# Florida mahogany



## DKMD (May 18, 2013)

Scott(NYwoodturner) and Rob(JoeRebuild) conspired to gift me a piece of mahogany with assorted Florida packing peanuts during the last site auction, and here's the result with a little bit of African blackwood at the opening. Thanks fellas!

I had never turned green mahogany, and I have to admit that I can fully appreciate Scott's enthusiasm for this stuff... It's dense and even grained, and it cuts and sands like a dream. Oh, and it's beautiful!

About 5 or 6" tall with a quick wipe of Antique oil... It'll get buffed at some point down the road. I left it a touch hefty in the bottom since there was a decent sized bark inclusion that I wanted to retain in the finished piece... Plus, I didn't want to turn through the bottom, and I'm not sure where my luck currently stands.

Comments, criticism, and suggestions are always appreciate!


----------



## SENC (May 18, 2013)

Most excellent! I wish I could do stuff like that! My wife would love a piece like that.


----------



## NYWoodturner (May 18, 2013)

Really nice piece Doc  I really like the collar on it too. Nice job with the bark inclusions. Rob - you need to stay INSTOCK on the Cuban Mahogany! It's awesome.
Great job Doc 
Scott


----------



## Mike Jones (May 18, 2013)

Your shop: Ugly Floridian wood in....beautiful turnings out! :hatsoff: More info request: You turned it green, sanded it and applied finish...green? Any drying degrade?

thanks for the post! You do nice work....and lots of it too!


----------



## Sprung (May 18, 2013)

Stunningly beautiful work! That is some nice looking ugly Florida wood and an equally beautiful piece of art and workmanship!


----------



## DKMD (May 18, 2013)

Mike Jones said:


> More info request: You turned it green, sanded it and applied finish...green? Any drying degrade?



Mike, I twice turned this piece waiting a couple of weeks between episodes. There wasn't a heck of a lot of moisture in the blank when I received it, and I didn't check the moisture content anywhere along the way. I actually intended to turn this green to finish at a single setting, but work and family prevented that. I roughed this in and rough hollowed, coated the outside with beeswax, and then chucked it in a cardboard box with some other roughouts. After a few weeks, I mounted it back up and notice very little warping. The more amazing thing to me was the fact that there are several pith areas in this piece(it was some kind of crotch), and there's not a single check anywhere in the blank.


----------



## Mike1950 (May 18, 2013)

DKMD said:


> Mike Jones said:
> 
> 
> > More info request: You turned it green, sanded it and applied finish...green? Any drying degrade?
> ...



Beautiful piece David- maybe the lack of cracks is one of the reasons that there is no CM left!!!!????


----------



## woodtickgreg (May 18, 2013)

Very cool looking piece, reminds me of venus, all swirly and gaseous.


----------



## Rkent (May 18, 2013)

Nice job on the form. Next on my list to try.


----------



## WoodLove (May 18, 2013)

absolutely beautiful doc. I plan on trying some hollowforms very soon. Beautiful work.


----------



## duncsuss (May 18, 2013)

Oh, now this is _very_ gentle on the eyes ... 

Is there a special trick to install the contrasting collar?


----------



## DKMD (May 19, 2013)

duncsuss said:


> Is there a special trick to install the contrasting collar?



I'm sure there are a lot of ways to do it. I turn a little groove at the opening and turn the collar to fit using another chuck. I glue the collar in with epoxy or CA then blend the two with light cuts and sandpaper. After the collar is fully sanded, I reverse the piece using a vacuum chuck or my mini reverse chucky(http://www.rubberchucky.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=116). Let me know if that doesn't make sense or you have any questions.


----------



## barry richardson (May 19, 2013)

Beautiful work on a fine piece of wood! Yea, it's amazing that there is no checking in the pith areas, must be a really stable wood.


----------



## duncsuss (May 19, 2013)

DKMD said:


> duncsuss said:
> 
> 
> > Is there a special trick to install the contrasting collar?
> ...



I think I got it ... in my words: make a rebate around the edge of the bowl opening, make a matching rebate around the collar/insert, and epoxy the two together ...


----------



## DKMD (May 19, 2013)

duncsuss said:


> DKMD said:
> 
> 
> > duncsuss said:
> ...



Yeah, it's basically a round, stopped mortise and a tenon secured with epoxy. If I'm lucky, you can't make out the seem other than the obvious change in wood. I taper the tenon ever so slightly to give it a 'press fit'.

(Apologies to all flat workers if I have butchered the nomenclature typically reserved for the fine work that you all do)


----------

