Olive Ash

[KimG]

Back last winter I was fortunate enough to obtain a small amount of Olive Ash, some of it very highly figured, including the piece these two boxes came from.

Made in the style of George Watkins' boxes ("Cornucopia" of this forum), they are finished with Shellac sanding sealer and buffed with a three wheel buffing system to a high gloss, though the images do not capture this too well.

Churn style

A more Oval style.

All comments welcome!

 

[CHJ]

Those are a tour de force in detail and finishing Kim, effective use of the timber to make the most of its character and certainly not the easiest of woods to retain the sharp detail.

Did you choose the shellac finish based on its ability to fill and blend the pores?
The above comment based on my experiences with some open pored Oak, to me it seems to fill/blend the pores to give a subtle texture that I like the look of and Ash can have a similar texture.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Beautiful...really fabulous grain

 

[Brianp]

That's lovely wood, and I love the shapes you've given the boxes. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Paul.J]

Wow,what beautiful looking wood and boxes to match Kim,you've done the wood proud on those pieces,well done =D>

 

[nev]

=D>
Looks like George has some competition

 

[KimG]

Thanks for the nice comments!

I used Shellac Chas, mainly because I find it the best for applying with a brush, and dries pretty quickly.
I like the Cellulose Acrylic types better for for a glossy finish because I find it more durable, but it tends to show brush marks if applied by hand and it can take three coats to get an even finish by the time you cut them back, this can lead to a more "plastic" look, and the spray versions, while excellent can be tricky to get even, especially on small pieces like this.

I do find though that the shellac finish can lose its gloss quicker through handling, I am going to re-polish these with microcystalline though which should help with that.

Overall I find finishing to be the most challenging aspect of turning to master, certainly it takes the most time and I am very rarely truly satisfied with the results.

 

[CHJ]

...
Overall I find finishing to be the most challenging aspect of turning to master, certainly it takes the most time and I am very rarely truly satisfied with the results.

Agreed, and the problem being that when you are doing 'one offs' there is rarely the chance to change your mind and try something different.

It's the main reason 90% of my stuff which is intended to be handled a lot now gets the cellulose sanding sealer and three wheel buff treatment finishing with Microcrystalline wax. Quick easy and stands the handling.

Don't have too much trouble these days with the cellulose sealer (I tend to flood it on and rapidly wipe it off/spread with cloth) or even the melamine enhanced lacquer, something I struggled with in the early days; must admit to having a tin of thinners ready to hand and quickly wipe over and blend in if I see things going astray.

Don't know what it is about certain pieces though that seem to cry out for shellac or hard wax oil, lemon oil etc. guess it's just past experiences that have ingrained somewhere in the mists of consciousness.

 

[EnErY]

That's Some more Stunningly grained pieces must admit never had the pleasure of turning that kind of figured timber but would be proud if I could duplicate the results ,again I will stress the grain is superb and beautifully turned and well finished =D> =D>
Regards
Bill

 

[Silverbirch]

I agree with the others - lovely figuring, beautiful shapes and excellent finishing.

Ian

 

[dickm]

Wow. Those are superb. Simple lines, no fussy detail, just the basic shape and the figure of the wood.
And no blasted finials :twisted: