2 hours ago, Dovetail said:

Maybe not the wrong choice, but there are options. Lighter gauge wire and more of a stitches pattern. 

 

 

I've since learned to do that!

Yep, generally tonewoods are very light with a tight grain. I've got a gazillion pictures of instruments but here's something I grabbed online using the search: tonewood for guitar.

 

There is a famous region of Italy for spruce violin tops. And Bavarian spruce is also prized.

 

8 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

So what was the final fate for this piece?

It is setting on a shelf here at the house 

14 hours ago, lew said:

That is really nice, even, tight grain!

 

Here is a new one. This was a practice piece for demo I did last month. I did a wide sloped run with undercut inside. That wake the plan and came out good.
     
There was a rotten knot I had been wanting to try micro powders In epoxy so that worked well. The rim treatment was something I had also wanted to try. The color is Guilders Paste which was more like shoe polish so had to use mineral spirits to thin. Still a few place to add wax.

 

Well left off the inspiration . We had Matt Monaco do a demo in February and this is close to his style except his is thinner and no wide rim. I have recently seen some rim treatments and thought the crosshatch would be good , color was an after thought.

Edited April 8, 20224 yr by Gerald

@Gerald, I like the blue against the orangish colored wood!

 

What tool did you use for the crosshatch? The Sorby Miniature Texturing tool? Do you remember the RPM's to get that nice even spacing. I can never get the texture spacing even.

@Gerald. Very nice. I also really like the blue. Closely resembles a cobalt blue. Quite eye catching.

14 minutes ago, lew said:

@Gerald, I like the blue against the orangish colored wood!

 

What tool did you use for the crosshatch? The Sorby Miniature Texturing tool? Do you remember the RPM's to get that nice even spacing. I can never get the texture spacing even.

This is the full sized spiraling tool by Sorby. I got it from estate sale. Did not have the indexing saddle but ordered that and may get in couple months. Usually use 7 to 800 but watched the video again and they suggest 500 and that does work well.

Before I had the opportunity to turn Manzanita root, I got to try another type of root. When I moved into our house (1968) there were shrubs planted at the front- seemed that was the landscaping fad at the time. We removed the shrubs a few years ago to improve the street look. Not sure what these species shrubs were but they are extremely hazardous when falling into them face first off of a ladder- don't ask...

 

The base/root seemed to be large enough to make something. After digging around them and cutting them out, the prospects seemed pretty dismal.

 

 

Eventually one of them found its way to the lathe

 

 

It was amazing to find this concealed under the dirt-

 

I think this was the first time I turned a piece that had a large void on the side.  

Nice Lew, I have a piece similar to that.  Plan to do something with it.  Someday?

Edited April 8, 20224 yr by HandyDan

Very cool @lew. Shames me to think of what I have burned when I see what someone with vision and talent can produce. Thanks for the story too!

@lew That is nice and good color too. It is amazing what can come from that piece we all have laying around.

18 hours ago, Gerald said:

Here is a new one. This was a practice piece for demo I did last month.

 

That turned out beautiful Gerald, stunning!

 

18 hours ago, lew said:

 

I think this was the first time I turned a piece that had a large void on the side.  

 

Very cool Lew!  Almost mesmerizing to look at the knots and wild grain in it

Someone gave me an arm load of painted rounds.  They appear to come from a church baby crib. So what do I do with these. The half brain cell fired.  1 item can be snowmen for children to paint and sprinkle. 2nd idea is tree ornaments which I have yet to start. Snowmen are quick and easy.