Yew Pot

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KimG

Little Woodworm
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This Yew Pot looks reasonably straightforward eh? Well, it was at first, but then the original lid I had made flew out of my hand during the buffing stage and acquired 2 dents right on the rim, no way to rescue it, it had to be replaced. Trouble is, I have very little Yew left, a search through the various woodpiles though dredges up the remains of a branch, the diameter is barely sufficient. I get it mounted in the lathe and turn the inside first, deciding on a small safety factor I decide to incorporate a recessed area for an expanding collet, this will be a less marking means of remounting for the outside.

Having completed the interior, which had two steps to accommodate the rather unusual arrangement I had cut into the body (this was because I was rather making it up as I went along, no plan!) I remounted it and started to cut the outside, but just as the final details were being cut a chunk flew off, a weak section from the pith had split away.

I immediately found the piece on my very clean floor (translation, I searched for ten minutes through a three day heap of shavings) and found the offending bit, much muttering accompanied this part of the task.

I got lucky though, a good dollop of CA fixed it back and an hour later I was able to finish the cuts. The little finial lid is made from a bit of Lignum from an old bowling ball.

The finish of the body is once again chestnuts gloss lacquer, cut back with 400 grit and buffed to a gloss with the 3 wheel system. The lid though is an experiment with Shellac, I bought some IDA and a packet of best blonde dewaxed Shellac, made up an equivalent 2lb cut mix in a small jam jar, (this was done a week or so back) I applied the shellac in thin layers using a small artists brush, I built up about six layers (it drys pretty quickly, each layer though needs to be at least partly dry before adding the next) This was then left overnight to fully harden, then I cut it back with 400 grit by hand (i.e. not on the lathe) and finally used the three wheel system to bring it up to high gloss. It gives a very nice look to the wood, colours it very little and doesn't look plastic, but it is quite time consuming and tricky to get an even coat. I intend to try other pieces by this method to see it is a worthwhile method.

The Turquoise dot is a fill of real Turquoise powder, kindly sent to me by George Watkins, it is a technique he uses for filling small gaps in some of his boxes, for me it looks very eye catching.

yewpotII-1.jpg


yewpotII-2.jpg


yewpotII-5.jpg
 
A lovely piece Kim, full of interest but still works as a whole, and a gorgeous looking finish as well, love it :)

Cheers, Paul
 
Again another stunning piece the finish is superb the form of the body and the contrast of the lid go together well I love it .
Where is the spirit stain...............LOL #-o :D
regards
Bill
 
Lovely recovery. I take it the dents in the original were too bad to steam out? I've been playing with various shellac finishes for quite a while now & much prefer it to manufactured finishes.
I apply it on the lathe using a squeezy bottle and bog-roll. cut back with 600 between coats to even it out then burnish before applying a wax coat.
It takes a while, and it is messy. The end result though is worth it IMHO.
 
Hi Kim,,
I chuckled over the search for the bit that flew off,,,,but the finished piece is fabulous and a real inspiration for me to plod on and raise the quality of my work,,
,,,,,,,joe,,
 
Thanks for the very nice comments folks!

(I had to exert restraint Bill!)
 
nice piece and fantastic finish. please dont jump on me for saying this but in my opinion and as an observation is the lid in pic 2 showing the glued crack ( left of centre running through both tiers and through to the other side)? if so i think had you used a dremmel to slightly recess the glued edge and then filled it with the Turquoise powder, running it along the full length of the crack the effect would have been stunning and certainly complimented the Turquoise in the main piece. it would have also been a unique way of hiding the repair line.
 
it is the crack SD and that might well have worked, but I don't own a dremel !! The join does not look out of place though as there are several marks radiating from the pith. Good suggestion though, thanks for the comment.
 

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