redbud Woodbowl

Few weeks ago i had this cercis siliquastrum trunk,
it was given to me from a colleague, and it was cut end of february...

Judas tree wood is very tough and compact, and for that reason I tried to push me over about the thickness...
Redbud holds up very well thin walls,
i had some few natural edge bowl reached 1 mm thickness...let the light pass through..
some points its even less than a millimiter...by mistake....i was lucky to not have it broken...
To be perfect the wall must have the same thickness..i got it only in the last two pieces of 13 that cames out from this trunk.

the sound of the wood when it's cut by gouge is the best thing to pay attenction when workin' with thin walls.. it becomes increasingly fine and acute...

however i made these bowls becouse i care about wood natural deformation..
That warp of the wood came out in the drying process and is more when is been reachin' 1mm or less of the thickness...i mean, with 1 millimiter the bowl's walls itself deforms, the ovalization of the bowl came out whatever thickness....
when is around 2 mm the deformations of the walls are scarce,
between 1 and 2 mm it's like play the lottery...
if there's difference of the thikness cercis siliquastrum wood could have cracks starting from the core,
or from the twisting burl...
i have used Cianoacrillic glue mixed with osange orange chips (i had those chips on my lathe at that time..) to fill the voids..and it works! it has stopped the extension of cracks...
under the bark you can find the natural folds,
that's why in some pieces I removed the bark...

                                               Redbud burl dry faster, and looks shrivels

                                                                           Lamp???
        

Cheers
Paolo

Osange Orange Wood - Maclura Pomifera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera

It was given to me two month ago when i was in Rovato...
Man who gave me knows very well when tree have to be cut in order to have uncrackable wood for turning. He say the cut depends on the moon fases. The cut have to be made ​​in waning moon.
It's important to know in which zodiac houses the moon is passing through, each house have its own influence on the  fluids distribution of the plant (flowers,seeds,roots....) and as a result the drying process of the wood.
i don't have much experience about cutting tree, but when i found some wood i try to get much informations than i can...
Good cut is when the moon passing through one of these zodiac signs: Taurus, Capricorn, Virgo.
But the influences on the plants depends also from the Apogee and perigee (distance and proximity of the moon),Oppositions planetary or stingrays, the lunar nodes....Planets influence the tree's growth becouse of the light that they reflect...
i read there is university in Kazan where are studies about the effect of planets in Plants...
there a lot to know about it.
i found an interesting thing to read, but its in italian: http://www.cascinaburattana.it/corsi/la-storia-del-calendario-delle-semine-compagno-prezioso-degli-agricoltori

By the way i have this Maclura Pomifera since end of may and it has no cracks at all..

This is the first Osange Orange that i turn on lathe,
it's really hard and I could not sink the gouge as usual..but definetly i have a nice clean cut, and i have used very few sand paper only for the outside...
I think I could dare further thick, but i believe it will not crack....

i finish it with mineral oil and then beswax buffed..

i kept the Maclura chips with this top yellow,
to use by mixing with CA for filling the cracks

Cheers

Paolo

Cottonwood Crutch

I can say this cottonwood crutch have been a really fuckin piece..
I have on several shirts for this day job...begin 9 am took off at 7 pm....
No metter how i cut, that damn hair rose continuously...
It was in the lab since end of 2013, and as usually poplar dry fast..
but was steel wet in the core...

To obatain a nice clean finish i have used like 6 meter of sanding paper, from 120 to 240.. I scratched my nails too.

That how was in the beginning,
i screw the cottonwood crutch to faceplate

Found some orange red spalting lines,

Lower part the with chuck grip

I think cottonwood is underrated,
fibers are mealy, but bends easily allowing nice curling with aging...
is a timber that has good light reflection, so needs a flawless finish...

Cheers

Paolo

Judas tree - Redbud

The Judas tree is a type of redbud tree that is native to Asian countries.
It is a deciduous tree, which means that it loses it leaves in the fall and re-grows them in the spring.
During late winter or early spring, this tree produces bright pink or magenta-colored blossoms
that occasionally even grow on the trunk.

This tree can grow to anywhere from 12 to 15 feet (3.6 to 4.7 m) in height.
It might also spread anywhere from 15 to 20 feet (4.7 to 6 m) in width.
It usually prefers full sunlight, but may also grow in areas of partial shade.
The Judas tree is somewhat drought-resistant and usually needs only minimal watering.

The flowers of a Judas tree are typically heart-shaped.
They normally begin to appear the second year after the tree is planted.
An ancient legend proclaims that the flowers of this tree were originally white,
but later turned dark with shame after Judas hung himself.


The leaves of this tree are also heart-shaped.
They may be medium to light green in color and positioned on dark brown stems.
Leaves do not normally appear on the tree until after the flowers have begun to bloom.

From my experiences Cercis siliquastrum wood cracks easily,

for that reason it should be worked as soon as possible..

and its fragant sap attracts greedy xilofogi insects...

it's easy wood to turn, and get a great finish if its cut and not scraped.

I found intriguing the shade of green characterizes of Judas tree.

Natural edge - 15 x 12 cm

Thickness its around 4 mm, some points less...
I made it with a small flat base and that's allow the piece to find its own balance too...
intresting is where is the center of gravity??

In this last piece i pay attenction to keep some colors connection between the green hearthwood, when i reached the white sapwood in the botton of the natural edge bowl.
i mean i tring to have that kind of waterfull effect that usually i saw in Ambrosia Maple pot or Hollow form...

I still have two piece of trunk to work with,
as you can see, i cut small section of it and put on top like cup,
i believe that in this way the big trunks will cracks less deep, and this helps to develop some spalted too...

Sun light oxidise Redbud wood from green to orange-brown tone...

Cheers
Paolo

Cupressus Arizonica Root

                                                                 

                                                           

This is the work made with the other half cupressus root showed above:
it's 35 cm D x 19 cm h
Finish it with linseed oil and turpentine mixed, and few beeswax dust melt on that..
The inside is terrible, i mean i wasn't able to clean smooth the surface..
The fibers goes everywhere, hard to have a clean cut but not a scrape..

I used a 5/8 long and strong Henry Tylor bowl gouge for all the job,
and a nose screaper lasting passage. The fibers goes everywhere, and i found too difficoult have a clean cut.






Cheers
Paolo

Pomegranate Wood - Punica Granatum

Originally Pomegranate is from Iran and northern India, but pomegranates (Punica granatum) appear in Egyptian mythology, the Old Testament and in the Babylonian Talmud.
Pomegranates are not particular about their soil, but they do need full sun and regular water -- once a week or more during extremely hot weather.
In Morocco, the bark of the pomegranate tree, with its high tannin level, was traditionally used for curing leather. In Japan, the bark is used as an insecticide. Both the rind and the flowers from pomegranates can be used for making dyes for fabric. And while production is limited, some producers make walking sticks and small wood implements from the hard pomegranate wood.

The amministration of my town has bought some years ago an old pomegranate tree and planted in the middle of a roundabout road, as an ornament. I heard that they have spent 3.000 euro for that old plant!
however, last summer was really intractable hot and the town gardener forgot to watering the old tree, and becouse of that it has deadly dry.

Shots taken are really terrible, I was not able to eliminate the reflection of the flash on the surface..
I took a pictures with a really old digital camera, a toy called Kodak C743.

Paolo