Well I finally finished it . It seemed to take forever but it is finito.

Now I just have to try and not drop it 

calabrese55

4 minutes ago, calabrese55 said:

Well I finally finished it . It seemed to take forever but it is finito.

Now I just have to try and not drop it 

calabrese55

OMG! That is awesome!

Thanks Lew, Fred & John for looking in...Youz Guyz is too kind

mike calabrese55

I was driving home from work last week and saw a guy cutting up a large tree in his yard. I stopped and talked to him and grabbed a couple of pieces. The pieces I got had split and they were only about 2/3 of a log. I told him I would make him a bowl. The tree was a shumard oak, one of the red oaks. The tree was probably 3 feet in diameter at the base. I'll probably pick up some more when I give Dan his bowl.

 

Each oak species is a little different, but this stuff is weird. Gigantic pores, primarily. Tried and True Original finish.

 

1 hour ago, kreisdorph said:

I was driving home from work last week and saw a guy cutting up a large tree in his yard. I stopped and talked to him and grabbed a couple of pieces. The pieces I got had split and they were only about 2/3 of a log. I told him I would make him a bowl. The tree was a shumard oak, one of the red oaks. The tree was probably 3 feet in diameter at the base. I'll probably pick up some more when I give Dan his bowl.

 

Each oak species is a little different, but this stuff is weird. Gigantic pores, primarily. Tried and True Original finish.

 

Nice bowl! Glad you left it natural and unfilled with resin. Good on you for making him something to keep the tree living on.

On 5/26/2024 at 12:24 PM, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

Not sure what this wood is, it may have been some of the Mulberry (?) that Dave brought to our house when we had the gathering a few years back. I can tell you this: it's extremely dry and hard

Still catching up in this forum. Glad you found a project for that old mulberry nuisance growth. Since I have plenty growing wild here, let me know when you need more. I'm I can spare a couple trailer loads. I haven't been to Wapakoneta since then which, come to think about it, was the first time I'd ever been there.

 

Not surprised you say it's extremely hard. Dried mulberry has a Janka rating far harder than white oak. In fact close to Osage Orange. Doing some research a while back, (HERE) I learned it's pretty rot resistance once dried and can be used for outdoor furniture. I know when you cut one down this time of year, the water literally pours out of the cut.

 

BTW, nice job to this point; I'll keep reading.

On 5/29/2024 at 9:33 AM, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

No idea, it was in a pile that was unmarked. My mulberry guess was just that I thought Dave had brought it here and I think he said that wood was mulberry.

Yep, 100% sure what I brought was mulberry...vile trees.

On 6/2/2024 at 10:56 AM, calabrese55 said:

I finally finished it . It seemed to take forever but it is finito.

Catching up here. EXCELLENT Mike!

    

       

I was approached by a lady to make 4 cremation urns. Her Mother In Law had passed away- and she wanted to provided her husband and the 3 other adult children of the departed with what I call “commemerative vessels” - or, partial cremains urns. So, they are pet sized- but that may not a good phrase to use when discussing this topic with most folks.

Due to laws in different states about  cremation urns, I threaded the closures. And the collars that are the female threaded portions are stabilized so that whether these wind up in Pheonix or Seattle- the closure should still open and close even with dramatic change in temp/humidity conditions. Yes…. yes various states really have urn regulations…😐.

I prepped 6 vessels of different woods and shapes and allowed the family to pick what they wanted.

my clear favorite as a “traditionalist” is the Walnut that has a bit of sap wood showing. I love the wood and the shape- and I shaped the finial in such a way as to compliment that shape- and it the home firnishings where it is going. They have modernist-Japanese style interior in their home. The Cherry vessel is for a couple that prefers Scandanavian style furnishings. I may re-make their finial for something simpler. The black dyed Ash is going to a young “minimalist” household. And the Ambrosia Maple globe shape- a couple whose house is eclectic but leans toward French Provencial.

This was a big learning experience about a portion of turning that- I had not previously explored. The take away for me is not one of morose, or depressive feelings. Rather, that my work will serve others for a long time to come. I guess…. a genuine feel good about a subject not often thought about as positive. I may seek out making more for individuals, tho I do not anticipate being a production urn maker.

T

 

Edited June 21, 20241 yr by teesquare

And… ai re-finished the dyed Ash before delivery…. It just did not look great the first time I finished it

8 minutes ago, teesquare said:

And… ai re-finished the dyed Ash before delivery…. It just did not look great the first time I finished it

@teesquare, those are all beautiful! It is so wonderful that you took the time to considered the architecture in which these pieces will eventually live. To me, that makes the pieces all the more special to the families. 

 

I am assuming you hand chased the threads for the lids.  BTW, nice steady rest!

26 minutes ago, lew said:

@teesquare, those are all beautiful! It is so wonderful that you took the time to considered the architecture in which these pieces will eventually live. To me, that makes the pieces all the more special to the families. 

 

I am assuming you hand chased the threads for the lids.  BTW, nice steady rest!

Thanks Lew-

No, the threads were "machined" - using the Baxter Threadmaster - from Best Wood Tools. It is a highly accurate tool. And - the steady rest is HEAVY....It may be the most bomb-proof on built, simply because it weight SO much😂.....I should probably buy a lighter weight one for smaller projects.. Funny thing is I never used it on the urns as they were small....

@teesquare... Most excellent work Tim and I echo Lew's comments how you considered each recipients personal tastes. Kudos for accepting such a personal project as well as meeting locality compliances.

9 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

@teesquare... Most excellent work Tim and I echo Lew's comments how you considered each recipients personal tastes. Kudos for accepting such a personal project as well as meeting locality compliances.

Thank Dave!

I actually got a phone call yesterday evening from the lady who commissioned the work. She and all the other recipients of these vessels were in Cornell NY, together to spend the weekend at a celebration of life for the departed person. They were "emotionally overtaken" by the personalization of each vessel for them and just wanted total, say thank you and so on. 

One thing I forgot to mention: It is ALWAYS recommended for the ashes to be in a sealable plastic bag inside the urn. This is because ( without going full geek about concrete chemistry....) in the process of the crematory - the burned bones are sent the a pulverizer such that the end product looks very much like beach sand. This is primarily now calcium carbonate, and if the storage conditions become humid - it can chemically consolidate - i.e., become ...concrete. That may...or may not be an issue for most folks - but not a phone call I want to get....

T

A story goes with this piece. A couple weeks ago at the Pickle Fest I sold a box which I have had a while. The lady was there with her sister and was going to use it as an urn for part of their father’s ashes. They wanted another but we had none suitable. So last week the other sister goes on my website and ordered the same box. It should have been marked out of stock and I do not know why it let her  order.

 

I called her to explain I do not carry backup stock and she was ok with me making another. Finished it couple days ago and shipped yesterday. The first pic is the original and the second the new one.

 

1 hour ago, Gerald said:

A story goes with this piece. A couple weeks ago at the Pickle Fest I sold a box which I have had a while. The lady was there with her sister and was going to use it as an urn for part of their father’s ashes. They wanted another but we had none suitable. So last week the other sister goes on my website and ordered the same box. It should have been marked out of stock and I do not know why it let her  order.

 

I called her to explain I do not carry backup stock and she was ok with me making another. Finished it couple days ago and shipped yesterday. The first pic is the original and the second the new one.

 

She should be very please with that one @Gerald

Well done Gerald. Both the urn and your customer service.

Working on putting spirals by on a hollow form. Forgot to  take pics c of the lines but this is the carving process. Bowl is magnolia and I had to reshape it so I could carve. Doing this made the center too thin so carved thru in two places will try to patch tomorrow. 

carved and now for a lot of sanding. 
 

@Gerald...pretty cool. "Patch" might be a good place for some colored epoxy??