# Roughed out an angry chunk of wood today



## barry richardson (Jul 18, 2015)

This is a piece of African Sumac I've been looking forward to getting to for a while. Had to whittle it down some with the chainsaw to swing on the 16" lathe. Even though it looked angry, it wasn't bad at all to turn since it was still wet. Also put a pretty big opening in it which made it nice. A couple of months of drying and I will finish her up... Notice how red the chunk is, it's the result of being exposed to partial sun for several days

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 13 | Way Cool 12


----------



## Sprung (Jul 18, 2015)

That's a beauty, Barry!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Tony (Jul 18, 2015)

That's really pretty Barry! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## ClintW (Jul 18, 2015)

All that in one day! And it's looks amazing already!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## ironman123 (Jul 18, 2015)

Way to go Barry.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Nature Man (Jul 18, 2015)

The Saturday wonder! What an awesome turn. Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## ripjack13 (Jul 18, 2015)

Wowzerz!!!! That is super cool!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Jerry B (Jul 18, 2015)

that is an absolutely gorgeous looking vessel/chunk o' wood

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## manbuckwal (Jul 18, 2015)

Beautiful chunk o wood transformed into art Barry !

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Tclem (Jul 18, 2015)

I can't figure out how you keep getting all my pictures of my work

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 4


----------



## justallan (Jul 19, 2015)

Beautiful piece, Barry.
When you turn stuff green and let it dry how thick do you leave the wall?

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## barry richardson (Jul 19, 2015)

justallan said:


> Beautiful piece, Barry.
> When you turn stuff green and let it dry how thick do you leave the wall?


Thanks Allan, the rule I've always heard is the ratio of 1" thickness for every 10" of diameter to allow for movement when the wood dries. But a lot depends on the species and the orientation of the grain. For example, Mesquite is very stable so you don't need to leave it as thick, Eucalyptus and olive are crazy unstable so 1" isn't enough. If you hollow down through the pith, you will have much less warping than you would if you hollow across the grain, so you can go much thinner on them. When I hollow through the pith, I often only turn once, turn it thin, and call it good, since it deforms so little in this orientation. On this one, I went thinner than the ratio, cause based on my experience, the wood doesn't move much, and there is less risk of cracking as it dries, and it dries faster.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Informative 1


----------



## Mike Jones (Jul 19, 2015)

Beautiful wood and handsome form! But......is the lathe brand new? It looks so clean!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------



## GeauxGameCalls (Jul 19, 2015)

Very nice as always!


----------



## TimR (Jul 19, 2015)

Lookin good Barry, look forward to finished pics of this for sure!


----------



## justallan (Jul 19, 2015)

Thanks Barry. Great explanation, I understood it perfect.


----------



## barry richardson (Jul 20, 2015)

Mike Jones said:


> Beautiful wood and handsome form! But......is the lathe brand new? It looks so clean!


Thanks Mike! This is a lathe at the nearby Air Force Base Wood Shop who I contract with. An "unofficial" part of the contract is that I get to use the lathe for my own stuff. I have my own 16" lathe but it is not set up from my recent move till I get my shop and power the way I want it. The lathe in the pic is a couple of years old, and has seen pretty heavy use actually, maybe white lathes, like white cars don't show dirt as much...


----------



## Horatio (Jul 21, 2015)

That's beautiful. Going to look amazing when you finish it up, looking forward to seeing it!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Wilson's Woodworking (Jul 21, 2015)

That is fantastic work Berry! It looks great!
I am a little worried about you running it thru the dryer on the automatic cycle thou.
I am afraid the tumble dry might bust it all to pieces.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## MikeMD (Jul 22, 2015)

If you didn't say that was African Sumac, I would have sworn it was cherry burl. That's a pretty piece, Barry. Looking forward to the finished product.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Wildthings (Jul 22, 2015)

That is gorgeous!! Wish this Barry (me) could do that type of lathe work that Barry (you) does!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------

