# African Sumac



## barry richardson (Dec 17, 2012)

Just got this finished, African Sumac. Another imported landscape tree that's common around here. First time I ever turned any, it moves quite a bit when drying, and as you can see from the top view, it even moved a bit after final turning, shoud have waited a little longer. It is very hard and fine grained, it took forever to power sand out the random tool marks after I took it off the lathe. Over all I really like the wood, takes a super finish. It is supposed to get deeper red (except for the sapwood) with exposure to light. It is about 9"wide by 5"tall. This piece was fron the intersection of a three-way crotch.
[attachment=14782][attachment=14783][attachment=14784]


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## woodtickgreg (Dec 17, 2012)

That's a great piece. Well done. Beautiful finish too.


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## NYWoodturner (Dec 17, 2012)

Wow - Another winner. Very nice form with an excellent finish. . Very nice work.
Scott


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## DKMD (Dec 17, 2012)

That's cool! I've seen a few pieces turned from this before and after sun exposure... The color change is amazing!


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## Mike Jones (Dec 17, 2012)

Mr. Richardson, SIR. That is devastatingly drop-dead georgeous! I really like contrasting colors in wood and the voids in this piece provide plenty. It's a lovely form, beautiful wood and great finish!


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## Kevin (Dec 17, 2012)

Mike Jones said:


> Mr. Richardson, SIR. That is devastatingly drop-dead georgeous! I really like contrasting colors in wood and the voids in this piece provide plenty. It's a lovely form, beautiful wood and great finish!



+1 Yeah what Mike said.

Super duper amazing Barry. The way you used the cracks and where you oriented the heart & sap is sooooo cool. That's a masterpiece.


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## healeydays (Dec 17, 2012)

Barry,

A work of art. Got a question for you turners though. How many of these blow apart before being finished due to those voids? Just my luck I would have a twitch and catch that thing.


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## barry richardson (Dec 17, 2012)

healeydays said:


> Barry,
> 
> A work of art. Got a question for you turners though. How many of these blow apart before being finished due to those voids? Just my luck I would have a twitch and catch that thing.



Hey, Thanks for all the positive strokes folks! To answer your question Mike, I've had a few come apart in the past, not lately though, slowly gettin smarter I guess. The good thing aobut these types of turnings is even if they do blow up, I can usually salvage them if I can find all the parts. Just epoxy or super glue them back together and drive on. They are full of cracks and voids any how, so a couple more cracks dont make that much difference. Usually dont have problems on the roughout when the wood is wet, but for the second turning when it dries and shrinks and gets hard, thats when it can be dicey. I dont like to finish turn these types of pieces with a bowl gouge. It is just too easy to have bad catches. I have a big beefy scraper that works very well for inside and out. [attachment=14839]It is a 3/4" bar about 2 foot long with a hss cutter attached. The cutter is actually a blade from an old table saw molding head. I just grind a round profile on it and they work great, excellent steel in them, but I've about used them all up:cray: Another thing that is very helpful is a steady rest like this, [attachment=14840]This one is not mine, I just got a picture off the internet, but you get the idea. it keeps the vibration down. This is another piece of the African sumac, [attachment=14841]Im gonna finish it up shortly, I super glued what cracks I could....we'll see how it goes. I guess the last tip, which we all know, is keep your tools sharp, and don't get impatient. Also, if it has the potential to blow up, dont stand in the line of fire as you turn, stand off to one side or the other.


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## bearmanric (Dec 17, 2012)

Very nice. Rick


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## duncsuss (Dec 18, 2012)

Kevin said:


> Mike Jones said:
> 
> 
> > Mr. Richardson, SIR. That is devastatingly drop-dead georgeous! I really like contrasting colors in wood and the voids in this piece provide plenty. It's a lovely form, beautiful wood and great finish!
> ...



Add my +1 to make it +2 ...


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