NE Cherry Burl HF

[Baxter Smith]

Hope that a “caution” wasn’t necessary in the title. Thought if I posted a picture of only one you know what, it wouldn’t trigger any health issues in some of you.
Roughed this out last spring. The top of the tree with the burl in it had snapped off and been hung up for several years. A lot of the bark was gone and much of the sapwood was pretty punky. Wanted to try a NE HF so soaked it with a lot of CA glue. It looked pretty ugly after it was roughed out. Almost got rid of the NE when finish turning but once the edge got thin it didn’t look as bad.
I have plenty of holly to use for finials but have always colored it black (seems like black goes with everything). Didn't know if it would go but wanted to try it natural. The white color also matched the remaining sapwood on the burl until the AO hit it. Because the white was such a contrast with the cherry I added a couple pieces of burl to it. (Also just wanted to try it.)
The hf looks okay but I am not sure about the finial. Enlighten me with your thoughts! I turned a plain holly pedestal that was somewhat similar. Didn’t think it was quite right, although I should have taken a picture with it. I was considering turning another one when some other wood appeared that needs to be roughed out. Not complaining mind you, but I was kind of enjoying finishing a few roughouts.
Comments and critiques welcome! They have been very helpful and are greatly appreciated!
9 w x 8 h finished with AO.



Cherry Burl 033.jpgCherry Burl 036.jpgCherry Burl 040.jpgCherry Burl 041.jpgCherry Burl 074.jpgCherry Burl 078.jpgCherry Burl 081.jpgOak and Cherry Bowl and HF 3.jpg

[Russell Eaton]

Baxter that is another fine job. I like the finial with the accent, it blends well to the piece. Thanks for showing and inspiring a new turner.

[Richard Kennedy UK]

Fabulous pieces I wouldn't dare turn the final bowl How on earth did it stay in one piece?????

[Tim Rinehart]

Baxter, really nice work ... again!! Your detail work really shows in the well proportioned finials. I like the whiteness contrast, it looks good. Better than I would have envisioned it were I trying that.

[Mark Hubl]

Very nice Baxter. Another great looking trio. I love the holly finial. Really good looking stuff.

[Mike Golka]

Baxter, those are realy nice. You did justice to the burls.

[Roger Chandler]

Nice form..........I like the natural edge and the natural holly finial. The additions in the finial of the cherry do set it off, I think. Not the easiest forms to produce, especially with punky wood to deal with. This has a bit of uniqueness about it, which makes it all the better.

[John Keeton]

Great job, Baxter!! You may recall a piece I did with a BLM burl and holly pedestal and finial. I would have dyed it brown, but at the insistence of Steve S. and Ms. Keeton, they remained natural. It ended up a very pleasing combination.

I am not totally sure about the top piece of inset burl in the finial, but I love the overall look!! And, the final pic of the trio is straight out of a magazine - fantastic!!

[Tim Thiebaut]

Wow Baxter this is fantastic, you did an awesome job on this, and as John said the last picture could be a magazine cover.

[Dan Forman]

Sweet form and finial. I'm with John on that last little cherry bit on top of the finial, may be a little too much of a good thing, but that's a niggle.

Dan

[jeremy levine]

Fine work, really nice to look at

[Steve Schlumpf]

Baxter - this one sure is pleasing to the eyes! Very nice work! I like the finial being a lighter color. I am afraid that if it were dyed black, you would lose a lot of definition of the burl insets. With the finial being light colored - the burl really pops! I tend to agree that the very top element may be just a bit much as it adds additional curves in an area you expects to see dramatic tapering. JMO.

Very nice work! Agree that the last photo looks like a magazine cover! Now you just need to find one of the major magazines that are looking for a good cover! Thanks for sharing!

[Fred Belknap]

Baxter that is one of the nicest I have seen.

[Steve Vaughan]

Baxter, you are funny! Here's what you said - "Enlighten me with your thoughts!" Are you kidding me? And so, here's what I say - "You enlighten us every time you post something! Just look at what you've done here!" Those are really beautiful pieces and so very well done. Thank you!

[jwjerry w kowalski]

Baxter,
That is a great looking box, I love the contrast of the finial and the natural edge, and everything about it. I'm starting to feel like the village idiot after seeing these exquisite turnings that have been posted recently.