Some of you will recall that "the gang" that lured me into the vortex also sent me several very nice pieces of wood and bowl blanks - thinking of course, that this would entice me even further into the abyss!!
One of those was a piece of Black Cherry burl that was among the several pieces sent to me by Steve Schlumpf. This burl came from an old Black Cherry that was located in a thick forest approximately 2 miles from the south shore of Lake Superior and just ouside of a little town called Au Train, in the upper peninsula. The old fellow who owned the property heated with wood, using mostly maple and cherry. This piece came from his wood pile.
After doing a couple of little projects, I thought I would see what I could do with this piece of burl - at the very least, not destroy it. It was odd shaped, and not very large - perhaps 4 - 4.5" along the face shown in the above pic, and that was the largest face.
I have admired the many NE pieces done by some of you, and thought that might be neat - and, it would certainly challenge me!!
Well, here is the result. It is 6.25" tall, including the walnut stem.
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The walls are 1/8", not paper thin like you all like them, but my skill level just isn't there yet. This was my third bowl type turning, and my first piece of figured wood, so I didn't want to push the envelope too much.
The finish is BLO and shellac to this point - again, not sure what else to do. I may spray it with laquer, though I don't care for the high gloss. Guess I could rub it out a bit.
Give me your thoughts - and be honest. I can't improve if all I get are atta-boys!!
And, thanks again, Steve, for the wonderful pieces of wood!!
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