# Grapefruit Vase



## WoodLove (May 8, 2013)

Today I started to clean up the yard and was going to throw away an old piece of a graprefruit tree trunk. After getting my new lather a week ago I reconsidered the wood as junk so I put aside yardwork and decided to turm the grapefruit tree trunk to see what was inside.....

I ended up turning this vase. Its 13 inches tall and approximately 5 inches wide. I finished it by sanding to 1000 grit, then some EEE, and finally shined it all up with shellawax. The woon not only is spalted but it actually has some orange sherbert colored staining.... and this is the 3rd vase Ive turned..... Im enjoying woodturning more than I ever enjoyed law enforcement!

[attachment=24579]

attachment=24582]

[attachment=24581]

[attachment=24580]


----------



## DKMD (May 8, 2013)

Looks good to me.

You gotta stop sanding that stuff to 1000... You're making me look bad!


----------



## Bigg081 (May 9, 2013)

Yea dont put it in the auction.....put it in my house!! I heard grapefruit wood is poisonous to cops, but I'm still a firefighter so it will be just fine with me. :-)


----------



## TimR (May 9, 2013)

Nice seeing woods like that put to good use. I suspect they are notorious for cracking like alot of fruit woods.


----------



## Tim Carter (May 9, 2013)

Actually, all of the citrus woods (orange, grapefruit, tangerine, etc.) are very stable and behave nicely. They also can be turned very thin, soaked in BLO and will turn translucent. Freshly cut citrus is pale yellow and spalts pretty quickly with large panes of grays and blacks in zones with some lines but not like spalted maple. Nice stuff to turn. Good work on this piece!


----------



## WoodLove (May 9, 2013)

yup....... but I cut the cracks off the ends and slowly turned it at 300 rpm til it was almost balanced...... then increased the rpms and turned it. Im going to invest in some longer tools though. I have a bowlturning chisel set but they were too long to easily manipulate, and my standard carbide tools were too short...... so it proved to be challenging at times..... had to make design changes as the wood decided 4 times to do "The Triple Lindy" (Rodney Dangerfield-Back to School) off the lathe chuck............ but it came out ok. The colors are amazing.... pics dont capture the marble-like look of this wood!


----------



## TimR (May 9, 2013)

Tim Carter said:


> Actually, all of the citrus woods (orange, grapefruit, tangerine, etc.) are very stable and behave nicely. They also can be turned very thin, soaked in BLO and will turn translucent. Freshly cut citrus is pale yellow and spalts pretty quickly with large panes of grays and blacks in zones with some lines but not like spalted maple. Nice stuff to turn. Good work on this piece!



Interesting. Will have to try a citrus wood sometime then I guess...thanks Tim.  Most of my 'fruit' wood experience has been with the apples/pears/peach/cherry...and they are notorious for cracking.


----------



## WoodLove (May 9, 2013)

I have the root ball sitting on my table right now..... ran out this morning and bought a little electric chainsaw to cut it in half. The plan is to do what Tim said..... turn it thin and soak it in BLO....... I will be making two nice sized bowls out of it......... and I sell one and trade one ..... as long as they come out ok.....lolol.


----------



## Tim Carter (May 9, 2013)

If you turn it thin and soak it, I use a mixture of BLO-40%, mineral spirits-40% and poly-20%. These are approximate, the idea is to thin out the BLO so it will be absorbed into the wood better. In some cases, I'll soak a piece for a day or so, take it out and let it dry for several days and then soak it a second time.


----------



## WoodLove (May 9, 2013)

I appreciate the instruction. Thanks so much. Ill see how it turns out soon....... and of course, Ill be posting pics.....


----------

