Here are a few of my recent efforts, recent being in the time period of Feb - May 2001. Most of these pieces were turned using my new VacuuMaster vacuum chuck for holding at some point in the turning process. Please feel free to write for informaiton on turning them or for information on VacuuMaster chucks.



Here are three different views of the same bowl. This is a piece of Norway maple from a tree which had to be removed to make room for an addition to our church. I roughed it out in October of 1999. The grain was so spectacular that I had to put it aside for a very special occasion. That occasion came in April of 2001, when the 60th wedding anniversary of some very good friends of ours, who also happen to be members of our church as well, arrived. Dimensions are approximately 10" x 4". Finish is Watco Natural Danish Oil and buffed with the Beall system. Held for final turning and sanding with the VacuuMaster.



Turning natural edged bowls is probably one of the best applications for which a vacuum chuck can be used. This piece of maple was given to my by a friend of mine in our local turning club. I was stopping over to his house for some forgotten reason, and out of the generosity of my heart, I was bringing him a small burl form a pile of small burls I had acquired. When I pulled in to his driveway, I was confronted with a truckload of big burls! I gave him my small one, and he gave me a bunch of larger ones. This bowl is about 10" x 3" plus, and was finished as the one above.



This cherry bowl came from a tree which was given to me, of all days, on my birthday last year. Our family had been invited to a friend's home for dinner, along with a student of mine from out of town. My friend told me to bring my chainsaw, as he had a cherry tree for me. I did the sawing, but as an added benefit of it being my birthday, I did not have to hoist a single log into my truck! Dimensions are 14" x 6". There is no finish on this besides the mineral oil with which it was sanded, as it is intended for use.



This is a shot of a cremation urn commissioned by a fellow woodworker for his father who was also a woodworker. Details of this are provided in the article on this site entitled Turning a Cremation Urn.



Here's another piece of walnut. Despite living in wood heaven here in PA, I do occasionally buy wood for turning. I was at the sawmill buying some poplar for a furniture job, and I noticed this lone walnut board in the pile. I asked the owner about it. He made a disparaging noise, and informed me that the wood was useless, since it had all that "wavy" grain in it. The blank for this plate cost me $2.50. It has no finish on ityet, beyond mineral oil with which it was sanded. I have yet to decide how I am going to finish it, but being predictable, I will probably finish it with Watco and buff it. Dimensions are 14" x 3/8" high. Thickness is 3/16", and it was finished on the VacuuMaster vacuum chuck.



Finally, for this installment, we have the cherry bowl featured in the article on vacuum chucking. It came from the same tree as the large one above. Dimensions are 14" x 4", and it is finished with mineral oil only, as it is intended for use.