Extraordinary Measures

Robert-

Great looking piece. How was it to turn? What did you use for the stitching?

Gary

It was okay to turn. I tried to get in the first 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the rim quickly. Then I wrapped the entire piece with some plastic wrap and finished hollowing out the rest of the inside. I could see the big vertical crack starting but I thought I got it thin quick enough so that it would nto spread too far. When I finished sanding it I put it into a container with some ammonia overnight just to see what would happen. I had not fumed any Acacia and thought I would give it a try. The big crack showed up while it was fuming. When I took it out I thought I was going to have to throw it out but figured I would put a coat of oil on it to see how the wood would look when finished. When I did this I realized how dark the wood had turned and the contrast with the sap wood was so nice I decided to try some extraordinary measures to salvage it. The thread is artificial sinew.

Robert-

Thanks. Did you drill the holes for the stitching before hollowing or after? I found out years ago that if I turned the piece down to the final thickness then drilled the holes-chip out happened on the holes. To do away with the chip out, had to turn the piece even thinner than I wanted. So now I drill holes first then hollow.

Gary