Vase with lid

My wife recently got a new job and she has a new office to decorate so I thought I'd make her a little vase. I am very happy with how this turned out. It's a cottonwood bottom with a nice feather in the grain. The lid is Ipe. This one was hollowed free hand to about 3/16" and I was able to get it pretty uniform throughout. The lid fits well, the finish turned out nice, and I even like the form of it. All these coming together for me is rare, so this one made me quite happy. All critiques are welcome.

Thanks,

Adam.

Very nice Adam. What are the dimensions?

Beautiful, love the feather!!

Thanks guys. Tim, the vase (minus the finial) is 6" tall and 4" wide at its widest point.

Nice job, and size! With the wide mouth it would be perfect for candy or something. Pretty wood. I've never turned Ipe although I have a little. Is it challenging? I've never turned cottonwood either, I'm not sure if it grows around here.

JKJ

I'll chime in, that Ipe is a joy to turn. I estimate it takes me 4x longer to turn than dry oak. There is a whole lot of powder that comes off with the tiny shavings. But with patience and good breathing protection, you can just keep on getting it smoother and smoother. As a friend said, "The more you polish it gets."

Attachment 351372Thanks folks. When I showed my wife she decided we'd use it as an urn for our two cats who have been siting in a tin box for far too long. So it is now on the entertainment center. As far as Ipe, it is a tough wood. It turns like a lot of exotics, you have to keep the tools sharp. If you have a catch it is prone to explosion, it's very chippy. The splinters are miserable. All that being said, it takes really nice detail and turns a beautiful color with finish. There's more dust and chips than shavings, at least for me, and I wear a mask from the moment I walk into the garage with that stuff to the moment I finish cleaning up and leave. It smells nice but it is irritating to me. As for Cottonwood, that stuff grows anywhere there is water. It's just another species of a soft maple as I understand. It turns fairly nice but smells like a barn. It often has nice figure in it. It's also known as box elder in some circles I think. "I have many names."

Adam, you might try(incoming) using a scary sharp round nose scraper on very hard woods--quite often works better. Also Cottonwood(several species in the genus Populus) are not kin to any Maples.

The vase looked very good in the original photo and the large base was not noticeable. The later photo on the shelf made the base diameter look large and a smaller base might have a better look and still be stable, or possibly make a bead form or other design at bottom. Guess you will have to turn another for her office.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thomas Canfield

The vase looked very good in the original photo and the large base was not noticeable. The later photo on the shelf made the base diameter look large and a smaller base might have a better look and still be stable, or possibly make a bead form or other design at bottom. Guess you will have to turn another for her office.

---

Made me look again and I see what you are saying. I think given that it now has the contents of two dead cats I'm happy with the stability the wide base offers, but when I do another I agree, a little thinning down may add to the visual appeal. Thank you Thomas.