Mystery wood stopper - ERC??

[sachbvn]

Just finished this guy today. I have been playing around with "hollowing out" - you know, kind of like mini-bowls.

Anyways, I got playing and playing - I kind of liked how it was looking so I kept working on it trying to make it sort of look like a chalice or wine glass....not like I was going for a replica wine glass - just kind of.....wine glass inspired I guess.

It went well - learned some stuff....hey - did you guys know there are sharp edges capable of cutting on a gouge other than just the tip?!?! Pretty neat stuff. It's got some of that end grain going - but a real light hand and trying to finesse the cuts helped a LOT.


Ok - what kind of wood is it guys? It came from Scott - I think he questioned if it was Red Gum?? I can't remember - I didn't have a pic when I asked him, he was just going from memory.

Finished with shellac and wax.


Oh - thanks again Scott, this was the last of the blanks. It was gorgeous as the others. Some real nice, small, worm holes in this thing. Looks great - didn't snap a shot of every angle, and the one from the top is a crappy photo - sorry - it was just to help show how much it is dished out.

Thanks,
Zac

[maverick31]

I like the shape of it. grain looks kinda like pecan but seem to brown to be pecan. hard to say for sure. I am sure when scott chimes in he will be able to tell you. good job on the shape

[boodrow]

Zac good lookin stopper , At my ole age I cant remeber what the other wood was. Regardless tis a beauty , and I just had a brain fart , tis it Maple? Anyway what ever it is u done a good job on it.
Boodrow

[sdb777]

The blank was cut from a pile of crap! Really, we went to Emerson's little spot on the side of the Interstate, where everyone/anyone can just dump solid stuff to fill in the waterhole.

The bark on the piece seemed to be saying "RedGum"(also known as Sapgum or Sweetgum)...to me. But without being able to see the leaves...can't be sure?


The stopper came out great! Like the dished out top you have going on...even though the camera was focused on your finger...hehehe. Apparently, it was dry enough? And your choice of finish did the wood some justice(can you imagine trying to put an even CA finish on something with that profile?)




Scott (Zac gets an A+ today) B

[Doug B]

That's a nice stopper Zac! I love the shape. I would not use shellac on a stopper though because shellac is alcohol based and some people get a little clumsy when they have a little too much wine and they might ruin the finish.

Eh, just use it for oil and vinegar bottles only and then you'll have no worries.

I've got something like that wood from Scott waiting for me to get the time to turn it. I soaked it in DNA just to be sure...looks like I dint need to.

Just noticed the subject line...it is definitely not ERC.

[sachbvn]

Thanks guys!!

I may mark it as "Red Gum" or heck - may just call it mystery wood.

Doug - I understand about the shellac, and I had the same concerns. I spoke to Boodrow at length about this and he was pretty convincing that with a coat of nice wax over top - it shouldn't have any problems. So....I'll continue with this until I give the lacquer dip another try. I got the runs with mine regardless of how careful I was - also I didn't like the way the finish looked or felt when I was done..... too..... heavy....fake....know what I mean? It might have just been the species of wood....or a combination - who knows.


Thanks for the comments guys!!

Zac

[Knotty_Pine]

Jun 11, 2010 3:37:47 GMT -6 sachbvn said:

....also I didn't like the way the finish looked or felt when I was done..... too..... heavy....fake....know what I mean?....

I've noticed that with bowls. If I put on more than 5 coats of lacquer (especially aerosol) it gets to looking and feeling like plastic.

[mcbryde]

Here is a link to sweetgum www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Sweetgum/sweetgum.htm but teh bark is not like that. I still have a piece of it in my garage, I'll have to snap a pic of the bark and we can figure it out. The wood has a really red overtone to it. Not sure where that comes from. A really pretty piece of wood though.

E

[maverick31]

zac i was getting runs with laquer dipping too. fixed it by adding a little bit more thinner. Problem solved and I like the dip a lot more now

[sachbvn]

Thanks Mav - I'll try that - couldn't make it any worse!


Zac

[boodrow]

I forgot who posted it , I followed there method , then changed it a lil
I too added a bit more thinner like Mav said.
I dip it then carry strait to the lathe . Lathe speed about 3thous RPM for about 3 seconds , then change RPM to 850 and let it spin till the laquer gets sticky. This has worked like a champ for me , no more runs.
Boodrow

[maverick31]

Yep I posted that about after the dip stick it back on the lathe to spin the excess off. That works pretty good too. To me it seems like the key to laquer dipping is the right amount of laquer to thinner ratio. If you have a running problem add small amounts of thinner until you runs pretty much stop. My mixture started 50-50 like tim posted but then I added probably another 10-15 percent more thinner over about 3-4 test dips and all is good now.

[mcbryde]

Do you MM it after your laquer has dried, or do you use something else to finish it out?

E

[maverick31]

if i get runs in the dip that I cant sand out off the lathe before final dipping, I will wet sand with 1000 on the lathe until i cant feel the run then dip one more time. If no runs I dont do anything else. I have mm after dipping but in my opinion it does not improve the finish.

[Ruffnek]

Zac,

I'm 99.5% positive that is Elm and 99% sure that it is Red Elm.

[sachbvn]

Thanks Cody - I trust your guess!


Zac

[mcbryde]

Well, here are the pics I promised of the bark, just a little later than expected, the wifes got me putting in doors on the back of the house.






Still on the same guess Cody? After researching that guess, looks pretty right on the $$. Here they are called slippery elms.

E

[Ruffnek]

Yeah, that's Elm.

[mcbryde]

SWEET, we have a name, LOL!!! It sure was a pretty piece of wood, and I have 2 more still to cut, one piece pictured that is 2.5" thick, and a 4" thick piece.

E