Bradford Pear Goblet

[byounghusband]

I got a bunch of Bradford PEar from a neighbor and after cuting it all up into blanks of various kinds, I HAD to turn some!! There is nothing like turning fresh, wet Bradford Pear!!

This goblet is about 6" tall and was straight and round when I finished it. It was sanded to about 600 and spray lacquered and burnished, then buffed. I used a Dremel tool to polish the inside of the goblet.

I set it on the counter overnight and the next morning, it had warped and distorted. Kinda cool!!:smile-big:

 

[altaciii]

Do you suppose it warped because it was still wet and freshly cut? It does look pretty cool. Like something out "The cat in the hat".

 

[byounghusband]

Alex,
Yes, that is exactly why it warped. I really like turning wet wood, except for pens, because it will come out different...... Bowls will come out unround as well....

 

[Rifleman1776]

Very nice. I have turned Bradford Pear but only dry. It is very-very hard stuff when dry.

 

[Fred]

Nice turning. :biggrin:

The next time you want to turn wet wood, try boiling it first ... one hour for each inch of thickness. You can always pre-turn it down about 50% of your finished dimensions and then boil it. IF you pre-turn it and have extremely long and thin sections like the stem of the goblet ... just don't turn the stem way down at all before boiling.

It will dry faster than normal and I doubt that it probably will not wrap at all. Read about this method developed by fellow IAM member Steven Russell at his website located here:
http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/woodturning-education-articles.html

Look on the left side for BOILING WOOD. Read his other articles as well as they are extremely informative. Happy turnings!