This is a new piece that I just finished. The wood is Cherry and has a story behind it.

I got this wood about four years ago from a guy who brought it to our club meeting in Charleston. He says he got it from a hog pin that was located on a old plantation dating back before the civil war. The cherry tree was bury in mud which preserved it.

No one in our woodturning club wanted it as it looked like dung to puts it mildly. I took it but at the time I did not know what I could do with it. I did make a few turnings from it and I sold all of them very quickly through the Artisan Center in Walterboro. I kept the largest piece of cherry wood and stored it until I could figure what I could make from it. It was full of big holes and did not seem to lend itself to any good form of woodturning. It actually look like rat holes. that had been tunnel into the wood, Ugh.

This week I finally decided I need to try and make something so I cut the cherry wood into turning blanks. This is my first turning from it. I thought I would make a natural edge from it as that allowed me to get rid of most of the holes with the exception of the one in the photo. The wood was very dry after being out of the weather ever since I had it and it was very hard almost like concrete. A lot of my turning it was interrupted cuts which was very difficult to do with it being so hard. I think it came out very well with the exception that the wall thickness is a litte thicker than I wanted its. I didn't want to take the chance of breaking it so I only turn it as thin as I thought it would go without breaking.

I wish I could have documented more about the wood as I do not want to misrepresent it. I only know what I was told by the person who gave it to me. I still have two piece left of this wood so I need to come up with some good ideas on turning them.

Finally got more woodturning done

This is a Bradford Pear Platter or perhaps you could call it a bowl. Sometime ago someone gave me some Bradford pear that I kept in my backyard for several years. It spalted and is a very pretty wood when it spalts. It does not show well in the picture because the qaulity is not that good. One of these days I will make a good photography setup so my pictures will show my turnings at it best.This is approximately 12 inches by 10 inches by 2 inches high.

This a bowl made from wild cherry wood. As the tree was growing someone put what look like steel tent peg in it and the tree grew around it. Around the rim you can see it has some black coloring. This is cause by the tree reacting adversely with the wood. I think it added a lot of beauty to the wood.

Approximately 12 inches Dia by 5 inches high.

This is made from spalted Laurel Oak wood. This tree used to provide shade for my house in Lancaster. It died mysteriously in June of 2005 while I was biking in Kansas. At least I got a lot of good wood out of it to make some beautiful woodturnings. I still wish that tree had not died.

In my last post about making a American Native Style flute I said I would post a picture of it as soon as it is finish. Well I am kind of stuck on it right now. I have it finish for the most part but not sure if it sounds the way it should. Iam no music expert and if it needs to make some adustment I do not want to go any further with it until I know what to do. Right now I need to concentrate on getting more turning made for my show in April of next year.