Box Elder Through the Woods, Round the Block Entry

[Randy Gazda]

Nice work. Can you send me the other block of wood so I can take a closer look at it! LOL! Box elder can me amazing stuff, my father always considered it a 'trash' tree due to the bugs and the way it was always dropping branches in his farm fields. So I don't have access to much of it.

[Mike Spanbauer]

Well done Ken! I really like that and the elder is a beautiful wood to! You mean 1/4" thick petals right? (.025" would be wicked, but likely wouldn't support the piece ).

mike

[bob svoboda]

Most Excellent!

[David DeCristoforo]

I love this! Gotta run... no time to elaborate but it's really sweet!

[Ken Vonk]

I made this piece from a 6x6x3" block that I first cut in two. Approximately 1 3/4" for the bottom and 1 1/4" for the pedals. I glued a waste block onto the bottom (thicker) piece and cut a tenon while on centers. I chucked it up and turned a "square" bowl. I made the shape for the top of the leaves that I imagined. By the way, I had also drawn this out on paper first, too. After sanding, I reversed the square bowl against a piece of wood with some neoprene on it, using the tail stock to hold it in place, and turned the bottom side. I used a dremmel to clean up the little nubbin left after turning the bottom. I then used carbon paper to trace the shape of the leaves on the wood. I cut out the basic outline on my band saw. I again used the dremmel to clean up the shape of the leaves. I followed pretty much the same procedure for the pedals that you see above for the leaves. I turned this piece round first and then turned a bowl. I shined a small LED flashlight on one side of the pedals and kept cutting the other side until the light shined through the wood. And Yes Mike, the pedals (not the leaves) are less than 1/32" thick. I used a cut off wheel on my dremmel to cut out the shape of the pedals, using very light cuts. Sanding the pedals was very nerve wracking too...lol. I had some tool steel that I used to make a special tool for hollowing the stamin. I use a scrap corner from the pedal block to turn the stamin. Finally, after applying many coats of WOP and carefully sanding, I glued the three pieces together.

Thanks for all the kind words.

Ken Vonk

[Mike Spanbauer]

the pedals (not the leaves) are less than 1/32" thick.

Wow, that's wicked. When I looked at first I didn't see that - but those are incredible. Beautiful

mike

[Ron Bontz]

Ok. Now that I have looked at this numerous times.... Did you cut the design first then turn or turn first then cut?? Sorry if it is a silly question.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

If the vote is given to the Creekers, you will be a hands down winner.
Great art!
faust

[Rick Robbins]

you did a Great job very nice wood. Rick

[Ken Vonk]

Ron,

Didn't know if you saw the "how to". I turned a bowl for the leaves and then when completely finished, I cut out the leaf shape. The same for the pedals except they were much more nerve racking because the bowl was less than 1/32" thick when I cut out the pedals. I thought for sure I would blow them up and ruin the whole thing.....................

Ken