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stuff...happens

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I've been kind of a lurker for a long time on this forum. I have learned a lot. But I'm not an AAW member...yet.

I am posting this photo not as an example of my great artistic talent or admirable skill in turning, but rather as evidence that serendipity sometimes bestows a blessing upon the ignorant. This started off as an off-cut from some very large logs that had been laying around, untreated, for a long time. The fellow I got it from (bless his generous heart) cut the good stuff up into turning squares and offered the left-overs to me...which considering my skill and knowledge, at the time, was just about right.

One end of the piece had numerous micro cracks and was getting kind of "weathered" or "punky."

I rough turned the vase, fighting cracks all the way--went through a whole two ounce bottle of CA. I soaked it for 72 hours in alcohol and let it dry about six weeks.

At first, the rim was just kind of a wide bead. But trying to get some of the cracks out, it became almost a collar. I never did get the cracks out but a little judicious texturing camouflaged them very nicely.


I ebonized the interior with leather dye and it was so strong, that in spots, it soaked through the three-sixteenth inch walls. An attempt at a pure tung oil finish (cut 3:1) only made it worse. Hence the antiquing in the texturing.

The colour is Artisan red although in my mind it is almost more orange than red...call it "burnt orange."

Finally, I put a MinWax Wipe-On Poly on the outside and, by golly that's the easiest and nicest finish I 've done yet. Buffed with White Diamond and Carnuba.

Measuring 5.5x4.5...I kind of like it.

Comments welcome...
 

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Absolutely lovely. A really twisted evolution to a beautiful finish and piece.

So, now for the real question: Can you reproduce that effect on purpose?

Dietrich
 
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Nice continuous flowing curve, nice small base, nice rim, nice colors and finish. Sometimes we are our own worst critics. This is a good piece. Put it up on the mantle and admire it. I don't think this is a serendipitous turning, but instead it is the result of a bunch of thought and work which turned out well.
 
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Dietrich, Jeff,

Thanks for the nice comments. I do like it. I think it has a great deal of aesthetic merit. But I didn't plan it...and that kind of worries me.

Of course, I could do it again. I know all the things I did and not only the reason I did them but also the effect I was looking for...and achieved, mostly. But I have to ask myself...do I want to do it again? You know what I mean? I'm sure that I'll use these techniques again but the next time I hope, with a bit more deliberation, if nothing else. I didn't like feeling like I was on a rollercoaster with the tracks crumbling just behind me.

For example, the next vase like this I do will have a real collar on it not just a "faux" collar. And hopefully my texturing will be a bit more controled and I'll use India ink instead of leather dye.

I've been thinking that I'll dye up some persimmon (maybe with that wicked leather dye) and use it as a replacement for African ebony. What do you think?

Again thanks for the compliments. I'd say "thanks for all the fish," too but I'm not going anywhere. :D


DW
In the High Desert of Central Oregon
 
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DW,

First of all, don't be so demanding of your ability to conceptualize the piece from start to finish. Try to do that, and you will cut yourself off from your creative core. Wood is, at best, an imprecise medium, and, as an organic material, will vary widely from one point to the next. The best you can do is "plan" to take advantage of the incidents & accidents that will crop up. Like you did this time. :D

Practically, you will have that same bleed-thru from interior to exterior with most any kind of dye, india ink included, because of the nature of wood. The structure of the material has evolved to be very efficient in absorbing and passing along liquids (like a bundle of straws), so if you're going to dye the interior, you'd best seal that surface somewhat to control the adsorption. Easiest way to do this is with some thinned dewaxed shellac, say about a 1-pound cut. Pour it into the vessel and slosh to evenly wet the interior, then pour out the extra. More porous woods (Oak, Ash, Walnut) will need more. Allow to dry over night upside down because the reduced air change in a closed form will slow evaporation of the solvent. This will even out the porosity of the wood and retard the dye's penetrating too deeply toward the outside.

Good luck!!

Mark
 
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Mark,

So you're saying that creativity is just fear without the "fight or flight" hormones? :D

Seriously, though you make some good points...I will think upon them. May even change the way I approach turning somewhat. I've always thought of myself as more of a "craftsman" than an "artist." Always will but that explains my tendency to want to control each process.

Also the tip about shellac is a good one. I just bought a can of Zissner SealCoat. I wonder if after applying the SealCoat and perhaps sanding it down a bit, if the dye will "take" to the point of making the wood deeply, darkly black. The leather dye is certainly capable of doing that, but will the SealCoat "resist" the dye?

Thanks for the encouragement...


DW
In the High Desert of Central Oregon
 
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Just a bizzarre aside. If you pour a liquid into the interior and slosh it around to coat, make sure it is alcohol based. If the wood is dry, you run the risk of cracking the piece if you do this with a water (and maybe oil) based finish, as it will swell the inside of the piece and crack the dry outside. Alcohol won't swell the piece (semipermiable membraine issue). Friend blew up several pieces this way.

If it's not dry, not a prob.

Dietrich
 
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DWFII said:
The leather dye is certainly capable of doing that, but will the SealCoat "resist" the dye?

DW,

The SealCoat is an excellant product. It comes as a 2-pound cut from the can, although I just heard that they may be marketing a 3-pound cut version as well. If you use it full strength, it will likely prevent your dye from penetrating much, if at all. The idea is to allow but control the penetration.

If you want to be really scientifical about it, turn an open bowl for a test piece. Then brush on stripes of full and diluted strength product all around the bowl, leaving several spaces raw in both the end grain and face grain sections. Code the sections to reflect the dilutions. Put your dye or ink or whatever on, and allow it dry. You will see what comes through and what is blocked. Now cut the bowl up with your band saw to expose the interior of the wood and see how far the dyes penetrated with the different section treatments.

Your other option, of course, is to use a paint such as colored lacquers on the interiors.

Old guy (Gramp) who taught me most of what I know about flat work insisted that the marks of a fine craftsman are not whether he makes mistakes (everybody does), but rather how well he hides them or how creatively he uses the opportunites they present.

Mark

PS: DW, Found that the SealCoat is not, in fact sold in a 3 pound cut. There's another product called "Finish Coat and Sealer" that is 3 pound cut, but it is not dewaxed and I would not recommend it for your application.
 
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Am I the only one that notices that it looks brilliantly like a perfect strawberry? I mean that in a good way, I think you did a fantastic job. We have a saying in the cabinetry business (formerly of the seafood business, my previous job) "Even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now an then", that's been my life motto. Bravo!

think it has a great deal of aesthetic merit. But I didn't plan it...and that kind of worries me.

Lol, you worry over nothing. Any cat can poop, it takes a GOOD cat to cover it up! It takes a really slick cat to make it look nice!

Maybe I missed it, but what kind of wood is it?
 
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I almost always have a hard time deciding what I'm going to turn from a piece until I start turning it. I consider it a collaboration with Mother Nature, she does most of the work making the material--I just manipulate the instruments taking away the wood that isn't needed!

Very nice vase, I like the form. Also wondering what kind of wood?
 
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Ken, Redfish,

It's big leaf maple. And the remark about "any cat..." had me in stitches. thanks for that one!


DW
In the High Desert of Central Oregon
 
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dkulze said:
Just a bizzarre aside. If you pour a liquid into the interior and slosh it around to coat, make sure it is alcohol based. If the wood is dry, you run the risk of cracking the piece if you do this with a water (and maybe oil) based finish, as it will swell the inside of the piece and crack the dry outside. Alcohol won't swell the piece (semipermiable membraine issue). Friend blew up several pieces this way.

Oil and water are different. The oil goes into the spaces, the water will actually be "bound" to the wood fiber, causing it to increase in volume. Or shrink when the bound water begins to escape. That's where drying defect originates. Alcohol usually contains water either because it wasn't dehydrated beyond the 95% azeotrope in the case of ethanol, or because it actually picks it up from the air, and might represent a threat, however slight.

No membranes involved. Remember wood is dead. No cytoplasm in the cells to wall off, and physical holes in the impermeable cellulose walls where lateral water exchange used to take place in the tree.

You get the free wood book from http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/fplgtr113.htm ?

Dandy stuff. Answers a lot of questions. Poses a few, too.
 
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