Cherry Burl Vase

[John Keeton]

Baxter, I would call this one a winner!! Love the wood, and the bark inclusions. This is a form that is a little out of the ordinary, but seems to show the wood very well.

[Tim Thiebaut]

That came out very nice Baxter, and looks like your helpers had a great time as well!

[charlie knighton]

very nice.....

[Rich Aldrich]

Beautiful piece. I love Cherry, especially Cherry burl.

It is really cool how you get the young helpers involved.

[Jon Lanier]

WOW! That is a series piece of work. Beautiful work... and great looking kids.

[BILL DONAHUE]

Really like that piece. Very dramatic and something that can be studied. In fact, the photography in it's entirety is really outstanding.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Baxter that is one hugh burl. The vase is a beauty. I really like the wood and form.

[Roger Chandler]

Great form on some very special wood. My personal tastes are want to have wood shine out over bark...........bark inclusions do work on some pieces, and some people think that heartwood lacks any pizzaz, but in my own personal tastes, I like the wood with figured grain.

This piece you have done is stunning to say the least. I am not sure if I would like it better with no bark inclusions............I guess the only way to know for sure would be if it were possible to do an identical piece that had none...........not possible! So I say ............great work here, Baxter!

[alex carey]

im loving it baxter, nicely done.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Went back out to the shop and took a few more pictures(had taken down the photo tent) but maybe it is just as well.

Pretty nice piece, Baxter. Is that black part rotten or was it just part of the bark on the tree? Either way it looks nice!

Thanks Doug. Most of the black part isn't bark or rotten. Brought back two burls that day but had unloaded this one before I took the picture of the other one in the wagon.
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Its a little more weathered than the one I turned but might help explain. The part of the burl on the left still has some bark on it. On the right side, the bark is gone and the burl surface is weathered. A lot of what you see in the pictures as dark is the side that was more weathered/burl wasn't as big. I kind of liked the textured surface when I started so wanted to retain some of it. Maybe in my quest to keep the diameter over 12" I saved too much!
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Baxter, I like the piece alot.
Is the remote switch magnetic?
Also nice looking tool rests - Robust?

Brian, I hope to add some magnets to the back of that switch but need to order them. I am hoping they will be strong enough to hold it. The switch pulls pretty hard. I have read they can do that when they become worn. The tool rests are homemade ones. Copied from a Robust picture though.

Great piece Baxter and a fab set of pics I love these start to finish threads too they are always interesting! great to see your home made deep hollowing rest great idea. As the nearly received owner of a 3520B (its in the country but not with me yet!) its wonderful to see the lathe dealing with a lump of wood that size! I am so looking forward to getting mine!

Thanks for sharing

Thanks Richard. I am sure you are going to like your lathe! Although it handled that size piece of wood, I couldn't turn up the speed as much as I would have liked. It was just too unbalanced. Finished the outside adequately but I would have liked to have hollowed at a higher speed. First time I have used anything other than hand hollowing tools.

That's a honkin' big cherry burl and a beautiful vase. This is one of those times when I find the inclusion distracting. It's just so overpowering. But (and it's a "big but") the form is great and in the second pic from the side that does not have a huge black hole in it, it's awesome. Also, a very creative "helper" for the boring bar.

Thanks David. I know what you mean about the overpowering distraction part. The oil really darkened it up and made it stand out. I could have turned away most of it if I had gone down to an 11 inch diameter. 11 1/2 probably would have been best. I will just put it to the back!

I think it looks fantastic, Baxter! I can see the point about the remaining bark, but I tend to like inclusions and such. My only 'complaint' is that I wish you'd have cropped the photos a little tighter, so I could see even more detail in the burl. I love the form, and the coloring is wonderful. Nice solution to the depth issue while hollowing as well. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks David. Here are a few closer up. Glare and all! Sorry there aren't any ants left.I found it interesting how the mouth and foot(not being burl) didn't gloss up with the oil nearly as quickly(or not at all).
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[Eugene Wigley]

Baxter that is a good looking vase. It shows the wood very well. I also like the start to finish photos.

[Jon McElwain]

Wow, that is a really sweet piece. The size is impressive, but the composition is what attracts me the most. The first pictures of the finished piece are very beautiful and graceful, then as the piece is rotated, it shows the inclusion. The two sides are really contrary to each other. The one side is really pretty and attractive, the other is almost grotesque or cancerous (in a good way!). I would call it "Beauty and the Beast."

Again, I really like this piece form form to finish, but especially it's contradictory nature!

[Don Alexander]

if you lose the bark you lose the piece and the piece is AWESOME!!!!! just flat out AWESOME!!!!

[Mark Hubl]

Baxter,
Wish I had a keyboard. Great piece and post. Extraordinary.

[Cathy Schaewe]

An absolutely gorgeous piece. I love the form tremendously. Could go either way on the inclusion - but this is definitely one to be proud of!