Punishment

[Kathy Marshall]

As in "glutton for".
Finally finished up the pecan crotch cluster piece. I kept thinking I might get down to some wet wood, but it was pretty dry throughout and it was hard (I now understand the term pecancrete). I thought I would never get the hollowing done. All told, I think I have about 15 - 16 hours in this piece, changed the cutter on the hollower at least 10 times. I could only take the very lightest of cuts, with all of the cracks and voids even with the steady rest the vibration was bad.
But I overcame the challenge and managed to turn the piece without it blowing up . Now that I've got that out of my system, I'll be able to pass up the next chunk of wood that looks like that!

I shortened it up a fair amount (couldn't stand the thought of spending any more time hollowing it) and it ended up about 5 1/2" tall by 5". It's got a coat of danish oil so far and I'll follow that up with some WOP.

Here's a reminder of what I started out with.
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And here's the finished piece. Don't know if it was worth all the time spent on it, just glad it's finally done.

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This is a shot of the opening on top.
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[Bill Wyko]

Kathy, your perseverance really paid off. That is absolutely exquisite. I'm glad you made it through this piece safely. Looks like it could have been a dangerous endeavour. Congratulations on you awesome success.

[Marty Eargle]

I've come across a few chunks of wood like you posted but never had the bravery or patience to try and turn them. You have inspired me to absolutely take a chance if I come across something gnarly in the future. You may have sacrificed a little safety, sweat, and certainly some nerves...but you have not only a fantastic looking piece out of some great wood...but something that is completely unique.

This is something that any wood turner would certainly have to tip their hat at you for!

[John Keeton]

I applaud you, Kathy! As far as whether it was "worth the time" - only you can answer that. Unfortunately, folks that look at pieces like this have no idea the work involved. This one has a lot of character, and I bet the swirly grain is really neat up close.

Well done!

[Michelle Rich]

amazing perseverence! the color variations are fantastic..very, very fascinating piece.

[charlie knighton]

great piece, not much on pecan, have same thoughts as you, well done

[Tim Rinehart]

I'm glad to see what came of that piece. First, I'm not all that crazy about spheres, though they have some attraction when in groups, colored, etc. However, I think this is a super piece that stands on its own (well, maybe rolls). All the voids and grain movements make this a piece that folks will want to pick up and view from several angles.
If I were to try this, I think I'd want to hollow it out in such a way as to hide the entry hole in the bottom of a deep void...which you very nearly did. Cool piece, and the right finish for it.

[Fred Belknap]

Great job on that pecancrete, I have been working with some hickrete (dry hickory) and believe me I know what you mean about hard. It came from a large tree that fell down on my place. Told the wife I wasn't going to do any more of it.

[Doug W Swanson]

Way to stick with it. I think it turned out great!

[Roger Chandler]

Nice work Kathy...........I don't know if it is worth getting beat up like you did, but you did a good job with a challenging piece of wood........the end result with all the cracks and voids would make me want to put it in the burn pile, but I am more drawn to wood that has few defects..........this one will probably be right up David Keller's alley!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Now that had to have been a challenge but well worth the effort. That is a beauty Kathy.

[Harvey Ghesser]

Kathy, you get an A for effort!

[Pete Jordan]

Nice going dodging the danger! Love the grain!

[Primvs Aebvtivs]

I like it too! I saw the original longer piece, and don't blame you for shortening it - expecially if it was beating you up on the hollowing! Is it just me, I can see a face in the third photo, complete with eye, nose and hairline; and the fifth pic is an elephants' ear...?

[Mark Hubl]

Kathy,

Glad it stayed together and you stuck with it. I think it came out really well. Definetly an attention grabber.