Starting a new manzanita burl.
About 18" diameter, weighing approx 60 lbs.
Truing up the burl using a gouge
The hollowing process using a long steel bar with a quarter inch cutting bit in the end. Note: The outside two- thirds from the top is the final shape. After I remove two thirds of the interior I will go back and tighten up the curve on the outside to near final shape.
You can also see I've turned it around from the previous picture and mounted it on a face-plate to allow me access to the interior.
The interior hollowing finished. Very nice color.
I'm frequently asked if I paint these; as you can see
Manzanita has many beautiful shades of red. The
neat part is when its finished and I flood the surface
with clear Danish Oil the color will pop out. When doing Manzanita I generally follow the form of the burl and try to bring out the beauty beneath the surface. When the piece starts taking shape and I see the possibilities of what it's going to be, that's when I get excited about what I do.
Manzanita burls
Some of the various tools used in woodturning. The tools I use about 90 percent of the time are gouges (the two tall tools top left and similar shaped tools.
Shown is the hollowing tool used to remove the interior. The cutting bit is held in on the tip with a screw and can be removed for sharpening. On some large pieces I will use duct tape (where would we be without it) to support the natural fractures in the piece. There is a lot of torque on the piece when turning at five or six hundred revolutions per minute.
Various other wood blanks
Shop Dog Max guarding some burls
Max after after a long hard day. If he could only turn!
Hope you enjoyed the tour.
Following are some galleries that also carry my work:
Hyde Gallery, Springfield, Missouri
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
Quicksilver Gallery, Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Gallery 4, Brighton, Michigan
llustrated Light Gallery, Fort Collins, Co
Silver Dolphin, Mary Esther, Florida
T. Lamar Fine Arts, Little Rock, Arkansas
FACTS Gallery, Little Rock, Arkansas
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama
My home is in Springfield, Missouri,
heart of the Ozark Mountains,
I have been woodturning since 1990
Sanding the exterior. I go through 7 grades of
sandpaper; starting with 120 through 800
Refining the base. Note. I've turned the piece around ((from picture at left) removed the face-plate and centered the base on the tail stock. This allows me access to finish the base.
Close-up of finishing the base. Note. I'm making it
concave so it will sit steady on a flat surface
Finished piece. Just needs to be oiled,
lacquered, and waxed. 15"H X 13" Dia
Bottom of base. This is the way I sign all my pieces.
Two circles and my signature, piece number and
carved flutes.
STUDIO TOUR FROM THE HEART-WOOD
