Ebonized Burr Oak

This one is about 7" in diameter and 6" tall. The center bowl is ebonized with vinegar and steel wool mix and the rest is finished with my home brew danish oil. This is a prototype for a possible big project that hopefully will begin later this fall...

Oak Sclupture

I found this piece of burr oak as I was splitting firewood earlier this spring. It flew about 20ft away from me when the larger piece split. As I was gathering the rest of the split wood, I looked to see if any chunks looked interesting. I didn't see anything until I literally stumbled over this piece. The dark Iowa dirt on one side created a beautiful contrast with the natural oak grain. That gave me the inspiration to ebonize one side of the piece and the top of the base to recreate the differing colors.

It stands is about 2 feet high and the base, made from reclaimed rough sawn oak, is 5" X 5" and about 2.5" high. The perfect way to see and hold this piece would be to come down to The Mansion at 2801 Ingersoll in Des Moines where I will be doing a turning demo from 10-6 on Friday and 10-4 or so on Saturday....see you there!

Oak Bowl On A Stand

You might have noticed this piece in the picture of my previous post. It's made from Burr Oak that has been turned, carved, textured and ebonized. The base is made from rough cut oak and the stem is a brass rod. If you like it or would like to see more of my work, It is still available and on display at the Mansion at 2801 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines.

A Small Burr Oak Bowl

This is one of the burr oak bowls I finished up before my past 2 shows. It's only about 6" in diameter, and about 4" tall but it's one of my favorites I've ever made. Burr oak is my favorite wood to turn too so that has something to do with it I'm sure. The rim has moved just a little bit to add to its character which will contiue to change for quite awhile too. It will probably end up in the house to collect some nuts, M & Ms or just dust....that is unless someone else likes it more! 

A Few New Bowls

My dad and I are sharing a booth at an art show on the 22nd so I needed to finish up a few more bowls for the show. I turned all 9 of these this past Saturday. The four on the left are bur oak and range in size from 5" to 10". The middle four are spalted hackberry and range in size from 6" to 13" and the thick one in the upper right is spalted maple which is about 11". I will be finishing the bases up tonight and getting some more oil put on them as well. All that's left to do for the show are some bottle stoppers and a few week pots.

Vase Comission Delivered

In the last post I gave you a teaser photo of 1 of 3 vases that a couple who are great friends ask me to make and deliver before Thanksgiving. I delivered them this past Wednesday, just under the deadline. All three are oak brought down in a wind storm locally at Wakonda Club. The husband of this couple is in charge of the grounds at the club so him getting the oak back is all the more special.

The tallest and smallest vases are 2 pieces turned seperately and then epoxied to the bases. The tallest vase is 22" tall and the small one is about 14". Due to time constraints and not yet having a good steady for longer pieces, these are not hollowed completely. Instead they have a 2.5" cylinder cut out with a forstner bit. This allows a space to add dried flowers or something similar. They are very happy with them and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to make them.

Some Vases For Friends

A few weeks ago a good friend asked me to make 3 large vases to display on a shelf in their family room. "Can you do something about 2 feet tall?", she asked. I said I'd give it a go to see just how big a vase I could turn. Her husband had given me a huge amount of burr oak just over year ago from storm damage. I have the first and largest vase almost ready for final finish. It is right at 22" tall with the cap and she loved the pictures I showed her this weekend. The other 2 are 75% done, just need to turn the caps for them as well. I will show pics of them ones complete. That will be soon as they must be delivered before Thanksgiving as my friends will be hosting 27 family members for dinner.

A Few Bottle Stoppers

First batch of bottle stoppers are done. They are made from spalted maple, oak, walnut, peach, spalted hackberry and osage orage (hedge). I will be getting some stainless steel stoppers very soon to add to the mix. These would make great holiday gifts...taking orders now!

Oak Commission

A few months ago I was asked to make 2-4 pieces from an old oak tree that was taken down due to disease. I finished them last week and met with the customer showing her 8 pieces to choose from. She couldn't decide which ones she liked the most so she bought them all! Below are a few pics of the pieces.

Some Free Wood And A Commission

Last nightI picked up some oak logs from a friend of my sister in law. I had met Anne (I think there is an "e" at the end) and her husband Steve at the opening of the Wandering Gallery Auciton and she had mentioned a big oak in her front lawn would be coming down soon. She got in touch and I picked up some nice crotch pieces and a couple of straight logs that were just over 2ft long. (see pic 1)

It turns out that Anne's neighbor across the street, Kathy, had a large oak taken down the day before. Anne had mentioned to her that I turn logs into bowls, vases and such. Anne gave me Kathy's number and we finally got together last night. The wood from her tree has knots, knobs and burl all over it. (see pic 2) She mentioned when her family first moved into the house, 15 years ago, they had taken breaks from tearing out carpet resting on the front steps with her husband and kids, and watched squirrels climb all over the bumps on the tree. I will try and create something that includes the bumps as well as some simple form bowls. They will become Christmas gifts for her kids who are now in college. I'll take pics along the way to document the process as well. I'm looking forward to see how it will turn out.

Coffee Anyone?

Handmade gifts are the best in my opinion. I love to give people turned items as gifts for weddings, house warmings, birthdays and of course Christmas. Since my dad is also an avid turner he enjoys this kind of gift as well. This year he finished up 3 coffe mugs just in time for Christmas, (I saw him spraying the last coat of laquer the night we arrived at their home) My brother, brother in law and myself were the happy recipients of these mugs. Mine is the spalted hackberry in the middle. The left one is burr oak and the right one is walnut.

Ebonized Oak w/Copper Wire

I stumbled upon Mike Kaplan's website a few weeks ago, after bookmarking it months ago. These two vases caught my eye and I wanted to give it a go with one of my own.

My version is shown below. I have lots of burr oak around and it takes vinegar/steel wool ebonizing quite nicely. This piece started out as a vase about 6 months ago, but was to long to hollow without a steady rest which I haven't bothered to make yet. A few weeks ago I cut the bottom 1/3 off and started again. It was cracking, but that along with the interior that I left rough adds to it's character making it another rustic or primitive piece as well. A small void was created when a small burl popped out as well. It's about 8" tall and 6" wide at the top with 3 coats of danish oil and buffed. I will be doing more of this style.

Thick Oak Vase

Continuing with my fascination with burr oak, I turned this thick and heavy oak vase recently. It is about 9 inches tall and just over 6" at its widest. The interior was just drilled out on the lathe with a 2" forstner bit. I'm looking for a tall 2" glass vase to insert into it so fresh flowers can be used in it. During the drying process of this piece quite a few cracks have formed adding to to it in my opinion. I like the simple form but I think the next one will have more of a curve towards the bottom.

Oak Ensemble

It's been awhile since my last update...I've been busy prepping for the upcoming show in Sept. I have lots of work to show, I hope the shows attendees like what I have to offer.

My good friend is the head grass cutter (superintendent) at Wakonda Club here in town and they lost quite a few oaks this spring to a bad wind storm. He told me to come get as much as I want. They had 6 semi trailers hauled out eventually, but I only loaded my car once. His wife gave him a bowl made from the score for their anniversary. Here are a few others that I have done with the oak.

My First Bowl

This was my first bowl ever. Made of Oak, 7"H X 6" D finished with Formby's Tounge Oil. It has warped and cracked a little, but I love it and use it to eat popcorn a few times a week.