while. Were there other pieces of burl in that shed? That is one incredible platter!

 

[MikeL]

Beautiful