I have this really beautiful piece of rose myrtle that is just begging to be a hollow form. But I am uncertain about one thing and that is how to orient the grain. Here is a pic so you know what I'm talking about.
myrtle.gif
The left image represents the grain direction of the piece which is about 7" square and 10" tall. As you can see, the grain runs the length of the block. But the color (which is spectacular), represented by the gradient overlay would work best if the piece were trimmed and oriented as shown in the second (right) image The darker area, which is heavily figured with intense an black line burl, would be on the top half of the form. The lighter "side" which is fairly plain in figure but has a gorgeous rose color would be on the bottom with a very wavy black line transition between the two. With me so far? OK, so if I orient the piece as shown in the second image, the grain, instead of being vertical is now horizontal with the "rings" (which are not very distinct due to the intense figuring) would be horizontal.
So, my question, having very limited experience with hollow forms, is how would this affect the stability of the piece or otherwise impact the turning process? I thought about just using it "as is", utilizing the full "height" of the block and producing a form that would have the intense figure and darker color on one side and the lighter rose color on the other. That might not look "too bad" but it might also look like "Two Face", the well known Batman nemesis! I'm hoping that some more "seasoned" turners with more experience with larger hollow forms might have an opinion or two to toss at me. Maybe I should make this a poll...
I have received several PMs asking for pics of the block so here they are:
rose_myrtle_6.jpg rose_myrtle_2.jpg
rose_myrtle_4.jpg rose_myrtle_5.jpg
rose_myrtle_3.jpg rose_myrtle_1.jpg
Thanx
DD
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